JONATHAN PATON RUNNING FOR CD1

posted to Political Buzz by Andrea Kelly

Former Republican state lawmaker Jonathan Paton announced this morning he'll seek election in the new Congressional District 1 this fall.

That's the sprawling district that will stretch from Oro Valley to the northern state border with Utah. It includes Flagstaff and the Navajo and Hopi reservations. It's one of three districts that includes the Tucson metropolitan area, it takes in much of Oro Valley and Marana.

Former U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D), is also running for that seat. She represented the district but was ousted by U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R), who says he'll run in another district this year.

The district lines are changing for the fall elections, because the redistricting process redraws the district lines once a decade, according to population changes.

Paton made the announcement today, but records from the Federal Election Commission do not show he's filed as a candidate in the race.

RUSSELL PEARCE HEADS BAN AMNESTY NOW

posted to Political Buzz by Christopher Conover

Ban Amnesty Now is a self-described “national, conservative research and education organization” aimed at stopping amnesty for illegal immigrants. Russell Pearce had previously worked with the organization, but now is the group’s president.

While Pearce was in the legislature he helped push though SB 1070 among other immigration related bills.

In addition to running Ban Amnesty Now, Pearce will also host a weekly radio show put on by the group.

EDUCATION IN ARIZONA MAKES BABY STEPS

posted to AZ Week Notebook by Caitlin Wilenchik

Arizona has endured lots of beatings as a result of our poor educational rankings year after year, and Gov. Jan Brewer has devised a plan to change that.

The state's public universities rank relatively low on several scales for achievement, and it falls far below average for math and science in state education.

It all started with Arizona’s competing for President Obama’s Race to the Top program, in which Arizona received a Phase Three grant from the U.S. Department of Education, $25 million of the total $200 million available.

This Race to the Top program is also part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and even though Arizona did not win the total available funds, Brewer decided to continue with the same process developed by the grant.

Arizona’s Educational Reform Plan, developed by Brewer, will be carried out by the Arizona Ready Council, formerly the P-20 Council.

This council is led by Craig Barrett, who will be on Arizona Week, to discuss his plan as head of the council and unique outlook on what Arizona needs to improve education.

Barrett, former CEO/Chairman of Intel Corp., has been very invested in Arizona’s education. He is co-chair for Achieve Inc., which is a network of CEOs working to improve an understanding in science, technology, engineering and math.

He also is president and chairman of BASIS Schools Inc., a coalition of charter schools in Arizona.

The Arizona Ready Council hopes to increase the high school graduation rates, improve third-grade reading levels and double the number of baccalaureate degrees in Arizona, all by 2015.

Brewer appointed Barrett after he had harsh works for the state, saying he would never have allowed Intel Corp. to locate in Arizona at the beginning because of the state's low educational achievements.

Controversy may begin with the council’s plan to form a new test to replace the old AIMS tests. Barrett says he agrees with an aggressive approach and knows the failure rate this new test will give to students in 2015.

Arizona will be striving to reform education with much lower spending from the state.

Brewer signed off on a $150 million reduction in K-12 funding for the current fiscal year. She and Barrett said that money isn’t everything, and the cuts in educational funding may not prove to be detrimental. Barrett said his charter schools operate on less money than traditional public schools do.

Also on the show will be a parent and a teacher from the “Parents as Teachers” program in the Amphitheater School District in Tucson, to discuss the program.

Rounding out the program will be Arizona Education Association President Andrew Morrill, discussing the teacher viewpoint on reform. He is a former Marana schools teacher.

Watch Friday at 8:30 p.m. MST on PBS-HD6.

AZ VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE NEARS

posted to Political Buzz by Michael Chihak

Republicans who want to vote in the Feb. 28 presidential primary election in Arizona must register to vote no later than midnight Monday, Jan. 30.

Register at a party office, a candidate's campaign office, at a local, county or state elections office or online, by clicking here.

The Arizona primary has been moved up to give the state a say in the party's nominee. With three winners in the first three nominating states and a dogfight under way for Florida's big bloc of delegates, the contest is almost certain to still be open come Feb. 28.

Michigan will hold its primary the same day as Arizona.

GIFFORDS' RESIGNATION SETS OFF SCRAMBLE

posted to Political Buzz by Michael Chihak

The list is short at the moment, but a good number of politicians and would-be politicians in Southern Arizona are doing a check-in today to determine if they can win a seat in Congress.

Sunday's announcement by Gabrielle Giffords that she will resign this week has set off the political scramble.

Giffords' announcement overall wasn't a surprise. There had been hints about it from her and her husband, Mark Kelly, for a while. But the timing caught people off guard.

Why now? state Sen. Frank Antenori asked rhetorically. The Republican from Vail already has an exploratory committee at work on a fall candidacy for Congress, and now he is looking at the special election, too. He says he won't make a decision until Giffords' official resignation, expected in two or three days.

One other Republican was doing exploratory work, Dave Sitton, a radio sports announcer from Tucson.

No Democrats had gotten that far, deferring to Giffords. But now several are talking, or being talked about.

State Rep. Steve Farley of Tucson is says he would run if Giffords asked him to or suggested it. Other names mentioned have included state Sen. Paula Aboud, state Rep. Matt Heinz, lawyer and former Giffords campaign chairman Michael McNulty and his wife and lawyer Linda McNulty.

Stay tuned. The list of names is certain to grow as the week wears on.

'FUTURE SCARCITY' FOR WATER IN AZ

posted to AZ Week Notebook by Michael Chihak

The University of Arizona's annual conference on state water issues will be held next week in Tucson.

The conference will focus on extending the water supply for another century.

Before we talk about a century from now, though, we should focus on the immediate future.

One research report that will be discussed at the conference next week says the "critical threshold" for water supply in Arizona will be around the year 2035, give or take a couple of years. That's just two decades from now, right around the corner.

No one questions that water is the No. 1 economic and societal issue in the state.

But as long as it flows readily from the tap and remains relatively inexpensive, are we willing to do anything about it? That's the point of the conference, to get us to do something.

Water experts say that means more than shorter showers, turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth and minimizing outdoor watering.

One report that will be discussed at the conference puts it this way: "The state is acing a future of potential water scarcity unless significant demand side reduction and supply augmentation strategies are implemented."

More simply put, it means we'll run low on water if we don't reduce what we use and find new sources.

And while shorter showers will help and are advised, a strategic approach, one driven by changes in state law, is what's really needed.

State policymakers are not currently working on a comprehensive approach to revamping and modernizing water management.

That may be because we're not in a water crisis -- yet.

Two decades will speed by, and then we will be in crisis.

The time for political leaders to act is now.

Conference participants say they hope to generate a better dialogue about water in the state and to make recommendations for legislative action.

Arizonans would do well to pay close attention to the outcomes.