Thursday, April 02, 2009

Taxpayer News--Kirkpatrick Out, Wikfors In, Pre-Tea Party TONIGHT.





2 April 2009

Dear Arizona Taxpayer,

Here are some AFP Arizona news items:

Chad Kirkpatrick Joins Brewer Administration

As you may have read already in the news, our AFP Arizona chairman, Chad Kirkpatrick, has stepped down from AFP Arizona to join Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s administration as director of the Government Information Technology Agency and State Chief Information Officer. This move is part of Governor Brewer’s commitment to cutting costs and making government more accountable to taxpayers. Kirkpatrick will assume the CIO role on April 13th.

Chad told us that he was extremely honored to have been offered the position. He said he was saddened to leave AFP, but he knows this is a great opportunity to help Governor Brewer rein in the out-of-control spending of the prior administration and make government work for the people of Arizona.

Kirkpatrick will also be leaving his full-time job as vice president of technology for a large financial company. His technical background, in addition to his fiscal conservative credentials, puts him in a unique position to oversee the planning and coordination of state IT projects and processes, and ensure that taxpayers are getting their money’s worth.

Chad has been instrumental to the success of AFP Arizona (formerly the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers), and we don’t want to let him go. But with the state facing a $3 billion budget deficit, we are glad that the Governor reached out to Chad. Napolitano left state finances in a huge mess, and now it’s time to fix it (without raising taxes…). We are excited that Chad will be part of that solution. You can contact Chad at
cikirkpatrick@cox.net.

Shane Wikfors Joins AFP as Grassroots Coordinator

Shane Wikfors, political consultant, blogger extraordinaire, and self-described “conservative community organizer,” has joined AFP Arizona as our Grassroots Coordinator. Shane’s main job is to help us put on grassroots educational events, including the April 15th Tea Parties in Phoenix and Tucson, and a series of Legislative TownHalls around the state.

Other Taxpayer News:

Barry Goldwater, Jr & AFP Arizona’s Tom Jenney will speak at tonight’s Taxpayer Tea Party sponsored by Republican Professionals, at 6 pm at the W Hotel in Scottsdale:
http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=RVLWATBRVBCGXCQSFOVR

By now, you know about the April 15th Tea Party events in Phoenix and Tucson:
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/031809-save-date-april-15th-tax-day-tea-party

We will soon be sending out a list of alternative Tea Parties statewide, for folks who can’t make it to the big events in downtown Tucson and at the state Capitol in Phoenix.

Dueling polls on the question of whether Arizonans support tax increases:
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/040109-az-gop-uses-poll-question-defend-stance-increasing-taxes

The Republic chooses an odd chart for its front-pager on the state budget deficit:
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/040109-republics-odd-choice-charts-sunday-deficit-story

More AFP Arizona blog posts here:
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/arizona/blog

For Liberty,

--Tom

Tom Jenney
Arizona Director
Americans for Prosperity
(Arizona Federation of Taxpayers)
www.aztaxpayers.org







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