Raul Grijalva

Ward 6 Roast: From immigration reform to potholes, politicians answer voter questions (videos)

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K-r-g-b-712-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

Although gun enthusiasts threatened to disrupt last week's Ward 6 Roast, the event featuring a dozen politicians who represent midtown/downtown Tucson came off without a hitch. 

Organized by City Councilman Steve Kozachik and moderated by political cartoonist and commentator David Fitzsimmons, the roast featured local, state, and federal politicians answering questions from the audience, which numbered about 400. Rather than severely edit nearly two hours of video, I have created separate videos for candidate introductions, the immigration reform question, the gun violence question, the F35 question, and the neighborhoods/roads questions. Watch the first three videos after the jump. More to come.

For me, the biggest surprise of the evening– besides how outnumbered former State Legislator Frank Antenori and the gun nuts were– was Congressman Ron Barber. Check out his responses to the questions on immigration reform and gun violence; he sounds far less Republican than he has in the past on those issues. 

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.

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.

Gabriela Saucedo Mercer: ‘I heart SB1070’ (video)

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by Pamela Powers Hannley

Sometimes you just don't know what you're going to find on the Internet. I was looking for something completely different, and Goggle gave me this…

After the jump, watch a 2010 video of Republican Congressional candidate and Mexican immigrant Gabriela Saucedo Mercer voicing her support for SB1070. (She also takes the opportunity to dump on Councilwoman Regina Romero and Congressman Raul Grijalva, her current opponent in the CD3 race.)

GOP gives up on Gabby (Mercer, that is)

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by Pamela Powers Hannley The GOP has been targeting Congressman Raul Grijalva for removal for years. Remember Ruth McClung? The Democrats initially dismissed the young, blond "rocket scientist" with the fiery, Sarah-Palin-style speechifying, but in the end, the new-comer nearly whooped the Congressman's ass in 2010. Fast forward to 2012, the Republicans are running another attractive … Read more