ROMNEY HAS LEAD, BUT CAN HE WRAP AZ?

posted by Michael Chihak

Mitt Romney's Mormon faith could well pay dividends for him in the Arizona Republican presidential primary Feb. 28. That same day, the Michigan GOP holds its primary, and Romney's roots -- he was raised there -- should help.

Does that mean he now has a lock on the nomination? Not by the reckoning of many, including his three still stubbornly standing opponents -- Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum.

They all craft themselves as the conservative answer to Romney, and in Arizona, that could speak to Republicans.

What the setup likely means is a no-holds-barred debate on national television next week among the four Republicans. The debate will be in Mesa the evening of Feb. 22 and be televised on CNN.

Look for Gingrich, Paul and Santorum to come after Romney like never before. Each wants to knock him from the frontrunner perch.

On Friday's Arizona Week, we will take a look at the candidates and the issues, handicapping both the debate and the primary.

CAMPAIGN CASH POURS IN

posted by Michael Chihak

Arizonans donated just shy of $2.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 to campaigns for president, U.S. Senate and U.S. House in the state.

On tonight's Arizona Week, AZPM political correspondents Andrea Kelly and Christopher Conover detail the reports.

They include $957,000 contributed by Arizonans to presidential campaigns, $600,000 to House campaigns and $640,000 to the U.S. Senate races.

The complete report will be posted on our Website today, along with links to the candidates' reports.

TRACKING THE MONEY

posted by Amer Taleb

This Friday we’re analyzing the presidential and congressional campaign finance reports for the final quarter of 2011. Reporters Andrea Kelly and Christopher Conover will break down the reports and pinpoint where the contributions from Arizona are going.

Last quarter numbers from the Democrats: Rep. Raúl Grijalva from District 7 raised $47,752 between July 1 and Sept. 30. His campaign spent $58,341 and stored $59,389 in the bank.

District 8 Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who won’t run for re-election, raised nearly four times as much as Grijalva. Her expenses stacked up to $97,600, but she kept almost 10 times as much on hand.

From the Republicans: Former Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams brought in $110,780 in the third quarter. His expenses totaled $38,099 and he saved almost $300,000.

And finally, Republican State Sen. Frank Antenori who’s running for Giffords’ vacant spot. He filed the paperwork to form an exploratory committee for Giffords’ district, but had not reported his committee’s fund-raising or expenses to the Internal Revenue Service.

THE EXPERTS ON CHILD-SAFETY REFORM

posted by Amer Taleb

This Friday's guests include Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, chairman of the Arizona Child Safety Task Force and Clarence Carter, Arizona Department of Economic Security Director and co-chairman of the CSTF.

We'll also hear from Arizona Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Tucson and Dana Wolfe Naimark, executive director of the Children's Action Alliance, Phoenix.

Nearly 2 million children live in Arizona, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. A broad set of expertise is key to identifying and overcoming the challenges of keeping them safe.

BEHIND CPS REFORM: CRUNCHING NUMBERS

posted by Michael Chihak

By AMER TALEB, Arizona Week Intern

The numbers behind Arizona’s push to reform Child Protective Services paint a disturbing picture.

Depending on who's counting and how the count is taken, anywhere from 15 to 48 children died of abuse in the last three years in Arizona after cases involving them were opened by CPS.

A record number of children now live in foster care in the state, and many don’t receive proper attention because caseloads are 60 percent above state workload standards, according to a report in the Arizona Republic.

A second Republic story said more than 700 caseworkers investigate or manage about 35,000 abuse and neglect reports annually.

Six-year-old Jacob Gibson’s death last August reignited the debate about CPS’ effectiveness. CPS workers knew about the alleged beatings Jacob was subjected to for at least three years.

Gov. Jan Brewer formed the Arizona Child Safety Task Force less than two months after Jacob’s death. The committee examined Arizona’s child-safety policies and issued their report to the governor in December.

The report concluded that CPS reform is only one piece to the complex puzzle of protecting children, something that requires more help from schools, foster homes and law enforcement.

Friday’s Arizona Week digs deep into the problems with Arizona’s child-safety policies and asks what’s being done to fix them.