Besides an official welcome to the new commissioner, Cid Kallen, business on the agenda includes discussion (and likely approval) of an extension for mapping consultant Strategic Telemetry's contract and discussion and possible executive session regarding discovery matters in Leach v AIRC. The commission may (will) consider whether to release transcripts of executive sessions of past business meetings.
A hearing in Leach is scheduled for Friday, July 26 at 9:15am, Maricopa County Superior Court, in the courtroom of Judge Mark Brain, East Court Building-413. The East Court Building is located at 101 W. Jefferson St. in downtown Phoenix.
Friday's hearing is for oral arguments on a motion to have the individual commissioners dismissed as defendants in this lawsuit. Lisa Hauser, on the other hand (lead counsel for plaintiffs) disagrees with the AIRC motion and requested the oral argument hearing.
Hauser's response provides insight that if the individual commissioners are dismissed as defendants, it will be more difficult for her to compel them to testify.
Additional documents recently exchanged in Leach include Hauser's first request for production of documents (June 10, 2013); first set of non-uniform interrogatories (June 10, 2013); plaintiffs request for admissions by defendants (June 10, 2013); and a letter from Mary O'Grady to Hauser and co-counsel Mike Liburdi expressing concern over demands (or requests) made by Hauser (July 11, 2013).
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Incidental to this meeting, the oral arguments hearing or anything at all related to this lawsuit, first named plaintiff Venden (Vince) Leach filed paperwork with the Secretary of State in April to run for state representative in LD11. Incumbent LD11 Republican state reps include Steve Smith and Adam Kwasman, two of the "brighter bulbs" in the House GOP caucus? Not necessarily.
Smith has apparently been talking about running for the state senate in 2014. He previously served in the senate but deferred to Al Melvin in 2012 when the two ended up in the same district as a result of redistricting. Melvin has made rumblings about running for governor in 2014. Neither Smith nor Melvin have updated their SoS filings to reflect those intentions. Kwasman has put an exploratory committee in place to run for Congress in CD1, the seat currently held by Ann Fitzpatrick.
For LD11, that leaves room for one more GOP (tea potter) to run for state representative. Low and behold, our good friend Proud Terri has apparently again gotten the bug to run for office. Terri told the Arizona Capitol Times/Yellow Sheet that she feels like she has grown up since the last time she served (her term in the House ended in January 2013).
Though Proud built a reputation as a firebrand during her short time in the House, she said she has learned from some of her mistakes and verbal flubs, and is changing her tone to be a somewhat kinder, gentler version of her former self. “I’m a lot wiser than I was two years ago… Maybe I’ve just grown up some,” she said.To which, I have to simply ask, "REALLY?" Just how long ago was it that she was fired before she even started a new job at the Arizona Department of Veterans' Services? (About three months ago). ADVS director Joey Strickland resigned/was fired for what ended up being a misunderstanding on his part. Brewer's staff had, in 2012, warned Strickland to not hire Proud. He didn't realize that prohibition was still in effect.
Really, THREE months ago Proud was making the same verbal gaffes that marked her time in the legislature. Now she's all "grown up?"
Anyway... to pull off this magic trick (getting voters to trust her again... might not be as difficult in LD11, as in the district she really resides in, LD9) given that they have serious RWNJs representing them now), Proud is apparently pulling a Don Shooter. Shooter apparently rented a place he could claim to be living in, in the part of Yuma comprising a portion of LD13, rather than where he actually lives (LD4). LD4 leans away from Shooter's brand of Tea.
According to the Secretary of State, as of July 1, 2013, LD11 has 30,960 Democrats, 45,750 Republicans, and 38,106 Independent. LD9, on the other hand, has 43,146 Democrats, 38,065 Republicans and 34,988 Independent. Proud may have been mature enough to calculate that even though she may have been able to muster enough extremist Republican voters to beat (incumbent GOP moderate) Ethan Orr in a primary, it is far less likely she could win a general election in LD9.
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