COMMERCE AUTHORITY: CAN IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

posted to AZ Week Notebook by Michael Chihak

Friday's Arizona Week will take a look at the state's attempts to reinvent the economy by growing businesses that provide high-quality jobs, to balance the housebuilding and development industries that for years have fed economic growth.

Arizona can't depend on population growth and the ensuing flurry of land development, construction and their boom-bust cycles any more.

The Arizona Commerce Authority, a public-private agency set up by legislation passed in February, is getting its work under way.

We will look at what Commerce Authority officials and others think is needed to make a difference in the state and to grow jobs and the overall economy.

Some key questions:

• Does the Commerce Authority have the funding and the right people in place?

• How much do the severe cuts to education -- both K-12 and higher education -- hamper the economic development effort?

• Can the Commerce Authority succeed by targeting certain industrial categories, or does it need to be more egalitarian?

• What role will local economic development organizations play in the grander scheme of things?

• What special ideas are there for rural economic growth?

BIVENS OFFICIALLY ENTERS U.S. SENATE RACE

posted to Political Buzz by Michael Chihak

AZPM colleague Christopher Conover reported in a blog posting 10 days ago that former Arizona Democratic Party chair Don Bivens was going to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jon Kyl.

Now, Bivens has confirmed it with an official announcement on his Website. The Arizona Republic's AZ/DC blog reported on that this morning.

Bivens is the first Democrat to become a candidate in a race that has drawn a good deal of attention and several Republican candidates.

Kyl, who is the Senate minority leader and Arizona's junior senator, announced earlier this year that he won't seek a fourth term.

FREE SPEECH DEBATE: NICE VS. CIVIL

posted to Political Buzz by Michael Chihak

Say what you will about Bob Walkup, but the man is a nice guy. His niceness and likability probably account most for his election to three straight terms as mayor of Tucson.

But being nice isn't enough to lead a city. His 11 years, 10 months in office vividly demonstrate that fact. That's a digression, for now; it's a topic for a time closer to the end of his tenure, in a month or so.

Our focus today is how Walkup's nice by nature approach to nearly everything puts his footprints on the First Amendment. The Arizona Daily Star's Josh Brodesky characterized it most appropriately in his Sunday column.

Walkup has openly declared war on incivility, making its antonym the byword of his last year in office. Spurred by the Jan. 8 shooting, Walkup has said he won't allow anything he considers uncivil at City Council meetings.

Last week, that meant gaveling out of order one speaker at the council meeting and having him escorted from the Council Chamber. Roy Warden, for whom the term "gadfly" isn't nearly strong enough, was apparently preparing to launch into a tirade on newly appointed interim City Manager Richard Miranda.

That wasn't to Walkup's liking, so out he went, the First Amendment be damned.

The strength of character Hizzoner showed in doing that would have served him well in the last decade if it were focused on downtown redevelopment and city finances overall, or myriad other grinding issues the city faces.

YET ANOTHER SAD NOTE IN DEMOCRACY

posted to Political Buzz by Michael Chihak

Arizona Rep. Richard Miranda says he wants to see what others might describe as super majorities of Latino voters in at least theee Phoenix area legislative districts

Miranda is a Democrat from Tolleson who helps lead a coalition of minority groups trying to influence the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission's mapping work. He testified last week before the commission as it wraps up hearings aimed at helping it produce a first draft of redistricting maps.

Miranda said in an interview with Arizona Week that the U.S. Justice Department official who oversees application of the Voting Rights told him that minorities must have a chance to elect officials of their choice.

That means much more than a simple majority of the population, even of the voting-age popultion, Miranda implied. He said he wants the legislative district map to include three districts that have Latino populations of 68 percent to 69 percent. He said that's because Latinos turn out in much smaller numbers at the polls.

"Is there something to be said for just do better with voter turnout?" I asked him.

His response: "That's always the case. It's not only here, in Phoenix, it's throughout Arizona. ... It has always been an issue."

Maybe it's time to make it a non-issue by getting more Latinos, more non-Latinos, more Democrats, more Republicans, more of everyone who by birth or choice is a U.S. citizen out to vote.

GIFFORDS ASSOCIATES REPORTEDLY URGING ANOTHER DEM TO RUN FOR SENATE

posted to Political Buzz by Andrea Kelly

Reports are circulating that U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' associates are urging former Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona to run for the open U.S. Senate seat in Arizona.

The report apparently originated in a Politico story, and was picked up by the Associated Press.

It's getting attention because Giffords was rumored to be interested in the open Senate seat before she was shot at a Jan. 8 congressional event. She is recovering in outpatient therapy near Houston.

Giffords' congressional office spokesman Mark Kimble said no one in the congressional office is involved in campaign matters, and the news did not come from the congressional office. Rodd McLeod, a campaign consultant, is named in the Politico story, and said he talks to Carmona but wouldn't elaborate on their conversations or confirm the Politico story.

Carmona has not responded attempts to contact him.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: REDISTRICTING

posted to AZ Week Notebook by Melanie Huonker

I first received word that I would research this week’s topic, the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, a couple weeks ago. Little did I know how much I would gain out of the experience.

From the get-go, I poured over countless articles covering all aspects of the commission. Absorbing facts such as the Voting Rights Act, Attorney General Tom Horne’s investigation, the commission’s struggle with time.

One of the people I spoke with was Jennifer Steen, a political science professor at Arizona State University. Her last words to me left a lasting impression as my role as a journalist.

She said many media outlets are simply reporting “he said, she said” stories without providing substantial support about the commission, specifically involving the recent investigation. It’s important as a journalist to interpret the situation for the viewers and give them more.

That’s what I hoped to do during my on-air discussion with Michael Chihak.

Watch Friday’s program of “Arizona Week” to hear about the IRC’s influence and the arithmetic it takes to redraw Arizona’s nine congressional and 30 legislative districts.