The Arizona Republic reported within the hour that Citizens for a Better Arizona (CBA), the group behind the recall of State Senator Russell Pearce, did indeed turn in enough valid signatures to force an election, probably this fall.
The Maricopa County Elections Department has verified enough signatures to call a special recall election for Senate President Russell Pearce, according to the group lobbying for the recall. Citizens for a Better Arizona said they were told by the county on Wednesday morning that 8,239 signatures had been verified. They needed 7,756 to get a recall election. Arizona Republic
As I mentioned in a diary yesterday, Pearce has been saying to Fox News and anyone else dumb enough to listen that the recall process is being directed by "outsiders" and "leftwing anarchists." The truth is that it's mostly regular people from his own district -- many of them elderly, Republican, and Mormon -- who want the big oaf tossed. Also, 90 percent of the donations CBA received to support the grassroots movement came from Arizonans, and they accepted no corporate money. And get this: at the same time Pearce was whining to Fox that "outside" agitators and money were behind the recall, Tom Tancredo sent a nationwide email blast on Pearce's behalf asking for donations to fight the dang recall!
Team America, a political-action committee headed by former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., sent an e-mail blast Friday soliciting corporate and private donations for Citizens Who Oppose the Pearce Recall. Arizona Republic
The Elections Department will continue to count and verify signatures, since CBA turned in more than 18,000, so the final valid number could be more than 10,000. But the good news is that there will be an election in AZ-18. The Secretary of State now has five days to approve the count, then Governor Jan Brewer has 15 days to call the special election.
That's not to say the district will flip to the D column. In fact, there are several moderate Republicans who have hinted that they will challenge Pearce, and since the Mesa district is very conservative, it's likely to remain under Republican control, even if Pearce loses. The bottom line, though, is that there may be enough people in District 18 who want to give the bigot the boot -- which would benefit the entire state, not just District 18.
I don't have time to write a long dairy about the reasons Pearce should be sent packing, but here's a quick "Best Of" list:
1. Wife beater (she later dropped the charges, but the affidavit, saying how he punched, shoved, and grabbed her by the throat, exists).
2. Fired as director of Motor Vehicles for forging documents. His son was also arrested in the FBI sting, while another son currently sits in jail for domestic abuse -- nice family.
3. Associate of Arizona's National Socialist Party. You may remember how he forwarded lots of Nazi emails.
4. Author of SB 1070 and tons of even more radical, racist, and homophobic legislation. (I'm sure I've written 20 diaries on this one item.)
5. Fiesta Bowl ticket scandal.
6. Follower of Mormon wackjob and Bircher Cleon Skousen, who believed only white Mormon men can save democracy (there's the justification for SB 1070).
7. Tried to gin up anti-Mexican hatred by introducing a substitute teacher's letter into a Senate debate -- a letter that falsely accused Mexican students of hating whites and wanting to "take back" Arizona.
8. Declared himself King Russell when he became Senate President: created a "blacklist" to keep protestors out of the Capitol; barred the public from press conferences; declared it okay for legislators to pack heat.
9. On top of all the bigotry and bullying, while he's been presiding over the Senate ("the most powerful official in Arizona" the media say), the state has plummeted into an economic death spiral -- education has been gutted, healthcare is on the ropes, the state's reputation isn't worth a plug nickel, and unemployment is going through the roof. To top it off, this week Pearce and his hateful disciples refused to extend jobless benefits, even though doing so cost Arizona nothing, and would help thousands of families keep a roof over their head and bread on the table.
I've just scratched the surface (here's an earlier diary with the Top 20 Reasons to Recall). Pearce has been an embarrassing catastrophe in so many ways, and there's no doubt the state would be in a much better place, economically and socially, without this one peckerhead. I could write a lot more about the mean-spirited SOB, but I'll let one 5th-generation Mormon, a lawyer from Pearce's district, speak for everyone. This is from his letter to Governor Brewer:
I believe my letter represents the views of the majority of right thinking Mormons in Arizona. We clearly still have some knuckle dragging closet racists in the Church. We pray that they will recognize the evil in their ways.
While you're at it, pray that soon Pearce won't be in office. And vote too.
Arpaio next.