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State Senate President Russell Pearce elected by only 17,552 voters

by on Nov. 14, 2010, under Life, Politics

Senator Russell Pearce

There is much ado about newly elected State Senate President Russell Pearce, even an article in today’s Arizona Daily Star about his “business unfriendly” attitude:

http://azstarnet.com/business/local/article_8f52eada-79ef-57e7-9b46-dfac60272a23.html

Pearce was the former Chief Deputy of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Dept.(23 years) and was also a Justice of the Peace at one time.

Did you know that he was elected by only 17,552 voters in LD 18 in Mesa?

Voter breakdown from November, 2010 general election from Secretary of State’s website:

SHERWOOD, ANDREW (DEM)
34.30% 10,663
PEARCE, RUSSELL (REP)
56.45% 17,552
GARCIA, ANDREA (LBT)
9.03% 2,808
Write-in
0.22% 68
31,091 total votes cast

Contrast this to a larger, more populated district such as LD 30 here in Southern Arizona, with Frank Antenori as State Senator, with 3x as many voters:

CAMENISCH, TODD (DEM)
39.59% 36,911
ANTENORI, FRANK (REP)
60.27% 56,198
WRITE-IN
0.14% 134
93,243

And we hear that LD 1 (north/central Arizona) State Senator Steve Pierce still wants to be Senate President:

DONAHUE, BOB (DEM)
35.13% 28,463
PIERCE, STEVE (REP)
64.74% 52,458
Write-in
0.13% 108
81,029

Map of Arizona legislative districts from Arizona state legislature page link:

http://azredistricting.org/mapping/default2.asp?tname=Interim.2009.Legislative.Map&service=ircmaps&Layer4=on&Layer1=on&action=zoomin&ActiveLayer=16. You have to “zoom in” to find LD 18.

With 30 State Senators in the Arizona legislature, only 9 being Democratic, it goes to show that popularity among your peers counts, even when you represent a small legislative district. (Democratic Senators are only in districts 2 (NE Arizona), 13 through 17 in the Phoenix area, and 27, 28, 29 here in Southern Arizona).



  • Plain Ol’ B.O.

    Is that more, or less than Gabby’s victory from the Foothills? Will she move to Tucson someday?

  • Carolyn Classen

    Not sure which precincts are in the “Foothills”, but here’s Pima County’s election results for CD 8.  Giffords received 117,389 votes, total of 138,180 votes in CD 8 which also includes Cochise, Pinal and Santa Cruz counties.

    GIFFORDS, GABRIELLE (DEM)

    49.93%
    117,389

    KELLY, JESSE (REP)

    46.08%
    108,327

    STOLTZ, STEVEN (LBT)

    3.85%
    9,056

    Write-in

    0.14%
    324

    235,096 total

  • http://www.facebook.com/pages/Three-Sonorans/144198198931412 Three Sonorans

    Carolyn, this article has inspired me to write another article about this related to how the Arizona Dems need to be replaced. Did you read the Feathered Bastard’s article on the Dems?
     
    http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2010-11-11/news/arizona-democrats-defeat-dissected-and-why-the-party-needs-to-bust-out-a-guillotine-or-two

    • http://pointmantucson.yuku.com/ mike_brewer

      One might note that the election of Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer in California was the result of Democrats remaining united. Arizona is rapidly becoming a Tombstone like gun-slinging political atmosphere. You just do not know who is going to ride into town.

    • Carolyn Classen

      wow, are we in tune David.  I am in Tempe today at ASU for a lecture, and I just picked up the very issue of the Phoenix New Times with this article and was going to tell you about it.  Interesting how Stephen Lemons says that Goddard’s star is falling and Rotellini’s is rising, being as he lost by 200,000 votes and she by only 63,000.

  • http://pointmantucson.yuku.com/ mike_brewer

    I once heard that Russell Pearce had a son who was killed by an illegal immigrant. How does one corroborate this rumor?

    • Carolyn Classen

      On his State Senate member page bio, Senator Pearce states:
      “I have two sons in law enforcement, Colten with the Gilbert Police Department and Sean with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.  My son, Sean was shot and critically wounded while serving a homicide warrant on an illegal alien on Dec. 16, 2004. “

  • Carolyn Classen
  • Carolyn Classen

    Randy Parraz video update on this State Senator Pearce recall effort, with about 1700 more signatures needed within next 45 days (as reported by blogger Tucson Progressive):
    http://tucsoncitizen.com/tucson-progressive/2011/04/17/randy-parraz-updates-progressive-dems-on-pearce-recall-video/

  • Carolyn Classen

    Senator Pearce recall likely, with only 500 signatures to go in D 18 before 5/31/11 deadline:
    http://tucsoncitizen.com/arizona-news/2011/05/10/russell-pearce-will-likely-face-recall-election/