AZnetroots

May 9, 2012

Maricopa County Attorney

Bill Montgomery

301 W Jefferson St

Suite 800

Phoenix, AZ 85003

Dear Mr. Montgomery:

I was surprised and most disappointed by your May 7, 2012 response to the request by Citizens for a Better Arizona of May 3, 2012.

You must know that the reason you gave mis-states reality. It is simply untrue that the “forum” conducted by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on January 31 provided “unfiltered information with the opportunity to ask as many questions of County leadership as” wished. The “forum” was a total sham. No one who opposes the Sheriff, no one with even a neutral approach, was permitted to make any substantial presentation.

In contrast Wilson and Chief Deputy Sheriff Sheridan spent about an hour describing the intimate details of auditing procedures that are supposed to ensure that the Sheriff spends money in accord with the appropriations of the Board of Supervisors. It should be a given that the Sheriff doesn't mis-appropriate funds, and that the Board has the accounting controls in place to see that that is accomplished. Using the minutia of these procedures was a mind numbingly obvious attempt to distract and wear down the public.

No criticism of the Sheriff’s Office was offered by any of the three presenters, including yourself. Instead, there was a wall-to-wall defense. There was no counter presentation, no presentation of any kind, by any one. There were, and are, many issues begging for public airing, in a forum for the community and concerning problems in the Sheriff’s Office.

Among those extremely significant issues UNIQUE to Maricopa County, there was NOTHING by:

 An elected official, current or former, any independent attorney experienced in such matters, or any other independent entity concerning the Department of Justice civil proceedings.

 An elected official, current or former, an organization such as the ACLU,…

 The Arizona real estate industry has the largest PAC in Arizona. Most of us know several people in the real estate business. Talk to them about who their professional association supports - with endorsements and LOTS of MONEY. In 2010 the Realtors endorsed Russell Pearce, Jack Harper, Carl Seel, Debbie Lesko, Scott Bundgaard, Sylvia Allen, Nancy Barto, Michele Reagan, Rick Murphy, Steve Yarbough, Andy Biggs amongst the more bizarre picks.



Here's the list:  Don't you wonder who they'll endorse this year?  How about trying to influence those choices?



Arizona Board of Realtors’ 2010 Endorsements X = voted for SB1070



Governor Jan Brewer - R



Corp Commission

Brenda Burns - R

Gary Pierce – R He’s the guy who blew hot air about cutting off LA’s electricity over their boycott of Arizona.



Treasurer X Barbara Leff - R



Secretary of State Ken Bennett - R



Attorney General Felecia Rotellini, a Democrat of all things!



CD3 Jim Waring - R



State House

X Andy Tobin – R District 1

X Doris Goodale – R District 3

X Nancy McLain – R District 3

X Judy M. Burges – R District 4

X Jack Harper – R District 4

X Amanda Reeve – R District 6

X Carl Seel – R District 6

Heather Carter – R District 7

Kristen Burroughs – R District 7

X John Kavanagh – R District 8

Michael Blaire – R District 8

X Debbie Lesko – R District 9

Rick Gray – R District 9

X James Weiers – R District 10

Kimberly Yee – R District 10

Eric Meyer – D District 11 

Eric West – R…

Andrei Cherny was elected chair of the Arizona Democratic Party on January 22, 2011. He resigned to run for Congress on January 30, 2012. In what condition did Mr. Cherny leave the Party?

On April 1, 2012, Arizona Democrats were forfeiting 34 of 90 seats in the State legislature. The list of candidates on the website of the Arizona Democratic Party was grossly inaccurate and incomplete. The Party hierarchy seemed oblivious to this looming disaster. They did not send out an SOS; they did not even confirm that they were short 34 candidates. To be blunt they knew nothing and did nothing.

As of May 1, 2012, 30 of the 90 seats in the state legislature are being forfeited. The 4 new candidates did not come about through ANY action of the Party. It’s probably too late for any new candidates to emerge at this point. Republicans will face no opposition for one third of the seats in the Arizona State legislature this November. They may get even more free rides if some of the Democratic candidates do not qualify.

What support are most of the candidates getting from the Party? Nothing.

Has anybody asked Mr Cherny to answer for this catastrophic failure? Does this indicate the kind of job Andrei Cherny would do as a Congressman?

"Every person in this country who cares about democracy should care about this work." – Ed Schultz

Koch Brothers Exposed is a hard-hitting investigation of the 1% at its very worst. This full-length documentary film on Charles and David Koch—two of the world’s richest and most powerful men—is the latest from acclaimed director Robert Greenwald (Wal-Mart: the High Cost of Low Price, Outfoxed, Rethink Afghanistan). The billionaire brothers bankroll a vast network of organizations that work to undermine the interests of the 99% on issues ranging from Social Security to the environment to civil rights. This film uncovers the Kochs’ corruption—and points the way to how Americans can reclaim their democracy.

Where can I see this movie?

Venue: Maricopa County Democratic Party

Date: April 28

Time: 03:00 pm

Address: 2910 North Central Ave 
              Phoenix, AZ 85012

Seating is limited. To RSVP Click here: http://kochbrothers.democracyforamerica.com/events/77/

More information on the flim can be found here.

http://www.kochbrothersexposed.com/

DFA-MC
P.O. Box 19762,
Fountain Hills, AZ  85269.
Info@dfamc.com

I hoped I could make a difference with voting in the National Organization for Women (NOW). Historically, there was a split in the movement to get the right to vote for women for 20 years, and that was over a state-by-state approach or a Federal approach but occurred right after the introduction of the 15th Amendment that gave African-American men the right to vote in 1870. Even though the 15th amendment was ratified there was every effort to keep African American men from voting with poll taxes, literacy tests and other impediments. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was needed to make sure all of the people who had the legal right to vote, could vote.  Maybe we avoided this official split in the feminist movement but it is hard for all women to unify with NOW. It has been difficult for NOW to keep up with changing times and technology. NOW, the organization most associated with the second wave of feminism, has some of the most confusing election procedures that I have ever seen. I was surprised to find such a voting problem in an organization where the feminists before us fought so hard for the right to vote. The League of Women Voters was created out of the National Woman Suffrage Association and continues today as a nonpartisan organization to keep voters informed. This blog post is in my opinion and a work in progress as my ideas are still developing. 

NOW elections are anti-democratic but I don't think that long-time feminists in NOW see them that way. They might think that this is the system and if you work with it, then you can get a good outcome. Unfortunately, the location of the election is such a great influence on the voting process that it may be the greatest single factor to determine who wins, not transparent so that people understand who can vote and why, full of confusing and procedures that I was unable to find in a policy manual. The bottom line is…

This film, produced by ASU School of Sustainability students, documents communities creating visions and strategies for justice and sustainability in South Phoenix. It tackles issues of health, environmental justice, urban history and segregation, food security and neighborhood organizing through the eyes of local community leaders.

The Intersection Between Justice and Sustainability: Voices and Views from South Phoenix

from Sustainability @ ASU on Vimeo.

March Madness begins in just a couple weeks, and basketball fans around the country are starting to make their best bets on who will win.



But here in Arizona, we're about to embark on another kind of madness, as the state Legislature considers a bill that would increase bureaucracy and hinder our state's move toward energy efficiency.



Tell your state senator to vote no to more bureaucracy and yes to increasing energy efficiency in Arizona.



Energy efficiency is the cheapest, cleanest and quickest way for Arizona to meet our state's growing energy needs. It's our state's best bet for reducing pollution, saving money and ensuring our energy future.



Arizona's Constitution gives the Arizona Corporation Commission the power to adopt energy-efficiency policies, and the ACC has been effective at doing its job.



But now, some legislators are trying to make it harder to implement energy-efficiency policies by mandating that the Legislature and the governor must both also approve what the Commission decides. The House has already approved this legislation, and now it's before the Senate.



Besides disregarding our…