The Arizona GOP has succeeded in getting the Arizona Attorney General's office to investigate the Independent Redistricting Commission. (See previous diary here)
The blood is in the water, and the sharks are circling.
As part of the investigation, AG Tom Horne has signaled his willingness to drag the commission members to testify under oath - all because the AZ GOP thinks the commission is being too friendly to Democrats.
First, a little about how we got here and how the IRC is made up:
The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) is the result of voter-passed Proposition 106 (2000). The commission has 5 members: 2 Democratic, 2 Republican, and 1 (one) "independent". Each member is appointed by the State Legislature - the Senate Democratic leader picks one, the House Democratic leader picks one, and the Republicans do the same. The "independent" (determined by party registration ONLY) is picked by the partisan members- and in this case, was confirmed by unanimous consent. The members' bios are available here.
The controversy over this IRC, the second in the state's history, has been with the "independent" Chair, Colleen Mathis, siding with the Democrats on several key issues that have come down on party-line votes.
The proverbial "straw" in this issue seems to be the selection of Barack Obama's 2008 consultant firm Strategic Telemetry as the IRC's mapping firm. See here for a full run-down (also some other info about the efforts to remove Mathis- and abolish the commission).
Also, apart from the partisan pressure on Gov. Jan Brewer and AG Horne, there have been reports and accusations of violating the state's open meetings laws. (Aside: This seems to be a pretty standard way of calling the troops- see Quartzite).
So, to recap: A partisan play to get the IRC more Republican friendly has grasped at straws and managed to come up with a possible route to getting Ms. Mathis off the commission.
Horne, a sharply partisan GOP/TPer, played tough and threw some red meat:
Attorney General Tom Horne said Thursday he won't tolerate non-cooperation from the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission as he investigates whether the panel violated open-meeting and procurement laws.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/...
Jose Herrera, a Democrat on the IRC initially wasn't going to take this unprecedented partisan intrusion onto his legal authority:
In a meeting Wednesday, Herrera, one of the two Democrats on the panel, said he would not be put under oath if the investigation comes to that, and he urged his fellow commissioners to follow suit.
"I really do think it's a waste of taxpayer money," he said, adding that Horne has no proof of wrongdoing and accusing the attorney general of reacting to partisan complaints.
Commission attorneys, in response to questions, on Wednesday advised the panel's members of their rights, saying they have legislative immunity and cannot be compelled to testify under oath.
Horne, however, said he would seek a contempt finding from the court against any commission members who refused to testify.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/...
(Bold mine)
A two week old investigation, Horne is hoping to give Jan Brewer the juice she needs to bow to the Teahadist wing. A commissioner may only be removed if they cannot fulfill their duties, or if they are found to be breaking a law. And the violation of an open meetings law? Falls squarely on Chair Mathis' shoulders. Convenient.
But, wait! Who was advising the IRC on open meetings law requirements?
Which, as I point out in this week's column, is curious considering that two lawyers from the Arizona Attorney General's Office advised the AIRC earlier this year, specifically, Assistant Attorney General James Barton and Assistant Attorney General Christopher Munns. This was before the AIRC hired its own attorneys in May.
Read this article by Stephen Lemons to catch the whole pickle Horne tries to wiggle out of.
In conclusion, we have:
1) A GOP-led intimidation ring to try to get the IRC more GOP friendly by removing Chair Mathis
2) An Arizona Atty General (R) who is more than willing to investigate an open meeting law violation that his office actually advised on
3) If a violation is found, it would give Jan Brewer (R) a valid legal reason to remove Chair Mathis
What an interesting set of coincidences....