Citizens for a Better Arizona headed by their Co-founder & former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Randy Parraz met in Tucson today to report on the Recall State Senator Russell Pearce campaign. About 1500 more signatures from LD 18 Mesa voters are needed by the May 31 deadline.

Parraz spoke before a group of about 40 Southern Arizonans about how he started up the campaign in February. He said that this would be “historic times” if the recall does occur. About $25,000 have been raised to assist their campaign to date.

The meeting was held at the home of Mohur Sidhwa, former candidate for LD 28 House. In attendance were LD 28 State Senator Paula Aboud, LD 29 House Rep. Sally Ann Gonzales, former Assistant Attorney General Vince Rabago, former LD 25 House Rep. Pat Fleming, and Jim Marsh (election integrity advocate for the Libertarian Party). A previous fundraising meeting was held by LD 29 State Senator Linda Lopez in Tucson.

Here’s info from the Citizens for a Better Arizona website of this recall petition process:

•DAYS 1-120: Gather Petition Signatures of District 18, Mesa Citizens, 25% of Votes Cast in Last Election = 7,756, plus safety margin. 2. Must be collected by any US citizen aged 18+ and eligible to vote in Arizona 3. Petition Forms must be up to code, notarized by circulator. 4. Submit Petitions to Secretary of State on Day 120 (May 31, 2011).

•DAYS 120 – 135 (June 22nd)

•Signature Validation: Within fifteen days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and other legal holidays, County recorder and Secretary of State shall determine validity of signatures.

•Russell Pearce has five days to resign excluding Saturdays, Sundays and other legal holidays.

•Governor must call a special recall election within fifteen days of filing.

RECALL ELECTION PROCESS: 1. Similar to any other election–The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November (November 8th). 2. Recall ballot has list of candidates running against Russell Pearce. 3. Russell Pearce will be on the ballot for reelection.

Republican Russell Peace won the November, 2010 general election for State Senator by 17,552 votes, and 7,556 signatures are needed to recall him. Read my earlier blog on his election (click here). Pearce was elected State Senate President shortly after his November election. This is his 2nd term in AZ State Senate, having served before in the Arizona House of Representatives.

The campaign also lists the reasons for the recall:

Four Reasons to Recall and Remove Russell Pearce
1. Voted to terminate health care for seniors, struggling families and people with a disability.
2. Opposes the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
3. Voted to require American citizens show a Government ID for emergency care.
4. Opposes access to public education for all Arizona children.

If you want to help by making a donation or have time (Wed. or Sat.) to walk the petitions in Mesa, contact:

Citizens For A Better Arizona, www.recallpearce.com
P.O. Box 41232
Mesa, AZ, 85274-1232

Phone: (480) 748-8991

Email: info@recallpearce.com

From Blog for Arizona’s political calender:

Monday, May 16, 5:30 a.m.: Rise and Shine — and come to the Trident Grill, 2033 E. Speedway Blvd. (east of Campbell Avenue), to watch the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final launch with the Cactus Roots Team. We will be serving breakfast — and LOTS of coffee — and hope you’ll join us in cheering for Mark Kelly and the Endeavour’s crew as they launch their final mission to the International Space Station. (Launch Time: 8:56 a.m. EDT). Gabrielle is heading back to Florida for the launch — we hope you’ll come back to the Trident Grill to support Mark, Gabby, and the entire Endeavour crew. Sign up here to let us know you’ll be joining us on May 16th for breakfast and the Watch Party!

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has traveled once again from her Houston rehab hospital to Florida to see her husband Mark Kelly and his crew hopefully lift off tomorrow. Good luck to them all.

I reported on the April 29 launch & attended the luncheon watch party at the Trident Grill, even though the Endeavour’s launch was postponed (click here). Fellow Tucsoncitizen.com blogger Ernie McCray – “From the Soul” (visiting from San Diego) joined me and another friend. Other attendees were Ward 2 Councilman Paul Cunningham, LD 28 Rep. Steve Farley, former Arizona Assistant Attorney General Vince Rabago.

UPDATE: 5/16/11 6 a.m. We have lift off! “Expanding our knowledge, expanding our lives in space.” Good luck to Captain Mark Kelly and the Endeavour crew.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns (composed of over 550 bi-partisan American Mayors) is crossing the country with a National Drive to Fix Gun Checks, building support for critical gun reforms and raising awareness of the 34 Americans who are murdered with guns every day.

Tucson’s rally was held today at Jacome Plaza (in front of Joel D. Valdez Main Library) to support the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011, which will “help get the records of prohibited buyers into the national database, and close the loopholes that let dangerous people buy guns.”

Victims of the Tucson shooting and other tragedies, numerous politicians, and community leaders spoke today calling on U.S. Congress to fix the background check system. Hundreds of people were in attendance at Jacome Plaza, and t-shirts stating “34 Americans are murdered with guns every day” were given out to those who signed the petition.

Ward 3 City Councilmember Karin Uhlich was the MC of today’s rally, saying she spoke with the support of Councilmembers Regina Romero (present), Paul Cunningham and Steve Kozachik (both not present). Uhlich said that “Tucsonans were standing together so that the suffering of January 8, 2011 will not be in vain, and to promote reasonable measures to safeguard the public.”

List of those who spoke at the Tucson rally:

–Patricia Maisch, citizen heroine on January 8, 2011 who stopped shooting suspect Jared Loughner from reloading

–Dr. Peter Rhee, Chief of Trauma, University Medical Center, who helped the January 8, 2011 shooting victims in the emergency room and thereafter

–Randy Gardner, Jan 8, 2011 shooting survivor

–Ross Zimmerman, father of Jan. 8, 2011 murdered victim Congressional aide Gabe Zimmerman (who also spoke for Gabe’s fiancee Kelly O’Brien)

–Dr. Ann Nichols, widow of State Senator Andy Nichols, whose father was killed by a gunman (when Andy was 4 years old)

–Tony Baccerra, gun shooting survivor, accompanied by his mother & sister

–Carol Gaxiola, Homicide Survivors Executive Director, whose 14 year old daughter was killed by a gunman

–Omar Samaha, whose sister Reema Samaha was one of those students killed at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007

–Vicky Walker, mother Pat Yuhas and sister Kristy Johnson – Vicky’s husband and daughter were killed in their car by a gunman

–former U.S.Senator Dennis Deconcini

–former Assistant Attorney General Vince Rabago, a gun owner & hunter

–former Attorney General Terry Goddard (with the support of former Attorney General Grant Woods)

–former Mayor Tom Volgy (with the support of former Mayor George Miller)

–Tucson Police Dept. Assistant Chief Brett Klein (for Police Chief Robert Villasenor)

–Pima County Sheriff Captain Byron Gwaltney (for Sheriff Clarence Dupnik), who was on duty on January 8, 2011

–Santa Cruz Sheriff Tony Estrada

–Rev. Jan Flaaten, Arizona Ecumenical Council

–Rev. David Wilkinson, St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church

Also in attendance was Registered Nurse Nancy Bowman, who rendered CPR and first aid to shooting victims Judge John Roll, Congressional aide Pam Simon, and Suzi Hileman on January 8, 2011 at the NW Safeway.

Most of the speakers agreed with Vince Rabago’s statement that “those who shouldn’t have guns shouldn’t have guns”. And most asked that there be background checks for those who are mentally ill, convicted felons, drug abusers, and at gun shows. Ross Zimmerman asked for “responsible behavior regarding gun ownership” stating that his son’s death “changed our community forever.”

Parked behind the speakers was the Fix Guns Checks national truck with a sign on the side stating “Americans murdered with guns since Tucson”. When the rally began the tally number on the truck was 2687, when the rally ended a hour/half later, the number had increased to 2689.

The National Drive to Fix Gun Checks kicked off in the wake of the Tucson shooting with one simple message: “We need to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.”

Since then, more than a quarter million Americans have signed the petition to Fix Gun Checks, and President Barack Obama has made fixing background checks a national priority, calling for reforms that would make the system instant, accurate and comprehensive.

The Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 has been introduced in the U.S. Senate and will soon be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

To sign the National Petition to Fix Gun Checks, go to www.fixgunchecks.org.

Blogger Hugh Holub has written extensively on this issue and announced this event about federal legislation for background checks on guns:

http://tucsoncitizen.com/view-from-baja-arizona/2011/03/27/national-drive-to-fix-gun-checks-comes-to-tucson-monday-at-1-pm-downtown/.

Photos of today’s rally to be posted by me (separately), courtesy of Curtis Dutiel:
http://tucsoncitizen.com/community/2011/03/28/photos-from-todays-mayors-against-illegal-guns-rally/