Short-term memory leads to bad endorsements

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

If it happened yesterday, it's already "old news." Move on. This kind of short-term memory leads to bad choices in making candidate endorsements.

A glaring example of this is the endorsement by the Arizona Daily Star and The Arizona Republic of appointed Secretary of State Ken Bennett. 

In the case of the Arizona Republic this is particularly egregious. The editors apparently do not read their own newspaper. Here are some reports from the Republic published just this year:

Firm tied to Secretary of State Ken Bennett sued (May 2, 2010). A small building-insulation company whose chairman is Secretary of State Ken Bennett is facing two suits that allege it engaged in securities fraud and breach of contract and failed to pay six employees more than $143,000.

The suits were filed in Yavapai County Superior Court against Prescott-based Global Building Systems, which makes energy-efficient wall and roof structures with foam blocks and embedded steel.

The two lawsuits were filed in late March.

That report disappeared down the memory hole. What is the current status of that case?

Then there was Ken Bennett's first chance to run an election in Arizona with the special election in May for Prop. 100. How did he do?

Wrong voting info sent to 191,000 Arizona homes (May 20, 2010). Leading up to Tuesday's sales-tax election, more than 10 percent of Arizona voters were told to cast ballots at the wrong location — and the reason why is in dispute.

In 12 of 15 Arizona counties, some voters received publicity pamphlets that directed them to non-existent polling places.

About 191,000 households received the wrong information last month, and people began calling Secretary of State Ken Bennett's office to complain.

Bennett's office, which oversees statewide elections, determined the wrong voter-registration database had been used to generate polling place information.

OK, maybe he did better with the August primary election… or not. There were complaints of slow returns, a perpetual problem in Arizona.

Arizona primary election vote count may drag into weekend (August 26, 2010). Cliffhanger primary races for state, county and legislative seats may not be decided until after Saturday evening, when county election crews could wrap up a days-long effort to count tens of thousands of ballots.

State election officials, meanwhile, reported there are more than 119,000 ballots to be counted across Arizona. Counties have until the end of the day next Tuesday to report their results to the state.

Mesa City Clerk Linda Crocker said she had never seen results lag as badly as they did Tuesday night.

"This is the first time I can remember ever receiving results so slow and so late," Crocker said. "I'm hoping that the reason for the delay was the storm and something out of (the county's) control, rather than something that we are going to be continually experiencing."

Then there was the GOP's "Green Scheme Siphon Scandal" during the primary election. Republican Steve May recruited "sham" Green Party candidates to take advantage of a loophole in Arizona law. The scandal made national news. G.O.P. Recruits Street People to Run on Green Ticket in Arizona – NYTimes.

Judge Allows Contested Green Party Candidates in Arizona – NYTimes (September 14, 2010). Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dean Fink found that a former Republican lawmaker, Steve May, recruited several of the 11 disputed candidates to try to take votes away from Democrats.

“The court has no hesitation in finding that each of these candidates was recruited in bad faith with a purpose to confuse the voting public,” Judge Fink wrote.

But he also found that the candidates got on the ballot legally and appeared to have a legitimate desire to run.

Judge Fink ruled that he would have removed one candidate, Christopher Campbell, from the ballot if Mr. Campbell had not already withdrawn. Mr. Campbell admitted in a recorded phone call that his motive was to take votes away from Democrats; the judge found that Mr. Campbell was recruited by the daughter of a Republican lawmaker, Jim Weiers.

The Green and Democratic Parties labeled 11 of the Green Party’s nominees “sham candidates,” saying they were put on the ballot to siphon votes from Democrats. Most of those candidates have withdrawn.

What was Arizona's chief elections officer's response to the scandal? Ken Bennett said it is "not his role" to investigate whether candidates are committing an intentional act of voter fraud. (See debate video).

The Secretary of State's office also oversees lobbyists who, in Arizona, control the office of Governor and the Arizona Legislature. The Arizona Democratic Party announced a new web site this week detailing Ken Bennett's too-cozy relationships with lobbyists. See for yourself at www.LobbyistsLoveKen.com, where you can learn about the large number of lobbyist campaign contributions lining Bennett’s coffers. Nearly 60 percent of contributions to Bennett this cycle are tied to lobbyists.

All in all I would say this is an inauspicious record from just this year upon which to endorse Bennett.

Don't even get me started on his record while he was in the Arizona Legislature… also relevant for the office that is next in line of succession to become the next Accidental Governor of Arizona.