OCTOBER NOT-SURPRISE: Democratic Super PAC Reserves $1Million Of Arizona Airtime For Two Weeks In October (FOLLOWING MONEY IN ARIZONA'S POLITICS)

As if you did not already know this, buckle your seat belts and pop your popcorn - the 30-second ad war in Arizona in the weeks before the November 4 election will be overwhelming.  And, preparations are happening now.

Mega Democratic Super PAC the House Majority PAC has reserved nearly $1 Million ($996,000) in ad time for two weeks in October.  It plans to air spots defending the three Democratic Representatives in swing districts: Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick (CD1), Ron Barber (CD2) and Kyrsten Sinema (CD9).  More accurately, most of the ads will likely be attacking the Republican nominees.

The FCC filings show a $440,000 Phoenix market purchase for the week of October 7-13, and $417,000 the following week.  The Tucson market purchase of $139,000 is not yet publicly available (and, thus, we are unsure what the time period of the ad reservation is for).

These orders are not final and could be shifted around.  Although they have indicated that half of the Phoenix buy will support Kirkpatrick and half will support Sinema, it is certainly possible that they would adjust the buys depending on the status of the race.  Reserving this amount of spots this far out keeps them from getting shut out - the airwaves WILL be saturated with campaign ads - and may get them preferred rates or slots.

House Majority PAC is largely funded by unions and billionaire Democrats (Jon Stryker, Fred Eychaner, Donald Sussman).  House Majority had $7 Million in the bank on March 31, and the largest donor thus far in the 2014 election cycle is Trust Asset Management (Sussman), with $850,000.

House Majority PAC has already spent more than $570,000 in Arizona in January and April, responding to ads from Republican-philic groups partly funded by the conservative billionaire Koch brothers.

Here is the Super PAC's YouTube page.  As you can see, most - but not all - of the ads are negative ads against the Republicans.  Two of their Arizona ads have received more than the usual amount of news coverage - the ad defending Kirkpatrick's support of Obamacare, and the ads directly attacking the Koch brothers.   

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WATCH, TRANSCRIPT: New Ducey For Governor Ad: Stand Up To Obama Administration

 Yesterday, Arizona's Politics reported on the first $150K+ wave of TV ads from Arizona Treasurer Doug Ducey in his campaign to become Governor, which began airing last night.  The ad was not available online;  it was posted this morning, and it features three sentences from Ducey's speech in February announcing his candidacy.  His message is that he will "stand up to the Obama Administration."



Transcript
Ducey: "For Arizona, the Obama years have been nothing but mandates, lawsuits and lectures. As your Governor, I'll have a very direct message for Barack Obama: instead of trying to control our schools, our healthcare, and our energy industry in Arizona, how about controlling your own spending, your own borrowing and this nation's borders."

ON AIR: 2nd Republican Candidate For Governor Hits Airwaves Tonight; $150K+ Week of Ads (FOLLOWING MONEY IN ARIZONA'S POLITICS)

Arizona Treasurer Doug Ducey hits the airwaves tonight, buying more than $150,000 worth of ads to kick off his gubernatorial air campaign.  The 30-second spot will NOT battle head-to-head with the ads that GOP opponent Christine Jones has been airing - those spots ended yesterday.

Ducey started out 2014 with the most campaign money in the bank ($946K), but Jones (apparently) lent herself enough money early this year to begin advertising on March 13; she has already spent more than $250,000 in TV ads introducing herself to voters.

Ducey's ad airs for the first time tonight on KPNX Channel 12 (Phoenix), during the Extra program (6:30).  It is not yet available online, but Arizona's Politics has requested a copy from the Ducey campaign.


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LOOK (Or, Don't Look): PR Genius/Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio Goes To Hollywood

(UPDATE, 3:05p.m.: Arizona's Politics asked the MCSO who was responsible for the decision to have Sheriff Arpaio fly to Hollywood for the documentary screening.  The two-word response: "The Sheriff".)

In a stroke of PR genius, the producer of "The Joe Show" invited Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to attend today's viewing of the documentary in Hollywood.

In a stroke of PR genius, Sheriff Arpaio attended and even agreed to take questions from the audience after the screening.

It may not have been quite as genius for the Sheriff to participate in the typical Hollywood street life,.

Allowing Wonder Woman to lasso you like one of the bad guys she used to fight - and, to lift her leg on you, no less - may come back to bite him.

And, speaking of taking a bite, allowing Cookie Monster (or, a semi-reasonable facsimile of my favorite Sesame Street character) is just plain fun.  According to Stacey Champion, the film's public relations person, Arpaio asked CM if he was undercover.  (At least if Elmo - below - screeched in the Sheriff's ear, there is a good chance that the Sheriff did not hear it.)

Arpaio told reporters that he did not like the documentary's portrayal of him. "It shows about 32 minutes of negative situations that go way back in history," Arpaio said.

But, his attendance proves the synopsis perfectly. From the documentary's website:

"Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the world’s most famous and entertaining law enforcement officer, knows that in today’s politically competitive world of instant fame, politicians need their time in the spotlight. And Joe loves the spotlight.
Response time is compromised for screen time, credibility for celebrity and safety for soundbites. Joe’s desire for fame corrupts everything he stands for and the voters cheer as ratings soar.
Eight years in the making, The Joe Show is a wildly entertaining yet important case study of the increasingly dysfunctional relationship between modern media, politics and law enforcement in America. It’s a tragi-comedy of historic significance.
CAN DEMOCRACY SURVIVE WHEN ENTERTAINING VOTERS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROTECTING THEM ?"

(P.S. Please note the Sheriff's badges all over the sidewalk. He's HOME!)

(P.P.S. Oh my, the first comment on the Elmo photo makes my point too perfectly: "Come on Arpaio had one of those uninvestigated child sex offenders in his grasp and did nothing.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/2 ... 97666.html "

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WATCH: USAF Chief of Staff Explains Decision To Eliminate A-10 Fleet In 6 1/2 Minutes; "Least Operationally Impactful"

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh took to the National Press Club this morning to explain the logic behind the Air Force decision to eliminate the A-10 fleet of attack planes.

He suggested the decision to eliminate a fleet was made because the FY15 budget for the Air Force is approximately $20B smaller than it had been projected to be just three years ago, and that "trimming around the edges" was not an option.

In 6 1/2 minutes, he goes through the options they considered in arriving at the decision. "It's not emotional.  It's logical. It's analytical. It makes eminent sense from a military perspective IF you have to make these kinds of cuts. Nobody likes it. I don't like it."

(article continues below video)



The USAF decision is drawing particular attention in Arizona, where the A-10 "Warthog" has long been a key component of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson.

It has become a hot-button issue in the re-election campaign of Rep. Ron Barber (D-CD2), as apparent Republican opponent - and, retired AF Colonel - Martha McSally accuses the incumbent of not doing enough to prevent the decision.  A bi-partisan group in Congress is promising to block the fleet elimination.

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NEW ON ARIZONA'S POLITICS: Sheriff Arpaio's Cold Case Posse Hides, Should Be Dissolved; Fmr Member Files Complaint With Corporation Commission

(UPDATED 4/23, 8:00am: 3rd paragraph from the bottom now includes more detail and a link re: IRS complaint filed against CCP for failure to file annual non-profit returns.)

Arizona's Politics has learned that a former member of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Cold Case Posse ("CCP") has filed a complaint with the Corporation Commission, explaining how the CCP has violated its corporate responsibilities and should be dissolved.

The CCP is Arpaio's affiliate that has been investigating the birth certificate of President Barack Obama, and has convinced the Sheriff that fraud is involved.  The CCP solicits private donations on its website to fund the three-year old investigation (and continuing investigation, according to CCP leader Mike Zullo). .

Brian Reilly - who petitioned Arpaio to begin the Obama birth certificate investigation - filed a complaint with the Corporation Commission today, requesting an administrative dissolution of the CCP.

He notes that the CCP had been using street addresses for its corporate address and its statutory agent's address, as required by Arizona Revised Statutes.  Until, that is, when it began to conduct the birth certificate investigation.  Then, it revised its corporate papers to apparently try to hide its members' addresses.

The CCP listed a Post Office box with the address of the Post Office as its corporate office and the (then-) Maricopa County Sheriff's Office address as statutory agent Mike Zullo's address. Both are ACC no-no's.  (Although the CCP did not file a change of address form, the Corporation Commission noted the address changes from the annual report and changed them.)

Arizona law requires a corporation to have a "street address", even if it is a home address.  The purpose of a statutory agent is to accept service of process for the corporation, which is why that person (or, company) is required to have a "street address".

Rebecca Wilder, Communications Director for the ACC, notes that they do receive complaints similar to Reilly's and the information is handled on a case-by-case basis.  She declined to speculate on this instance.

However, a review of statutes would suggest that it would not be surprising for the CCP to receive an opportunity to file an amended annual report (or a change of address).  If the written notice was ignored, the corporation would be administratively dissolved.

A dissolution could have further effects on the Cold Case Posse, which has received 501(c)(3) tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service.

The CCP has also used its affiliation with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office to justify not filing annual reports with the IRS.  The blog Obama Conspiracy Theories filed a complaint with the IRS about that exemption from filing the returns that other non-profit entities file.

The MCSO and Maricopa County treat the Posses as separate entities and do not review their finances.  The Arizona Auditor General's Office told Arizona's Politics recently that it will look at this and other possible posse-related issues as part of its annual audit of Maricopa County's financial statements and controls.

Arizona's Politics has asked CCP for more information about their ACC filings, and will update this article as necessary.

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Sarah Palin Was In Arizona This Month To See Daughter Graduate From Beauty School - Bristol Moving Back To Alaska

Sometime-Arizona resident Bristol Palin graduated from a Scottsdale beauty school earlier this month and is heading back to Alaska.  Sarah Palin (and several family members) attended the graduation at Penrose Academy on April 8.

The proud mama grizzly Palin posted a picture and message on Facebook - it has gathered more than 137,000 likes. (see below)

Bristol Palin made news when she moved to the town of Maricopa in 2010.  She sold the house a couple of years later and had apparently moved back to Alaska.

The esthetics program she completed this month takes 15 weeks (or, 600 hours), and cost $13,000.  Bristol's sister Willow also graduated from Penrose last year.

In writing about each daughter, Sarah Palin extolled the virtues of trade schools/vocational education.

Post by Sarah Palin.

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SIDEBAR: Former Solicitor General Paul Clement Charged Arizona $400K For Mostly Unsuccessful Defense Of SB1070

FINANCIAL SIDEBAR:  Arizona's Politics conducted a new review of the current status of the state's SB1070 legal defense fund - that article may be found here.  The last time that we reviewed the fund in 2012, we wondered what the then-just-completed oral argument (and appeal briefs) by former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement before the U.S. Supreme Court had cost Arizona's Border Security and Immigration Legal Defense Fund (aka "Border Security Fund").

We now have an answer: $400,000.  That is what Arizona paid Clement's then-firm of Bancroft Associates in May and June of 2012.  Clement is a Supreme Court rock star, having appeared before the Justices at least 69 times.  SCOTUSblog told Arizona's Politics that $400,000 is "a substantially discounted rate".

The Supreme Court considered four provisions of well-known law in that appeal.  It struck down three as being preempted by federal immigration law, and upheld the section that requires law enforcement to attempt to determine immigration status of someone they have a reasonable suspicion is present in the state illegally.

As noted in the main article, more than $3.44M of the $3.66M has been sent, mostly to pay Snell & Wilmer legal fees.

(LEGAL SIDEBAR: whisper  whisper whisper whisper)

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