Monday, April 30, 2007

Cooking Hershberger

Posted By on Mon, Apr 30, 2007 at 8:49 AM

It hasn't gotten any play down here that we've noticed, but Arizona Republic columnists have been busting on state Rep. Pete Hershberger for siccin' the Secretary of State's Office on Robin Scoins, a woman who has been a consistent critic of Child Protective Services ever since she had her own kids taken away from her. Nine months later, she got them back.

Scoins has declared herself the head of Arizona Family Rights Advocacy, which she presents as a lobbying organization, although she mostly just hangs out at the Legislature and sends out e-mails blasting CPS and Hershberger.

But that was enough for Hershberger to complain to the SOS office that Scoins has never filed paperwork to be a lobbyist.

Hershberger, who represents the northwest side of Tucson and Oro Valley, has taken both barrels from Laurie Roberts and Rob Robb.

Roberts also noted on the Republic blog that "[w]hen he's not at the Legislature, Hershberger is an administrator for Open Inn, Inc., a Tucson-based social service agency that gets nearly $800,000 worth of CPS contracts every year."