Russell Pearce Operative Matt Tolman’s Bag of Dirty Tricks

If you need a sign of state Senate President Russell Pearce’s desperation, look no further than above: one of the placards sprouting up around Mesa, smearing the recall effort, Citizens for a Better Arizona co-founder Randy Parraz, and Pearce challenger Jerry Lewis.The sign, the product of Citizens Who Oppose the…

Phoenix Should Have a Democratic Mayor

For all the jibber-jabber about the Phoenix mayoral and City Council races remaining “non-partisan,” here’s a thought: Why not go partisan? Basically, Phoenix is an island of Democratic blue in a statewide sea of Republican red. Sure, Independents (or those registered with no party affiliation) outnumber registered Democrats in Phoenix…

Russell Pearce and the Fake Jerry Lewis Twitter Account

The product of some right-wing wag or the latest example of dirty pool from the camp of state Senator Russell Pearce? I’ll opt for a little of both, as the phony Twitter account under the name of Legislative District 18 recall candidate Jerry Lewis is just the sort of sophomoric…

Russell Pearce Legal Challenge Argued Before Judge Hugh Hegyi

State Senate President Russell Pearce was a no-show today to the hearing that could, hypothetically, save his hide in the upcoming November 8 recall election in Legislative District 18. Ditto the official plaintiff in the legal challenge to the recall: Mesa resident Franklin Bruce Ross, who also had better sheep to…

Russell Pearce Fundraiser Uses New Times Photo, Sans J.T. Ready

Shucks, seems I’m doing my bit to help state Senate President Russell Pearce beat back the recall, too. Albeit, inadvertently.See, the anti-recall committee “Patriots for Pearce,” chaired by Jesse Hernandez, a staffer for Republican Arizona Congressman David Schweikert, has been circulating a new e-mail that pimps an August 17 fundraiser for…

Tom Horne and His Office’s Possible Conflict in Redistricting Probe

In this week’s column, I addressed the claims of Arizona Tea Party members, and some Republicans, concerning the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. One of these claims is that the AIRC may have violated Arizona’s open meetings law, as well as state procurement procedures in the pick of the commission’s mapping consultant…

Russell Pearce Recall Committee Formed by “Outside Interests”

Ah, sweet irony.State Senate President Russell Pearce’s supporters love to prevaricate about Citizens for a Better Arizona, the committee that’s collected enough signatures in Legislative District 18 to force a recall of Pearce, alleging that the recall has been organized by unnamed “outside interests.”Which is total bull, as I’ve pointed…

Tea Party Calls for Redistricting Chair’s Head: Republican and Democratic Commissioners Support Her (w/Addendum)

Despite calls from Tea Party activists and some Republicans for the resignation of Colleen Mathis, chairwoman of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, both Republican commissioner Scott Freeman and Democratic commissioner Jose Herrera expressed support for the embattled Mathis Thursday night.After a nearly-three hour public hearing at Phoenix’s South Mountain Community…