AIRC Update: About those applications of commissioners

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Remember all the hooplah earlier this summer from Rep. Terri Proud calling for the head of AIRC Chair Colleen Mathis over her AIRC application and a slight omission she used to claim Mathis "lied" on it?  Arizona's Redistricting Commission Should Regard the Tea Party as Disruptive Loons:

Supposedly, according to these nudniks, she lied to hide the fact that her husband is a registered Democrat who played the role of treasurer in the unsuccessful 2010 campaign of Democrat Nancy Young Wright for a state House seat from Legislative District 26. [Terri Proud won a close race against Nancy Young Wright in 2010]

From this original sin flows all Mathis' faults, which include her vote (along with those of the two Dems on the commission) for Strategic Telemetry to be the mapping consultant.

Thing is, Mathis did not lie. In fact, she mentions the name of her husband in the second line of the application.

But question eight on the form asked for her to list all family members who have a profession, and she neglected to list that her spouse is an attorney, an error for which she has apologized.

* * *

As for his status as a Democrat, the application form does not ask for that information, because it is irrelevant.

But since we're dealing with facts that don't matter, here are a few more that the Tea Baggers overlook when pointing their digits at the Mathises: For the better part of his life, Chris Mathis was a Republican.

He actually worked on the staff of former Republican U.S. Senator from Nebraska Chuck Hagel, and on the staff of ex-U.S. Representative Bob Michel of Illinois, onetime Republican minority leader of the House.

Over the years, Chris Mathis has donated money to both Democrats and Republicans. According to federal and state campaign-finance filings, he donated money to Democratic Congresswoman Gabby Giffords in 2010, as well as to current Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican.

In previous election cycles, he donated to Republican U.S. Senator John McCain and to former GOP U.S. Senator from Illinois Peter Fitzgerald. Mathis' grandfather even ran, unsuccessfully, for governor of Illinois in a Republican primary.

In other words, there was no "there" there. Not so with Republican Commissioner Richard Stertz. Complaint filed against AIRC Commissioner Richard Stertz:

On October 14, 2010, Richard Stertz signed an application for the Independent Redistricting Commission before a notary in Pima County. The application was then filed in Phoenix. The application is grossly inaccurate. Statements contained on the application were attested by Richard Stertz as true and correct but public records show a history of legal and financial issues. This gross misrepresentation calls into question his qualifications to continue his appointment on the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.

I request that your respective offices initiate an investigation into whether Mr. Stertz withheld information regarding his political affiliations, employer and business disclosure from Mr. Stertz’s spouse and children, tax information, accusations of fraud, and judgments. A sworn statement was submitted to the Commission of Appellate Appointments where the facts where omitted.

See the post for all the details.

So whatever happened to these complaints? Buried deep in a story today from the Arizona Republic is the answer. Arizona redistricting hearings likely to outpace lawsuit:

[Attorney General Tom] Horne said he has dropped a complaint from Democrats that Commissioner Richard Stertz made numerous omissions on his application. Horne also won't look into complaints that Mathis erred in her application by not listing her husband's occupation.

The Legislature is better suited to explore that, he said, since lawmakers appointed the commission.

Alrighty, then. Tom "banned for life by the SEC" Horne has no interest in pursuing these complaints. He has a new shiny toy to play with in his open meetings law lawsuit.

On Monday, Maricopa County Judge Dean Fink set a Nov. 7 hearing on Horne's request to have the court force three of the five commissioners to testify in his investigation into alleged Open Meeting Law violations.