Michael Bryan

Michael founded BlogForArizona.net as the Howard Dean presidential campaign blog for Arizona in 2003, and has been blogging ever since. The Blog is now coming up on 20 years of continuous publication, a major achievement for any political blog, which usually have the life-spans of mayflies. Michael is an attorney living in Tucson with his wife Lauren. In 2008, Michael remade BlogForArizona into a collaborative project. Michael is now but one of the contributors to the blog and provides editorial and publishing direction in consultation with the Board of Directors and the other authors. If you want to keep up with the latest Arizona and National political news in an entertaining quick hit of news and opinion, check out the BlogForArizona twitter feed, which Mike largely curates and writes. Michael is also an AAPC member who occassionally consults on political campaigns, strategy and communications.

Sponsors Back-Pedalling on Employer Sanctions

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Elephantfight
Link: Employer sanctions law challenged by sponsors.

Looks like a number of Republicans are getting crosswise on the employer sanctions law now that it has taken effect and real enforcement actions seem imminent, threatening to put good, upstanding (and possibly Republican) businessmen on skid row.

This issue just screams DEMOCRATIC WEDGE ISSUE FOR 2008 STATE LEGISLATIVE RACES at the top of its lungs. I hope it’s not too much longer before every other word coming out of the Arizona Democratic Party’s mouth-piece is "employer sanctions." You don’t get monumental political fuck-ups like this dropped in your lap every day, you know.

Much more after the flip…

Nancy Young Wright: Second Choice of LD 26, First Choice of CHuckelberrians

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Nancyyoungwrightp1
UPDATE 12pm: The Board voted 4-1 (Ray Carroll being the dissenter, as he so frequently is) to select Nancy Young Wright as the new State Representative for LD 26. Interestingly, even though Jorgenson got the most support among the PCs of 26 (not to mention Lena’s) the Board nominated Nancy immediately, and Ray Carroll couldn’t get a second when he suggested that Don deserved an up or down vote on the record before considering Nancy. Nancy is going to file papers to run today, so she will definitely be seeking re-election. She also said that she will be resigning her current job with the county, as she was a direct employee, not a contractor. Don Jorgenson and Cheryl Cage were both in attendance at the Board’s meeting and were very supportive of Nancy once the vote confirmed what everyone expected. Don is certainly still running as Nancy’s running mate. I don’t know whether Cheryl Cage will also run, or if she will return to running the LD 26 campaigns. I will be sitting down with Nancy as soon as her schedule allows to give everyone a feel for her priorities for this and future sessions.

Lena Saradnik’s Farewell and the Speeches of Her Replacement Nominees

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I recorded some of the speeches from the LD 26 meeting the other night, and I thought some might be interested to listen. I apologize for the sound quality. The levels are rather too low, so crank up your volume.

First is Lena’s speech, in which she outlines the reasons for her resignation and indicates her views on who should replace her:

Download saradnik.mp3

Each of the candidates was given 5 minutes to address the meeting and make their case. I present only those candidates selected for nomination to the Board.

Don Jorgenson (in which my boneheaded mistake about the age of Don’s children becomes the stuff of political humor):

Download jorgenson.mp3

Nancy Young Wright:

Download wright.mp3

Cheryl Cage:

Download cage.mp3

Gabby Giffords Endorses Ann Kirkpatrick

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There was some buzzing around Ann Kirkpatrick’s camp, who’s running for the Democratic nomination to Congress in CD 1, about an upcoming endorsement from a major Arizona political figure. Looks like that muckety-muck is Gabby Giffords. Taking a page from Grijalva’s early primary endorsement play book, Giffords seeks to be King… er, QueenMaker in CD … Read more

Meet Obama’s Rice, Susan: The Next NSA?

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The thinking man’s alternative to Condoleeza, Susan Rice is Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to Barak Obama’s campaign. Here’s a discussion of a few of the hot-button foreign policy topics that gives a taste of her thinking. There’s little doubt she’s an impressive intellect. Here’s her opening statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Darfur. … Read more