UPDATE: Pearce becomes the first legislator in Arizona history recalled and Stanton is elected Phoenix mayor. Read on if you wish. Definitely join the comment thread.
I've been predicting that Russell Pearce will survive his recall election, but what will it really mean if he's defeated by Jerry Lewis? The district still ends up with a know-nothing lightweight. Yes, it will be a nice screw you to Pearce, the father of SB 1070. But it won't change either the pathology in the Legislature or in the East Valley. It was telling that Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, a conservative and Mormon but not a nut, chose not to run (he may have bigger ambitions, but could no better opposition to Pearce be found?). Whatever the outcome, the house (and Senate) that Pearce built will remain. The NRA will remain as powerful as ever. Ditto the Real Estate Industrial Complex and the private prison con. Jan Brewer will still be governor. Tell me what I'm missing. One observer predicted Pearce would run for sheriff when Joe finally retires.
The Phoenix mayoral election, on the other hand, is of major importance. Greg Stanton's internal polls, I am told, show him comfortably ahead of Wes Gullett. The danger here is that potential Stanton voters will stay home, so I am hesitant to even report this. That Gullett ever got this far is a sign that anyone with common sense had better get to the polls.
This contest has been narrowed down to the national meme of "public-sector workers bad." That's most unfortunate. There is indeed an ole-boys system in Phoenix government, but it involves the highly placed, most notoriously the double-dipping of former Police Chief Jack Harris. What's really wrong inside City Hall may be outside the ability of any mayor to fix because it's rooted in the council-manager form of government. Whoever is city manager, the Titanic keeps sailing along. One small example: Spending large sums for consultants to generate reports that could have been done better and cheaper by the city staff. That might have been different had David Krietor or Ed Zuercher (or Sheryl Sculley) been selected city manager. That they weren't tells you everything you need to know. The many interests that feed off the City Hall status quo want things to continue as before.
I don't really give a rat's ass if the garbage gets collected in All-White-Tukee or the billboards are too high in far north Phoenix or whatever-the-hell in Desert Ridge. Five-hundred square miles of city is Phoenix's burden. It's just a mess of sprawl. LA is a mess of sprawl, too, but its 500 square miles are also filled with world-class economic assets. Big difference. The entire "urban village" concept is bankrupt. Instead of 15 distinct districts, the city has ended up with 15 arbitrarily drawn messes, many dying linear slums, but each one demanding the same treatment as downtown. Even without the suburbs stealing Phoenix's diminishing economic jewels, the city cannibalizes itself. The Biltmore district does relatively well simply because it's adjacent to Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. This is success?
With Gullett hijacking the debate, the important things have been kept safely locked away. How will Phoenix compete for talent and capital in the world economy, in the new hard times, with its many self-inflicted wounds and the hostility of a statehouse owned by the hard right? What will it take to build out the biosciences campus and leverage ASU downtown and the UofA med school in order to create many high-paid jobs? What about the heat island, air pollution, water and the desperate need for more shade, especially as climate change makes the Valley less tenable? How do you elevate the economy and social condition of a city built on the cheap, with extremely expensive sprawl, especially since the old growth machine is not (feel me, Grady?), not coming back? And if it did (it's not), it won't play to Phoenix's advantage. What about transportation options, walkable neighborhoods, quality density? Hello-o-o! Oh, for the debates that never happened.
The old merchant class is long dead, as are the stewards, the major headquarters and any private entities that might act as a pluralistic force for good, or even different ideas. Instead, far-right politics, the sprawl builders and institutions feeding on tax dollars make up what might be called leadership in Arizona, even in Phoenix. That said, Stanton is the only choice for Phoenix to have a chance.
Scott Smith has been rumored to be preparing to run for governor. Terry was really the only Dem in the landscape capable of winning (someone let me know if I am forgetting someone here), so unless he runs again (he prob. won't, as he is eyeing the U.S. Senate)
Scott Smith would be a healthy dose of sanity. From my observations, he appears more in the Salt Lake City mold of mormon conservatives than the hard rightwing of the East Valley.
Is it possible that he could lead a transformation in the East Valley to moderation? Could the church play a role - i.e. bringing in some new management from SLC? I'm not really literate on the internal levers of power over there, but it seems like the curtain is falling on the REIC - the question is who will fill the vacuum? It could be even worse (hardcore xenophobic nativists who carry AR 15s to presidential speeches) or could be a great opportunity for moderation.
That is, unless they pull off their gerrymandering racket.
Posted by: Kevin | November 07, 2011 at 03:27 PM
Jon: While I was quoted in the Republic article you cited (sorta), I can assure you the thrust of my comments was not "downtown vs. the rest of us" as the article implied. The point I attempted to make was that city government needs to be responsive to economic development concerns all over the city. And I said my councilman, Bill Gates has been pretty responsive.
Posted by: WJ Andres | November 07, 2011 at 03:54 PM
That's why you're Boss Contrarian. You're giving this guy grief and he's had to go through life with the name Jerry Lewis. Isn't that enough pain for one person?
Posted by: azrebel | November 07, 2011 at 06:17 PM
I'd like to agree with Kevin that there's a possibility of Arizona somehow moving beyond a REIC-based economy, electing moderate Republicans, and establishing a kind of business-friendly establishment that keeps Arizona focused on real things rather than imaginary culture-war crap. In that vein, it's ironic to consider that Utah is actually better able to leverage theocracy into good government than Arizona can with its angry libertarian ethos.
The vacuum at the political and economic heart of Arizona just didn't happen overnight, however. Having rid ourselves of RINOs, the beasts that dominate our ecosystem tend to be peacocks. You get a Jeff Flake, an ideologue with no particular idea what Arizona ought to be. He's a virtual news anchor with a cool demeanor and ultra-white teeth. There's Paul Babeu, the Pinal County sheriff who's been campaigning in Iowa for Mitt Romney (!). Babeu's schtick is bit different: he's a culture warrior, but his shaved head and nautilized body suggest a sexy update of Arpaio. He can bridge the gap between the fitness club and the Tea Party. Ben Quayle is suburban hip, as well. He promises to get tough with Washington, or maybe the Virginia suburbs where he grew up and lives now.
These guys exemplify Arizona's new ruling class, which is to say, not so much class as a typology that blends Ralph Lauren and Ayn Rand. The argument that they put forward is that things take care of themselves - sort of. You don't plan, invest, target, or engineer unless it's in the service of more sprawl. The sprawl barons do all the work, and Arizona succeeds by simply getting out of their way.
Sprawl is a handmaiden to radical right politics, from Sun Lakes to Prescott Valley to Oro Valley to its affluent epicenter in north Scottsdale. It's not that the cool dudes in khakis and polo shirts don't love Arizona. It's more that there isn't any strong idea left except more of the same. And in a post-boom economy we have today, that means taking care of the rackets that survive here.
Ours is a slacker political environment where sun-tanned rubes vote for the guys who promise the easiest answers to largely irrelevant questions. At least with McCain, we have the excitable pretense of foreign-policy "expertise". With Kyl, there's the sense of a seasoned player working hard on behalf of the oligarchy that owns this nation. The new players don't even pretend to be that serious. They're the Next Generation in a state that doesn't need a sequel so much as a good script.
Posted by: soleri | November 07, 2011 at 07:57 PM
Well, Jon since I have this LDS thing I try hard to keep from weighing in on local politics. But now that you have said what was obvious I will let a little crap streak out across the galaxy of Rouge columnist. What is the difference between two Mormons running for the same state senate seat? One is an embarrassment. And as we know the CIA disposes of their mistakes. So I think Pearce will lose in a squeaker as the Temple has spoken.
Regarding Stanton the only reason he will win the Mayor ship is that Gullet got heated up to late for early balloting but again it’s going to be closer than most the pollsters think. After all Gullet has got the major player law firm in city politics supporting him. This firm has an attorney on the grounds of city hall all working hours and on call for 24-7. I know cause I know. Then the Bidwell’s jumped in for Gullet as they and Colangelo’s group are going to need some help getting the next 4 million folks new houses between Phoenix and Tonopah. Gotta have them folks to sell tickets too for the Professional Thugery game, called sports. To the coliseum Romans. Let the games begin. The Vegas bookies are betting that the lions eat the Christians but in the long run the winners will be the wily coyote and his buddy the indestructible cockroach.
Back to organized crime or in my book organized religion. I never could tell the diff. If you are willing to accept the thought that the LDS are a capitalistic (and hates the beast-Government) group hiding behind the shield of religion it’s a lot easier to understand the Mormon goal. Theocratic rule by white supremacists.
Regarding a mayor to save Phoenix, aint no such animal. If Phoenix doesn’t pull it in and build inward and find a way to keep the rest of the world from stealing the resources needed to run a tighter more efficient our Phoenix ancestors will be eating the fruits of cactus flowers amid a collapsed city that was devoured by the desert. No more salad plates adorned by Calochortus nuttallii.
Yours truly the ever militant agnostic.
Posted by: cal Lash | November 07, 2011 at 08:02 PM
Preface: Someone said “A good writer is like a second government.”
Reading Soleri’s blog on “Election” and a number of other offerings of you all in the past I hate to dash any hopes for a magical revolution that brings the great utopian society of keen intellect and great reasoning. I give you that there is not going to be a Revolution that succeeds. But there will be a lot of raping and pillaging in the next few centuries with the ancestors of the current financial Barons hiding behind the walled fortresses of small city states. I started having these kinds of thoughts around 1959 and they continued to be reinforced into the late 70’s after 30 years of reading science fiction (not fantasy) along with a lot of human historical activity. I think these thoughts are valid today. Major Keith Laumer had his Retif fighting for the galaxy against the evil galactic empire but Gullet, Stanton, Lewis and certainly are not Retif and probably wouldn’t even be a match for the mild mannered Clark Kent. So if it’s a war you are looking for you got to put on your superman suit hang up the blog receiver and fly out of that little black box you are in and get it on.
Posted by: cal Lash | November 07, 2011 at 09:05 PM
I have to agree with Cal-the only real change in America happens when people champion their cause in the streets and are willing to shed their blood in sacrifice for their cause.At age 64,the only real change I have observed is the civil rights and the anti-war movements.Otherwise,the sound machine of the establishment(read money) had lulled the populace into a "don't worry,be happy" mentality.While the vast majority of the money flowed to the top 2% since Viet Nam,the silent majority was happy to let our wives go to work and take 2nd mortgages out to buy our toys,falsely thinking they were getting ahead.
As the political boss said in Gangs of New York,"We can always hire half of them to kill the other half" if our plans don't work out.Now we are seeing that with Occupy Wall Street.
Posted by: mike doughty | November 08, 2011 at 10:25 AM
..."the silent majority was happy to let our wives go to work"...-Mike Doughty
Out of all you wrote, this is the only thing that stood out to me. I think if you were to tell some of the ladies today (married or otherwise) that we "let them go to work" you might get slapped.
Posted by: phxSUNSfan | November 08, 2011 at 10:48 AM
Oh, hit me again, baby!!!!
Posted by: cal lash | November 08, 2011 at 12:20 PM
I might be inclined to take the slap for Doughty. Yes, yes - it's incredibly paternalistic to consign "the wimmin" to household work, I know the cant - and to that degree, I agree.
But in a classic duping of liberal culture - after succeeding in taking one worker off the homestead and transforming him into an Industrial-Age wage-slave, the "silent majority" was indeed entranced by the egalitarian liberation of the other partner.
There were costs and consequences. Severe ones, and it's not quite fair to brand critics of these eventualities as necessarily chauvinistic.
Posted by: Petro | November 08, 2011 at 12:28 PM
In no way do I, ahem, endorse cal lash's reaction.
Posted by: Petro | November 08, 2011 at 12:38 PM
LOL, cal always finds the sexual undertones in a conversation!
Petro, true; I didn't go so far as to explain that it would be beneficial to a family (however that is made up) for one spouse or partner to remain home with the children if it was necessary: but to consider that normal MO of families in order for them to succeed, be happy, etc. is a whole other conversation. For instance, my mother returned to work when we were a certain age (around 4-5?) because she was utterly bored with housework. It required us children to put in more effort to maintain the household. We learnt some responsibility in the end...
In that case, have you all been responsible citizens and casted a ballot for Mayor (if a Phoenix resident), for your school district, and/or to oust Pearce (if a resident in his district)? I hope so...
Posted by: phxSUNSfan | November 08, 2011 at 01:16 PM
How could I not have thought of this before???
As a Superman comic fan in my youth, I should have recognized that we are living in Bizzaro America.
I can't believe I didn't spot this earlier.
I'm not even going to venture a guess about how we got here.
If you recognize that we are in Bizzaro America, then everything makes sense.
Jan Brewer makes sense.
Russell Pearce makes sense.
Everything happening is opposite of what we would wish. That's because we're the ones in the wrong place.
We're in the wrong dimension. If we made it to the right dimension, soleri would be a couch potato and I would be a runner. Cal would be, well, he'd still be a stud.
Wow, this is really Bizarro.
Anybody know where the portal might be?
Posted by: azrebel | November 08, 2011 at 02:18 PM
In Bizarro America, the portal lies where the sun don't shine.
Posted by: Petro | November 08, 2011 at 02:27 PM
Petro love your poetry. Phxsunfan I voted and did so based on sexual attraction. See U at Stantons party tonite? AZrebel the portal out of Bizzare world lies in the vast silence of the Sonoran desert. So get out of town. I heard a coyote singing Ed Abbeys Song in the still of the night in Oak Creek Canyon, last nite. Hayduke Lives.
Posted by: cal Lash | November 08, 2011 at 03:11 PM
I voted for mayor only to find out that the city voting center "closest" to me (and those are sarcastic quotes) was not a precinct for county voting. So not only did I have to figure out a way to get to the city voting center that is much farther than the old precinct location, but now to vote for the school bond, I will have to figure out a way to get to yet another voting place without a car.
Posted by: westbev | November 08, 2011 at 03:52 PM
Bizarro azrebel -- the portal is on the east side of the Chiricahuas! I'm surprised your grandpap didn't tell you. Hayduke could take you there.
Posted by: eclecticdog | November 08, 2011 at 05:10 PM
Electricdog is right. Recently I hung out in Las Cruses with Charles Bowden, a soul mate of Ed Abbeys. A colorful peopled town of about 100000. And i have lived in the high plains west and south of the Chiricahuas. Good karma.
Posted by: cal lash | November 08, 2011 at 06:04 PM
westbev I am split on the Phoenix voting centers. I like that I can go to any voting place for Phoenix elections, like say, downtown at City Hall. But then having to find the usually place were all other voting takes place is a little annoying.
So, it seems so far Phoenix voter turnout has set a record:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2011/11/08/20111108arizona-elections-recall-school-funding-phoenix-mayor.html
Posted by: phxSUNSfan | November 08, 2011 at 07:01 PM
Cal is Stanton's party at Copper Blues or Amsterdam? If so, I'll be at both but its too early; haven't even eaten dinner...
Posted by: phxSUNSfan | November 08, 2011 at 07:03 PM
Early (unofficial)has Stanton winning big over Gullet!
56%...Stanton
43%...Gullet
Good job Phoenix!
http://phoenix.gov/ELECTION/results.html
Posted by: phxSUNSfan | November 08, 2011 at 08:18 PM
Likewise, Pearce is losing by a larger margin than expected:
Lewis...53%
Pearce...45%
http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2011/11/08/20111108russell-pearce-recall-trailing-jerry-lewis.html
Posted by: phxSUNSfan | November 08, 2011 at 08:22 PM
"Everything happening is opposite of what we would wish. That's because we're the ones in the wrong place.
We're in the wrong dimension. If we made it to the right dimension, soleri would be a couch potato and I would be a runner. Cal would be, well, he'd still be a stud.
Wow, this is really Bizarro.
Anybody know where the portal might be?"
* * *
"You son of a bitch! You moved the cemetery, but you left the bodies, didn't you? You son of a bitch, you left the bodies and you only moved the headstones! You-only-moved-the-headstones! Why? *Why*?"
* * *
"But don't forget that stones are all changed now in nine grounds out of ten. You are never sure till you question!"
* * *
"These souls, who for whatever reason are not at rest, are also not aware that they have passed on. They're not part of consciousness as we know it. They linger in a perpetual dreamstate, a nightmare from which they can not awake."
* * *
Marty: Poltergeist disturbances are fairly short duration. Perhaps a couple of months. Hauntings can go on for years.
Diane: Are you telling me that all of this could just suddenly end at any time?
Dr. Lesh: Yes, it could. Unless it's a haunting. But hauntings don't usually revolve around living people.
* * *
Tangina: You can't choose between life and death when we're dealing with what is in between. Now tell her before it's too late.
* * *
This is not America
Shala la la la
* * *
Posted by: Emil Pulsifer | November 08, 2011 at 08:23 PM
Jon writes:
"the entire urban village concept is dead".
I agree that the concept has not delivered to the degree that it was envisioned decades ago. However, Phoenix does have a fairly concentrated employment density - even though it is polycentric - much of the city's employment density is located within the identified "Village Cores".
I don't think it's really the concept of Urban Villages that is the problem, so much as the implementation of the concept. Seattle's plan, afterall, is also an urban village concept. The difference is they didn't, as you aptly point out, treat each village the same. The developed a hierarchy village centers and neighborhoods - with those downtown and close-in being the top priority.
This is something we at the city are working to correct. Although, in a district-system like Phoenix it sounds much easier to accomplish that it actually is.
Posted by: Phx Planner | November 09, 2011 at 07:58 AM
"That said, Stanton is the only choice for Phoenix to have a chance." - Rogue
A chance to be and to do what?
Is slowing the inexorable descent enough?
Posted by: Rate Crimes | November 09, 2011 at 08:02 AM
A chance to focus on downtown as opposed to the suburban fringes of Phoenix. Like Phx Planner mentioned, one part of the city has to take priority and Stanton, throughout his campaign, has had the most focus on the downtown area as well as mass transit, and education.
Posted by: phxSUNSfan | November 09, 2011 at 08:16 AM
I'm in agreement with Rates Crimes on Stanton. I held my nose and voted for him (status quo v. lobbyist - I mean really, who can think a lobbyist is good choice for any elected office?). The economy prevents movement on any project. The police union has their boy in office. What will change?
I'll be a bit optomistic and say let's wait and see, but I'm not making any bets.
Posted by: eclecticdog | November 09, 2011 at 10:03 AM
I'm afraid that Mrs. Pearce is probably in for a beating, too.
Posted by: pbm | November 09, 2011 at 11:26 AM
Phx Planner: Even the term "village" Irritates me. Why not "district" like a real city. Also, in Phoenix, there's little coherence to the "villages"; they are too big and not aligned with the historic or natural development and geography of the city. Their boards act as a veto on important matters, as in extending infill credits to Bell Road (!) thus making them meaningless in a city with perhaps 40 percent of its land empty. Finally, there's not a big enough economy to support them all and no serious strategy to fix that.
Posted by: Rogue Columnist | November 09, 2011 at 11:43 AM
And so in Tucson town?
It got its first Dem major since 1999. And it looks like all three ward seats on the Council. Although one is still undecided because so many Dems (sadly) couldn't be bothered to even "send it in".
Apathy, as reported in the ADS:
"As of late Tuesday afternoon, Democrats had a 39 percent turnout, compared with 43 percent for Republicans. With Tucson's Democratic edge in voter registration, however, that still meant 13,200 more Democrats voted than did Republicans. Overall, turnout is expected to hover at 40 percent - just shy of Tucson's previous best, at 41 percent in 1999."
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/rothschild-easily-wins-mayoral-race/article_bd7840e9-9ca6-5b12-b6ce-85a7a0c6baf3.html
Posted by: koreyel | November 09, 2011 at 11:44 AM
Yes - I agree that, semantically, the term "village" should probably be reserved for planning documents and actual place names - e.g. Midtown, Arcadia, Biltmore, Eastlake, Garfield, Sunnyslope, etc. should be used for branding and placemaking purposes. So, the road signs, for example, do seem a bit odd, since they're not, as you point out, real places.
However, the geographies are appropriate as an administrative function. And, from a technical perspective, their centers or "cores" do make sense, for the most part. While it was a bit scandalous how their designations were decided decades ago (as I'm sure you are aware, the suburban cores are all malls - mostly Westcore). Most would be the appropriate locations for regional mass transit nodes and for intensification and large scale retrofit (e.g. Metrocenter) but again, using a hierarchy of priorities and scales to limit resource drain and cannibalization.
Also, they do not have any real "veto" power, as their committees are purely advisory. Making them smaller would multiply the number of staff needed to facilitate, requiring significant resources for not much additional benefit. If anything, your concerns about special interests creating city policy would likely be multiplied, as would, as some have argued, aligning them with Council districts.
Posted by: Phx Planner | November 09, 2011 at 12:57 PM
Well, we did our part getting rid of Pearce. Now you people in the Big Village need to recall Brewski.
Posted by: azrebel | November 09, 2011 at 01:15 PM
In Bizarro Arizona, 75% of Phoenix voters would have voted and 25% would have stayed home. Just saying.........
Posted by: azrebel | November 09, 2011 at 02:50 PM
Wouldn't it be great if a Brewer recall effort began? It would be based on her power grab, lack of public interaction, and the fact that her boss (Pearce) is gone. She will be even more confused and lost concerning where she stand on the issues since he isn't around to let her know...
Posted by: phxSUNSfan | November 09, 2011 at 02:57 PM
Now we will see what Stanton is made of?
I am holding off on Pearce until ALL the votes are counted. Who knows what skullduggery abounds out there in cult land.
But I believe the next two priorities for me are Brewer is a one term governor and AZ legally commercializes marijuana and heroin.
And see what happens when you ask a Robot to analyze a word like Bizzaro?
Susan Calvin would have objected for the mental welfare of the robot.
Posted by: cal Lash | November 09, 2011 at 04:30 PM
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Posted by: Funny Sports stories | November 10, 2011 at 04:55 AM
"I'm in agreement with Rates Crimes on Stanton."
My assessment is based on no individual, and has nothing to do with any election.
Posted by: Rate Crimes | November 10, 2011 at 06:45 AM
Rate crimes i got a few condoms left from SWBD if you would like one. U can have your pick of an endangered species condom. I Like your web site.
Posted by: cal lash | November 11, 2011 at 12:03 AM
11:11, 11-11-11
Posted by: azrebel | November 11, 2011 at 11:12 AM