Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Arizona Gubernatorial Alert

Those of you who live in Arizona know that we have a very important gubernatorial election coming up. Currently we are being served by former Secretary of Sate Jan Brewer (R), who replaced Janet Napolitano (D) after Napolitano was appointed by President Obama to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

While we do have some time before the Arizona Republican primary which takes place on September 7, 2010, it is never too early to get acquainted with your choices. At this time Governor Brewer has not committed to seeking reelection. Other names being discussed for the Republican ticket are many and include such prominent figures as Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Congressman Jeff Flake, and former Congressman J. D. Hayworth. A more complete list of possible Republican and Democratic party candidates can be found on the "Our Campaigns" website.

Today I heard a radio advertisement for John Munger and was intrigued, so I checked out his website. I must say I am impressed by his resume. He has experience as a former State Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, a former member of the Republican National Committee, and former Pima County Republican Chairman. Munger also served as Co-Chairman of the McCain for President, Arizona Campaign, a position that both impresses me and concerns me. Currently he is Chairman of ImagineArizona, a Political Action Committee with a mission to promote policies based on creating dynamic economic growth through the empowerment of free people and limited government.

Speaking of policies and economic growth, I also am impressed by his ideas as he states them on his website, and believe that he may be the right person at the right time, given our current economic situation in both Arizona and America.

Regarding taxes, his website states that "Rather than increasing taxes, we must reduce or eliminate the corporate income tax ( which is higher than almost any other state in our region) and completely eliminate our Personal Property Tax on Business Equipment (which most of the states in our region do not charge) to finally make Arizona competitive for small investment and the creation of real jobs for real Arizona families. In addition we must eliminate Arizona capital gains tax in order to encourage investment of new job creation here in Arizona."

On the border and immigration, his policy is that "We must immediately declare war on the cartels, marshall, train, and equip Arizona’s own interjurisdictional crime task force to attack the cartels anywhere we find them, drive them from our state, and secure our borders where the Feds will not."

Munger has great ideas about the development of our highway system that do not involve government and taxes; instead he maps out a plan in which private corporations fund the development of highways. "Private companies stand ready to invest their own money to build those four lanes of road, from Tucson to Flagstaff, and would employ Arizona workers, equipment, and materials to do it. The four lanes would be built in about 3 years, and would be built and maintained according to state standards and then turned over to the state in roughly 30 years, free and clear. Arizonan, including truckers, could drive either on the public road for free and pay a small fee to drive on the toll lanes. Your choice. But safety and speed of movement would be enhanced in any event."

On his website, he describes why he is running for governor by asking "Where is Arizona going?" His answer, in part, tells me that he very much understands the issues this state faces as I see them. He continues by stating "Frankly, the universal answer I have heard from virtually all Arizonans is: “I don’t know.” Universally, after far too many years of drifting government, led by professional politicians with little real experience, and directed only by Crisis Management, with government responding only at the last moment of crisis, Arizonans have watched in frustration as jobs and businesses disappear, our education system fails our children, a water shortage looms on the horizon, our transportation system totters, all while government has grown at twice the combined rater of inflation plus population growth for the last many years."

I must admit, I am a bit biased toward J. D. Hayworth, and should he choose to run he would probably have my vote in a minute. However, I also believe that Hayworth is serving the people of Phoenix and Arizona in a very important capacity in his current position as a talk show host for AM 550 KFYI. He keeps us informed of issues both local and national with an insight that not many can offer.

Hayworth has also openly discussed running in 2010 for the Senate seat currently occupied by John McCain, and I believe his previous experience in Washington combined with his current understanding of the issues at home would provide great representation, but there he's only one of one hundred.

If you are a resident of Arizona and are concerned about the future of our state I hope you take some time to learn about John Munger, as I believe he certainly is worthy of serious consideration.

20 comments:

Kid said...

Soloman. I hope you get some good leadership.

I personally like Sheriff Joe. Have you read his bio? No slacker.

I like his hard stance on animal abuse as well.

tammy said...

Thanks for the info Soloman. I like what you've told me so far about him, will definitely check him out and share your post with my friends and family here. I love Sheriff Joe, but I love him as the sheriff.

Soloman said...

Kid, I hope so too. Since I've moved here we've been decimated by Crappy Nappy, and Brewer's a RINO big time.

I'll be interested to hear what Barry Young on KFYI has to say about him, and also to see if J. D. talks about him. J. D. has been honest about the fact that he's undecided between Senate and Governor, or to run at all... so we'll see if Munger's presence influences him at all.

And regarding Joe... I know I like everything I see in him, but I'd fear he's so controversial that if he became governor it would be a constant sideshow with all the liberal hacks attacking him, not letting him do his job.

Soloman said...

Tammy.. that's the thing, just getting the information out.

I like Joe as sheriff too, plus like I said to Kid I worry his reputation would bring on the never-ending sideshow.

Anything but Phil Gordon is great, but I'd prefer to see Brewer gone too, so we've got to vote in the primary and get a real economics conservative with a chance.

Kid said...

No doubt Soloman, no doubt. ;-]

I'm just getting tired of Wishy-washy !

And people really willing to take a stand might be valuable in the near future.

I admit I don't know much about your guy, maybe he is the best choice.
You sure don't need any more Bruce Babbit's or Janet's or Symington's or whoever that last gov was.

Teresa said...

I like Sheriff Joe because the man won't take any sh*t from anyone. He's a courageous individual. But, John Munger sounds like a good guy too. Its a plus to have more than one good person to choose from.

Soloman said...

Kid, I don't know much about this guy yet either, to be fair. I literally just heard of him for the first time today.

I spent some time on his website, and I like what I read... but I have a few people whose opinions I value, like I said before. I'll wait 'till I hear from them, and I'll do some more research on this guy too.

Soloman said...

Teresa - like Tammy said, and I agree - Joe is fantastic at his job. He would be hard to replace with someone half as good.

I'll have to learn more about his complete resume before I judge any other capabilities he may have.

One thing to know... Phoenix is now a big city, even if Arizona is still relatively small in population. Because of the size of Phoenix we have a very cutthroat media here, and the local newspaper and a couple of the TV stations really seem to have it in for Joe. That's a tough place to start, and a tough road to haul should he run successfully.

Opus #6 said...

You know what they say. All politics are local.

Anonymous said...

I used to be a liberal myself, many years ago. I give credit to a liberal for "liberating" me from the insanity of liberal thinking.

M. Ryan Williams said...

Great post Soloman! Keep your eye out for a new look to the johnmunger.com website in the coming days.

Meadow said...

I can just imagine Sheriff Joe being ostrasized like Palin was up here in Alaska.

However, having a good person in the leadership role would make AZ one of the safer places to live... Sheriff Joe doing his thing and the good guy in control, just can't ask for anything more.

Bingo Henry said...

Nice to see an open mind to a cool guy: John Munger. Sheriff Joe is great, but what does he know about business or economics? Or education reform or health care regulation? What does Brewer or Dean Martin know? Heck Martin is too young to know much about anything. John Munger is the only one out there who is actually running on ideas.

Anonymous said...

John Munger has some questionable ties. He's being endorsed by the morally bankrupt Symington.

His law firm Munger-Chadwick also is the law firm representing Tucson Greyhound Park. The dog track has been the scene of crimes against dogs and drug possession.

As a Tucson Republican, we won't be voting for him.

Soloman said...

Opus.. yes, they are, therefore I will be reporting on AZ's local issues from time to time. Gotta keep it real close to home!

Soloman said...

Anon former liberal - congrats to you for your conversion. I'm guessing that you too find life much more satisfying now...

Soloman said...

M. Ryan Williams - thanks for the compliment!

I will indeed be watching for that website update, as well as any other information I can gather on any of Arizona's candidates.

Soloman said...

Meadow -

The liberal media would slander him without fail, and as much as he may have support in Maricopa County for the job he's been elected to do, running for governor will certainly open him up to not just more scrutiny, but truth-stretching and lies.

Soloman said...

Bingo Henry - thanks for commenting!

your comment reflects many of my thoughts. As I have mentioned, I'd strongly consider voting for J.D. Hayworth should he run for governor. Having said that, he has not announced yet and I am intrigued by Munger's presence thus far.

Soloman said...

Tucson Anon - I appreciate your commenting.

I must say since you left no name and did not comment under a Google profile your credibility is called somewhat into question.

Nonetheless, I take your comment into consideration. Regarding dog tracks, I've never been thrilled by the idea, but they are legal and everyone deserves representation.

Regarding any endorsement - John McCain was endorsed by John Hagee, who has made very questionable if not reprehensible comments. One endorsement does not stop me from considering a candidate though.

I have an open mind and will continue to learn, reporting as necessary.