Russell Pearce vs. Jerry Lewis vs. Olivia Cortez

Dear Readers,

And now for some local political news...

Liberal rabble-rouser Randy Parraz got a recall election going for Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce in legislative district 18, which is in Mesa. This is a big deal because Russell Pearce is the co-author of SB 1070, a conservative superstar, and the AZ Senate President. One of the most important differences between this special recall election and a regular election is that there's no primary voting. In this election, Democrats, Greens, Independents, Republicans, and even Communists can vote. I think that Parraz and his cronies knew that the only way the conservative lion Russell Pearce could be brought down is through a recall election, because Pearce has beaten and will continue to beat any Republican in a primary election. And a Democrat will never beat Pearce, because LD 18 is Republican through and through.

A lot of people thought that the recall effort was a waste of time, because Pearce is so popular that he can't be defeated, but a very formidable Republican candidate has emerged: Jerry Lewis. He's a family man, a former LDS stake president, involved with the school choice movement, a businessman, a political outsider, and he's been in the area forever so he has a lot of connections. He seems thoughtful, intelligent, and he has a squeaky-clean record. So, it looks like the race is going to be pretty close. Maybe Lewis will win.

Pearce's campaign staff have done something unethical. They got Olivia Cortez's name put on the ballot. She's another Republican, but she's a phony candidate. She's not campaigning whatsoever. She's not putting out signs, she doesn't have a website, she's not returning newspaper reporter's phone calls. So... she's a plant, meant to draw away more votes from Jerry Lewis. This tactic has been used over and over in politics. When the Democrats paid for some of Libertarian Steven Stoltz's mailers in CD 8 in 2010, it was designed to take away votes from Jesse Kelly. And last year there was this controversey about how there were a bunch of sham Green party candidates on the ballot, just to draw away Democratic votes. It's a very effective tactic, but it's slimy.

Oh, and I have to say that the name "Olivia Cortez" is perfect for Pearce's purposes. When voters see that name they assume two things about her: she's female and she's Hispanic. I guess there are a lot of voters who vote according to a candidate's gender and ethnicity.

So... who am I supporting? Well, that doesn't really matter, because I don't live in LD 18 so I can't vote for either of them. And I'm certaintly not going to donate money or time to either candidate. But, hypothetically speaking, I support Russell Pearce. He has just a fantastic conservative record. Just fantastic. He's not perfect, but he's really good.

But if Jerry Lewis wins, that would be cool, too. He seems like a great guy. I think I'm going to go to a Russell Pearce and Jerry Lewis debate next Thursday. Maybe I should take pictures and blog about it. It's going to be entertaining, that's for sure.

OK, see you later.

Sincerely,
Telemoonfa