Eastside Republican Club

Guest Speakers CD2 Candidates Martha McSally and Mark Koskiniemi

Where: Miller-Golf Links Library-Community Room, 9640 E. Golf Links Rd., Tucson (east of Harrison)

When: Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 6:30 PM

All Are Welcome – The Eastside Republican Events are free

More Info: Parralee Schneider, 749-0312 pmstucson@aol.com or Lori Oien, 749-3472 oienjmo@msn.com.

And if you can’t attend, watch the two candidates when they debated on AZPM Channel 6 (click here for earlier blog article with bios & photos).

The winner of this primary on August 28 will face off with the winner of the Democratic primary (either Congressman Ron Barber of CD 8, or LD 29 House Rep. Dr. Matt Heinz. Charlie Manolakis who ran as a Green in that CD 8 House race this Spring is now a Democratic write-in candidate for this race as well).

Kirk-Bear Canyon Library – Community Room
8959 E. Tanque Verde Road

State Senate Candidates:

LD9 Tyler Mott (President of Pima County Young Republicans), political newcomer

LD10 the Honorable Frank Antenori (incumbent LD 30 State Senator)

State House Candidates:

LD 9 Ethan Orr, political newcomer

LD10 the Honorable Ted Vogt (incumbent LD 30 House Rep.), & Todd Clodfelter, political newcomer

All Are Welcome – The Eastside Republican Events are free

More Info: Parralee Schneider, 749-0312 pmstucson@aol.com or Lori Oien, 749-3472 oienjmo@msn.com

More info and websites of the candidates at Pima County Republican Party (click here).

State Senator Frank Antenori

Tyler Mott

Ethan Orr

Todd Clodfelter

State Rep. Ted Vogt

Sabino Teen Age Republicans collect food for local Food Bank

When the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona said their shelves were bare, the STARs (Sabino Teen Age Republicans) felt they needed to step up and assist the less fortunate in our community. President of the STARs, Amanda Oien, said “We are so blessed to have food everyday to eat, I can’t imagine being without food at this time of year”

The Stars started collecting the canned goods 2 weeks ago, in each of the eight Math Classes at Sabino, the STARs will also host a pizza lunch for the class that collected the most canned goods.

The STARs will be donating approx. 1171 lbs* of food to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, on Wednesday, November 23, at 4:30pm at the Community Food Bank at 3003 S. Country Club Rd. Tucson, AZ. 85713

If you would like further information about this event please contact Lori Oien at 520-749-3472 or 520-603-3006, email at oienjmo@msn.com. Lori is their adviser and previously ran for the Ward 2 Council seat in 2007.

My husband and I donate $ and food throughout the year to the Community Food Bank, where I used to volunteer for 5 years helping to put together food boxes. Please help if you can, as Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Website: www.communityfoodbank.com, 520-622-0525.

*11/24/11 update: total collected: 2232 lbs.of food.

Chair Carolyn Cox, courtesy of Pima GOP

Carolyn Cox was elected Chair the Pima County Republican Party on September 8, 2011 after former Chair Brian Miller (former candidate for CD 8 House seat) was removed over the summer. She will be speaking at the Eastside Republicans monthly meeting on Wed. Nov. 16, 6:30 p.m. at Kirk Bear Canyon Branch Library – Community Room, 8959 E. Tanque Verde Road.

Here’s part of Carolyn’s statement when she ran for Chair:

I have been involved with the Pima County Republican Party since my husband, Garland, & I started coming to Arizona in 1999. We moved to Arizona permanently in 2004.

Because Garland & I have been among the major supporters of the Republican Party I believe I will have the creditability necessary to raise funds for the Party to keep the headquarters’ door open. The Party needs to assist candidates and facilitate the election of candidates in every way possible. It takes money to staff & maintain an office to do that.

The get-out- the- vote (GoTV) campaign is important. The Party needs to communicate with voters using all the proven and all the new technologies possible.

I was the Republican candidate for Congress in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District in the year 2000 campaign. I do understand the challenges a candidate faces.

I was a National Director of Economic Security 2000 from 1997 thru 2003. Its goal was to advocate for younger workers to invest a portion of their Social Security Taxes in an account they would own and receive a market-rate of return on that money.

I was the Chief Financial Officer of an engineering corporation in Colorado. I fully understand pensions and their difference from self-funding IRAs and 401(k)s.

Carolyn graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics, and completed one year of graduate study at the University of Colorado. She has “served on the Tucson Committee for Heritage, the premier conservative Think Tank.” And she’s also been president of the Tucson Conservative Forum since April of 2005.

For more info about Eastside Republicans, contact: Lori Oien (former candidate for Ward 2 Council seat in 2007) at oienjmo@msn.com, 520-749-3472, or Parralee Schneider (former candidate for LD 30 House in 2010), 520-749-0312, pmstucson@aol.com

Wednesday, September 14

from 6:30-8 PM at the Rincon Mountain Presbyterian Church,
8445 E Tanque Verde Rd. 85749 in Tucson.

Candidates for Mayor of Tucson:

Mary DeCamp (G) -confirmed

Rick Grinnell (R) – confirmed

Jonathan Rothschild (D) – invited, unable to attend

For Ward 1:

Beryl Baker (G) – confirmed

Regina Romero (D) – incumbent – invited, unable to attend

For Ward 2:

Paul Cunningham (D) – incumbent- confirmed

Jennifer Rawson (R) – confirmed

For Ward 4:

Shirley Scott D) – incumbent – invited, unable to attend

Tyler Vogt (R) – confirmed

The Sabino Teenage Republicans was started about 3 years ago and have about 25-30 active members that meet every Friday during lunch at Sabino High School.
They have a Facebook page “Sabino High School Teenage Republicans” & hosted the only Governor’s Forum on April 23, 2010 with over 500+ in attendance (which I did attend, read my previous blog on that event, click here.)

Info: Brianna Zittlosen at 520-343-9753 or Lori Oien (former candidate for Ward 2 Council seat in 2007) at oienjmo@msn.com, 520-749-3472.

Vote wisely on November 8, 2011 in the General Election.

Eastside Republicans meeting
April 20, 2011
6:30 p.m.
Bear Canyon Branch Library, 8959 E. Tanque Verde Rd. (community room)

Their topic is “Pima County– who are the players and what’s the impact”.

“Wake Up Tucson offers a unique perspective about the southern Arizona region. The topics range from small business, tourism, politics, economic opportunities and education. Tucson and the surrounding communities are at a turning point. The challenges and obstacles are great. Now more than ever the community needs to engage in a discussion about our options. The host are highly involved in the community and bring first hand accounts to their listeners. Wake Up Tucson is a radio show with a mission and purpose to educate the community and engage the listeners to get involved in our community. ”

KVOI’s radio dial is 1030AM, and this “Wake up Tucson” show airs 8 to 10 a.m. weekdays.

Meeting is free and open to the public.

Higgins ran for District 1 Pima County Supervisor in the September 2008 Republican primary against current Supervisor Ann Day.
He got 47.19% of the vote (8798 votes) to Day’s 52.75% (9835 votes). She is up for re-election in 2012. And I hear that Higgins is considering another bid for this office.

More info: Lori Oien, 520-749-3471, oienjmo@msn.com, Parralee Schneider, 520-749-0312, pmstucson@aol.com.

Miller-Golf Links Branch Library – Community Room
9640 E Golf Links Road (east of Harrison Road)
When: Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 6:30 PM

Shaun McClusky, a realtor, ran for the Ward 5 Council seat in November, 2009 and lost to Democrat Richard Fimbres (46.67% to 53.10%). He lead the recent “No on 400″ effort in November, 2010 against Proposition 400 which would have increased the City sales tax by a half cent. It lost overwhelmingly by 61.12% to 38.88%.

In the Republican primary on August 30 McClusky will face off with former District 1 Pima County Supervisor Ron Asta, a land planner/consultant. Asta, formerly a Democrat challenged Republican Mayor Lew Murphy in 1983 and lost.

November 8, 1983 General election results:

Ron Asta (D) 22,727 36.41%
Peggy Jeney (L) 2979 4.77%
Lew Murphy (R) 34,672 55.53%

The Republican candidate who prevails in the 2011 primary may then face off with Democratic attorney Jonathan Rothschild, and realtor Pat Darcy (a former Democrat, who is considering a bid now as an Independent). Darcy also ran for Mayor before, in the September 1999 Democratic primary and came in 4th under former Councilmember Molly McKasson, Betsy Bolding, and former Councilmember Janet Marcus.

Shaun McClusky’s website: www.voteshaun.com. Ron Asta’s webste is: www.ronasta4mayor.com.

Tyler Vogt, a political newcomer who works in the Defense Industry, is challenging 4 term incumbent Ward 4 Councilmember Shirley Scott.

Vogt’s website is www.vogt4tucson.com (under construction), and a Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vogt-For-Tucson/149958418397548?v=info

Drop by this meeting to hear how these three men propose to change the policies of the current Tucson City Council, currently composed of a Republican Mayor and one Councilmember (Ward 6), and five Democratic Councilmembers in Wards 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Only Ward 1, 2 and 4 are up for re-election this year, along with the Mayor, and for the time being, these are still partisan races, running city-wide (though the lawsuit challenging this is under appeal with the Arizona Court of Appeals).

Info on Eastside Republicans: Lori Oien (former candidate for Ward 2 Council seat in 2007) at oienjmo@msn.com, 520-749-3472, or Parralee Schneider (former candidate for LD 30 House in 2010), 520-749-0312, pmstucson@aol.com.

Ron Asta

Tyler Vogt

Shaun McClusky

November, 2007 General election:
Mayor Walkup (R) 45,543 71.20%
Dave Croteau (G) 17,962 28.08%

November, 2003 General election:
Mayor Walkup (R) 38,364 49.51%
Tom Volgy (D) 36,990 47.73 % (former Mayor)
Kimberly Swanson (L) 2,071 2.67%

November, 1999 General election:
Robert Walkup (R) 46,258 53.68%
Molly McKasson (D) 33,999 39.45% (former Ward 6 Councilwoman)
Ed Kahn (L) 4,834 5.61%

Will Mayor Walkup run again? He faced token opposition in November 2007 from Green Party candidate Dave Croteau (since no Democrat ran). But Mayor Walkup had a close race in November 2003 with Democratic former Tucson Mayor Tom Volgy, winning by only 1,374 votes, 1.78 percentage point spread. Total votes cast in that race were 77,492. I called & sent an email to the Mayor’s office about whether he will run for re-election, but no reply yet.

Over in Ward 2 I heard from former candidate Republican Lori Oien that she is not thinking of challenging newly appointed Democrat Councilmember Paul Cunningham. He was appointed on May 4, 2010 .

And Republican Mike Jenkins is likely to take on Democrat Councilmember Shirley Scott again in Ward 4, though he lost to her by 24.66 percentage points seven years ago in Nov. 2003. In November 2007 Republican Dan Spahr lost to Shirley by a large margin as well (32.36 percentage points), and he told me recently at Oktoberfest that he won’t run again.

But then Shirley may opt out of a 5th term and run for Mayor instead. I spoke to her recently and she said she is “keeping her options open”, especially since the City of Tucson lawsuit about non-partisan/ward only elections has not been resolved. Incidentally, there has never been a woman Mayor in the City of Tucson.

Other Mayoral hopefuls may be Tucson attorney Jonathan Rothschild and 2 term Ward 3 Councilmember Karin Uhlich, whose aide Miguel Ortega (former Chief of Staff) just lost his bid for TUSD Governing Board. And first term Ward 6 Councilmember Steve Kozachik‘s name is being circulated on the Republican side, especially after his strong leadership role against the proposed Rio Nuevo hotel downtown.

Councilmembers in Ward 1, 2, 4 and the Mayor are up for re-election in 2011.

CITY OF TUCSON WARD 1 20,829/ 5,699/ 370/ 121/ 11,391/ 38,410
CITY OF TUCSON WARD 2 17,311/ 17,000/ 375/ 87/ 13,385/ 48,158
CITY OF TUCSON WARD 3 14,073/ 6,189/ 381/ 218/ 9,976/ 30,837
CITY OF TUCSON WARD 4 15,452/ 15,950/ 337/ 66/ 14,036/ 45,841
CITY OF TUCSON WARD 5 15,563/ 3,948/ 298/ 78/ 9,508/ 29,395
CITY OF TUCSON WARD 6 18,066/ 8,038/ 444/ 296/ 10,934/ 37,778

(Latest Ward registered voter totals, from Pima County Recorder’s Office in columns: Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Green, Others, total registered voters in last column.) Note that in Wards 2 and 4 the Democrat and Republican voter #s are about the same now, unlike Ward 1, which is heavily Democrat.

Stay tuned. Applicants for these elected offices can now take out nomination papers as early as November 24, so we’ll know more after that date.

UPDATE 11/16/10: Republican Ron Asta considering a run for Mayor (click here).

Mayor Bob Walkup

2/22/11 UPDATE: Mayor Walkup will not seek re-election to a 4th term:
http://tucsoncitizen.com/community/2011/02/22/mayor-walkup-to-announce-he-will-not-run-for-re-election-in-his-state-of-the-city-address-today/

Eastside Republicans Meeting with Legislative District 30 House Candidates Brian Abbott, David Gowan, Kurt Knurr, Parralee Schneider, Doug Sposito, and Ted Vogt.

When: Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 6:00 PM

Where: Miller-Golf Links Branch Library – Community Room
9649 E. Golf Links Road (east of Harrison Rd., south side)

Besides the two incumbents Rep. Gowan and Rep. Vogt, you can consider the four other candidates. Rep. Gowan was elected to this seat in November, 2008, and Rep. Vogt was appointed to it in March, 2010, by the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

I blogged about them recently when four of them (Gowan, Knurr, Schneider, & Sposito) debated on July 20 for the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections program. Click here for my earlier blog (with photos) announcing that debate.

There is only one Democrat Andrea Dalessandro running in this LD30 house race, to face off in the General Election, with the 2 winners of the Republican primary. She ran before for this same seat in 2008.

Contact info for Eastside Republicans: Lori Oien, oienjmo@msn.com, 520-749-3472.

More info on LD 30, click here, from Pima County Republican Party website.

Three candidates seeking the Republican nomination will be attending: Jesse Kelly, Brian Miller, and Jonathan Paton, former LD 30 State House rep. & State Senator. Candidate Andy Goss dropped out on July 7, endorsing Jesse Kelly.

Late entry Republican candidate Jay Quick, who ran before for this seat in CD 8 in 2006 as an Independent, will not be attending. Moderator for the event will be Joe Higgins, radio talk show co-host of “Wake up! Tucson” (1030 AM).

This may be your last chance to see these Republican men in person discuss the issues before the primary. I’ve heard these candidates debate before at Ironwood Ridge High School (click here) and also on the UA campus for the College Republicans.

For previous online media coverage, see the April 6, 2010 forum (24 minutes) on KUAT Channel 6 AZ Illustrated (click here).

Another KUAT TV debate between these Congressional candidates is scheduled for the Friday Roundtable on July 30.

For info about this town hall: Parralee Schneider, pmstucson@aol.com, 749-0312 (current candidate for LD 30 State House), or Lori Oien, oienjmo@msn.com, 749-3472, (candidate for Ward 2 Council seat in 2007 and recent applicant for Ward 2 Council vacancy).

Vote in the upcoming August 24 primary, to select which one will face Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the general election. Libertarian Dr. Steven Stoltz is also running for this seat.

Jesse Kelly

Brian Miller

Jonathan Paton

Jay Quick