In a little more than two weeks, Arizona voters will go to the primary polls to select the candidates they want to see on the November general election ballot. Street corners across the Valley are littered with campaign signs, and television is airing one political commercial after another. Even Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio — who is not up for election this year — has ads airing that say Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, who is running, doesn’t support Arizona’s new illegal immigration law or Arpaio’s enforcement of such laws.
In fact, the sheriff’s ads are just one example of how one issue — illegal immigration — has nearly hijacked this year’s elections despite the fact that illegal immigration is not the only, or even the most important issue, Arizona needs to grapple with at this time.
For instance, Arizona has the second highest foreclosure rate in the nation, with 91,484 properties — one in every 30 homes — impacted by foreclosure in the first half of this year alone.
Year after year, Arizona ranks near the bottom compared to other states in how well it funds public schools. Results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress show Arizona students lag behind their peers in most other states.
Arizona businesses have laid off thousands of workers. Some have closed. Currently there are an estimated 309,000 unemployed residents in our state.
And what about the state budget? According to recent report by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, Arizona could be in the red by as much as $1 billion.
As they consider who to cast ballots for in the Aug. 24 primary, voters should do their homework on the candidates, paying particular attention to what these office-seekers say they will do to help make Arizona’s economy robust again. What’s their plan for attracting industries with good-paying jobs to Arizona? How will they approach budget cuts at the state and local level? What will they do to ensure that every Arizona child has access to the best education possible? How will they keep us safe in our homes, in our cities and on our roadways — and not just on the Mexican border?
By all means, we need to consider where the candidates stand on illegal immigration and border security. But there are many other issues important to our quality of life in Arizona.
To help you decide the best people to represent your interests we have created a special political page — AZ Unplugged — on our website, evtrib.com. We encourage you to spend some time there checking out candidate profiles, political stories, forums and, most importantly, the candidates’ views in their own words, unedited by us.
The primary is 17 days away. Make your decisions well-informed ones.
forkedlift1 posted at 5:34 pm on Mon, Aug 9, 2010.
Accuracy, you have truly lost it.
Accuracy posted at 4:22 pm on Sun, Aug 8, 2010.
Immigration not the only issue in this year's elections
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Concerning the immigration issue and Arizona’s SB 1070 illegal-immigration law…..
From Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution, we find these words: "No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay."
This means U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder, with a blatant disregard for Constitutional law, filed the federal government's lawsuit against the state of Arizona in a court that has no authority to hear the case. It also means, neither U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton nor the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, to which the case is being appealed, have any legal standing whatsoever to rule on the issue.
Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona showed some spine after the signing SB 1070 into law . . . And Arizona voters now support the new immigration law and Governor Jan Brewer in the Arizona gubernatorial race more than ever.
whitehat posted at 1:08 pm on Sun, Aug 8, 2010.
Brittanicus: Why do you repeat the old urban legend about Cristobal Silverio. Let me guess: The story is repeatedly posted in every disreputable wingnut blog in the US, starting with Ann Coulter's. If the immigration problem is that severe, why is it necessary to embroider and repeat an old inaccurate story from years ago? If there is a message in the story, it gets completely lost, the minute you start adding your own "facts". Can't you do better than that?[beam]
samkat posted at 12:48 pm on Sun, Aug 8, 2010.
I doubt that the Trib or even the Republic has the guts to actually publish balanced articles on illegal immigration.
Brittanicus posted at 12:12 pm on Sun, Aug 8, 2010.
When the National Liberal press have no choice but to inform about the illegal alien occupation of our country, than even some of the moderate Liberals and Democrats, finally see the financial destructive power of foreign nationals skirting our sovereign laws to get here. It has been seen that legal families, contain numerous illegal aliens and so the system of checks and balances are badly compromised when it comes to government benefits.
JUST THE TIP OF THE FINANCIAL ICEBERG
No state has remained untouched in supporting monetarily illegal aliens and families as welfare is easily accessible through citizen-children born here under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. According to FAIR, (Federation for American Immigration Reform) Illegal Immigration expenditures have reached $113 Billion annually as a Drain on U.S. Taxpayers, with a very large plus additional of $60 billion dollars earned by illegal aliens in the U.S. each year. This being Mexico's largest revenue streams (after exports and oil sales) consists of money sent home by legal immigrants and illegal aliens working in America.
Those who believe we can keep on accepting millions of people annually should read this repeated excerpt about a family of illegal immigrants described in the Spring 2005 Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons: Below is the consequences of the instant citizenship that has become a national plague in the last twenty years. TAKE A MINUTE IN INVESTIGATING OF EXPENDITURES FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS AT GOOGLE AND YAHOO.
“Cristobal Silverio came illegally from Oxtotilan, Mexico, in 1997 and brought his wife Felipa, plus three children aged 19, 12 and 8. Felipa … gave birth to a new daughter, her anchor baby, named Flor. Flor was premature, spent three months in the neonatal incubator, and cost San Joaquin Hospital more than $300,000. Meanwhile, (Felipa’s 19-year-old daughter) Lourdes plus her illegal alien husband produced their own anchor baby, Esmeralda. Grandma Felipa created a second anchor baby, Cristian. … The two Silverio anchor babies generate $1,000 per month in public welfare funding. Flor gets $600 per month for asthma. Healthy Cristian gets $400. Cristobal and Felipa last year earned $18,000 picking fruit. Flor and Cristian were paid $12,000 for being anchor babies.” This is of course Mexico, but other countries citizens are aware of this gaping hole, especially poor undeveloped countries. But for the price of an airline ticket, they can gain access to American hospitals and receive free natal treatment, as well as the baby born there where payment reverts to the taxpayer.
CALL THE CAPITOL AT 202-224-3121 AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?
Closely scrutinize any new lawmaker relating to their platform on illegal immigration. The power of our vote can deny them access to Washington or State government. Demand they follow the "Rule of Law" People who comment should stand up to the plate and bombard their federal lawmakers at 202-224-3121 NumbersUSA has an immigration grading system showing who should not be reelected in Mid-Term elections. For Facts, figures and other statistics at Immigration Counters.