"Resign-to-Run" Law Scrutinized as Local Officials Seem to Flout It

Blogger and former Republican lawmaker Greg Patterson opened a tasty can of worms recently, pointing out that Attorney General Terry Goddard has apparently run afoul of the state's "resign-to-run" law. Goddard, a Democrat, recently told a crowd during a speech that "I intend to run for governor." 

Other media outlets have begun running with this ball, with a southern Arizona newspaper declaring today that the situation shows the law is "worthless." Yesterday, Patterson posted a section of Democratic State Representative Kyrsten Sinema's Facebook page that -- like Goddard's statements -- seem to meet the state's definition of a "formal public declaration of candidacy..."

Sinema (at left) responded to Patterson's blog, saying she took the offending material down and making excuses for the apparently illegal verbiage.

In the double-standards department, we refer you to a 2007 article in the Arizona Capitol Times that explains how the state Democratic Party howled over accusations that Republican State Senator Tim Bee violated the resign-to-run law in preparation for his campaign against Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords:

This state law is "triggered when an officeholder's behavior indicates that he is running for another office," [Democratic] party chairman Don Bivens said.

"That would include raising money and discussing issues that are debated in the U.S. Congress," Bivens said. Bee also has made comments on the war in Iraq.

Yeah, that's no joke. The Dems wanted Bee charged with violating the law in part because he merely talked about some big issues. Now that top Democrats in the state are making obvious formal statements that they intend to run or are currently running for office (while also raising money), where is Bivens outrage?

Silly questoin, eh?