Sal DiCiccio, a conservative (Republican) member of the officially non-partisan Phoenix City Council, is facing a recall threat.
One of the big efforts behind this threat is a little non-profit called "Save Phoenix Taxpayers".
The group, Protect Voters' Rights, has contributed $50,000 to the anti-DiCiccio group called Save Phoenix Taxpayers, according to campaign-finance reports filed with the Phoenix city clerk.
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Scott Phelps, a retired Phoenix employee who served as the spokesman for four different mayors during his 19-year tenure, said he formed Protect Voters' Rights to protect the city from being destroyed by partisan politics.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/...
This kinda hits on two different topics we've been seeing in Phoenix politics lately:
1) The fight against/for partisanship entering the officially/nominally non-partisan positions on the Council and Mayorship
2) The torch-and-pitchforks against the "union thugs" that are the sole cause of the Phoenix budget holes (and are trying to take over the government, too!)
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For more about the whole partisanship fight, I suggest reading this diary, as well as this one. (Yes, they're my own, but not many people are writing about this race, even though Phoenix is the sixth largest city in the nation!)
This whole union fight actually started with Sal himself. Not content with dealing with city issues at the city level, he went to the state legislature to find ideological compatriots:
In an e-mail blast asking for support (read money), DiCiccio says the "bullying really kicked into high gear" when he took to the Legislature Senate Bill 1322, which would require Phoenix and Tucson to get bids from private companies for city services other than public safety.
Phoenix New Times
Of course, then he complained of being harassed by unions: receiving threatening faxes, damage to his car, general thuggery. As far as I can tell, the allegations never bore out.
Then, of course, the campaigning against unions took the most expected turn: a virulently anti-union email that DiCiccio sent using City resources soliciting donations against two union-affiliated council candidates. You can read about THAT here. (Quick note: I'm proud to say that I joined in that effort by emailing Dave Cavazos, AND that Bryan Jeffries is my current councilman. How about that government waste NOW, Sal?)
So, back to the issue we started with: Sal complaining about how a shadowy group with a patriotic sounding name is trying to force him out of office.
"It's a front for the unions," DiCiccio said. "They're laundering money and keeping the contributors in hiding."
"This has all the markings of a classic front group designed to disguise contributions," La Sota [ed: DiCiccio's attorney] said. "The public has the right to know who is funding this anti-Sal recall."
"Mayor Gordon probably has something to do with it without a doubt," DiCiccio said.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/...
And the response:
"The councilman sees bogeymen," said [ed Current Mayor Phil] Gordon, who noted Phelps was a spokesman for mayors Paul Johnson and Skip Rimsza. "If there is a recall, I would get involved in a very open, transparent and public way that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone."
Phelps said he hasn't talked to Gordon at all about the matter and is working on his own.
"Candidly, I never had a high regard for the councilman and he is my councilman," Phelps said.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/...
Sal, thanks to your ideological brethren, this has all been possible. Be sure to send the Roberts court some flowers, Okay?