Homeless in Arizona

In Tempe the current mayor, Mark Mitchell is the son of former Tempe Mayor Harry Mitchell. Personally I think both of them are jerks.

Pastor, the daughter of influential Congressman Ed Pastor, is making a second run at city office after redistricting placed her house in District 4.

She’s in a costly showdown with another scion of a prominent Valley political family — Justin Johnson, son of former Mayor Paul Johnson. I also know Paul Johnson, I also think he is a big jerk. He seemed to worship Terry Goddard, who I also think is a jerk.

Source

Phoenix City Council races raise record cash

By Dustin Gardiner The Republic | azcentral.com Wed Jul 17, 2013 11:18 PM

Paul Barnes knew this election cycle was going to be different when campaign signs started popping up in his Arcadia neighborhood weeks earlier than usual.

Political signs cluttered street corners. And then came the “junk” mailers — at least a dozen ads so far, noticeably more than in other years, he said.

For Barnes, the annoyance is a tangible sign of an uncomfortable trend: Phoenix elections are getting more costly, with candidates and outside groups spending hundreds of thousands more on advertising, which often include hit pieces.

“You shouldn’t have to do that to win an election,” said Barnes, a longtime neighborhood advocate. “A lot of people say, ‘What’s the use? My single vote isn’t going to matter.’ ”

This year is on track to be the most expensive Phoenix City Council election cycle on record, campaign-finance records show.

The candidates already have raised nearly $1.1 million — almost double the fundraising hauls at this point when the same seats were up for election four years ago.

And the total doesn’t include money outside groups are pouring into races. Political committees, backed by corporations and unions, and independent-expenditure groups have become prolific spenders in city contests, a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited independent expenditures.

Four council seats are up for grabs in the Aug. 27 primary: Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes in a district, the city will conduct a runoff election in November.

The field is especially competitive this year because incumbents are not running for re-election in two districts.

Councilman Tom Simplot, who has represented District 4 in the central-city area for a decade, announced he would not seek another term; and Councilman Michael Johnson, a longtime leader from southeast Phoenix’s District 8, is termed out.

Elections evolve

Political observers and insiders said spending in city elections has been shifting upward for years. They pointed to several additional factors, including an improving economy, widening partisan and ideological differences on the council, increasing involvement from national political groups and the city’s growing status as a major metropolis.

Andrew Gordon, an attorney who specializes in state election law, called the rising cost of elections an “evolutionary recognition” that Phoenix, the country’s sixth-largest city, is a place where big decisions are made at the council level.

“I think it’s part of the maturation process of Phoenix,” Gordon said. “We sort of recognize for the first time that we’re kind of a big deal. We weren’t really a backwater, but we saw ourselves that way.”

Historic high

An Arizona Republic analysis of Phoenix campaign-finance reports dating to 2003, the oldest still on file with the city, found that candidates have raised more money thus far for the current election than any other council contest in the past decade.

This year’s hopefuls raked in nearly $1.1 million through the May 31 reporting deadline, compared with $960,500 in the election six years ago.

The most recent reports were filed June 30 and reflect fundraising through the end of May. As a result, the figures lag the most recent fundraising activity. The next reporting deadline is four days before the primary election.

To date, the most expensive council election was 2007, when the candidates brought in nearly $1.5 million through November. Much of the money was raised in the District 7 council race, where the perceived front-runner Laura Pastor lost a bitter runoff election to now-Councilman Michael Nowakowski. Pastor raised a record $391,300.

But if the campaigns continue to make large hauls throughout the summer, 2013 will likely be the city’s more expensive council campaign on record, not including more popular mayoral contests.

Pastor, the daughter of influential Congressman Ed Pastor, is making a second run at city office after redistricting placed her house in District 4. She’s in a costly showdown with another scion of a prominent Valley political family — Justin Johnson, son of former Mayor Paul Johnson [I also think he is a jerk].

Both Justin Johnson and Laura Pastor have already raised more than $100,000 each. It is only the second time in a decade that two candidates for the same council seat have raised more than $100,000 before June’s filing deadline.

However, the most expensive council race this year appears to be in District 6, which encompasses Ahwatukee Foothills and affluent parts of east Phoenix. Councilman Sal DiCiccio has amassed a $297,000 campaign war chest, more than double any other candidate this year[I think he is a jerk too. Even if he is for cuting police pork!!!]. His challenger, insurance executive Karlene Keogh Parks, has raised $59,800. [Sadly he is probably worse then Sal Diciccio - The cops and firemen want him in office. So he probably will shovel the pork to the piggies and firemen if he is elected]

But outside groups, including political committees backed by firefighter unions, are taking on DiCiccio, spending heavily on attack ads through signs and mailers. He has often clashed with the unions over employee compensation and pensions.

The impact

For neighborhood leaders like Barnes, the costly campaign battles raise concerns about the ability of average residents to have an impact at City Hall. They fear that developers, unions or other special interests will have an undue influence over council members who rely on big contributions to get elected.

“Only monied people are going to be able to contribute much to make a difference,” said Jim Mapstead, a north Phoenix activist. “It’s not going to be pretty (as the trend continues).”

Some fear that campaign spending will accelerate with a new state law that increases campaign-contribution limits. The law, which takes effect in September, could boost the amount of money in runoff contests this fall, which appear likely in Districts 4 and 8.

It raises the amount an individual can give to a candidate’s committee from $450 to $2,500 during the runoff election. In future elections, donors will be able to give $2,500 during both the primary and runoff, a total of $5,000 in each cycle.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton [Another person I think is a jerk] said the change won’t “be a positive thing for the city,” though he said most candidates win council races through their “ground war” and volunteers.

Supporters of increased contribution limits view it as a matter of free speech.

Elections litigator Tim LaSota said allowing larger direct contributions to candidates helps them share their message and makes independent-expenditure groups less important.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with candidates having more contact with voters,” he said.