Friday, August 17th, 2007...6:17 pm
What Is THAT All About?
Rumors are swirling that Ray Carroll has been looking for a candidate to run against Sharon Bronson. Bronson won an oddball three way race in 1996 after incumbent Ed Moore had left the Republican party and ran as an independent. 2000 was another close contest, but 2004 turned into a snoozer when Republican Barney Brenner decided not to run after all.
Carroll’s choice was apparently State Representative Jennifer Burns, but she turned him down. Carroll understandably wants rid of Bronson, whose seat is the only one that he can concievably turn Republican and make him a leader of the majority.
Which begs a question about the second part of the rumors: why are Carroll and Republican pooh-bah Bruce Ash looking for a candidate to take on fellow Republican Ann Day? Maybe Carroll thinks she will retire, or maybe she doesn’t fit into his plans.
10 Comments
August 18th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Ray is one of the more unique political figures in our county. His stubborn opposition to a sales tax has endeared him to conservatives, but has also entrenched our status as a high property tax county because his one vote (the law requires unanimity among the supes) prevents the tax base from being broadened. However, he is also a big supporter of the desert protection plan and prides himself on being known as a “green Republican.” Thus, he does a good job of appealing to all Republicans and most independents. He is also a gregarious and affable person whose campaigning skills are formidable.
Ray and Ann don’t seem too far apart on the issues to me, but Ann is far too independent to take orders from anyone, so that may explain why Ray is trying to find a primary opponent for her. Given the way the Al Melvins of the world likely feel about her, he may succeed, but Ann would trounce anyone who comes at her from the right in a primary and there is no Democrat that I hear of planning to take her on. Her experience here and in the Legislature, coupled with her positive name ID, make it likely that she will be on the Board as long as she likes.
If Ray wants to be a kingmaker and rule the roost on the Board, his best bet is in District Three…but he should be cautious. Bronson is a savvy campaigner and, I believe, knows much more about how county government works than Ray does, or anyone he might recruit to come at her. She’ll hold on to the seat and Ray will find himself on the outs with her and with Ann. Since he’s unlikely to forge alliances with Elias and Valadez, he should choose to not meddle in other districts and concentrate instead on what higher office he will seek when his kids are older and he gets tired of being a supervisor.
August 19th, 2007 at 8:13 am
Ray Carroll is a very good County Supervisor.
He has worked hard ;manytimes crossing party lines working on projects and enacting important laws that help all Pima County residents. He has a long history of fighting for lower taxes and limited government. Mr Carroll has been a champion for kids and parents who are threatened by pornography in our public libraries. One fo the things we are all proud of is his record on conservation. He has stood up to large corporations who wish to tarnish our Southern Arizona countryside.
During his tenure Mr Carroll has rarely been able to count on much of any assistance from Supervisor’s Elias , Valadez & especially Bronson. They oftentimes have practiced politics in a partisan manner that rarely is in the best interests of all Pima County residents.
The costs of running this county are strangling the taxpayers. Up over 30% in the past 3 years to $1.5B. We need a change of leadership at the county level to return government accountability. Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago? When regime change is achieved I believe we will all see the benefits of replacing Sharon Bronson.
Why would Mr Carroll want to see Bronson’s seat occupied by a Republican ? Someone who just might provide better constituent services? Someone who might be interested in lower taxes? Someone who wants to hold the County Manager accountable for his actions? Someone who wants to protect Pima’s youth? Someone who wants to provide vision rather than the same old way of doing the county’s business? Somone who is not going to get cozy with former Supervisor’s who still have a strangle hold on County business?
Well let’s count all the reasons why Ray & others ARE looking for someone to challenge Ms Bronson. Maybe it’s time to take back our government and get return to the days when we actually had someone representing us who was responsible, sensitive and actually had our best interests at heart.
You keep going Ray…………
Bruce Ash
Tucson,AZ
August 19th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Sharon Bronson is effective. I do not give a rats a.. that she is a woman…but it is obvious Ray Carroll does- He is going after two fellow Republican Women. What a jerk. Ray Carroll is a nasty street fighter who everyone knows cannot carry your water on issues to the Board of Supervisors. He has no respect from his peers. Someday all of the things he has done to people he dislikes or has done to people to get things he wants will come home to roost. He is a mean man who has made many enemies and until “what goes around comes around”, hits RC we can expect to see more desperate and mean spirited behaviors to hold onto, and get more, power .
August 19th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Correction- I meant to say He is going after two women, one who is a Republican another, Sharon Bronson a Democrat-
August 19th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Dear Republican for Bronson–
Mr Carroll is NOT “going after” Ann Day & that is same for rest of the GOP. Nor is any otherRepublican planning to run against her .
Bruce Ash
August 20th, 2007 at 10:19 am
As I believe I have said before in this blog, Ann Day is an excellent Supervisor who serves her constituents well and any attempt to oust her — by a Republican or Democrat — I believe would result in total failure. Just as this obviously infantile (Democratic) attempt at trying to spread a false rumor to pit Ray Carroll and Ann Day against each other will fail as well. As was clear in the Board of Supervisors meeting today, Ray and Ann share the same concerns regarding outrageous increases in the county budget and most other issues also. We look forward to running with Ann in the 2008 election. And just for the record — we have never attempted to seek an opponent to challange Supervisor Ann Day, and anyone who claims we have is a bold-faced liar. Hope that is clear…
Scott Egan
Executive Assistant to Ray Carroll
August 20th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
I’ve not had many interactions with Scott Egan, but he has a deserved reputation for integrity and honesty. Thus, if he says that the Carroll camp is not looking to find a GOP primary opponent for Ann Day, he deserves to be taken at his word. As I said in my earlier post, “Ray and Ann don’t seem too far apart on the issues to me” and I also think, for the record, that Ray has been a pretty good supervisor, although I disagree with him on the aforementioned sales tax question. The position of county supervisor does not lend itself to partisan positions for the most part. We should ALL admit that, for crying out loud!
What is far more likely is that the right-wingers who ran Melvin and Jorgenson in LD26 last year will try to find an opponent for Ann in the GOP primary. Ray Carroll is probably not conservative enough for those folks, by the way. Both he and Ann are safe from primary opponents and the party breakdown in their districts (especially Ray’s) makes it unlikely that either one of them will ever be taken out by a Democrat. District Three is the only one of the five supervisorial districts that could go to either party, but Bronson has been an effective supervisor, too.
August 21st, 2007 at 7:54 am
Dear” Rex”–
Not wanting to continue this dialogue too long but at the risk of being over bearing ……………let me ask you if you think Ms Bronson voted in YOUR best interests yesterday when she voted for the final budget and county levy that will jack yours , mine (and all of Pima County residents ) property taxes through the roof?
I also wonder how fast the values that our dem assessor increased all of our county property last year will go down next year with falling values in Pima County?
You know “Rex”….the problem with these folks isn’t that they are evil or just have designs of taking all of our money in taxes…….shoot they have to pay the same taxes as we do( at least I hope so). They are just incompetent. They don’t run the county business very well and it is a real problem for all of us now as we are facing the crunch since the housing market bubble has burst.
That is why we need regime change on the county board. Frankly, we need a change at the top also. I feel we need to perform a critical assessment of Mr Huckleberry’s work at the helm of Pima county government. It will take folks who ARE competent to make the changes happen that we need . This isn’t about politics and political parties–it’s about survival from the tyranny these folks subject us all to because they just don’t get it.
Bruce Ash
August 21st, 2007 at 9:44 am
Dear “Rex”–
Also. Just for the record (again ) …..no Republican is out trying to recruit a primary challenger to Ann Day!
Ann is doing a very good job upholding Republican values,keeping taxes lower,limiting the scope of government & protecting Pima County families. Ms. Day and Mr. Carroll make an effective team that will be further supported when regime change is achieved in 2008.
Bruce Ash
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:29 am
[…] what we have learned from Ash on here is that Sharon Bronson, Richard Elías and Ramón Valadez are “tyrants” and we need […]
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