Primary Election Sept. 2nd

Hey friends! Mark here with my very first entry. The subject? Politics, of course.

The only thing that could possibly be more exciting than my birthday, is to have an election on my birthday! I love this stuff (and if Marily's not careful I could accidently turn our family blog into a political one). Anyway, below is how I intend to vote on Tuesday (we'll only cover the contested races)

Marily and I are registered Republicans so here are the candidates available to us:

CONGRESS: DISTRICT 5 (I'm still registered at my old address)

LAURA KNAPEREK

This is the HOTTEST race in the entire state. There are several strong candidates looking to put current Rep. Mitchell back where he belongs--out of office.

Knaperek is my top pick. A former state legislator, she has a strong record of supporting good government. And she's part of United Families!

I like Mark Anderson a lot--he's done a great job representing me as a state legislator. He'd also do very well in Congress.

David Schweikert would be third on my list. He's a smart guy, is running an effective campaign, and I believe upholds good principles.

STATE SENATE: DISTRICT 18

RUSSELL PEARCE

I could write pages about this race, but the bottom line is this. Pearce has a rock-solid record of advocating lower taxes, reducing government waste, and fighting illegal immigration. He also understands economics, and has been a supporter of legislative measures that would reduce healthcare costs and improve conditions in hospital emergency rooms (without increasing taxes).
What about Kevin Gibbons? I know Gibbons' brother Chris, whom I like and think highly of. So I presume that Kevin is a decent guy as well. But after Kevin loses this race he is going to deserve every bit of disgrace that is heaped upon him for being part of such a deceptive and destructive campaign. There is so much wrong here it's hard to know where to begin.

Let's start with who is funding the Gibbons campaign. There are a few names of familiar Mesa citizens on the list, but then the geography changes. What's with all the donations from Yuma? Not that there's anything wrong with Yuma farmers. But this is a race for a Mesa representative. And then there's the money from fast food restaurant owners Magruder and Levecke. What do Yuma farmers have in common with Phoenix fast-food businesses? If you answered with "a propensity for hiring illegal aliens" then you are correct! All together, less than a fifth of the money being spent to attack Russell Pearce comes from voters within District 18.

The most telling detail, however, may be how many thousands of dollars donated from Democrats, including former state chair--Mr. Democratic Party himself--Jim Pederson! Why are Democrats so interested in this Republican primary?

But what about those bright yellow signs that tell us how Gibbons has "Strong Republican Values" and is interested in "Protecting Our Borders"? Guess what, those signs are paid for by labor unions--i.e. Democrats.

So let's put this together, shall we? The same folks touting Gibbons' "Republican Values" and strong border policy actually support Democrat values and open borders. As Elmer Fudd might say, "Something scwewy's going on awound hewe." You know there's a problem when Democrats are lecturing Republicans about "Republican Values". These Democrats support Gibbons precisely because Pearce has strong Republican values and wants to protect the borders. The Gibbons campaign is deceptive.

But if the Gibbons campaign were merely deceptive that could be forgiven. The more egregious error has been that the Gibbons campaign has made all sorts of outrageous personal attacks on Pearce. Gibbons is not trying to debate Pearce on policy; he's just trying to destroy Pearce by falsely portraying him as a Nazi wife beater. These types of attacks are why there are so few good people willing to run for office.

To be sure, Gibbons himself is not the criminal mastermind here. He's just the pawn. But this anti-Pearce campaign has gone too far for Gibbons to escape responsibility.


STATE REPRSENTATIVE: DISTRICT 18

(pick two)
CECIL ASH
KANANI HENDERSON

Ash has the right position on all the big issues of the day, and because he has been a volunteer for United Families International he's an obvious choice.

It was hard deciding between Henderson and Ron Middlebrook. Middlebrook sounds like a great guy and I agree with the basic principles and values he outlines on his website. But so does Henderson. What I think sets her apart is that she offers a few more specifics on policies she would advocate. For example, instead of simply saying she opposes wasteful spending, she suggests "that the budgets for the state and all agencies it funds to be placed online in a uniform and user-friendly format." For education she says that "one of the first steps is to increase teachers' pay to levels that award them for their merits."

I have nothing agains Middlebrook and would be happy to support him in the General. I like Henderson because she is young, thoughtful, and most importantly has the right values to guide her.

Steve Court? Weak on immigration. Kevin Gibbons donated to his campaign.


CORPORATION COMMISSION

(pick three)
JOHN ALLEN
KEITH SWAPP
JOSEPH HOBBS

This race is a little harder to pick a winner because I don't know as much about the corporation commission or these candidates as I should. But the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers has a scorecard that may be a useful starting point. I would stay away from Wong (a Napolitano appointee) and McClure (too liberal for me). I think the others could do a respectable job.

John Allen, however, is my first pick. A former state legislator with a stong record, he also displays an understanding of economics and has some specific ideas about improving the commission, such as updating the record-keeping and paying the attorneys more.

I like Swapp and Hobbs because their statements reflect a real understanding of good economic principles. Specifically, that government mandates are expensive and that we should look for inexpensive sources of energy, not just the politically correct ones.


COUNTY ASSESSOR

KEITH RUSSELL

Although I like to vote against incumbents (have to keep them on their toes), my gut feeling is that Russell has done a fair job and will continue to do so. A friend has this to say about Russell: "Keith Russell is the only candidate that has experience. He is a certified appraiser with over 30 years of experience."


CONCLUSION...
Those are my thoughts, folks. Feel free to share other information or call me if you want to know what else I know about these candidates that I didn't fit into the blog. 480-338-1596.