This has been the talk around Arizona Political circles for the last few weeks. Will State Senate President Russell Pearce survive the November 8th Recall Election in LD-18?
Many pundits, including some in his own inner circle, say he might lose to Jerry Lewis. Why are people thinking this? Let's look into the reasons:
- Who got Olivia Cortes on the Ballot?
We now know who spearheaded this effort, thanks to Stephen Lemons of the New Times, who attended a recent LD-19 Republican Meeting. Here is what Mr. Lemons had to say in a recent article:
My purpose in being there was to confront two movers behind the pro-Pearce resolution: Mesa Republican Dan Grimm, and former LD 19 chair Pat Oldroyd, both of whom circulated petitions to qualify Cortes for the election.
Oldroyd was the first person who greeted me when I entered the room at a local events center, and after I told her who I was, I asked if she was the same Oldroyd who had circulated for Cortes. She admitted as much, though she was also clearly campaigning for the Pearce resolution by handing out Pearce literature at the meeting.
I wondered why she had circulated for Cortes.
"Because I wanted to help her get on the ballot," was her reply.
Oldroyd, an odd, spry little lady, then ran off and began informing others of the presence of New Times. There were soon cries for us to leave, to which I shouted back something to the effect that, "I didn't know Republicans held secret meetings."
Last week, this same group led by Oldroyd, denied to the Arizona Capitol Times, that they had anything to do with getting Cortes on the ballot:
"Oldroyd wouldn’t say why she and others were asked to help Cortes qualify for the ballot, though she criticized recall organizers as being “out of state people (funded by) out of state money.” Pearce’s opponents have alleged she was recruited to run in order to split the anti-Pearce vote, particularly among Hispanics.
“I don’t have to discuss that,” Oldroyd said when asked if she gathered signatures in order to help Pearce fend off a challenge from Lewis, a charter school administrator."
Retired professor David Berman from the ASU Morrison Institute, who lives in LD-18, had this to say:
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO!
And this from the September 16, 2011 AZ Capitol Times Yellow Sheet Report:
“There’s a developing sense that the man’s going to lose. Almost everyone with a street named after them [in Mesa] is working against Pearce. I think that says it all,” said one Republican source.
It's obvious that Olivia Cortes is nothing but a 'plant' for Pearce. Since none of the PM bloggers live in LD-18, we don't have a 'horse in this race'. This election is not a Republican Primary, where Pearce has always won in the past, this is an election where all the citizens of LD-18 can vote. It's now up to those voters to make the choice. Going to be interesting to watch this race!
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