Arizona: Bill Konopnicki

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Time once again to update the early filers with the Arizona Secretary of State for 2010. You can play along at home at http://www.azsos.gov/cfs/CommitteeSearch.aspx

Since the last update, Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker, a Republican, has been receiving a lot of media attention as he explores running for goveror PV mayor forms exploratory panel on run for governor, not all of it welcome PV Mayor Vernon Parker: Accused by Feds of false filing « Seeing Red AZ. State Treasurer Dean Martin, a Republican, is also considering running for governor State Treasurer Dean Martin considers a run for governor. Former Arizona Republican Party Chairman and Republican National Commiteeman John Munger told Bill Buckmaster of KUAT's Arizona Illustrated on Monday that he is leaving the segment "Face Off" and would have an announcement shortly about a new direction in his life, looking like the cat who swallowed the canary.

Update from Rep. Farley on the state budget:
Howdy,  Friends O'Farley...

Well, we passed a budget last Thursday night. It was the Republican leadership's budget, with many unwise components we lambasted for hours during floor debate.

I compared it to that children's book by Judith Viorst that my daughters used to love -- The Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Budget.

But the Speaker is not handing the budget over to the Governor for her promised veto -- he is keeping it in his back pocket for possible use later, maybe even on June 30, if negotiations don't go to his liking.

Which does have one advantage: The longer the budget's elements are out there in the public, the more problems crop up.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

There has been a number of early candidate filings this year for 2010. Many of the ranked contenders, however, may not file until as late as January of 2010 because of Arizona's resign to run law. So the early filers are not necessarily indicative of who's in and who's out for 2010. Some of the early filers have not even designated what office they are seeking.

A word of caution, the list below does not distinguish between an "exploratory committee" and a "candidate committee." "NP" indicates no party affilliation designated on the face of the filing.

So who is out there exploring if not actually running for office in 2010, with a little more than a year to go before the petition filing deadline?

Governor

Janelle Wood - NP
Roy Miller - NP
Kent Warren Couchee - NP
John Paul Mitchell - Independent
Hugh Kealer - Republican
Karen Johnson - Republican

Secretary of State

Sam Wercinski - Democrat (office sought is not designated in his filing)
Steve Gallardo - Democrat (his filing designates District 13 Senate)*

Attorney General

David Lujan - Democrat
Tom Horne - Republican

Treasurer

Andrei Cherney - Democrat

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Jason Williams - Democrat
Penny Kotterman - Democrat
John Huppenthal - Republican
Margaret Dugan - Republican
Mary Lou Taylor - Republican

Corporation Commission

Brenda Burns - Republican

Arizona Legislature

LD  1 Andrew Tobin - Republican - House
LD  6 Pamela Gorman - Republican - Senate
LD  7 Ray Barnes - Republican - Senate
LD  7 Michael Coskun - Republican - House
LD  7 Lawrence Coutts - Republican - House
LD  8 Ted King - NP - Senate
LD  8 Eric Ulis - Republican - House
LD13 Steve Gallardo - Democrat -Senate*
LD13 Ana Tovar - Democrat - House
LD14 Robert Meza - Democrat - Senate
LD14 Chad Campbell - Democrat - House
LD15 Krysten Sinema - Democrat - Senate
LD15 Katie Hobbs - Democrat - House
LD15 Lela Alston - Democrat - House
LD15 Luis Alberto Garcia - Democrat - House
LD16 Dr.

The draft budget released by GOP leaders earlier this week has received a tepid reception from Republican ranks.
Although few lawmakers are talking on the record, the hallway buzz is that no more than 15 Republicans agree with the concepts in the draft plan. (31 votes are needed to pass a budget.)
That estimate struck Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-Safford, as high. He's one of the few reps who is talking about the budget process, and he said he'd be surprised if there were 11 members in agreement with the plan. The problem, he said, is the magnitude of the cuts ($670 million, ...

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