The rumors had been swirling for weeks, and that’s why I was dismayed that when Gabrielle Giffords announced she was stepping down, her hand-picked successor wasn’t standing next to her (and being introduced as such). A big-name local Dem told me, “(That person, whoever it was to be) should have been at Gabby’s side, maybe at the Food Bank, handing out food to people. You just can’t blow a photo opportunity like that.”
And yet they did. Memo to Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Rogers: What the hell, dude?! I’m still upset at Rogers for taking sides in a Democratic primary election. (He sided with Regina Romero over a Democratic challenger in last year’s City Council elections.)
That was a monster no-no, and I’ve never heard a reasonable explanation from anyone as to why he would do that. That blunder was unforgivable; allowing the Republicans to take Giffords’ seat would border on criminally negligent.
Having Giffords’ longtime assistant Ron Barber enter the race soothed some people’s nerves, especially considering a couple of the possibilities that had been bandied about prior to his announcement. There was the woman who would have had to change parties (!) in order to run in the Democratic primary, and another person absolutely awash in the malodorous essence of Rio Nuevo. By comparison, Barber is a veritable People’s Choice.
Still, I wonder about the timing of it all. If he was going to run all along, why not announce it at a more-advantageous time? And if he doesn’t want to run in November, then when are we going to find out who is?
I don’t know Ron Barber; he seems like a decent guy. Nevertheless, what exactly are his qualifications, other than that he worked for Giffords, and God help me, he got shot? I’ve always voted for her, and I’ve been shot, too, but nobody asked me to run. I just hope he’s tough enough, because the Republicans, who have always considered Giffords to be a squatter, are going to throw the kitchen sink at him.
Barber’s entry in the race did clear things up on the Democratic side. Matt Heinz, who had been in the race, dropped out, leaving the Democratic nomination to Barber. On the other side, the Republican primary should be an absolute bloodbath. I can’t wait.
State Sen. Frank Antenori, like Alexander the Great before him, looked out and saw that he had no more public employees’ lives to ruin, and he wept. While it’s never a good idea to bet against somebody who’s on a winning streak, sooner or later, Antenori’s bull-in-a-china-shop routine is going to wear thin with voters. Not everyone agrees with his vision of minimum-wage teachers working, with no job protection whatsoever, at the whim of brain-dead bureaucrats in schools where there are guns, but no lunch programs.
Jesse Kelly, who was beaten by Giffords in 2010, seems like a lost soul to me. He came this close to beating Giffords at a time in American (and Arizona) history where just about everything was in his favor. But, in politics, show me a close loser, and I’ll show you a loser. I imagine that after the race, he probably lamented having gone after Social Security with such venom. He was probably fired up to make another run at Giffords, but when she got shot, he pretty much had no choice but to go into political suspended animation. In this multiperson race, he’s got about as much chance as a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.
I watched in shock and awe as former fighter-pilot Martha McSally announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination. She was like a one-person bus accident. She kept talking about how it was a calling. I kept waiting for her to talk about how the voices were telling her to run, but she was under just enough control not to go that far.
There’s a guy named John Lervold from Sierra Vista who’s running, but he has one fewer leg than Jesse Kelly in the aforementioned contest.
That leaves Dave Sitton. Dave and I are sorta contemporaries who grew up about 12 miles apart in Southern California’s San Fernando Valley. However, Dave grew up in the Beach Boys/Osmond Brothers section of the valley, while I was in the Los Lobos/NWA section.
I’ve known Dave since our association with UA rugby back in the late-1970s. He’s always been a great guy, a good family man, a fellow sports fan, a hard worker and an all-around ace. It just bugs the livin’ crap out of me that he’s a Republican.
I hear that Sitton has a pipeline of money flowing his way. He has name recognition and none of the negatives of his two closest challengers. He may well just swoop in and grab the GOP nomination and give Barber a real run.
But even if he pulls it off, it’s a whole ‘nother contest come the fall, with a different district and a two-year seat in the balance.
Even with the Summer Olympics and a new UA football coach, this will be the best game in town for months to come.
This article appears in Feb 16-22, 2012.
Tom,
The decision to endorse Council Member Romero in last year’s primary was not made by Rogers himself, but by a vote of the party’s Executive Committee. The vote was unanimous with one abstention.
Sometimes disingenuous Democratic candidacies are formed and funded by right-wing interests, and this appeared to be one such case. Joe Flores, Romero’s opponent, had virtually no ties to the party other than his voter registration. His campaign donors for that cycle included unsuccessful Republican City Council candidate Tyler Vogt, Rosemont Copper CEO Rod Pace and Republican/Tea Party activist Shelby Hawkins. Flores simply was not viewed by the party’s precinct committee members as a legitimate Democratic candidate for reasons that should seem, at least in my view, fairly obvious.
In light of this, all of which is public record and practically all of which has been reported on before, it seems strange to hear you claim, as you do in this column, “I’ve never heard a reasonable explanation from anyone as to why he would do that.” If the explanation I’m giving here isn’t reasonable enough, I’d be happy to explain further.
You might be interested to know that primary endorsements are a regular occurrence in other places. In fact, this week the California Democratic Party announced their Primary endorsements for their State Assembly, State Senate and US Congressional races. The endorsements were voted on at the California Dems’ State Committee meeting in San Diego on Sunday. Here’s their list. (It’s long. But hey, they’re endorsing Nancy Pelosi!)
http://www.cadem.org/admin/miscdocs/files/…
I’m glad you’re interested enough in local politics to write on the subject from time to time. But—and I mean this with all due respect—I think you and your readers would benefit greatly if you’d invest a little more effort in learning how things work.
Most comments add nothing but noise. This one, aside from its snarky last graph, is a breath of fresh air.
I, too, appreciate it when ‘real’ readers and ‘real’ writers post here. Of course, I like to think that I am one of them, but when I read something like Luke’s post here, I concede that I am a semi-reader and writer; nonetheless, I GET it. Thanks, Mr. Danehy, for, at the least, being well-written and interesting and, at the most, for bringing forth topics worthy of discussion.
I hope that Tucson Weekly will keep a close eye on the local congressional races. But please, whenever you write about this district, make clear to your readers that there are two races, running essentially concurrently, for two slightly different districts.
Ron Barber is, thus far, running only for the remainder of Congresswoman Giffords’ term, which expires in January 2013. The announced Republican candidates are presumably running in both primaries. Matt Heinz and the other likely candidates for the new district, are leaving the remaining term race to Barber.
It’s important to write about this clearly and repeatedly because even pretty sophisticated voters are confused about this.
By the way, I agree with you about the missed photo op. You might do some reporting and find out why there wasn’t a candidate endorsement by Congresswoman Giffords as a part of her resignation announcement.
A bit of logic, if I may: if Giffords were to announce an endorsement at the time of her resignation, she would have had to endorse an undeclared candidate. Otherwise, her endorsee’s candidacy would have had to be prepared in anticipation of her resignation. It’s easy to imagine these things occurring simultaneously, but the reality is that many difficult decisions are involved, each with its own cascade of implications. Running for Congress is an elaborate undertaking; serious candidacies don’t materialize in a blink.
Though spectacularly successful in both, I think Gabby’s success in recovery has transcended her success in politics, and the former speaks louder and more profoundly of her bond with the community and the mutual love that’s clearly there. So let’s not second guess a decision that was clearly made with both in mind, ok? I think she’s earned the benefit of the doubt. Let this play out however it must, and let her continue to inspire.
Dave Sitton? Will his ego run on the same ticket?
Luke, fair enough.
I’m being selfish: I’d like to have one elected official representing my interests, who listens to his/her constituents and does what s/he thinks is in our interests. Gabby did that. Our two illustrious senators could care less.
Gabby’s commitment to constituent service was indeed exceptional. I think her successor, whomever that turns out to be, would be foolish not to make a top priority of meeting the high standard she set.
As for our Senators, I couldn’t agree with you more. Considering the alignment of the stars at this moment in politics, it doesn’t seem inconceivable that Rich Carmona might begin a new era of responsibility at Arizona’s highest levels of elected leadership. Would that it trickle down.
Gee Tommy boy;what shocks me is how anyone from California is a republican including Dave….but then I can’t imagine a world with all progressives…..I can picture all restaurant menu’s being the same…..exciting…..