by David Safier
AZ Blue Meanie already posted about the Recall Pearce petitions being submitted to the Secretary of State's office, but I want to say Wow. And Yippee. A Hooray is in order as well.
The Meanie showed a photo of Rany Parraz holding a Recall Pearce poster. Here's a shot of the first petition submitted, held by one of the generation of people who could benefit most from the toppling of our petty tyrant and running a few of his cronies out of town the Capitol. (Both shots are by Ryan Cook in the Capitol Times article. Very nice work.)
Four points worth making.
One, Chad Snow is the chair of Citizens for a Better Arizona. He's a Republican and a Mormon. This isn't some Democrats-only drive. I heard stories of people who had voted for Pearce and couldn't wait to sign the petitions.
Two, the recall vote won't be Pearce running against token Republican opposition in the primary with only Republicans voting, then running against a Democrat in the general. This time, he can be challenged by a Republican, and everyone in the district, Ds, Rs and Is, will be able to vote, and lots of people who hadn't voted in previous elections could make it to the polls. Pearce is far from a sure thing.
Three, the group turned in 18,315 signatures, even though they only need 7,756 for the recall to happen.That represents more votes than Pearce got in the general.
Four, the media loves this story, at least in the Phoenix area, which is great, because it means this won't fly below the voters' radar. If the Star doesn't give it decent coverage in a prominent position in the paper tomorrow, it will be shameful on their part. Pearce is important to all Arizona, not just Mesa.
Expect some very devious maneuvers by Pearce and his cronies before this thing is over. The success of the recall effort is humiliating to these folks, and a vote that ousts Pearce would be much, much worse — or much, much better, depending on your perspective.
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More than double the signatures needed and more signatures than Pearce had votes. I think that is a fabulous portent for the recall election. Thanks to Randy Parraz and the 18,000+ who signed.
Getting (well) rid of Pearce will only solve part of the problem. The culture that produced him, and the corporate interests that control him, are still with us — and well entrenched. It will be a long hard fight before any real change is seen.
Crime doesn’t pay on a small scale. It pays on a big one. And when the crime becomes big enough, it begins to govern.
Absolutely!!!!:)
As John Denver said, “Some days are diamonds” . . . and this was one of them. Thanks to all who worked so hard on this, the fight isn’t over yet. Let’s keep on top of the Gov setting the election date.