Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jeff Hatch-Miller formally ended his campaign for the Republican nomination in Arizona’s 5^th Congressional District on Monday. My initial post in this blog and an expanded story in the Tribune about his plans appeared last week. 

In a letter to friends and supporters that Hatch-Miller posted on his Web site, he expanded on the theme that his campaign lost a key staffer with the unexpected death of his friend Betsey Rodiles, a marathon runner who suffered a brain aneurism. Her death occurred just as Hatch-Miller planned to ramp up his campaign in the crowded Republican field.

“This unexpected loss is a stark reminder of how short, fragile and precious life can be. Anita and I will miss her greatly. Our hearts are broken for her husband and beautiful daughter,” Hatch-Miller wrote in the letter.

Furthermore, Dean Miller, his chief of staff at the ACC resigned in order to take a higher-paying position in the private sector. To make matters more difficult on that front, the ACC has a hiring freeze in place.

Hatch-Miller will be termed out of the ACC in January 2009, but he intends to remain involved in GOP politics. In the short term, he plans to take an active role in John McCain’s presidential campaign in Arizona and other states.

In future election cycles, he’ll consider running again for Congress, or perhaps for governor or secretary of state, a job that’s just a heartbeat, political appointment or indictment away from the governorship. “I’m pretty much addicted to running for office. Once I’m out of the commission, I’ll have tremendous freedom,” he told me.

The remaining GOP candidates in the 5th District race are state Rep. Mark Anderson, former state Rep. Laura Knaperek, former congressional aide Jim Ogsbury, and former Maricopa County treasurer Dave Schweikert. Former Scottsdale City Councilwoman Susan Bitter Smith also is considering a run.

The seat is held by first-term Democrat Harry Mitchell, who is seeking re-election. The district takes in Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee Foothills and west Mesa.

Last week I reported on this blog that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who had campaigned for formal presidential candidate Mitt Romney of Massachusetts rather than the home-state candidate John McCain, was prepared to endorse McCain.

While Arpaio differed with McCain on some issues, particularly immigration reform, they agreed on enough that the sheriff was comfortable with the U.S. senator, Arpaio said.

Arpaio told me that he was just waiting for McCain or one his people to ask for his endorsement.

On Monday during an airport press briefing, McCain said he was unaware Arpaio was now a Friend of Mac.

When asked if he would invite Arpaio to campaign for him, McCain responded, “I don’t know what the terms and conditions are, or what he had to say, so I’ll have to examine it.”Apraio previously told me that he would endorse McCain, provided McCain allowed him to do some campaigning on his behalf. Arpaio said he wasn’t as interested in just lending his name to McCain’s campaign material.

Harry Mitchell (front row, third from left) and Gabrielle Giffords (front row, fourth from left)

Democrat U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell said he’s comfortable with being labeled by National Journal magazine as one of the key players in the “The New Center” movement within the U.S. House.

The March 8 edition of the magazine bases the observation on its latest annual analysis of congressional votes. National Journal slotted Mitchell 13 spots left of center among 429 members of the House. The magazine didn’t rank the remaining members of the House because of missed votes.

Based on 100-point scale that measures the political ideological spectrum, Mitchell is 39 points more liberal than his predecessor, ousted Republican J.D. Hayworth, who received a 85 percent conservative rating the previous year, according to the magazine.

Similarly, fellow freshman Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords came in 22.5 points more liberal than her predecessor, retired Republican Jim Kolbe, who garnered a 65.7 percent conservative rating.

In fact, the House’s center is filled disproportionately with freshmen Democrats, according to the magazine.

The rankings seem accurate, Mitchell said. “It shows that – and I really believe this, too – the Democrat first-termers really are the middle of the road, the center. And most of them came from Republican districts, like myself,” he said.

Mitchell never exactly sought out the political center; it just worked out that way, he said. “I thought I represented my district. I voted with my district and that’s where it put me,” he said.

For example, Mitchell was one of six freshman Democrats to break with party leadership to oppose the Democratic budget resolution. Mitchell couldn’t support it because, in part, it failed to address an increase in government spending. He also co-sponsored a bill with Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., to extend President Bush’s cuts on capital gains taxes and estate taxes. 

While the magazine suggests the “majority makers” have a fair amount of clout within the House in general and the Democratic Party in particular, it doesn’t always feel that way, Mitchell said. He’s familiar with the so-called majority makers, but they certainly don’t act as a coalition by planning strategy together or deliberately voting together. 

“A lot of these people, I do talk to on the floor, just casually most of them,” he said. “I probably talk more to Gabby, because I served in the (Arizona) Senate with her.” 

Also, there’s inherent political risk associated with centralist politics, he said. “You get hit from people coming from the right and the left if you’re middle of the road. It’s like walking the double-yellow line, isn’t it?”

National Journal magazine calls U.S. Reps. Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords key players in “The New Center,” a movement toward centralist politics. The first-term Democrats from
Arizona are pictured along with seven other first-term Dems on the cover of the March 8 edition above the headline “Center Stage.”

National Journal reporters Richard E. Cohen and Brian Friel, write, “The freshmen Democratic ‘majority makers’ are overwhelmingly moderate in the National Journal’s 2007 congressional vote ranking.” Hey, if nothing else, Cohen, Friel and their editors are pretty sharp at generating buzz phrases.

The magazine’s rankings, which have been compiled annually since 1981, were based in 2007 on 107 key votes selected by a panel of National Journal reporters and editors. The votes related to economic, social and foreign policy issues.

According to the National Journal, Mitchell earned a 54 percent liberal rating, which put him in 202^nd place among all House members on the liberal scale; and a 46 percent conservative rating, which placed him in 228^th place on the conservative scale.

In comparison, middle man Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fla., got a 50.3 percent liberal rating and a 49.7 percent conservative rating, which placed him in the 212^th position on both scales.

Giffords came in slightly more liberal than Mitchell. She was 56.8 percent and 192^nd on the liberal side; and 43.2 percent and 238^th on the conservative side.

Democratic leaders have been careful to monitor the freshmen Democrats’ votes, according to Cohen and Friel. “They have become prime GOP targets, and their fates will go a long way in determining whether Democrats retain their house majority and by how much,” Cohen and Friel write.

“The freshmen know that every vote they cast could be used against them on the campaign trail. For the leaders, it’s a constant balancing act: seeking to satisfy and help the moderate first-termers politically, while not endangering the party agenda or alienating more-liberal caucus members,” they write.

I spoke to Mitchell about how comfortable he being plastered with all the political labels: The New Center, Center Stage, Majority Maker. I’ll post his comments Friday.

Jeff Hatch-Miller

Arizona Corporation Commission member Jeff Hatch-Miller is dropping out of the crowded Republican primary race for the GOP nomination in Arizona’s 5^th Congressional District.

Hatch-Miller told the Tribune he expects to issue a formal statement late today or Friday.

He made the decision after losing two key campaign staff members just as he was preparing to ramp up the campaign. His campaign coordinator died unexpectedly Friday, a day after his speech writer told him she had to cut back her work because of other commitments.

Further complicating his efforts, Hatch-Miller’s chief of staff at the ACC informed him Wednesday that he was leaving his post to take a higher-paying position in the private sector.

“It just wasn’t working out, so I did decide along with Anita this morning that we would pull the plug on the campaign and wait for another day,” Hatch-Miller said.

“It’s unfortunate. I think I brought a lot to the table, but there’s only so much I can respond to without making just too hard a job to stay in the race and do a good job in a very, very tough race,” he said.

Four other Republicans remain: state Rep. Mark Anderson, former state Rep. Laura Knaperek, former congressional staffer Jim Ogsbury ,and former Maricopa County treasurer Dave Schweikert. Also, former Scottsdale City Councilwoman Susan Bitter Smith launched a congressional exploratory committee last week.

The office currently is held by first-term Democrat U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell, who is seeking re-election. The district takes in Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee Foothills and west Mesa.

Bob Moran

Allow me to digress from politics for a moment to write about former Tribune sportswriter Bob Moran, who died Tuesday, a difficult day for those of us who knew him. 

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Actually, I knew Moran for years longer than he knew me. When I was growing up in Tucson and thinking about a career in journalism, he appeared in The Arizona Daily Star sports pages nearly every day. The guy made sense to me and I looked forward to reading him. 

Eventually, I earned a journalism degree from the University of Arizona and moved to Las Cruces, N.M., to cover sports for the Las Cruces Sun-News. Later, I returned to Arizona to take a job covering sports for the old Scottsdale Progress, which now sort of is the Scottsdale bureau of the Tribune. One of those first Saturdays, I ended up in the press box at Sun Devil Stadium for Arizona State University’s first football game of the season. By chance, I was seated near Moran, whom I recognized, but was too intimidated to appoach, because I regarded him as journalism deity.

As the ASU players were going through warm-up drills before the game, I marveled aloud to another reporter about ASU’s bruising new starting running back, whose name I have long since forgotten. Moran heard me gushing about the player. “No, he’s not the guy. The backup is the guy,” he said. So I pointed out to Moran why he was so clearly mistaken. The starter was taller and bigger than the backup. The starter’s thighs were as thicker than tree trunks. He came from a better football city. “I mean, just look at him,” I said. “No, the backup is the guy,” Moran said. 

I was crushed. My journalism hero worship obviously had been misplaced all those years. Moran couldn’t even grasp what was so plainly obvious to me.

But I persisted. “Why do you think the backup is the guy?” I asked. Moran looked at me and replied simply, “He makes things happen.” That was it. Then I was sure. Moran was a complete idiot and I was an even bigger idiot for ever idolizing him. 

The game started, but ASU’s starting running back never found a groove. The big bruising player struggled to get yards. He never picked the right routes. His timing was off. He dropped handoffs. He couldn’t shake a tackle. Moran never said anything. He just sat a few seats down on press row taking notes. By the end of the first half, the running back had plenty of carries, but almost no yards. 

The second half started, and ASU’s coaches benched the starter and put in the undersized, hardly-filled-his-jersey backup. A few plays into the half, the backup got a nice rush, better than anything the starter did the entire first half. Moran looked over at me. I pitied Moran, the old fool. He couldn’t even tell the backup just got a lucky break. Clearly, I had arrived on the Arizona sports journalism scene just in time.

Then, perhaps it was the next play, the backup running back took the ball again. He busted through a few tackles, slipped through a few more and began sprinting 50 or 60 yards for the endzone. As he ran, Moran stood in the pressbox and shouted, “He makes things happen! He makes things hap-pen! He makes things HAP-PEN!!” 

That day marked the first and only time I ever doubted Moran. After a couple of years at the Progess, I moved to Hawaii for four years, then returned to Arizona again and eventually joined the Tribune, though by then, my sportswriting days were behind me. Yet, there was Moran. That time, I mustered the nerve to introduce myself. Over the years, I got to know him. Imagine the thrill – getting to know one of your personal heroes on a personal level. Lucky me. 

I’ve always enjoyed retelling that story about that day in the ASU press box. I especially enjoyed retelling it when Moran was within earshot, because it always embarrassed him. After a few retellings, he knew how I was going to end it, and that was the part that particularly embarrassed him. I always told people that Moran actually was describing himself that day – “He makes things happen. He makes things hap-pen! He makes things HAP-PEN!!” 

I learned a lot about journalism and life from Moran over the years. Here’s a couple: A running back’s heart matters far more than his thighs; go to lunch with a variety of people, particularly people you wouldn’t think you have a lot in common with. There’s one other important point that transcended journalism and life, which he and I discussed often, but is far too personal to discuss in this sort of a forum so shortly after his death, and perhaps ever. I’m pleased to note, though, that he and I encouraged and applauded each other’s efforts in that realm. 

I thanked Moran privately for serving as one of my personal heroes, and I’m happy to thank him again publicly now. Moran made a difference. He made things happen.

Mitt Romney (left) and Joe Arpaio

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who previously endorsed former GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney for the president, said he now backs fellow Arizonan John McCain.

“My point is he’s the nominee. I’m going to support him,” Arpaio told me.

Arpaio didn’t merely endorse the former governor of Massachusetts, he traveled around the country during the early primary season speaking in support of Romney and Romney’s feelings concerning illegal immigration. Romney never really did offer a clearly defined illegal immigration policy. Instead, he spoke about aspects of other candidates’ policies that didn’t suit him. It’s a moot point now though.

Arpaio said he would give McCain his official endorsement if McCain or his people asked, but to date, they haven’t asked. The only condition to formally endorsing McCain, Arpaio said, is that he be allowed to actively campaign for the presidential candidate. Arpaio said he wants to be more actively involved than just simply lending his name to campaign literature.

When asked I asked the sheriff about the differences between his own and McCain’s stances on immigration, Arpaio shrugged and noted that he and the Arizona senator agreed on enough other issues that he feels comfortable supporting McCain.

Congress.org’s latest annual Power Rankings of the members of Congress provides some interesting talking points concerning Arizona’s 10 member delegation.

First a little background: The deep thinkers behind the rankings score each member on a number of factors, including position, indirect influence, legislative activity, earmark passage and “sizzle/fizzle.”

Clearly, nearly all of that is subjective. For example, racking up federal expenditures for earmarks is considered a positive factor in the rankings. Congress.org’s deep thinkers associate earmark passage with political influence. Sure, there’s an argument to be made for that.

Of course, other deep thinkers associate earmark passage with self indulgence, wasteful spending and stains on congressional records. So, what of Sen. John McCain, and Reps. Jeff Flake and John Shadegg who specifically don’t request earmarks? The Power Rankings knock their scores for that. 

Furthermore, Democrats get an automatic edge because they comprise the majority party in both the Senate and House and as a result will score higher in the position and legislative activity categories. That’s to be expected.

So with that preamble…

On the Senate side, Congress.org ranked Republicans McCain is 10^th and Jon Kyl 18^th, or second and third overall among Republicans. Interestingly, McCain’s presidential rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barak Obama place ninth and 11^th in the Senate respectively.

Congress.org attributes McCain’s ranking in part to position as a ranking party member of a committee, his frequent media coverage, positive sizzle and for successfully amending bills.

He’s knocked for running for higher office, because doing so allegedly reduces or defuses his power to help current constituents. Other deep thinkers could offer the argument that emerging as his party’s nominee for president may give him a certain amount of added clout, but, of course, it’s Congress.org’s rankings so their deep thinkers get the final word.

Kyl should climb in coming years with the real and perceived power associated with his new No. 2 position in the GOP leadership team.

On the House side, Congress.org ranked Democrat Ed Pastor 84^th; Republican Shadegg 211^th, Democrats Raul Grijalva 246^th, Gabrielle Giffords 277^th and Harry Mitchell 334^th; and Republicans Jeff Flake 372^nd, Trent Franks 387^th and Rick Renzi dead last at 435^th.

Also of note, Renzi was the only member in either the Senate or House to get a negative score.