SWAG Early Filers for 2014 (Updated)

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Updating the latest “silly wild ass guess” (SWAG) list of who is running for office in 2014. This list is for statewide offices only.

Governor

Jan Brewer (R) – Current Governor. Not filed, but still fantasizing about a legal challenge to the term limits provision of the Arizona Constitution, and why not? After the courts eviscerated the “resign to run” law and concocted the “Huppenthal Rule” to let him run for office, anything is possible. There may be a judge who owes his or her seat to Jan Brewer.

Hugh Hallman (R) – The former Mayor of Tempe has filed. He is an attorney and economist, and served as headmaster of Tempe Preparatory Academy.

Andrew Thomas (R) – The disgraced and disbarred former Maricopa County Attorney has filed. He has perfected the “persecution complex” campaign, the Christian Right will love him.

Al Melvin (R) – Exploratory committee filed. Currently the state senator for LD 11,
previously served in the House. Privatizing education and building a nuclear waste dump in Arizona have been his pet projects in the lege.

Ken Bennett (R) – Currently Secretary of State. Ken “Birther” Bennett filed an exploratory committee more than a year ago.

Doug Ducey (R) – Currently State Treasurer. He has not filed. There is a “Draft Doug Ducey” for governor web site, no doubt set up with the implicit knowledge of Doug Ducey (this is an old campaign gimmick).

Scott Smith (R) – Not filed, but widely believed to be running. Currently the Mayor of Mesa.

Christine Jones (R) – Not filed, but reported to be running. Former GoDaddy executive vice president and general counsel (stay classy with those sexist ads at GoDaddy).

Wil Cardon (R) – Not filed. The millionaire trust fund baby who spent a big chunk of his own “born with a silver spoon fortune in his mouth” running for the U.S. Senate last year. (Reported by Jim Nintzel, Tucson Weekly).

Fred DuVal (D) – The former Chairman of the Arizona Board of Regents has filed and is running hard. Fred has previous experience as an aide in the administration of Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt, and as an aide in the administration of President Bill Clinton, and as a Democratic National Committeeman.

Chad Campbell (D) – Not filed, but widely reported to be running. Currently House Minority Leader from District 24 in Phoenix. A former Community Outreach Director for Children’s Action Alliance, he also also serves on the Phoenix Environmental Quality Commission, and the Boards of Directors for Communities in Schools of Arizona and the Center for Progressive Leadership.

Ronald Martin Cavanaugh (D) – Filed in January. He is from Springerville. Cavanaugh was a Libertarian candidate for governor in 2010. Nuf’ said.

John Lewis Mealer (Amer.Elect) – Filed on April Fool’s Day (I’m sure there is no significance to this). He is from Lakeside.

Diana Elizabeth Ramseys-Rasmussen-Kennedy 4th (Ind.) – Original filing in August 2012. Seriously, the 4th with a name that long?

Secretary of State

Jack Harper (R) – The former member of the Arizona House and Senate from LD 4 has filed. Since 2004 he has been the owner and operator of Marketing and Labor Distribution.

Steve Montenegro (R) – Exploratory committee filed. State Representative from District 14, and serving as Speaker Pro-Tempore (the #4 ranking Republican).

Michele Reagan (R) – Exploratory committee filed. State Senator from District 23, previously served in the House. Reagan has the dubious distinction of being the author of the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305.

Leah Landrum-Taylor (D) – Exploratory Committee filed. State Senator from District 27, previously served in the House. Leah currently works as Adjunct Faculty for Maricopa Community College, and is also the founder and Vice-President of Landrum Foundation.

Christopher Campas (D) – Campas has filed. He has held several positions in the Democratic Party and run for several more. A nice young man, but a classic over-achiever.

Attorney General

Tom Horne (R) – The current Attorney General has filed. Tom “banned for life by the SEC” Horne was considering running for governor but all of the investigations into his political corruption must have changed his mind. And he thinks it will not impact this race? He must hang out with Andy Thomas.

Mark Brnovich (R) – Not filed, but believed to be running. Currently the director of the Arizona Department of Gaming. A former prosecutor, he is disqualified in my book for having been a lawyer for the Goldwater Institute, and an administrator for the Corrections Corporation of America. (Reported by Jim Nintzel, Tucson Weekly).

Felecia Rotellini (D) – Rotellini has filed. Currently a lawyer in private practice, formerly with the Attorney General’s office and the former Superintendent of the State Banking Department. Narrowly lost to Horne in 2010.

State Treasurer

Doug Ducey (R) – The current Treasurer has not filed. (See above under governor).

Jim Lane (R) – Not filed, but the Mayor of Scottsdale is reported to be considering running.

Superintendent of Public Instruction

John Huppenthal (R) – The current Superintendent of Public Instruction has filed.

Sharon Thomas (D) – Thomas has filed. Democratic Party activist.

David Garcia (D) – Exploratory committee filed. A nationally recognized expert in education policy and research, Dr.
Garcia served as the state Associate Superintendent of Public
Instruction for Standards and Accountability, Director of Research and
Policy for the Arizona Department of Education, research analyst for the
Arizona State Senate Education Committee, and peer consultant for the
U.S. Department of Education. He is the current director of the Arizona
Education Policy Initiative.

State Mine Inspector

Manny Cruz (D) – Exploratory committee filed. Cruz has over fifteen years experience as an Explosives Engineer, Safety Director, and Miner, working in mines across the country.  He is the Executive Director of the Abandoned Mine Safety Organization, a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity dedicated to closing abandoned mines and providing abandoned mine safety education. Recently ran for Mayor of Glendale.

Arizona Corporation Commission

Dwight Jaeger (R) – Jaeger has filed. Jaeger is a retired aerospace engineer with a Ph.D. in engineering. He started his career with Boeing Corp. and moved to Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to work on weapons engineering, and he served a two-year assignment as an adviser to the Defense Department for nuclear, chemical and biological weapons during the Clinton and Bush administrations.

Bonnie Katz (R) – Katz has filed. I do not find any information on her.

Carl Seel (R) – Exploratory committee filed. State Representative District 20. Seel was the sponsor of the “birther” bill, and is opposed to Arizona’s Renewable Energy Standard (REST).

Frank Pratt (R) – Exploratory committee filed. State Representative District 8. He served as chairman of the Energy, Environment and Natural Resources committee and vice chairman of the Agricultural and Water committee. He runs a pool business in Casa Grande.

Tom Forese III (R) – Exploratory committee filed. State Representative District 17. He is reportedly running as a team with Frank Pratt.

Christopher Campbell (R) – Exploratory committee filed. According to BlogForAZ’s Will Greene, Campbell is a Prescott radio soundboard operator for radio station KBSZ.

Jim Holway (D) – Exploratory committee filed. Holway was elected to represent Maricopa County on the Central Arizona Water Conservation District Board in 2010.  According to BlogForAZ’s Will Greene, he is formerly the Director of the Western Lands and Communities program, a Professor of Practice in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University, the ASU Coordinator for the Arizona Water Institute, and Assistant Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources.

Nancy LaPlaca (D) – Exploratory committee filed. LaPlaca served as an adviser to Commissioner Paul Newman, has worked as an energy consultant and has a law degree. LaPlaca has been a strong supporter of solar energy.

Note: Commissioner Gary Pierce is terming out and Commissioner Brenda Burns has announced that she will not seek reelection.

If you know of any other candidates reported to be considering running but who have not yet filed a committee, post it in the comments.