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EMIL
FRANZI |
ORO VALLEY FIRST MEET DISTRICT 26July 7, 2007 |
Northwest voters face two important elections next year
beyond choosing the next President. Oro Valley residents
get to choose three council members, and there are
hotly contested races brewing for both House seats and
the State Senate in District 26.
Candidates are already lining up. Salette Latas, the only challenger announced in OV, is visible and carrying the spear for Oro Valley First in a continuation of the battle against Vestar and the new WalMart even after OV voters supported granting sales tax revenues to a retail developer. The politics thicken when we recall that the three incumbents - Helen Dankwerth, Barry Gillaspie and Terry Parish - all went south on their original opposition to Vestar when elected four years ago. Something in the water at Town Hall. OV First and Latas claim, with some legitimacy, it was a "bait and switch" by Vestar who claimed "upscale shopping" would result. While "upscale" is clearly in the eye of the beholder, no WalMart PR flack in his wildest dreams ever considered that big a spin. OV First may be over-killing in sounding like the local branch of the John Edwards campaign with their virulent attacks on WalMart in general, but Vestar will be a big issue in the OV election. Could be in District 26 also. A last minute attempt by a bi-partisan coalition did a strike-all on a non-controversial hearing aid bill (HB 2515) at the end of the session and replaced it with one prohibiting future municipal sales tax incentives like Vestar. It passed the Senate 18-8 with support ranging from GOP Senate President Tim Bee to leftwing Tucsonan Paula Aboud. Opposition also indicated a partisan and ideological split. It failed in the House even after acquiring an amendment leaving Pima County out and specifically stating the same for Marana. Heavy lobbying by the various Chambers of Commerce and the Arizona League of Cities and Towns scored. District 26 showed interesting results, particularly for OV First and Vestar. In the House both Representatives Pete Hershberger (R) and Lena Saradnik (D) voted no. In the Senate, Charlene Pesquiera didn't vote, a trend she established considerably earlier in life. Pesquiera may be be eligible for Guiness Book status as the only 45 year old ever elected to a state legislature who had never voted for anything or anyone, even by mail. The media (including me) and the GOP were guilty of malfeasance in not reporting that last time. Republicans will see a primary between Hershberger, term limited out of the House, and their 2006 Senate nominee, Al Melvin. Rumors that Pete will switch to Democrat are just that - his mother would never let him. Pesquiera may not seek re-election, as her interest in governance hasn't been appreciably raised by holding office. Two Republicans. Marilyn Zerull and Trent Humphries, are both looking "in" the House race for the empty seat and Saradnik's. Democrats are now cocky enough that even with a ten point GOP registration lead they're trying for the second seat with Don Jorgensen, no relation to Republican Dave Jorgenson who ran last time. The sale tax subsidy vote points out that Republicans usually land in one of two camps - low tax, less government types and big business water carriers. The former are often called "conservatives". Democrats break into big labor/big government types and a modified form of big business water carrier. Biglab Democrats raise your taxes for more social programs, Bigbiz R's and D's usually rip you off for concrete. Which means that OV First gets the chance to prove it isn't, as some accuse, a Democrat front group when they endorse legislative candidates in District 26. Irony may be that Melvin and other conservatives could be closer to them on their primary issue than establishment liberals like Hershberger and Saradnik who rolled over for the Chamber and the League on preventing more deals like Vestar. |
BUT WATCH WHAT YOU SAY! |
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