I have lived in AZ for almost 30 years. In that time I have seen some amazing things happen that make me proud, and things that make me weep. I was part of the recall Mecham effort that helped drive a racist out of office many years ago. I lived through the Keeting Five scandal that rocked our state. I also made it through the Symington scandal. None of the previous embarrassments are even close to what happened today
The history of AZ is kind of odd, so I kind of feel I need to explain what we were in the beginning. It is kind of convoluted, so please bear with me while I give a quick summary of this place. We were originally part of the New Mexico Territory, but in the 1860s some folks decided to become a provisional territory called Arizona. During the Civil War, the Confederacy recognized us, and so we said Yay, we are with ya....sad but true. John Baylor was appointed as our first governor, and he had the great idea to kill all the Apaches and make their children slaves. Jeff Davis decided that wasn't a good idea, but before he could do anything about it, the union forces had taken the territory in 1862 so it was a moot point. But I think it foreshadowed the thinking that was to come.
Once the war was over, we didn't throw away our old attitudes easily. To say we were not in the forefront of the civil rights movement is being gentle. We were one of the last states to desegregate.
Today we are known as having 'Sheriff Joe', John McCain and now the first profiling state law to stop brown people. Please be assured, there are real folks here in this state, fighting for the true meaning of the constitution and electing brave folks like Raul Grijalva who stand for the people of Tucson. May I say how proud I am of him today. I just wish we could elect more people like him, both locally and nationaly.