SWAG Update: Early Filers for 2010

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It's time once again to update the early filers with the Arizona Secretary of State for 2010. After the legislature returns for the regular session the week of January 11, filings will really pick up. You can play along at home at http://www.azsos.gov/cfs/CommitteeSearch.aspx

Republican State Treasurer Dean Martin is "seriously considering" running for governor. So serious in fact that Sen. Jim Waring (R-LD 7) has filed an exploratory committee to run for Dean's job. Waring emphasized that it is not definite and he could still back out. Waring said he will not run against Dean Martin. He plans to close his committee for a House seat. Everyone is waiting on Dean Martin to jockey for position. Little-known Republican Buz Mills (see earlier post) is exploring running for governor. Embattled Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is still threatening to run for governor and throw a wrench in the works. There is a host of lesser known Republicans who have filed to run for governor (see below), setting up a potential clusterf#?k GOP primary.

Rep. Christopher Deschene (D- LD 2) is exploring running for Secretary of State. He has been in Tucson this week and I had a chance to hear him speak and learn more about him. Chris is an impressive candidate. His Democratic rival Sam Wercinski has been trying to impress Democrats with a list of political insiders who have endorsed him. This week Jim Pederson endorsed Wercinski. Funny thing about political insider endorsements, Sam, they tend to work against you. Steve Gallardo who was long rumored to be interested in running for Secretary of State has been quiet. Perhaps Steve has decided to run for District 13 Senate after all. Let us know in the comments.

Michael Manning, a prominent Valley defense attorney who was exploring running for Attorney General as a Democrat has decided not to run. PoliticalInsider – Manning Opts Out of AG Race, Notes That He Would Have Won Manning reportedly said that he would have mopped the floor with all the other candidates. Way to stay classy, Mike. Vince Rabago, an assistant Arizona Attorney General in Tucson, recently resigned his vice chair position with the Arizona Democratic Party at its Fall Meeting, a requirement if you run for political office. I expect an announcement from Rabago within the next several weeks. Rabago recently was in the news for bringing the AG's lawsuit against payday lender Quick Cash for deceptive collection practices. State AG files suit against Quik Cash Didn't Felicia Rotellini used to work for the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions? (bank regulation). I'm just asking. On the Republican side, someone named Tajudeen Oladiran has filed to run for Attorney General. I have no idea who this is.

Rep. Rich Crandall (R-LD19) is exploring running for the Senate seat of Chuck Gray, who is not seeking reelection. Arizona Capitol Times » Gray not seeking reelection in 2010 Gray said “You will see me in the future.” “We assume that we may be getting as many as two new, additional Congressional seats and so that’s a possibility there to run for Congress,” he said. You and everyone else, Chuck.

Ben Arredondo, A longtime Tempe Republican who has served in elected offices ranging from school board to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, has switched parties and is running as a Democrat for the District 17 House. PoliticalInsider – Switching sides in Tempe

Jim Nintzel of the Tucson Weekly writes in The Skinny that former Rep. Tom Prezelski (D-LD29) is exploring running for his old House seat against the Democratic incumbents. The Skinny | Tucson Weekly His previous committees are still active status, but I do not find a 2010 filing number.

There has been an extraordinary number of early candidate filings this year for 2010. I do not recall ever seeing this many early filers. Many of the ranked contenders, however, may not file until as late as January of 2010 because of Arizona's "resign to run" law. So the early filers are not necessarily indicative of who's in and who's out for 2010. Some of the early filers have not even designated what office they are seeking.

A word of caution, the list below does not distinguish between an "exploratory committee" and a "candidate committee." "NP" indicates no party affilliation designated on the face of the filing.

So who is out there exploring if not actually running for office in 2010?

Governor

Janelle Wood – NP
Roy Miller – NP
Kent Warren Couchee – NP
Stanford Collins – NP
John Paul Mitchell – Independent
Alvin Ray Yount – Independent
Bruce Olsen – Libertarian
Hugh Kealer – Republican
Karen Johnson – Republican
Johnnie E. Robinson III – Republican
Robert Shaw Graham – Republican
Matthew Jette – Republican
Vernon B. Parker – Republican
John Munger – Republican
Steven H. Slaton – Republican
Jan Brewer – Republican
Buz Mills – Republican
Benjamin Jankowski, Jr. – Democrat
Terry Goddard – Democrat

Secretary of State

Sam Wercinski – Democrat (office sought is not designated in his filing)
Steve Gallardo – Democrat (his filing designates District 13 Senate)*
Christopher Deschene – Democrat (office sought is not designated in his filing)

Attorney General

David Lujan – Democrat
Felecia Ann Rotellini – Democrat
Tom Horne – Republican
Sam Crump – Republican
Andrew Thomas – Republican
Tajudeen Oladiran – Republican

Treasurer

Andrei Cherney – Democrat
Thayer Verschoor – Republican (office sought is not designated in his filing)
James Waring – Republican

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Jason Williams – Democrat
Penny Kotterman – Democrat
John Huppenthal – Republican
Margaret Dugan – Republican
Mary Lou Taylor – Republican
Gary Nine – Republican
Beth Price – Republican

Corporation Commission

Brenda Burns – Republican
Barry Wong – Republican
Jorge Luis Garcia – Democrat

State Mine Inspector

Joe Hart – Republican
Manuel Orozco Cruz – Democrat

Arizona Legislature

LD  1 Steve Pierce – Republican – Senate
LD  1 Andrew Tobin – Republican – House
LD  1 Karen Fann – Republican – House
LD  3 Beth L. Weisser – Democrat -Senate
LD  3 Doris Goodale – Republican – House
LD  4 Scott Bundgaard – Republican – Senate
LD  4 Tom Boone – Republican – Senate
LD  4 Shawn Kohner – Republican Senate
LD  4 Sue Dolphin – Democrat – Senate
LD  4 Karina Guerrero – Democrat – House
LD  4 Judy Burges – Republican – House
LD  5 Sylvia Allen – Republican – Senate
LD  5 Brenda Barton – Republican – House
LD  5 Becky Nutt – Republican – House
LD  5 Bruce Olson – Republican – House
LD  5 Chester Crandell – Republican – House
LD  5 Bill Shumway – Democrat – House
LD  6 Pamela Gorman – Republican – Senate
LD  6 Patricia Flickner – Democrat – Senate
LD  6 Steven Henry Kaiser – Republican – House
LD  6 Nicholas Burr – Republican – House
LD  6 Teri Conrad – Democrat – House
LD  6 Leonard Clark – Independent – House
LD  7 Ray Barnes – Republican – Senate
LD  7 Nancy Barto – Republican – Senate
LD  7 Brad Buch – Republican – Senate
LD  7 Michael Coskun – Republican – House
LD  7 Lawrence Coutts – Republican – House
LD  7 James Waring – Republican – House [closing committee]
LD  7 David Burnell Smith – Republican – House
LD  7 Kristen Burroughs – Republican – House
LD  8 Michelle Ugenti – Republican – Senate
LD  8 Ted King – NP – Senate
LD  8 Walter John Williamson – NP – House
LD  8 John A. Kriekard – Democrat – House
LD  8 Eric Ulis – Republican – House
LD  8 Dennis Robbins – Republican – House
LD  8 James Rich – Republican – House
LD  8 David Paddison – Republican – House
LD  8 Michael Blaire – Republican – House
LD  8 Paul LoBianco – Republican – House
LD  8 John Kavanagh – Republican – House
LD  9 Sheri van Horsen – Democrat – Senate
LD  9 James Andrew Clark – Republican – Senate
LD  9 Diane Douglas – Republican – House
LD  9 Debbie Lesko – Republican – House
LD  9 Richard "Rick" Gray – Republican – House
LD  9 Nathaniel Martin – Republican – House
LD10 Justin Johnson – Democrat – Senate
LD10 – Linda Gray – Republican – Senate
LD10 Jackie Thrasher – Democrat – House
LD10 David Caparaso – Republican – House
LD10 James Weiers – Republican – House
LD10 Bill Adams – Republican – House
LD11 Rich Davis – Republican – Senate
LD11 Eric Meyer – Democrat – House
LD11 Jon C. Altmann – Republican – House
LD11 Beverly Kraft – Republican – House
LD11 Dusti LeeAnn Morris – Republican – House
LD11 Kate McGee – Republican – House
LD12 Tyler Kissell – Democrat – Senate
LD12 Angela Cotera – Democrat – House
LD12 Steve Montenegro – Republican – House
LD13 Steve Gallardo – Democrat – Senate*
LD13 Ana Tovar – Democrat – House
LD13 John Martin Quezada – Democrat – House
LD14 Robert Meza – Democrat – Senate
LD14 Chad Campbell – Democrat – House
LD15 Krysten Sinema – Democrat – Senate
LD15 Bob Thomas – Republican – Senate
LD15 Katie Hobbs – Democrat – House
LD15 Lela Alston – Democrat – House
LD15 Luis Alberto Garcia – Democrat – House
LD15 Ken Clark – Democrat – House
LD15 Bernice Condit – Republican – house
LD16 Victor Jett Contreras – Democrat – Senate
LD 16 Leah Landrum – Democrat – Senate
LD16 Dr. Cristy Lopez – Democrat – House
LD16 Jimmie Munoz, Jr. – Democrat – House
LD16 Ruben Gallego – democrat – House
LD16 Robert Michael Gular – Republican – House
LD17 Wendy Rogers – Republican – Senate
LD17 David Schapira – Democrat – Senate
LD17 Ed Ableser – Democrat – House
LD17 Ben Arredondo – Democrat – House
LD17 Augustus H Shaw IV – NP – House
LD18 Robert Hernandez McDonald, Jr. – Democrat – Senate
LD18 Cecil Ash – Republican – House
LD18 Steve Court – Republican – House
LD19 Rich Crandall – Republican – Senate
LD19 Scott Perkinson – Republican – House
LD19 Kathryn Filbey – Democrat – House
LD20 Christopher Tolino – Republican – House
LD20 Bob Robson – Republican – House
LD20 Jeff Dial – Republican – House
LD20 Rae Waters – Democrat – House
LD21 Steve Yarbrough – Republican – Senate
LD21 Jeff Vance – Republican – House
LD21 Venessa Whitener – Republican – House
LD22 Andy Biggs – Republican – Senate
LD22 Adam Armer – Republican – House
LD22 Steven Urie – Republican – House
LD22 Kelly Townsend – Republican – House
LD22 Paul Howell – Republican – House
LD23 Rebecca Rios – Democrat – Senate
LD23 Barbara McGuire – Democrat – House
LD23 Frank Pratt – Republican – House
LD23 John Fillmore – Republican – House
LD24 Amanda Aguirre – Democrat – Senate
LD24 Lynne Pancrazi – Democrat – House
LD25 Manuel Alvarez – Democrat – Senate
LD25 Patricia Fleming – Democrat – House
LD25 David Stevens – Republican – House
LD25 Gurmeet 'George' Nerhan – Republican – House
LD26 Cheryl Cage – Democrat – Senate
LD26 Al Melvin – Republican – Senate
LD26 Nancy Young Wright – Democrat – House
LD26 Terri Lynn Proud – Republican – House
LD26 Vic Williams – Republican – House
LD27 Olivia Cajero Bedford – Democrat – Senate
LD27 Bob Gilby – Democrat – House
LD27 Sami Hamed – Democrat – House
LD27 Dustin Curtis Cox – Democrat – House
LD27 Gene Chewning – Independent – House
LD28 Ted Prezelski – Democrat – House
LD28 Ted Downing – Democrat – House (his filing does not designate the office sought)
LD28 Mohur Mona Sidhwa – Democrat – House
LD28 Tim Sultan – Democrat – House
LD28 Steve Farley - Democrat – House
LD29 Matt Heinz – Democrat – House
LD29 Daniel Patterson – Democrat – House
LD30 Todd Camenisch – Democrat – Senate
LD30 Andrea Dalessandro – Democrat – House
LD30 David Gowan – Republican – House
LD30 Frank Antenori – Republican – House

A few incumbents have filed but do not designate the office sought:

Robert Burns (R) currently LD 9 Senate (and Senate President); Bill Konopnicki (R) currently LD 5 House (and rumored to be exploring running for Congress); Michele Reagan (R) currently LD 8 House; David Bradley, currently LD28 House (and termed out in 2010); and Adam Driggs (R) currently LD 11 House.

Ray Mahoubi, a Republican, did not designate the office sought, but is believed to be running for LD 8 Senate.

Finally, Lucy Mason, a Republican from Yavapai County, filed an exploratory committee but did not designate the office sought. Laurin Hendix, a Republican from Maricopa County, also filed an exploratory committee but did not specify the office sought. Robert Green, a Republican from Maricopa County, also filed an exploratory committee but did not specify the office sought.