Arizona Illustrated: The CD2 Forum
Airs Tuesday, October 23rd @ 6pm
Live simulcast on NPR 89.1 and azpm.org

This is a live, one-hour forum.

Panelists include:
AZPM’s Christopher Conover & Andrea Kelly (political reporters)
Tucson Weekly’s Jim Nintzel (investigative reporter)
ASUA President Katy Murray

Campaign websites:

Ron Barber (D), incumbent Congressman in CD 8, former Tucson District Director for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, www.ronbarberforcongress.com

Martha McSally (R), retired Colonel in U.S. Air Force, former Professor of National Security Studies at the George C. Marshall Center in Germany, www.mcsallyforcongress.com

There is also a Libertarian write-in candidate Anthony Prowell in this race.

Arrive early as this may be a crowded debate as there have been very few in this particular race in CD 2.

Martha McSally

Congressman Ron Barber

There have been no live debates between these two candidates for the AZ Primary coming up on August 28.

Congressman Barber was elected to his seat in June, 2012 in a special general election, facing off with Republican Jesse Kelly, who had challenged previous CD 8 Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Nov. 2010. Barber had worked for 5 years as Giffords’ District Director in Tucson, and had been shot twice alongside her on January 8, 2011 at the Tucson Tragedy shooting. Jared Loughner recently plead guilty to the shootings which killed six and wounded 13 others. Campaign website: www.ronbarberforcongress.com.

LD 29 House Rep. Dr. Matt Heinz has served 2 terms in the Arizona House of Representatives, and is a doctor at Tucson Medical Center. He also ran unsuccessfully for LD 28 House in 2006. Campaign website: www.heinzforcongress.com.

Charlie Manolakis, who recently ran for the CD 8 House seat as a Green candidate, has now switched back to a Democrat, and is a write-in candidate for the CD 2 House seat, but was not part of this AZPM debate. He can be contacted at charlesomega@aol.com.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face off in the General election with either retired Colonel Martha McSally, who came in 2nd in the 4-way special CD 8 House Republican primary in April, 2012, or political newcomer Mark Koskiniemi. To view their earlier July 23 debate on AZPM Channel 6, click here.

Vote wisely on or before the Arizona primary on August 28.

Congressman Ron Barber

LD 29 Rep. Dr. Matt Heinz

Former CD 8 Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was a strong proponent of solar energy, and her successor Congressman Barber is continuing this series.

The Office of Congressman Ron Barber presents the 57th Solar Power 101—an ongoing community education series on solar energy. The Solar Power 101 series offers practical information and industry updates for those interested in residential solar power.

Congressman Barber’s office is partnering with the City of Tucson, the Southern Arizona Regional Solar Partnership, and Pima County Public Library to make possible quality presentations on a variety of solar-related topics.

Solar Power 101
Monday, July 16, 6 pm
Murphy-Wilmot Branch Library, 530 N. Wilmot Rd.

Please RSVP to thomas.alston@mail.house.gov.

Agenda

Introduction — Dianna Thor, Pima County Public Library
The Importance of Solar to Southern Arizona’s Economy – Congressman Ron Barber
An Overview of TEP Solar Programs – Carmine Tilghman, Tucson Electric Power, Director Renewable Resources
An Introduction to Residential Solar Systems and What you need to Know About Solar Leases – George Villec, Geoinnovation, Owner

About Solar Power in Southern Arizona

Tucson is one of the the Department of Energy’s 25 designated Solar American Cities. Some of the goals, or Solar America Cities Action Areas, undertaken by these 25 cities are: organizing and strategizing a local solar effort, making solar affordable for residents and businesses, and creating jobs and supporting economic development.

The Solar Power 101 series at libraries is ideal for people new to solar energy, who are very interested in the basics and want to ask in-depth questions of local experts, as well as those already familiar with solar energy. Become informed about solar energy at Solar One Stop.

Mike Hellon in his 2006 campaign

MIKE HELLON FILES CANDIDACY FOR PIMA COUNTY SUPERVISOR (press release)

Pima County businessman and Republican leader Mike Hellon officially filed his candidacy today for Pima County Supervisor District 1, vowing to focus his priorities on economic development, fiscal responsibility and quality of life issues for the residents of District 1.

“This is not a decision I made lightly,” Hellon said. “I have been persuaded that strong leadership is needed on the board of supervisors from District 1 and I believe I have the background and experience to meet that challenge.”
In recent weeks, a number of business and political leaders have expressed concerns about a vacuum developing in district 1 with the retirement of incumbent Supervisor Ann Day. Hellon was offered support if he would consider replacing her.
“Their priorities match mine,” he said. “They want accountability and transparency in their government. They want lower taxes through increased efficiency, not through reduced services. They want a balance between a robust economy and protecting our unique quality of life in Pima County. They want infrastructure, public safety and our roads fixed, not excuses or rhetoric. I have the political experience and leadership skills to effectively pursue those goals.”

Hellon is a decorated Vietnam veteran who has successfully operated his own small business for 34 years. A lifelong Republican, Hellon was the Arizona campaign manager for Ronald Reagan in 1980. He was elected to the Republican National Committee in 1992 and served as chairman of the Arizona Republican Party from 1997 to 1999.

In addition to his service to his country and the Republican Party, Hellon has served the community as a small claims hearing officer for the Pima County Justice Court, on the Pima County Board of Adjustment for District 1 and as a member of the Pima County Merit Commission. In 2004, he was appointed by the Arizona Supreme Court to the Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review and currently serves as the commission’s chairman. He is also a member of the Arizona Judicial Council by appointment of the Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court.

Hellon has served as a leader in numerous civic and charitable organizations including chambers of commerce, the Tucson Chapter of the American Diabetes Association and the Catalina Youth Soccer Club. He has two children and lives in Northwest Tucson.

Hellon’s campaign chairman is local businessman Bill Assenmacher. His treasurer is Valerie Samoy, staff assistant to Supervisor Ann Day. The balance of the campaign organization is still being developed.

Mike Hellon, Candidate for Pima County Supervisor, District 1
Phone: 520-241-8885

Hellon ran for CD 8 U.S. House in the 2006 Republican primary and got 13.35% of the vote in a five-way race. LD 30 State House Rep. Randy Graf won that primary and then lost to then-LD 28 State Senator Gabrielle Giffords. Mike is the ex-husband of former LD 26 State Senator Toni Hellon.

Campaign website: www.hellon2012.com, email is mike@hellon2012.com, phone is 520-204-3915.

Also running for this seat (due to the retirement of Republican Supervisor Ann Day) are two fellow Republicans Stuart McDaniel (mortgage broker) and Ally Miller (businesswoman), and Democratic former LD 26 House Rep. Nancy Young Wright. LD 26 House Rep. Vic Williams is also expected to run for this seat, which would make it a four-way Republican primary on August 28.

Note: I serve as a Hearing Officer in Pima County Consolidated Justice Court, so I have known fellow Hearing Officer Hellon for six and a half years, as he is one of the trainers in our program, having served for over 20 years.

1/26/12 UPDATE: Rep. Vic Williams did file for this seat (click here), so it is now a 4 way race in this primary.

Mike Hellon in 2012

This holiday party will be once again at the home of attorneys Sherry Teachnor and Michael McCrory in mid-town Tucson. Call 520-327-3527 for directions.

“Come raise a glass to celebrate our public officials and to cheer on those 2012 candidates seeking an end to all the insanity.”

Welcome guest speaker Krista Millary, Th.D, the new (and first) Program director of the UA Women’s Resource Center.

RSVP to Linda at 520-625-4579 or lhbarter@cox.net. Members and friends (and guests) welcome to enjoy a delicious appetizer buffet and to talk politics.

I attended last year AWPC’s holiday event (click here) and met Pam Simon, Outreach Coordinator of CD 8 Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’s office. Less than a month later Pam was shot twice in that January 8, 2011 mass shooting. Thankfully she has fully recovered.

For more info on the AWPC, log onto www.awpconline.org. It is the state affiliate of the National Women’s Political Caucus. Their goal is: “50/50 by 2020! Changing the face of Arizona politics!”

We are the only multi-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to increasing the number of pro-choice women in elected and appointed office. We work to help women attain leadership positions at all levels of government

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Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable
Premieres with New Host Jim Nintzel
New format on PBS-HD Channel 6
Friday evenings at 6:30 p.m. starting September 16th

Tucson, Ariz. – September 9, 2011 – Jim Nintzel, senior writer for the Tucson Weekly and a longtime contributor to Arizona Public Media, will host a new political roundtable on the Friday evening edition of Arizona Illustrated premiering Friday, September 16th at 6:30 p.m. The program will feature a mix of political strategists and reporters who will bring insider perspective to the events of each week.

Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable will be part of PBS-HD Channel 6’s Friday night news block airing at 6:30 p.m. before PBS NewsHour, Washington Week, Arizona Week and Need to Know. The program repeats at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday morning in addition to video-on-demand at www.azpm.org.

“I’ve missed doing the Friday Roundtable and am thrilled to be part of the team that’s bringing a new version to Arizona Illustrated,” Nintzel said. “As the host, I hope to bring fresh insights and perspectives from both the left and the right to our viewers. It’s great to be back in the AZPM studios providing in-depth political news for the community.”

Jack Gibson, Director and General Manager of AZPM states “This new restructuring of the Friday Roundable supports Arizona Public Media’s strategic focus on news and current affairs. Jim, with his respected standing in the community and long experience in the political arena, is a welcome addition to our broadcast team.”

New Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable format:
• The format for Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable will include Nintzel, political strategists and insiders from both the left and the right sides of the political aisle, reporters from Arizona Public Media and other special guests who will provide analysis of the week’s events in local, state and national politics, as well as forecasts of future political trends.

The premiere program on September 16th will include the following guests:
Jonathan Paton, former Arizona state lawmaker and congressional candidate,
Rodd McLeod, Political Strategist (Congressional campaigns of Congresswoman
Gabrielle Giffords and the 2010 gubernatorial campaign of Terry Goddard),
Andrea Kelly, political reporter, Arizona Public Media.

About Jim Nintzel:
Having covered politics in Southern Arizona for two decades at the Tucson Weekly, Jim Nintzel has won more than 30 statewide and national journalism awards for reporting, commentary and feature writing and was named a Journalist of the Year by the Arizona Newspaper Association in 2010. He was part of PBS-HD Channel 6’s Friday Roundtable for 15 years and has aided Arizona Public Media with political debates and other segments. He is an adjunct faculty member who has taught government reporting at the University of Arizona School of Journalism since 2001.

The number of women in Congress has plateaued since 2007, with just 17 women in the 100-member Senate and 72 in the 435-member House. In state legislatures nationwide, 1,738 lawmakers are women, compared with 1,809 last year, and the percentage of women holding statewide office has fallen from 27.6 percent in 2001 to 21.9 percent today. Just six states have female governors.

We are one of those states with a woman Governor, Jan Brewer, who just won her own term in November, 2010 after taking over in January 2009 when then-Governor Janet Napolitano left to become head of federal Homeland Security. Brewer is a Republican and Napolitano is a Democrat.

I wrote about women candidates in last year’s Arizona elections (click here) and many women ran for almost all races in the legislature and state-wide offices.

In the current 2011 election for the City of Tucson, only one woman (Mary DeCamp, a Green Party member) is running for Mayor. Councilmembers Karin Uhlich (Ward 3) and Shirley Scott (Ward 4) were considering bids for Mayor as well, but opted to stay in their Council seats. In Wards 1, 2 and 4, women are running: Democratic Councilmember Regina Romero for re-election, Republican challenger Jennifer Rawson, and Democratic Councilmember Shirley Scott for re-election.

On the Southern Arizona legislative front there are several women politicians: LD 25 Senator Gail Griffin (R), LD 25 House Rep. Peggy Judd (R), LD 26 House Rep. Terri Proud (R), LD 27 Senator Olivia Cajero Bedford (D), LD 27 House Rep. Sally Ann Gonzales (D), LD 28 Senator Paula Aboud (D), LD 29 Senator Linda Lopez (D). And CD 8 is represented in U.S. Congress by Democrat Gabrielle Giffords, who is recovering from that tragic shooting on January 8, 2011.

I think women don’t run because politics is still perceived as a “dirty game”, with long hours and often disagreeable constituents and issues. Plus women may still have to multi-task with children, meal preparation/housework, etc.

What do you think readers? The AP article goes on to say that perhaps more women should run for office, due to the number of recent sex scandals involving male politicians (i.e. former VP candidate/U.S. Senator John Edwards, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Congressman Anthony Weiner). The assumption there is that perhaps women politicians wouldn’t fall prey to sexual temptations or scandals.

Mike Jenkins

Republican businessman Mike Jenkins announced his bid for the Ward 4 Council seat today currently held by 4 term Democratic Councilmember Shirley Scott.

He has been an Auto shop manager and his bio from prior Tucson Citizen articles lists his background/activities as: “Republican chairman, state District 29; Marine Vietnam veteran; small-business owner; certified auto technician; Catalina High and UA graduate.”

Jenkins can be reached at mike@jenkins4tucson.com. His campaign website “A Strong Voice for Tucson”is www.jenkins4tucson.com.

At today’s press conference Jenkins said (excerpts): “I have an energetic vision to revitalize Tucson. My ideas will be accomplished by taking Tucson Back to the Basics/Back to Core Services which include proper funding and manning of law enforcement, fire and emergency services. Tucson needs an additional strong voice on the City Council to achieve these goals.”

Jenkins challenged Scott before in November, 2003 and she won with 62.25% of the vote to his 37.59% (45,782 to 27,644 votes). He also ran for U.S. Congress in CD 8 in the September 2006 Republican primary receiving 3% of the vote, losing to former LD 30 State House Rep. Randy Graf, who went on to lose to Democrat Gabrielle Giffords. Here’s the results from that election:

ANTENORI, FRANK 2174 4.24%
GRAF, RANDY 20733 40.44%
HELLON, MIKE 6842 13.35%
HUFFMAN, STEVE 19754 38.53%
JENKINS, MIKE 1537 3.00%

Jenkins also ran for State House in LD 29 in November, 2002 and lost to Democrats Linda Lopez and Victor Soltero. He received 27.97% of the vote.

In November, 2007 Councilmember Scott prevailed over Republican Dan Spahr with 66% of the vote, 42,500 to 21,692 votes. She told Bill Buckmaster on KJLL radio that she will be running for re-election in her ward and not for Mayor (click here for 1/12/11 interview).

Brian Miller

From reporter Jim Nintzel over at the Tucson Weekly, that CD 8 Congressional candidate Brian Miller, a Major and senior pilot in the United States Air Force Reserve, 45th Fighter Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, was elected to Chair of the Pima County Republican Party:

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2010/12/11/miller-elected-gop-county-chair

Miller, who made his political debut with an unsuccessful campaign for the GOP nomination in Congressional District 8, hails from the Ron Paul wing of the party—in general, he’s a get-the-government-out-of-our-lives kind of guy who opposes taxes, government involvement in health care and all that. But he also wants to see the U.S. out of foreign entanglements in Afghanistan and Iraq and favors immigration-reform efforts over building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Miller suspended his CD 8 campaign on August 11, a few weeks before the August 24 primary, and threw his support behind fellow candidate former LD 30 State Senator Jonathan Paton, who lost to candidate Jesse Kelly in the primary. Kelly then lost to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords by 4156 votes in the General Election.

In his final press release when he suspended his CD 8 campaign, Miller described himself as “a Constitutional conservative Republican” and that he had run his campaign on a “platform of limited government, individual freedom, and peace through strength.”

Miller replaces Bob Westerman, current Pima GOP Chair, who was an unsuccessful candidate against recently deceased Senator Jorge Luis Garcia for LD 27 State Senate in November, 2008.

I am sure we will be seeing a lot of Brian Miller on TV debating attorney Jeff Rogers, the Chair of the Pima County Democratic Party (who is expected to retain his position).

The Arizona Women’s Political Caucus Tucson chapter celebrated the holidays and the victory of most of their endorsed, pro-choice candidates tonight at the home of attorney Sherry Teachnor. In previous years this party was held at Sherry’s former Galeria La Sirena on Broadway/Country Club which closed in January, 2010. Sherry still has some of the Caribbean & Latin art (paintings) at her home studio for sale.

Arizona Women’s Political Caucus (AWPC) President Pat Weidhopf welcomed the thirty women & men in attendance and said that the holiday event was to celebrate the victories of their endorsed candidates, to honor the great campaigns, and to encourage pro-choice women to “advance their convictions.”

Speaking tonight were elected officials:
–Pam Simon, Outreach Coordinator for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (CD8)
–Olivia Cajero Bedford (LD 27 Senator-elect, current LD 27 House Rep.)
–Linda Lopez (LD 29 Senator)
–Paula Aboud (LD 28 Senator)
–Sally Ann Gonzales (LD 27 House Rep.-elect)
–Patti Noland (Clerk of the Superior Court, and the only endorsed Republican)

Also speaking were the candidates who did not win their elections:
–Pat Fleming (LD 25 House Rep.)
–Nancy Young Wright (LD 26 House Rep.)
–Cheryl Cage (LD 26 Senate candidate)
–Mohur Sidhwa (LD 28 House candidate, lost in the primary)
–Andrea Dalessandro (LD 30 House candidate)

Many of these officials and candidates spoke of the help they received from the AWPC, saying that the Caucus was their “backbone”, “anchor”, “sense of sanity.” Many encouraged their supporters to continue their hard work and to monitor the upcoming State legislature, especially in terms of issues pertaining to education and families.

Also attending tonight were F. Ann Rodriguez, Pima County Recorder and Justice of the Peace (Precinct 4) Carmen Dolny.

10% of tonight’s sale of art goes to the AWPC girls’ leadership project, and another 10% to Haiti relief efforts. If interested in purchasing colorful, authentic Latin and Caribbean art, contact Sherry Teachnor at 520-319-1262.

Not attending tonight were statewide endorsed candidates Felecia Rotellini (for Attorney General) and Penny Kotterman (for State Superintendent of Public Instruction).

For my previous blog on AWPC prior to the General Election (click here).