By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings
Nothing new, just a compilation of stories that have hit the news over the last couple of days…
…It's early, but Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne has already
given up on the idea of running on his record. Being the subject of a
multistate investigation for campaign finance violations and committing
an FBI-witnessed hit-and-run accident while leaving his girl friend's
home during the work day will do that.
From the Arizona Republic, written by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez –
Republican Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne’s campaign is attacking
the media and President Barack Obama as it tries to raise money for
Horne’s re-election.In an e-mail to supporters late last week, Horne accused the “liberal
media” of comparing him to murderer Jodi Arias, calling it “a new low
and a disgusting attack” that cannot be allowed to stand.
Horne
is upset that the media (and others) observed the interesting timing of
his guilty plea on charges relating to the hit-and-run – it was crammed
through on short notice so that it would be lost in the media frenzy
that exploded when the Jodi Arias verdict was announced.
Prediction:
Horne will face a challenger in the Republican primary. Even the Rs
know that someone with a record like his will be toast in a general
election, especially against a strong candidate like Democrat Felecia Rotellini.
…It's early, but State Rep. Steve Montenegro has announced the list of consultants that he has hired for his "exploration" of a run at AZ Secretary of State.
He is spinning the team of big-name (in R circles) players as a way of proving his (potential…yeah right) candidacy is a serious one.
I think that it's more likely that his campaign will be hitting up donors for as many max bribes
campaign contributions as possible – the folks Montenegro has hired
don't come cheap. And no matter how their candidates do at the ballot
box, they do well personally.
…It's still early, but a highly qualified candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction has formed an exploratory committee.
From the Tucson Weekly, written by Mari Herreras -
Earlier today, David Garcia
announced on Facebook that he's launched an exploratory committee for
State Superintendent of Public Instruction. And as crazy as it seems in
Arizona, the ASU associate professor is kinda qualified for the job.With that, let's wish Garcia luck and acknowledge he'll probably lose, but hey, welcome to the fray. From his Facebook candidate page:
Phoenix, Ariz. — June 3, 2013 — Dr. David Garcia, an
Associate Professor at Arizona State University, announced the formation
of an exploratory committee, Garcia 2014, for Arizona’s Superintendent
of Public Instruction.A nationally recognized expert in education policy and research, Dr.
Garcia served as the state Associate Superintendent of Public
Instruction for Standards and Accountability, Director of Research and
Policy for the Arizona Department of Education, research analyst for the
Arizona State Senate Education Committee, and peer consultant for the
U.S. Department of Education. He is the current director of the Arizona
Education Policy Initiative.{snip}
Born and raised in Mesa, Arizona, Garcia received his B.A. from ASU and a
Masters of Arts and Ph.D. in Education Policy, Research and
Institutional Studies from the University of Chicago. He proudly served
in the U.S. Army Infantry where he trained as a Nuclear, Biological and
Chemical Warfare Specialist. He and his wife Lori Higuera, a Director at
Fennemore Craig, P.C., have two young daughters that attend an Arizona
public school.
Sounds incredibly
qualified, but given that the two most recent superintendents of public
instruction, Tom Horne and John Huppenthal, were (and are) incredibly
unqualified for the job, Garcia has an uphill fight ahead of him.
He joins Sharon Thomas in the Democratic field of candidates for the state's top education post.
David Safier, BfA's resident education wonk, offers his insights into Garcia here.