AZ Congressional Delegation

Democratic Party reorganization: Anti-Grijalva shake-up in LD3

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Grijalvaby Pamela Powers Hannley

Reorganization of state and county political parties is one of the more arcane processes of our political system. 

Every two years, new and incumbent precinct committee (PCs) people are elected in August, during the primary. New and incumbent politicians are elected in November. Between the November election and February 1, legislative districts (LDs), then the county political parties, and lastly the state political parties reorganize and elect new officers. (Both the Democrats and Republicans do this.)  

Many of the same people volunteer to be PCs, officers, and State Committee representatives. Sometimes there is a bit of drama – like when the Three Sonorans tried to get me to run for county part chair against Jeff Rogers or when the state party bent the rules to elect Andrei Cherny– but generally, there are few real surprises– until now.   

On Monday, while the eyes of Tucson were on the TUSD desegregation public forum, a coup took place on the west side. As a representative of Congressman Raul Grijalva read the Congressman's statement in favor of the restoration of Mexican American Studies, anti-Grijalva forces took the chair of LD3 and key positions on the county Executive Committee. Details after the jump.

McCain’s Slide into Irrelevance

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By Michael Bryan Senator McCain has embarrassed himself, and the state of Arizona, over his baseless attacks on Susan Rice and the Obama Administration regarding the Benghazi attack. It is now clear, and has been since Petraeus' testimony, that Ambassador Rice's comments on the attack were vetted by the intellegence community and reference to terrorist … Read more

Arizona Sides with Mexico in Tomato Dispute

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By Karl Reiner

On November 8, the Tucson City Council voted 6-0 to ask the U.S. Department of Commerce to reverse its decision to terminate the Mexican tomato suspension agreement. The council fears damage to the region's economic relationship with Mexico and wants to avert the possibility of a trade war.  Senators Kyl and McCain, Representatives Grijalva, Barber, and others have expressed similar positions.

 Tomato thCA1IE4MM

When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) took effect in 1994, it eliminated U.S. tariffs on imported Mexican tomatoes.  The American producers of fresh winter tomatoes then charged the Mexican producers with low price dumping that injured the industry.  In November 1996, the resulting U.S. anti-dumping investigation was suspended when agreement was reached between the U.S. Department of Commerce and Mexican growers.  In 2008, a review established a revised floor price for Mexican tomatoes at $.0172 per pound in summer and $0.216 in winter.

Immigration reform: What role will Ron Barber play?

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The Republican vs Republican-lite Congressional District 2 race has finally been called. Congressman Ron Barber defeated Colonel Marthy McSally in a very tight contest.

With the special election primary, the special election, and the general election, Barber has been running for office for 10 months of this year. Now, he can finally relax into his new Capitol Hill seat.

But, wait, there’s more… now, he has to stand up and be our Congressman.

And immigration reform– a hot-button Southern Arizona issue, for sure– is at the top of President Barack Obama’s priority list, after his rainbow-hued election win. With his delayed deportation for Dreamers and his focus on deporting undocumented criminals (and not your housekeeper), Obama has been inching forward on immigration reform.

What will the role of Baja Arizona’s new Congressman be? Find out after the jump.

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Congressional progressives propose ‘Deal for All’ (video)

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by Pamela Powers Hannley

Now that the 2012 elections are over, the US Congress must face the "fiscal cliff".

What is the fiscal cliff? The fiscal cliff is a collection of financial provisions– including the infamous Bush tax cuts and the mandated "sequestration" cuts (brought about because the Super Committee couldn't reach a compromise)– that either expire–or take effect– between now and December 31, 2012. 

Whether or not the fiscal cliff is really a cliff or just a bump in the road depends upon which media outlets you follow.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus has proposed the Deal for All to mitigate the impact of fiscal cliff decisions on the middle class and the poor.

After the jump, watch a video of a hearing on the Deal for All and read an explanation of their ideas.