Archive for the 'Harry Mitchell' Category
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 by Paul Giblin
President Bush
Republican Sen. Jon Kyl and Democrat Rep. Harry Mitchell both found aspects of President Bush’s final State of the Union speech to their liking. Here’s statements each of them issued after Bush’s speech Monday night.
From Kyl:
The president, in his final State of the Union Address, outlined an agenda that addresses some of our nation’s most pressing challenges. Most immediate is the need for legislation to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Al Qaeda still desires to carry out the same kinds of attacks against the United States and other countries that it executed on Sept. 11, 2001. We know the incredible amount of damage that can be inflicted if we do not monitor and respond to this threat. We also know that the best way to deal with al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations is to collect intelligence so that we can prevent attacks from occurring in the first place, rather than having to respond after they have occurred. That is why it is critical for Congress to ensure that under the law, the United States can engage in the kind of intelligence collection against al Qaeda that technology today allows.
Congress amended FISA in 2007 under the Protect America Act, which conformed the legal procedures to the evolving technology of intelligence collection. The PAA, however, is set to expire on Friday. The Senate has now been in session for almost two weeks since the beginning of this session, and majority leader has done very little to advance the issue. Instead, the Senate has devoted much of its time to considering unrelated legislation despite the looming deadline. I join with the president in urging the swift passage of a bill to properly and adequately update FISA.
While there were many fine initiatives laid out by the president, I want to specifically commend him for taking the lead to reform earmarks in Congressional spending bills. I don’t believe Congress has done enough to end this wasteful practice, and the president’s proposal to direct executive agencies to not fund projects that are not voted on by Congress is a good start.
From Mitchell:
I was pleased to see Sen. (Bob) Dole and (Department of Health and Human Services) Secretary (Donna) Shalala here tonight. Congress has passed a number of their recommendations to help our nation’s veterans, but there is so much more to be done.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are creating tens of thousands of new veterans, with new and demanding conditions. We have to be ready to treat them, and as we gather here tonight, we are not yet fully prepared. I recently returned from both Iraq and Afghanistan, where we looked at the transfer of medical records from the point of injury through the point of return to the United States, and I can tell you the process needs work.
I think it is wrong, at this time of war and economic uncertainty for members of Congress to raise their own pay yet again. Our sons and daughters are in harms way, we have a debt of more than $9 trillion, and families are worried about making ends meet. Americans didn’t get a pay raise last year, and I think it is wrong for members of Congress to give themselves one. I’ve introduced legislation to block this pay raise, and I’ve asked leadership to include it in the stimulus package.
I think the economy is a real concern. Unemployment rates are up in Arizona and we have record numbers of foreclosures in the Valley. We need to work in a bipartisan way to reverse this trend before it becomes a bigger problem.
I was pleased to hear the President speak about the need to secure our border. This is the federal government’s responsibility, it is not getting the job done, and Arizona is paying a hefty price as a result. More than half of all illegal U.S.-Mexico border crossings happen in Arizona. Congress increased funding for Customs and Border Protection, as well as for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and appropriated $1.2 billion for border fencing, but there is much more to do.
Mitchell represents Arizona’s 5th Congressional District, which takes in Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee Foothills and west Mesa.
Posted in Harry Mitchell, Issue: Iraq, Issue: earmarks, Issue: immigration, Issue: the economy, Jon Kyl | Comments Off
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008 by Paul Giblin
Rep. Harry Mitchell today asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to include his legislation that blocks Congress’ automatic pay raise in a broader economic stimulus package.
Mitchell, a Democrat from Arizona, and presidential hopeful Rep. Ron Paul, a Republican from
Texas, introduced legislation Tuesday that would quash a scheduled automatic pay increase of nearly $4,400 that every member will receive in 2009.
Every member of Congress will be paid $169,300 this year – a $4,100 increase from last year pay.
Mitchell tried to block the $4,100 pay increase last year, and found 29 co-sponsors to support it, but the legislation never made it to the House floor. Mitchell pledged to donate his pay raise to charity. (No word yet on which charities will get the bonanza.)
Mitchell said the timing is wrong to accept another pay raise. Here’s the text of his letter to Pelosi:
January 23, 2008
The Honorable Nancy PelosiSpeaker
United States House of Representatives
U.S. Capitol Building, H-232
Washington, DC 20510
Madam Speaker:
Yesterday our colleague Dr. Ron Paul and I introduced H.R. 5087, a bill to block the automatic pay raise Members of Congress are scheduled to receive next year.
I hope you will agree that this is the wrong time for Congress to raise its own pay and that doing so sends the wrong message to the American people. I urge you to support H.R. 5087 and include it as a part of the upcoming economic stimulus package.
As you work with the President and Republican leadership to build a bipartisan economic stimulus package to strengthen the nation’s weakening economy, I know you are familiar with the statistics: nationwide inflation shot up 6 percent in 2007 and the same gallon of gas that cost $2.20 a year ago costs more than $3 today. New home construction dropped 25 percent, the largest decrease in 27 years. Fears of a recession have sent the stock market into a tailspin. Unemployment is up; home sales are down; and markets around the world are on shaky ground.
Even in my home state of Arizona, which for so long seemed immune to economic woes that plagued other parts of the country, is feeling the effects of the Bush recession. Unemployment in my state rose 42 percent between September and December alone, and now 143,800 Arizonans are unemployed. In the East Valley, which I represent, foreclosures increased more than 500 percent in 2007 and in metro Phoenix, 10,000 homes were foreclosed – an 88 percent increase over 2006. Home prices fell 11 percent.
The American people didn’t get a pay raise this year. I do not know how in good conscience, we, as their representatives in Congress can not only accept one, but insist on another one for next year. When I campaigned for Congress nearly two years ago, I heard from the people in my District that they were disappointed that Members of Congress approved their own pay raise, but cut critical services that made a significant impact on the lives of everyday Americans. Americans are suffering right now and I hope this Congress has the courage to change course.
Thank you, as always, for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Harry E. Mitchell
Member of Congress
Posted in Harry Mitchell, Issue: the economy, Ron Paul | 1 Comment »
Monday, January 14th, 2008 by Paul Giblin
Mark Anderson
State Rep. Mark Anderson today announced a press conference for 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, at the State Capitol regarding his political future. Specifically, on Wednesday he will formally announce that he is entering the race for the Republican nomination to face incumbent U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell, a Democrat, in the fall.
“I am nearing a final decision,” said Anderson, who represents west Mesa. “By Wednesday, I should have all the information I need to inform the public.”
Also by Wednesday, he won’t have that pesky resign-to-run law to deal with, but I digress…
Anderson is in his seventh term in the state Legislature, where he has concerned himself largely with education issues. He currently serves as chairman of the House K-12 Education Committee.
Among legislation he has sponsored or co-sponsored: Creation of tuition tax credits; establishment of a transition program for offenders released from prison; protection against children accessing pornography in schools and libraries; jettisoning junk food from elementary and middle schools; creation of a marriage skills course; and development of an abstinence program for teens.
Four other Republicans already are in the race: Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jeff Hatch-Miller, former state Rep. Laura Knaperek, former lobbyist Jim Ogsbury, and former county treasurer David Schweikert.Former Scottsdale City Councilwoman Susan Bitter Smith is waiting in the wings.Arizona’s 5th Congressional District includes Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee Foothills, plus Anderson’s turf, west Mesa. Mitchell, a Tempe resident, is mid-way through his first two-year term in the U.S. House.
Posted in CD 5 race, David Schweikert, Harry Mitchell, Jeff Hatch-Miller, Jim Ogsbury, Laura Knaperek, Mark Anderson, Susan Bitter Smith | Comments Off
Thursday, January 10th, 2008 by Paul Giblin
No. 6, Susan Bitter Smith
There’s been plenty of action this week in Arizona’s 5th 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.
Posted in CD 5 race, David Schweikert, Harry Mitchell, Jeff Hatch-Miller, Jim Ogsbury, Laura Knaperek, Mark Anderson, Susan Bitter Smith, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Monday, December 10th, 2007 by Paul Giblin
Jim Sharpe
We return now to the topic of media’s alleged political bias…
The PR firm that is handling presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign announced Sunday that it hired local newsman Jim Sharpe to replace departed former local newsman Robbie Sherwood.
Sherwood, a former reporter for the East Valley Tribune and Arizona Republic, left Rose & Allyn Public Relations a few weeks ago after about a year at the Scottsdale-based PR firm to become district director for U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz.
Sharpe, according to the never-subtle Jason Rose, is a “killer radio news personality.” Sharpe is an award-winning reporter and talk show host who most recently was on KFYI-550 AM. He also worked for KTAR-620 AM in Phoenix, plus at stations in Los Angeles and Dallas.
So figure that one out…
A former radio newsman is joining a PR firm that’s handling Republican Romney’s campaign to replace a former newspaper guy who left the PR firm for a job with Democrat Mitchell. And both previously worked in the media. Something must be amiss!
That is, of course, if you buy into the whole media bias conspiracy business…
Posted in Harry Mitchell, Mitt Romney, The news biz | Comments Off
Monday, November 19th, 2007 by Paul Giblin
Forever a newspaper man
Last week, I interviewed a number of local political reporters who went to the Dark Side.
Specifically, they abandoned the noble, just and underpaid cause that is journalism to serve high-profile positions with office-seekers and office-holders in partisan politics. If you missed my Sunday story, it can be accessed here: Anyway, as I prepared the story, I asked the former newsmen about what biases they harbored or developed while covering politics, a topic that pops up frequently on blogs, talk radio, and in discussions I have with my sources in both the elephant and donkey sects.
Sorry to disappoint, but the truth isn’t at all the conspiratorial drama that just about everyone outside of the mainstream media assumes.
But before we go there, I want to address one other point that’s been bugging me for as long as the term “mainstream media” has been tossed about. What exactly is mainstream media? For lack of any other defining criteria, it’s fact-based media. It generally involves people who: A) Actually obtain and read reports, documents and other written material; B) Interview on-the-record sources reflecting multiple and conflicting views; and, C) Compile all that information in short order.
The non-mainstream media, which really is the opinion-based media, for the most part involves non-professionals who: A) Regurgitate selected parts of stories prepared by the mainstream media, oozed over with spurts of their own political seasoning; and, B) Carp that the original work of the mainstream media isn’t nearly bent enough toward their personal biases.
But I digress… Back to the original topic.
Here’s former East Valley Tribune andArizona Republic political reporter and current Democratic Rep. Harry Mitchell’s state director Robbie Sherwood discussing his biases as a reporter:
“Everybody’s coming from someplace. There is no such thing as an unbiased journalist. In fact, there’s not an unbiased anybody. You have your backgrounds. You have your education. You have your ethnicity, whatever it is that colors your experience as a person is going to play a role in how you see the world,” Sherwood said.
“What journalists often will get though is maybe a bias toward the underdog. You do stories about the little guy. And everybody’s guilty of that, because they’re often very compelling stories. I don’t think that those stories are colored by someone’s political ideology. I think almost has less to do with it than anything. You have a bias toward a really compelling story,” Sherwood said.
“At the Legislature, we had a bias toward stories where there was what we call a ‘real person,’ like someone who was not a political figure or a lobbyist, who was trying to get something done at the Legislature, who was impacted by a state law or wanted to impact the process. Whenever somebody like that showed up, you’d rush to interview that person, because it was so out of the ordinary,” Sherwood said.
Here’s former Tribune and Arizona Daily Star political reporter and current state House Republican spokesman Barrett Marson discussing both Sherwood’s alleged political bias and his own:
“I know that, obviously, it’s fun to say, ‘The media’s very liberal and look at Robbie who’s going to work for Congressman Harry Mitchell,’ however, for a year, he worked for Jason Rose. Jason Rose is not on Harry Mitchell’s Rolo-Dex,” Marson said.
“When I moved over from the Daily Star to the speaker’s office, it was all about Jim Weiers. I respected the man. I still respect the man. And I thought it would be an interesting challenge,” Marson said.
“When you get down to it, whatever my politics are, that doesn’t actually come into play much because I’m serving him and the other 32 members of the House Republican caucus. So my thoughts and opinions don’t really have that much of a matter; it’s whatever they want,” Marson said.
A quick aside here, Rose is a Scottsdale-based public relations agent who does work for Republicans Mitt Romney and Joe Arpaio, among others.
And here’s former Republic general assignment reporter and current Mitchell spokesman Seth Scott discussing the intersection of news and politics:
“There are Republicans and Democrats who I liked; Republicans and Democrats who I disliked. But I never experienced any sort of conflict because I never covered politics. It was pretty easy. I covered neighborhood issues. I remember one story I wrote was about the playground equipment at a particular park that was not working well,” Scott said.
“What was a good thing about working in the newsroom was the ability to be skeptical, the ability to look at things in a different sort of way and be able to get to the bottom of what’s really happening. And I think most people who come out of the newsroom and go into politics come with a more pragmatic than ideological sense. And that’s what their political views are founded in,” Scott said.
And finally, here’s former Republic political reporter, former Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano spokeswoman and current Republican Arizona Corporation Commission member Kris Mayes comparing her mainstream media job to her others:
“That’s still my most fun job. Are you kidding? What a great job,” Mayes said.
Posted in Harry Mitchell, Kris Mayes, The donkeys, The elephants, The news biz | Comments Off
Monday, November 12th, 2007 by Paul Giblin
Harry Mitchell, No. 221½.
Democrat Reps. Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords have established themselves as true moderates during their first six months in the U.S. House, according to an op-ed piece headlined “For Freshmen, Fresh Voting,” by John Fortier, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.
In fact, Fortier writes that he was surprised to find that most of the freshman Democrats in the House are voting on the conservative side of their party. “None of the 30 Democrats who replaced Republicans are among the most liberal 20 percent of Congress,” Fortier writes.
Fortier bases his findings on Voteview, a statistical rating compiled by political scientists Keith Poole and Howard Rosenthal, who have been in the congressional ranking business for decades. Their latest rankings are based on the House members’ voting records during the first six months of 2007.
Fortier compares the new Democrats’ voting records against their Republican predecessors’ records. “Among the biggest changes, J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., and Chris Chocola, R-Ind., who had voting records among the 10 percent most conservatives, have been replaced by Harry Mitchell, D, and Joe Donnelly, D, respectively, who rank almost exactly in the middle of the 110th Congress,” Fortier writes.
A little background is in order here. Voteview ranks all 435 members of the House each session, though Poole told me the rankings frequently include more than 435 spots to account for representatives who serve part of their terms, leave office and are replaced by others.
The most liberal representative is assigned the rank of 1. The most conservative representative is assigned the rank of 435, or higher if circumstances dictate. Using that scale, here’s how the
Arizona delegation ranked during the first half of 2007:
Raul Grijalva, Democrat, tied with four others for 26½.
Ed Pastor, Democrat, tied with nine others for 77½.
Gabrielle Giffords, Democrat, 219.
Harry Mitchell, Democrat, tied with one other for 221½.
Rick Renzi, Republican, 261.
Trent Franks, Republican, 426.
John Shadegg, Republican, 432.
Jeff Flake, Republican, 433.
Statistically, the middle of the pack is 217½, so both Giffords and Mitchell fell into the conservative half of both the Democrats and the entire House. Another interesting note is that the latest Voteview rankings only had 434 spots because of ties, so Flake was the second-most conservative at 433, while Shadegg was the third-most conservative at 432. The most conservative spot was held, as it has been for the past several years, by presidential candidate Ron Paul, R-Texas.
Poole told me the rankings are based on an optimal classification algorithm, which I suppose means something to people who know what that means. “It’s one of those things where the reason why it’s not out there more in the mass press … is our method is based upon statistical basis that are not real easy to explain, but are far more precise than all those other ways to measure,” he said.
I’ll take his word for it.
Anyway, Fortier’s piece is available here: www.aei.org/publications/filter.all,publD.27087/pub_detail.asp
The Voteview rankings and more background on the researchers’ optimal classification algorithm are available here: www.voteview.com
Posted in Gabrielle Giffords, Harry Mitchell, J.D. Hayworth, Jeff Flake, John Shadegg, Rick Renzi, Ron Paul, Surveys, polls and guesses | Comments Off
Monday, October 29th, 2007 by Paul Giblin
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.
Posted in CD 5 race, David Schweikert, Harry Mitchell, The elephants | 1 Comment »
Saturday, October 27th, 2007 by Paul Giblin
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.
Posted in CD 5 race, Harry Mitchell, The donkeys, The news biz | Comments Off
Thursday, October 25th, 2007 by Paul Giblin
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.
Posted in CD 1 race, CD 5 race, Harry Mitchell, Jeff Hatch-Miller, John McCain, Jon Kyl, Kris Mayes, Rick Renzi, The news biz | Comments Off
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