ARIZONA CORNER

Research: Admin Staff

Candidate Jennifer Wright loses 'tea party' backer

Mayoral candidate Jennifer Wright, who is backed by the "tea party,” has lost the support of at least one person who helped launch her campaign.

Wes Harris, founder of the Original North Phoenix Tea Party, has pulled his support of Wright, calling into question her experience. Wright and Harris had a back and forth over her job history and qualifications, and Harris said he didn't feel as if he received enough information from Wright.

Wright, however, said she answered Harris' questions “in spades” and that her resume has been online for the public to see via LinkedIn. Harris, who was one of the most vocal tea party members backing Wright, said he had concerns that Wright has never held a job for more than four years and only graduated from law school four years ago.

“She's a marvelous person and very intelligent,” Harris said. “But do her credentials really qualify her to run the sixth-largest city in the nation? My conclusion was not really.”

Harris said he is now backing former Planning Commission Chairman Wes Gullett for mayor. Harris, however, doesn't appear to have wide backing in his dissension, with many on a Facebook message group saying they still stand behind Wright.

“I do not believe there is a divide within the tea party,” Wright said. “I think there is a divide between Mr. Harris and all of the other tea party groups in Phoenix.”

The Original North Phoenix Tea Party formed by Harris is not part of the official Tea Party Patriots group, Wright said. Make sure to read Comments at: http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PHXBeat/134691

For Arizona election, it's all about the issues

He's an Arizona state senator who probably wouldn't be recognized on the street outside of Mesa, yet the recall election of Russell Pearce is poised to become the biggest race of the 2011 cycle. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/19/for-arizona-election-its-all-about-the-issues/

Russell Pearce breaks silence on recall effort

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. - Senate President Russell Pearce says he's ready to take on any potential challengers in the November recall election against him.

Pearce spoke publicly about the recall for the first time since the election was officially set.
Pearce attended an event in support of a border security website in Casa Grande Wednesday and, surrounded by supporters, he said he's taking the recall election seriously.
"You take everything seriously, it's a non-partisan special election, that's always a concern," he said. http://www.azfamily.com/news/Russell-Pearce-breaks-silence-on-recall-125929533.html

Former Gov. Castro joins Senate hopeful Crowe

By Jeremy Duda
Published: July 19, 2011 at 9:37 pm
Democrat David Crowe hasn’t officially jumped into the U.S. Senate race, but his fledgling campaign has already snagged its first notable name. Crowe announced today that former Arizona Gov. Raul Castro will serve as his exploratory campaign’s honorary co-chairman. Castro, a fellow Tucson Democrat, served as governor from 1975 to 1977. Castro called Crowe an “asset to ...

Haboobs in Arizona Known for Centuries to Pimas as "Jegos"

By Ray SternTue., Jul. 19 2011 at 6:19 PM

Nothing against the Sudanese, but "haboob" is a dumb-sounding name to English-receiving ears. It inspires more ridicule than the awesomeness these wind-blown monsters deserve.
The news media has been using the word more often in the last few years, and the Grand Haboob that blew into town on July 5 made it a household term. For weather buffs, though, it's not a new term -- a few seconds in Google News Archives shows that newspapers have used the word to describe the phenomena in Arizona and elsewhere for decades. A 1981 Milwaukee Journal article about the failed rescue of American hostages in Iran referred to a "haboob" that enveloped helicopters. http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/07/haboobs_in_arizona_known_for_c.php

Arizona Photo-Enforcement Notices Must Now State the Truth: Motorists Have No Duty to Respond or Identify Driver

By Ray SternTue., Jul. 19 2011 at 5:12 PM

Starting tomorrow, photo-enforcement-violation notices must finally state the truth about what's going on -- namely, that you don't need to respond or identify the driver in the picture.
Cities and, for a while, the state of Arizona, have for years employed something of a ruse to help get speeders and red-light runners caught by the machines to pay up. They sent an initial notice of violation that has no legal teeth, yet contained a passive threat that blowing off the notice might not be in the motorists' best interest.
A few years ago, we caught the city of Scottsdale lying blatantly in its notices, which it falsely called a "summons." The notice stated that those who didn't respond would be subject to fines, fees and driver's license suspension.
An Arizona Department of Public Safety notice of violation that we published two years ago shows the more-typical trick. Appearing below DPS insignia, the notice states simply that the motorist should fill out the form and sent it back by the "respond-by date." While the DPS freeway cameras were online, (that program ended last summer), thousands of people likely responded like sheep to those notices -- even though they didn't have to.

As numerous articles in New Times and elsewhere have pointed out, ignoring those notices only meant the possibility of a ticket being served at the offender's home by a process server. True, having a server come out meant an additional $25 added to the fine. But if the server never comes, or the motorist doesn't appear to be home when the server comes -- always a distinct possibility -- then the photo enforcement ticket becomes invalid.
Now, thanks to a bill that Governor Jan Brewer signed, notices of violation must confess that:

a) the notice is not a court issued document;

b) the recipient is under no obligation to identify the person or respond to the notice; and

c) failure to respond to the notice may result in official service that may result in an additionally levied fee.

Scottsdale and possibly other cities sometimes use a trick called "alternative service" to nab people they believe are dodging the process services. In that case, court motions are made by the prosecutor to have a ticket taped to the front door of a residence. The city reportedly has used alternative service frequently in the past, but it's probably still worth waiting it out.

Whether the ticket was personally served or was served through a valid "alternative service" motion, the motorist must then treat the citation as if it was issued by a cop in a traffic stop.
The new law also mandates that $13 of every ticket goes to the "GITEM" task force, which has a mission of "strict enforcement" of immigration and gang laws.
For those who oppose such "strict enforcement" of immigration laws, this could be yet another reason to ignore a photo enforcement notice. http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/07/arizona_photo_enforcement_noti.php