Is it time yet to let Tucson know about the Pearce recall effort?

by David Safier

Still no mention in the Star about the effort to recall Russell Pearce. There was another story about the recall in the Republic yesterday, including this interesting information about the chair of Citizens for a Better Arizona which is pushing the effort. He's a Republican and a Mormon.

Chad Snow, a Phoenix attorney, is chairman of the political action group. He said he is a Republican and a Mormon, like Pearce, but added that it is a mistake to think all Mormons have the same views as Pearce.

"There's a perception out there that Mormons are against immigration. I think we're a bit defensive about that," Snow said. "We think he is ruining the image of the state. At least the initial reaction we got from people in Mesa was very supportive."

Snow being a Republican and a Mormon is important for at least two reasons. It points to the growing rift between the way-out-there Russell Pearce Republicans and others in the party who are terrified of Pearce and his crowd for a variety of reasons. It also shows that Mormons don't speak with one voice on the immigration issue, as I've pointed out a number of times. Many Mormons here and in Utah have a more love-thy-neighbor mindset than Pearce. A Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy is in force in many Spanish speaking Mormon churches in both states. Sometimes it's more of an I Know, But It Doesn't Matter To Me policy. Then there is the Utah Compact which stands against the virulent anti-immigrant attitudes of Pearce, et al, signed on to by a wide variety of Utahans, including Mormons.

Put these things together with the fact that Russell Pearce is the most powerful political figure in the state — Jan who? Oh, you mean we have a governor who's supposed to be in charge? — and this is statewide news, more than worthy of a few column inches in the Star. With all the free publicity the Star gave to the anti-Dupnik crowd and the Dupnik recall effort, it should give a bit of attention to a far more important and far reaching effort.