Recent Posts
The 2012 election campaign will be like the "wild West," says political analyst and research scholar Norman J. Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, in Washington, D.C.
Ornstein is in Tucson this week to speak to law students at the University of Arizona about the dysfunction in American politics.
The man who wrote the book The Permanent Campaign and Its Future in 2000, accurately predicting the decade-long and ongoing trends in U.S. politics, also will appear on Arizona Week Friday evening to discuss campaign financing.
Ornstein worked with Arizona Sen. John McCain to help author the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act, more popularly known as the McCain-Feingold law. He says most of that law has been usurped by court rulings, leaving the average voter out of the loop of influence in political campaigns.
Next year's race for an open U.S. Senate seat in Arizona likely will bring "millions upon millions" of dollars in campaign contributions pouring into the state, Ornstein says. He says the balance of the Senate could ride on it, and thus both parties and their supporters will be keenly interested.
2012 election campaign
McCain-Feingold
Norman J Ornstein,
October 17th 2011 at 16:07 —
c (0) —
K—
f
g
k
(Editor's note: This blog posting duplicates an Arizona Week Notebook blog posting of this same date.)
Republicans say the Arizona Constitution relegates competitiveness to a subordinate position as a factor in how congressional and legislative district boundaries are drawn.
Democrats say the constitution makes competitiveness equal to other requirements in redistricting.
A 2009 Arizona Supreme Court ruling supports the Democratic position.
In a case called Arizona Minority Coalition for Fair Redistricting v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the court ruled that competitiveness in redistricting is not "less mandatory than the other goals" nor can it "be relegated to a secondary role."
The court said it is equal to three other goals -- that districts be geographically compact and contiguous, that they respect communities of interest and that district lines use visible geographic features, city, town and
county boundaries and undivided census tracts.
In all four instances, the court said, those goals are both mandatory and conditional, dependent upon one another and the judgments of the five members of the redistricting commission.
What is required is that they all be considered and applied in the drawing of district boundaries.
The commission's draft maps for nine congressional and 30 legislative districts are now in the public comment phase, which runs through Nov. 5.
Officials of both major political parties are having their say on the maps, mostly criticizing the commission's work as missing the mark on one point or another. Watch Arizona Week Episode 40 here for the gist of each party's argument.
Arizona Democratic Party
Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission
Arizona Minority Coalition for Fair Redistricting
Arizona Republican Party
Arizona Supreme Court,
October 15th 2011 at 9:30 —
c (0) —
K—
f
g
k
Republicans say the Arizona Constitution relegates competitiveness to a subordinate position as a factor in how congressional and legislative district boundaries are drawn.
Democrats say the constitution makes competitiveness equal to other requirements in redistricting.
A 2009 Arizona Supreme Court ruling supports the Democratic position.
In a case called Arizona Minority Coalition for Fair Redistricting v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the court ruled that competitiveness in redistricting is not "less mandatory than the other goals" nor can it "be relegated to a secondary role."
The court said it is equal to three other goals -- that districts be geographically compact and contiguous, that they respect communities of interest and that district lines use visible geographic features, city, town and
county boundaries and undivided census tracts.
In all four instances, the court said, those goals are both mandatory and conditional, dependent upon one another and the judgments of the five members of the redistricting commission.
What is required is that they all be considered and applied in the drawing of district boundaries.
The commission's draft maps for nine congressional and 30 legislative districts are now in the public comment phase, which runs through Nov. 5.
Officials of both major political parties are having their say on the maps, mostly criticizing the commission's work as missing the mark on one point or another. Watch Arizona Week Episode 40 here for the gist of each party's argument.
Arizona Democratic Party
Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission
Arizona Minority Coalition for Fair Redistricting
Arizona Republican Party
Arizona Supreme Court,
October 15th 2011 at 9:25 —
c (0) —
K—
f
g
k
This week we had all three candidates for Tucson Mayor into our studios for a special edition of Arizona Illustrated. While we spent a half hour on air with the candidates, it is amazing is how much more there is to talk about in this race.
While Green Mary DeCamp, Republican Rick Grinnell and Democrat Jonathan Rothschild answered our questions about the city budget, the search for a new city manager, and the future of Rio Nuevo, we planned to ask them about an assortment of other issues.
We thought you'd also like to know what they thought about the new rules for audience members addressing the city council, or what they think is the city's role -- and responsibility -- for local economic development. We wanted to ask them to weigh in on privatizing city services, and funding for outside agencies.
That just goes to show a Mayoral race is worth more than a half-hour of your attention. If you missed the forum, watch it here.
Your ballot will arrive in the mail sometime next week, and if you didn't do your homework yet, you can check out all the candidates for Mayor and three city council seats on our AZPM city elections website.
Jonathan Rothschild
Mary DeCamp
Rick Grinnell
Tucson
mayor,
October 14th 2011 at 8:14 —
c (0) —
K—
f
g
k
The Community Advisory Board of Arizona Public Media is composed of a group of citizens who represent the diverse interests of the communities served. Edith (Edie) Sayre Auslander, a member of AZPM’s Community Advisory Board serving on the Development & Community Engagement Committees, will be the recipient of the 13th Annual Ray Davies Lifetime Humanitarian Achievement Award on October 27th. Established by the Educational Enrichment Foundation this award recognizes individuals working within our community who have made a significant contribution to Tucson by supporting enhanced education for our children and increasing the awareness of the principles of humanitarianism. The board and staff of AZPM congratulate Edie on this award and her dedication to this organization and the community.
The first radio campaign of the fiscal year, “It’s Up to Us”, airs October 15 – 21 on Classical 90.5FM and NPR 89.1FM/1550AM. This campaign features over 80 community voices that will provide entertaining and meaningful commentary on the benefits of becoming a member of the AZPM family.
The PBS Arts Fall Festival gives you a front row seat and a backstage pass to the world of music, theater, dance, art and cultural history. One of the highlights is PBS Arts from Seattle: AMERICAN MASTERS Pearl Jam Twenty with host Taylor Hackford on Friday, October 21 at 9:30 p.m. You can see the full schedule at azpm.org
On Wednesday, October 19th we present two premieres from two of the most beloved PBS programs. At 8 p.m. Radioactive Wolves inaugurates Nature’s 30th season. The season opener examines the health of wildlife in Chernobyl’s exclusion zone. The NOVA season premiere follows at 9 p.m. with Finding Life Beyond Earth, a spectacular trip to distant realms of our solar system to discover where secret forms of life may lie hidden.
Other highlights include, The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize saluting actor, writer and comedian, Will Ferrell. Recorded at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on October 23, this 90-minute special airs Monday, October 31 at 9 p.m. nationwide and features a star-studded cast of Ferrell’s friends and colleagues including top entertainers Jack Black, the band Green Day, Larry King, Adam McKay, Lorne Michaels, Conan O’Brien, John C. Reilly, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon.
As always, thank you for your viewership, listenership and continued support of Arizona Public Media.
Jack Gibson
October 14th 2011 at 6:00 —
c (0) —
K—
f
g
k
posted to Political Buzz by Christopher Conover
Congresswoman Michelle Bachman is heading to the state Capitol on Monday to meet with members of the state Senate as well as Congressman Trent Franks, and Sheriff Larry Dever.
An official with the state Senate says Bachman asked for the meeting so she could learn more about border enforcement.
October 13th 2011 at 14:52 —
c (0) —
K—
f
g
k
