POLITICAL MAP GETS POLITICAL

posted by Christopher Conover

The first email criticizing the map came from Governor Jan Brewer. She called it “gerrymandering at its worst.” The Governor also said the Independent Redistricting Commission misused its authority to draw a Congressional map that is “every Democrat’s dream.”

A few minutes later, US Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl sent out a joint statement saying the proposed map was made in a political and not a fair way. The statement was quickly followed by an email from Republican Congressman Jeff Flake who is running for US Senate. Flake said the IRC sacrificed communities of interest to make competitive districts.

And moments after that, the state Democratic Party sent out a release decrying what they see as a coordinated Republican attack on the IRC.

The map is now open to public comment.

DECAMP HAS ATYPICAL ENDORSEMENT

posted by Andrea Kelly

Endorsements are a regular part of elections. Candidates use them to tout their range of supporters, and they're not usually newsworthy, with some exceptions.

So far, in the Tucson city election cycle, we've heard about a few groups endorsing Democratic Mayoral candidate Jonathan Rothschild, including several area labor unions, the Sierra Club and the city police and fire unions.

There hasn't been much endorsement news from Republican Mayoral candidate Rick Grinnell, and he doesn't list endorsements on his website.

But one of the more unexpected endorsements to find its way to the AZPM political reporters is for Green Mayoral candidate Mary DeCamp. Instead of mentioning the usual list of organizations who support her, DeCamp provided a copy of a letter in which her ex-husband says he supports her candidacy.

In the letter, he says he's known her for more than 30 years and would make a good leader for Tucson, and it's dated July 1, 2011, showing he supported her through her primary campaign, too.

"She has the energy of two teenagers. She is able to get things done quickly, efficiently, ethically, and accurately," he wrote.