JERRY LEWIS AIRING TV ADS, TOO

posted to Political Buzz by Andrea Kelly

Earlier this week we told you about Senate President Russell Pearce's recall campaign ads. Since then, his opponent Jerry Lewis has also taken to the airwaves to convince Mesa voters he should be their next state Senator.

Lewis has an ad airing this week, according to the Arizona Capitol Times. The ad isn't up on Lewis' website yet, but if it shows up, we'll post it here.

The two Republicans are competing for the state Senate seat in Mesa, after Pearce opponents successfully called a recall election.

KING OF ALL MEDIA

posted to Cue Sheet by James Reel

I spend so much of my time working in radio and print that I've passively resisted efforts to get me onto TV as well, but I ran out of excuses when the AZPM news folks asked me at the last minute to interview the Tucson Symphony's new executive director for Arizona Illustrated. I complied, taped the interview, and then moved on to other things, forgetting that it had an actual airdate. That has come and gone, but things seem to live forever on the Internet, so if you're interested, you can watch the interview online. Try to ignore the bags under my eyes; I did the interview at the conclusion of my morning radio shift.

CAIN TO ARIZONA

posted to Political Buzz by Christopher Conover

The Arizona Republican Party is hosting a fundraiser next week where the featured speaker will be presidential candidate Herman Cain.

The October 17th event will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center. According to the Arizona GOP the event has become so popular it was moved to a larger venue.

WHO'S RUNNING FOR TUCSON MAYOR?

posted to Political Buzz by Andrea Kelly

Tucson is the only municipality in the metro area with city council elections this fall, and before ballots go out next week, the candidates will appear in a half-hour forum on Arizona Public Media's radio and TV shows.

Green Party candidate Mary DeCamp, Republican Rick Grinnell and Democrat Jonathan Rothschild will appear in a special Arizona Illustrated episode Thursday. The entire half-hour show will be devoted to the Tucson Mayor's race. That will air at 6:30 p.m. Thursday on PBS-HD Channel 6. It will be rebroadcast on KUAZ radio (89.1 FM) at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Rothschild, a lawyer, has the voter-registration advantage in Tucson. DeCamp ran for City Council in 2009, and hired her primary election opponent as her campaign manager for the general election. Grinnell has local business connections from his PR and lobbying firm. They discussed a selection of city issues in the forum this week.

Watch the half-hour special edition of Arizona Illustrated to hear from all three candidates.

In the meantime, check the AZPM city election website for more information on the candidates, plus their video bios and campaign finance reports.

PEARCE HITS AIRWAVES IN RECALL ELECTION

posted to Political Buzz by Andrea Kelly

Republican state Senator Russell Pearce is the first candidate to hit the airwaves in the Mesa recall election to determine whether he keeps his seat.

Pearce’s ad includes a message he has used before: that he’s done exactly what he said he’d do in office, and that’s why voters keep electing him. A narrator says Pearce balanced the state budget and passed a jobs bill and that his opponents are distorting his record. Watch the ad here.

Jerry Lewis, Pearce’s opponent, who is also a Republican, has some videos on his campaign website. In his, he says he won’t take gifts or a government pension, and he won’t call his opponents names if they disagree.

FEWER ELECTED COMPLAINTS

posted to Political Buzz by Christopher Conover

Just a week ago, when the Independent Redistricting Commission released the maps for the Congressional districts the complaints came quickly. Almost immediately, reporters’ email inboxes were filled with a chorus of GOP complaints. Governor Jan Brewer led the charge calling the Congressional maps, “gerrymandering at its worst.” The Arizona Democratic Party got into the act, calling the reaction from Republicans coordinated

But when the IRC released the legislative maps the reaction was different. This time it was only the Arizona Democrats complaining. They criticized a lack of competitive districts saying that the proposal will allow extremists into office.

No comments from Republican members of Congress, the Legislature, or even Governor were forthcoming. The vote for the legislative maps was 4-1 with one Republican member and two Democrat members of the IRC approving.