Tucson to defy SB 1331 and the Tea-Publican tyranny

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

In an earlier post I told you that Ted Vogt tried to dictate to the City of Tucson to benefit his brother Tyler:

Since the Court of Appeals ruled this week that the citizens of Tucson — a Charter City whose City Charter takes legal precedence over acts of the legislature on matters of purely local concern, i.e., local elections — are permitted to conduct partisan elections as their City Charter provides, SB 1331 is in direct conflict with the holding of the Court of Appeals.

Should Gov. Brewer sign this bill into law, the City Attorney should immediately file a lawsuit to challenge the law on the same basis of the case he just won a victory in the Court of Appeals over the equally authoritarian "Paton's law."

City Attorney Mike Rankin says he will advise the City Council that the ruling applies equally to the bill awaiting the governor's signature. City won't scrap all-mail vote:

City officials say that if Gov. Jan Brewer signs a bill outlawing Tucson's planned all-mail election, the city will do it anyway.

SB 1331 says cities, towns and school districts may conduct a mail-in ballot election only for nonpartisan elections.

Because Tucson is the only city in Arizona that holds partisan elections, it is the only one affected by the bill sponsored by Republican state Rep. Ted Vogt of Tucson, whose brother is a candidate in the upcoming city election.

The bill would effectively mean Tucson could not have an exclusively mail election, even though the mayor and City Council earlier this month voted to move in that direction. Council members, noted that 65 percent of voters already cast mail ballots in the 2009 city election and the 2010 general election, suggested the move would save money, increase turnout and make it easier for more people to vote.

* * *

City Attorney Mike Rankin said he will advise the City Council that the ruling applies equally to the bill awaiting the governor's signature.

"It could result in more litigation. That wouldn't be a surprise," Rankin acknowledged. "But it is going to be my position we have the charter authority to do this and the Legislature is overstepping its authority."

Rankin points to the recent court ruling saying lawmakers can't force the city to strip party labels off its ballot. In a ruling that came the same day the Legislature closed up shop for the session, the court said how the city runs elections is a matter of local – not statewide – concern.

Rep. Ted Vogt responded with a series of bullshit statements not worth dignifying here. He got caught red-handed trying to sneak through a law in the dead of night to override the Tucson City Charter to try to benefit his brother who is running for Tucson City Council. Both brothers should be soundly defeated for their blatant abuse of our democratic process and disregard for the rule of law.

Baja Arizonans have had enough of this authoritarian abuse at the hands of Tea-Publican tyrants serving our imperialist colonial rulers from the state of Maricopa. Our colonial oppressors are stripping us of our basic freedoms of democratic elections, local control and self-determination to try to force us into submission. They are oppressing Tucson and Pima County from the Capitol in Phoenix. The state of Maricopa may be trying to swallow us whole, but Baja Arizonans are not going down without a fight to defend our freedom!