Random Notes for the Feast of Stephen
- Already, the names of possible candidates have been surfacing for Steve Leal’s seat. One is Eva Carrillo-Dong, longtime member of the Sunnyside School Board. Her name was also out two years ago as a possible replacement for Leal if he resigned to run for mayor. There may be a hitch though: already, one person has sent me an address for her that puts her on the wrong side of 12th Avenue to be in Ward 5.
- I spoke with Jim Pederson a couple of days ago, and he is not interested in running for state Democratic chair. Interestingly, he maneuvered the conversation into his outlook on the 2010 governor’s race, and mentioned that without clean elections matching funds, someone would need an awful lot of money to run a race. Hrm, what candidate could Jim be thinking of that has a lot of money?
30 Comments
Does Jim really want to take on Goddard in a primary? I hope not. That would be horrible for the Party and a field day for Brewer.
Plus, hasn’t Jim already tried to win a race by throwing money at it? How did that turn out? Oh, now I remember…
Interesting that Eva may run. Steve works @ the county jail and she works at the Detention center school. Is there something about working in the corrections field that draws people to that seat?
Mr. Pederson was a terrible candidate two years ago. He may have made a decent Senator, and certainly would have been better than Jon Kyl, but the campaign he ran was just awful. He should have performed better given the national climate in 2006. When I encountered him during his campaign, he seemed completely disinterested in getting to know the people who would vote for him or the issues that interested us. I’m guessing I wasn’t the only one who got the impression from him. I agree with Anonymous: a Goddard/Pederson primary would not be a good idea.
Hell no, bring pederson on. just make sure when he loses, he has another 10 million to help out Goddard.
I agree the ten million would be nice, but we need to let the one viable candidate with solid name recognition (Goddard) move foward against Brewer, representing a unified Democratic Party. Spending time in a primary between Goddard and Pederson would be a huge waste of valuable time.
The earlier we have a candidate, the sooner we can go to work.
Both Goddard and Pederson are yesterday’s papers who would represent weak challenges to Brewer. We need a gubernatorial candidate that can represent and speak to the future of both the party and the state. It’s a shame that Giffords has already said she is not interested as I continue to believe that her savvy as a campaigner, accomplishments as an officeholder and prowess as a fundraiser would make her our best choice. Absent a Giffords run, I will be looking for a fresh face to lead the ticket in 2010.
I agree that a Pederson challenge to Goddard for AZ Governor in the primary would be a waste of time & lots of $. Pederson was so lack luster the last time around against Kyl.
I disagree with Rex that Terry Goddard is “yesterday’s papers”. He has great statewide popularity now and is far stronger now than he was in his last attempt. Terry would be a formidable candidate. Who else is there that has the statewide popularity and name recognition that he has?
I think that Terry would benefit from a spirited and interesting primary contest-mainly to keep interest up in Terry rather than Brewer-as long as the person who he ran against was just weak enough to make it not too interesting.
Zelph, I would support Goddard if he was chosen as our nominee, but do not think he is our strongest choice, mostly because he lost the race before…twice if you count the primary loss to Basha in 1994. Granted, he has won two statewide races as AG, but he benefited from weak opponents both times, especially in 2006 when he beat Montgomery. He has been an effective AG, but a low-key one without many big-time accomplishments to tout.
The Democratic nominee needs to represent a clear break from the past while also presenting a strong agenda that contrasts with what the GOP will represent after two years of one-party rule. Goddard will get a good vote in Pima County, like most Democrats do, but I don’t see him being competitive in Maricopa or the rural counties. I also don’t see him as an effective spokesperson for the future of the party and state, nor do I think he would be strong in responding to the inevitable GOP attacks.
As for alternatives, the Giffords option is still the best one, but she has said she isn’t running. Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox or Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson would be intriguing choices. US Rep. Harry Mitchell has experience at the local, state and federal levels and, like Giffords, has shown the ability to raise a lot of money.
I’m sorry, but I think the average Arizona voter will look at a third Goddard gubernatorial candidacy and think, “Been there, done that!”
Wait, Goddard wouldn’t be competitive in Maricopa and rural counties, but Giffords would be? I can’t imagine Congresswoman Giffords doing better in Maricopa County than AG Goddard would. And “the average Arizona voter” didn’t live here the last times he ran for Governor. I don’t think he’s as tainted goods as you make him out to be. I’ve got no horse in this race yet, but I just don’t follow the reasoning put forth so far for why Goddard would be weak…
Goddard is very strong in statewide polling. I agree that Mitchell and Giffords are are good as well, but I don’t think they are interested. Even people in Maricopa County like Goddard. Terry’s a damn good candidate in my opinion, not to mention he’s a good guy. I don’t think we have a better option.
*I remember when Rose Mofford could have been elected Governor in 1990 and did not want to run. She was 66 years old at time. Jan Brewer will be the same age in 2010. Jane Hull was only 61 at the time of her appointment. We need to watch Governor Brewer and see what she does, for now yes, she is the presumptive Republican nominee, but don’t be totally surprised if she gets challenged in 2010 or decides not to run.
*Speaking of 1990, In what was one of the most Karl Rovish situations ever, Terry didn’t win because of a whisper campaign questioning his sexuality and Fife Symington spending a fortune to beat him. We lived in a much different Arizona at that time;
*Conventional wisdom would suggest that it is in fact, “Terry Time” for the Arizona Democratic Party. Goddard has been good at every job he has ever had, and understands the responsibility of being Governor.
*On an even more historic note, he would become the first Native Arizonan ever elected to be Governor of the State, (I’m not sure about the territory). (Mofford was the first to serve). I know that does not qualify him to be Governor, but, at this point, if he does decide to run, he would be an outstanding choice for Arizona Democrats.
oh and one more thing, in 2006, Terry got 50,000 more votes then Brewer, both were running in contested statewide races respectively…..
Paul-
Mofford, Bruce Babbitt, Sidney Osborn and John Campbell were all born in Arizona. Raúl Castro was very young when his family moved to Pirtleville from Cananea, which makes him a near-native.
Territorial governors were presidential appointments. The first one to have actually seen the state before being appointed was the sixth, Frederick Trittle (in 1882), and the first one to have actually lived here before being appointed was his successor, Conrad Meyer Zulick. None were born in Arizona.
Mofford was never Elected, Babbitt was born in Los Angeles and both Campbell and Osborn were born before the State of Arizona existed….
First elected Governor to be born in the State of Arizona could be Terry Goddard? I stand by that.
Babbitt’s NGA bio lists his birthplace as Flagstaff. Even if Babbitt was born in Los Angeles, his family had lived here for generations and he grew up here.
Ted, it’s a trivia contest, not a political debate! Give Paul some deserved props!
His Birthplace was listed as LA in Wikipedia—oh well……I would never pretend to be in the same league as Tedski when it comes to AZ history, unless we are talking Wildcat Sports, either way, it is still interesting that none or possibly only one of our Governors was actually born in the State of Arizona.
Not that interesting, Arizona seems to have been made for people from other states to move here and run for office.
Some folks seem to be unaware that Terry Goddard was elected to two or three terms as mayor of Phoenix and did an excellent job.
Steve, Zelph and All-
Let me be clear that I am not a Goddard basher. If he is the nominee, I will support him enthusiastically. He does have a proud record of public service and he was unfairly maligned in 1990. It is also fair to say that the three-way primary he lost in 1994 was to his disadvantage.
My only point throughout this thread is that the best way to show that the Democratic Party is the better choice to secure Arizona’s future is not to nominate someone who has already tried for the job of governor twice and lost. It sends a message that we are mired in the past and have cultivated no new leadership that is ready to take on the top job in this state. My fear is that Goddard will be a 21st century Clay or Bryan. The GOP will play up the losses in ’90 and ’94 and will tirelessly say that voters have already rejected Goddard twice.
Why would we want to go into a gubernatorial race with those disadvantages, especially in a state where we are in the minority? I realize that Goddard has been positioning himself for a run and looks like an heir apparent, but is it so wrong to suggest that there may be better options than the obvious one? Are we already content to say that the choice for our gubernatorial nominee in two years is a fait accompli?
Rex you point is well stated, as of now, we do not know if the AG is even going to run, or anyone else for that matter. There is nothing wrong with a contested primary. And it is possible another candidate could emerge. For now, today, if a special election was going to happen in the next 30 days, he’s probably be our guy.
I am going to disagree with you about what happened 16 years ago. I’d venture to say people will be simpathetic. And T think that it shows moxey to come back for a third try unabashed and unfrusturated. It shows he is not a quitter.
Terry Goddard did not win before because he was unknown outside of Maricopa County. He has now been elected to statewide office twice and is well-loved throughout Arizona. A 2010 Goddard run for Governor would be very different than the first two.
I would also point out that Goddard has been “camping” rural Arizona for the past 7 years. ala this page:
http://www.azag.gov/InauguralTour/counties.html
notice the glaring absence of Pima or Maricopa county for his “inaugural tour”
not sure he’s the washed up has been some would paint him as
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Goddard born in Tucson?
Indeed he was, Tex.
http://www.nndb.com/people/105/000161619/
May he with the most charisma win…doh!