summary:
. my Fall 2014 general election picks
were often just voting for Democrats
in order to minimize Republican influence,
including possible Obamacare rollbacks
(see why we need Obamacare).
. there are some votes local to Tucson,
and some propositions for az.state .
US House of Representatives, District 2: Ron Barber (Dem)
Arizona Senate, District 10 Dave Bradley (Dem)
Arizona House, District 10 Change Selection
Stefanie Mach (Dem)
Bruce Wheeler (Dem)
Secretary of State Terry Goddard (Dem)
Attorney General Felecia Rotellini (Dem)
Treasurer no contest
Superintendent of Public Instruction David Garcia (Dem)
State Mine Inspector no contest
Arizona Corporation Commission
Jim Holway (Dem)
Sandra Kennedy (Dem)
az Governor Fred DuVal (Dem):
. I am going for Democrats generally,
but John Lewis Mealer was tempting;
because in polls Mealer or undecided
has a big chunk of the vote .
John Lewis Mealer:
What is the most effective thing the governor can do. Mealer on fb .
to boost economic development and job creation?
Put the Mealer Initiative 2014 to work.
This encompasses creating an even playing field
for private citizens
with the global businesses that have
crushed our opportunity to compete with them.
A new state office for business development
is a huge plus for those of us who have
no way to gather funds for new business ventures
or who are running a dying business.
. What are Arizona’s most critical industries,
and what, if anything, should the state do to support them?
Industrial Hemp. [great for water-efficient textiles]
Manufacturing a wide range of items including Textiles.
Biomedical industry.
Meat and Agriculture Export via the new
state office AZ Meat & Ag Dept.,
where we will allow Arizona business to
raise, grow, promote and export
exclusive Arizona non GMO, non steroid
meat, agriculture and dairy that exceeds USDA products.
Aerospace and Motorsports must be promoted
and is included with the Mealer Initiative land lease program.
We must also include the $3 Trillion Entertainment Industry
where I believe, Arizona can host $30 Billion
during the first five years.
A state office should be reinstated.
co.{fb,g'+}/pol/purges/unemployment/
jlmealer.com sees the end soon:
governor candidate jlmealer.com October 20 at 6:19pm:
" ... wanting to legalize cannabis and industrial hemp[ I like his plan but I'm afraid he's a spoiler:
in order to keep Arizona from completely collapsing.
We will collapse in a couple years,
regardless of which Washington DC controlled
'party candidate' is elected. ... "
a vote for him would be a vote against the Dem,
and ensure the Repub's get control again .]
az.state propositions:
Proposition 303, The "Right to Try Act"has its heart in the right place,
along with enough safeguards to be rational as well.
It would allow a terminally ill patient
the right to try experimental drugs
that have not yet received FDA approval.
~ Proposition 122, threatens Obamacare?:
. exercises Arizona's "sovereign authority"
by rejecting any federal actions
the state's leaders consider unconstitutional.
The state could withhold monetary or staff support
for these supposed unconstitutional actions
via referendum, legislative action or
"any other available legal remedy."
[. in our three-branch government,
federal law's constitutionality is decided by
the federal courts;
Prop. 122 would give the AZ legislative branch
a way to decide federal law's constitutionality
but applying that decision only to az.state .]
~ Proposition 304, pay reps $35,000:
An appointed commission believes legislators are
overdue for a 40% pay increase.
They propose raising them to $35,000 annually,
up from $24,000.
Legislative salaries have not risen since 1998.
[. serving as rep is a religious act;
we don't need competitive pay to attract quality;
and, if we did, we need a lot more than $35K .]
tucson propositions:
~ Prop 415 -- tax for pet overpopulation abatement:Facilities for the Care and Safekeeping of Animals
. people are not controlling pet breeding
and expecting us to either euthanize or
pay for longer stays at adoption centers,
perhaps to retrain the unadoptables .
. if you don't want euthanasia,
how about a insurance tax on pet owners
to cover the costs of pets to the public?
however, some pet disposals are due to economics;
people lose a job and can't afford their pets;
we are in the age of robotics and globalization;
so, we should be encouraging population downsizing:
pay jobless people to limit reproduction,
and engage in volunteerism or schooling .
~ prop 420, pre-approval of school property sales:
[ don't encourage property sales
because school properties could serve other public uses;
eg, leasing them out to charter schools;
and, leasing could pay our school debts
just as much as property sales .]
Betts Putnam-Hidalgo's Arguments Against:
The sale of public assets should always be undertaken cautiously.
The TUSD board needs policy that assures
transparency, oversight and accountability
even when it comes to selling off school property.
Vote NO on pre-approval of school property sales unless:
a) a detailed TUSD Board policy is written
that mandates community/neighborhood input into the sale;
b) an internal auditor is available to
oversee the use of funds and;
c) an agreement is reached with the City
over the re- use of significant TUSD properties.
When schools are closed permanently,
demographics change, property values change
and the neighborhoods may be negatively affected.
While the need for capital improvement funds is urgent,
it is shortsighted to sell off properties
without a comprehensive analysis of
the broader impact that might have.
Although the District has for many years
been closing and selling schools,
they do not track subsequent neighborhood changes
and the process remains far from transparent.
A No vote still allows the District to
lease a property for up to ten years:
a re-use options that allow the re-opening of the school
when students return to the neighborhood or to the district.
governing board of tucson unified school district #1
. pimadems.org lists dem-aligned candidates;in 2010 I voted for Hicks .
. for candidates who think our problem is
we don't have the best teachers,
if you could find better you would already have them;
what we need is more volunteerism to help tutor;
less lecturing and more study time with roaming tutors .
teacher quality is hardly the main priority:
Hicks said the Board leader Grijalva
and the District [admin]
were being secretive and unaccountable;
he recently got some needed info;
and, here is what they were sitting on:
mid 2015 we'll be looking at $15M deficit .
the Star endorses Darland, Puttnam-Hidalgo:
but here is why they are not into Hicks:
"Hicks has served four years without distinguishing himselfI find his political activism very credible:
— except on Comedy Central.
His appearances of “The Daily Show” and with local radio show host Garret Lewis
have demonstrated his lack of credibility."
he was lampooning an Az law that fined the school
for using a real mexican studies program .
. if Hicks' results have been lack-luster,
I would suggest firing the Board leadership .
Tucson Metro Chamber endorses Jen Darland
and they would keep leader Adelita Grijalva .
Jen Darland [against school choice]:
. years of involvement at her children’s school
and co-founding the advocacy group
Arizona Education Network.
http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/about-aen/
. she believes the school-choice push
is undermining public schools that offer more services,
such as transportation and reduced-price and free lunches.
Putnam-Hidalgo [currently involved]:
. she kept up regular attendance at board meetings
since losing the board member election last time .
She’s also been actively involved in school site councils,
served as a community representative .
. she supports use of an internal auditor,
reducing kindergarten through third-grade class sizes to 18
and making schools a neighborhood hub for
social services as well as education.
A board adversary on one issue may be an ally on the next,
she says, indicating she will not vote with a bloc on the board.
At the same time she believes there’s a place for
“critical friends” and she’d ensure the authority line
clearly reflects that “the superintendent works for the board.
. who would you like to work with Mr. Hicks?
is Putnam-Hidalgo ok? [no response]
judges retained? no comment:
The state commission that rates and evaluatesjudicial performance for Arizona
has found judges unfit to remain in office.
Both are up for retention on their county ballots
in the Nov.4 general election.
. it's essential to vote these people out
so that it isn't a lifetime appointment,
said an attorney who specializes in attorney ethics.
[. but why should we trust the state commission?
why silence judges, instead of, say, fining them? ]
Justice_of_the_peace:
Democrat Susan Bacal, who occupies the bench,faces Green Party candidate June Pitts.
Pitts, 49, is a social worker in behavior health services
She is not a lawyer
[ but that is not a requirement .]
CAWCD board of directors
(Central Arizona Water Conservation District)Does Arizona have enough water to keep up with growth
or even sustain its current population?
A major part of the answer lies in the Central Arizona Project
— the canal that delivers Colorado River water
336 miles from Lake Havasu to dozens of communities in
Pima, Maricopa and Pinal counties.
In the Nov 4 election, six candidates are running for four open seats
representing Pima County on the CAWCD board of directors,
a 15-member board that essentially runs CAP.
. ballot says choose 4 out of 5 listed:
Pat Jacobs *
Sharon Megdal *
Warren Tenney *
Karen Novak Cesare
Wesley Mehl
(*: incumbents).
* Sharon Megdal
Megdal is a professor at the University of Arizona
in the department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
as well as the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science.
She is director of the University of Arizona
Water Resources Research Center
and director of the University’s Water Sustainability Program.
* Warren Tenney
"15 years of experience in the water industry"
Tenney is the assistant general manager of the
Metropolitan Domestic Water Improvement District,
a public provider serving northwest Tucson.
He is currently the chair of the county-wide
Water Conservation Alliance of Southern Arizona.
. his main priority would be
"prepare for possible drought and climate change".
Tenney says he has been attending CAWCD board meetings
for more than three years.
* Pat Jacobs
A former administrator of Pima County Justice Courts
and a current Northwest Fire District board member,
Pat Jacobs has said he would bring a different perspective
to the CAWCD board because he is not part of the
“professional water community.”
Jacobs served for 30 years as a Court Administrator
for the Pima County Consolidated Justice Courts
and is the former administrative director of the
courts for the State of Arizona.
Karen Novak-Cesare:
served on the Citizens Water Advisory Committee for Tucson Water.
owned and run the landscape architecture firm
Novak Environmental for the last 16 years,
Novak-Cesare has worked on water conservation issues since the 1980s
and helped build one of the first xeriscapes
for the Tucson Botanical Gardens.
masters degree in landscape architecture
~ Wesley Mehl:
the vice president and general counsel at Town West Realty.
. he has represented several clients with concerns about water issues.
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