No. 6, Susan Bitter Smith

There’s been plenty of action this week in Arizona’s 5^th Congressional District.

The stars are aligning for a six-person race for the Republican nomination featuring former state Rep. Laura Knaperek, former lobbyist Jim Ogsbury, former Maricopa County treasurer David Schweikert, state Rep. Mark Anderson, former Scottsdale City Councilwoman Susan Bitter Smith and Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jeff Hatch-Miller.

Knaperek, Ogsbury and Schweikert already are in.

The others will join the fray shortly. Hatch-Miller told me he will enter the race Friday, Jan. 11. Anderson will go on Wednesday, Jan. 16. Bitter Smith said she will make a decision as early as the beginning of February, but she is leaning toward entering.

I have the latest details in a story in the Tribune today, Thursday, Jan. 10.

Anderson told me he expects a big, positive and clean campaign. “I think there’s going to be six people and they’re all good people,” he said.

However, the race has extremely limited appeal at the moment, according to Bitter Smith.

“Voters are not paying any attention to congressional politics at this point. I mean, all the people in the race are talking to each other. It doesn’t make sense, and frankly it’s not fiscally responsible, to be spending money at this point,” she said.

A candidate, such as, oh say Bitter Smith herself, could hold off another month or two before jumping in and no one would notice, she said.

Freshman U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell is the Democratic incumbent. The district takes in Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee Foothills and west Mesa.

David Schweikert has proven that running for political office is anything but a solitary endeavor. Consider the effects his just-launched congressional campaign has had on the women of his life – his wife and his mother.

Schweikert, 45, was married for the first time just a year ago. He told me that his new wife Joyce encouraged him to run in a crowded Republican field in Arizona’s 5^th Congressional District, but she might not have been fully just aware what a congressional campaign meant for the happy couple.

Schweikert said, “She’s just now had her first taste of some of the carpet-bombing in the blogs and other things. I’m trying to say, ‘Look, this is how our democracy works today. It’s dysfunctional, full-contact sport.’”

Just keep repeating this: For better or worse. For better or worse. For better or worse.

Also, Schweikert’s mother Lee has been struggling to figure out why he decided to run. They’ve had a number of conversations on the topic.

He said, “I’m starting to believe my mother’s theory. I’m an adopted kid, so she likes this theory. She says, ‘You have a genetic defect.’ And it’s not her fault. You know how must of us, when we’re little kids growing up, sometimes say, ‘I sure hope I’m adopted and not actually related to you!’ In this case, it’s just the reverse. My mother’s going, ‘I’m so happy you’re adopted and not related to me!’ That’s actually 100 percent true.”

And election day is still 12 months away…

Former Maricopa County treasurer David Schweikert will launch his congressional campaign Thursday evening in Scottsdale.“I’m giving a little talk at something called the Republican Professionals organization and I figured, ‘Hey, there’s already going to be a group of people who are my friends there. Might as well do it then and make it easy,’” he said.

The Republican Professionals meet at 6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 1, at Six Lounge & Restaurant, 7316 E. Stetson Drive in Scottsdale. Members of the group meet for happy hour on the first Thursday of each month at the same time and location. Admission is free and information is available at info@republicanprofessionals.org.

Schweikert is one of six Republicans who either already have or are expecte to enter the GOP primary in the 5th Congressional District, which takes in Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee Foothills and west Mesa. The seat is held by freshman Democrat Harry Mitchell.

Harry Mitchell

We already knew Rep. Harry Mitchell hired former newsman Robbie Sherwood to become his state director starting next month. Here’s the skinny on the rest of the staff moves on Mitchell’s staff.

When Mitchell, a freshman Democrat, arrived in Washington, he hired Capitol Hill veteran Gene Fisher as his chief of staff. Fisher had the resume. He previously had served as chief of staff for Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., and as legislative director for Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick, D-Mich.

After helping Mitchell build an office staff and helping the former Mayor of Tempe become familiar with Washington protocol during his first year, Fisher announced that he planned to join his wife in retirement.

Sounds simple enough. But here are some other considerations Fisher may have pondered…

Pastor’s and Kilpatrick’s districts are Democratic strongholds. In contrast, Mitchell’s district is a Republican-leaning district with a Democratic representative. The 5th District takes in Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee Foothills and west Mesa, which together offer more Republican voters than Democratic voters. To keep their jobs, Mitchell and his staff will have to re-earn them every two years. Mitchell may never have an easy re-election.

A chief of staff in such a district naturally would find himself far more involved in one-on-one constituent work than a chief of staff in no-contest district. So if a Capitol Hill veteran like Fisher is thinking about retiring anyway, why stick around for a long election year? Eat the cake, accept everyone’s thanks and warm wishes, and get the hell out while the work days still end before the late news programs begin.

Of course, I could be wrong about all of that.

But I don’t think so.

Meanwhile, Mitchell filled Fisher’s post by promoting his state director Alexis Tameron to chief of staff. Tameron previously served as political director for the Arizona Democratic Party, so she has the political background. And now she’ll be able to transition into the top Washington position of a staff that is already up and running.

Mitchell tapped Sherwood, who already is a known commodity in the district because of his years with the East Valley Tribune, The Arizona Republic and KAET-TV’s Horizon program, to serve in Tameron’s former position in the Scottsdale office.

All Arizonans come home eventually.

Sen. Jon Kyl’s chief spokesman Andrew Wilder is transferring from Kyl’s Washington office to his Phoenix office during the next two weeks. Wilder, who has been on the Republican senator’s staff for nearly nine years, will bring his PR duties with him.

Incidentally, Andrew Wilder’s wife Rebecca Wilder is leaving her post in Washington as senior manager of media relations for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to serve as public information officer for the Arizona Corporation Commission.

It’s a small circle really. Two corp commers, Republicans Kris Mayes and Jeff Hatch-Miller, are considering running for the U.S. House. Mayes would be a candidate to succeed retiring-under-FBI-investigation Republican Rep. Rick Renzi, while Hatch-Miller would be a candidate to oppose freshman Democrat Rep. Harry Mitchell.

Andrew Wilder previously served as a talk show producer for KTAR radio in Phoenix and as a staffer for Sen. John McCain. Rebecca Wilder previously served on former Gov. Fife Symington’s staff. They start their new Arizona assignments Nov. 5.

While I was discussing the coming 2008 congressional race with not-quite-official candidate David Schweikert on Thursday, he noted, as all Republicans do, that Arizona’s 5^th Congressional District ought to be a Republican stronghold.

Check out the voter-registration numbers: 43 percent Republican, 29 percent independent, 27 percent Democrat, less than 1 percent Libertarian. The mostly urban district takes in Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee Foothills and west Mesa.

Yet Democrat challenger Harry Mitchell bounced six-term Republican incumbent J.D. Hayworth last year. Schweikert said he doesn’t have a clear read on that race. “It was a really complicated election, because, I think, there were a bunch of different things in play. And I’m not sure I’m smart enough to know what they all were. It is obvious that the election became horribly negative and I think just the voracity of it turned a lot of people off.”

The next batch of candidates might consider taking a different approach along the campaign trail, specifically an approach that would appeal to highly educated and financially successful voters in the 5th District, he said.

“Can you actually have a race these days where you actually say, ‘I’m on this side; here’s my solution. Here’s this person’s solution. Does this make sense? You choose.’ Or do you immediately have to go in there and take shots at each other? I’d love to avoid that,” Schweikert said.

For the moment, Schweikert serves as the Maricopa County treasurer. He turned in his resignation Wednesday and his final day in the county job is Monday. He will formally announce his candidacy for Congress after that. The full story can be accessed here: Posted in CD 5 race, David Schweikert, Harry Mitchell, J.D. Hayworth | Comments Off