Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Arizona Accord, Arizona Farm Bureau, Jerry Lewis, Oh My.

We already knew an Arizona Accord was in the works.  Todd Landfried mentioned it back in December.

One of Randy Parraz's cohorts posted the following statement regarding the Arizona Compact, Mesa Compact, Arizona Accord on Facebook:

"This is the clone of the Utah Compact.  The Arizona Accord has been adopted by the city of Tolleson, the Human Relations Panels of Mesa and Phoenix,
and will be considered by their city councils in the future, by the Arizona Farm Bureau,
and numerous other groups.  Please read and sign to show your support."

The Arizona Farm Bureau?  The same organization whose Director of Organization is Paul Brierley, LD 21 District Chairman?  The same Paul Brierley who is a State Republican Member-at-large alongside the likes of Jon Lindblom and Beth Coons?

Could be.

The Arizona Farm Bureau was a plantiff in a lawsuit against Arizona over employer sanctions in 2007.

According to an article on AZ Central dated January 24, 2012

Other supporters of the accord so far include the Greater Phoenix Economic Council,
the Arizona Interfaith Network, Tolleson, the Mesa Human Relations Advisory Board,
the Phoenix Human Relations Commission,Chicanos Por La Causa, East Valley Patriots,
 Sundt Construction and McCarthy Construction.

Kevin Rogers, president of the Arizona Farm Bureau, said his group has worked on these issues for 15 years.
He said that the federal government must secure the border but that Arizona farmers
also need immigration programs that allow for temporary workers, seasonal workers
and long-term workers "for our economy to continue its recovery."



We have mentioned before about the connections between the Mesa Human Relations Advisory Board and the Mesa Compact.

We have also mentioned the connections with Sundt Construction.
J. Doug Pruitt, Chairman/CEO, Sundt Construction, Inc./Kevin Gibbons/Konopnicki/visit to WH National Economic Council Doug Bell on 7/22/10

And East Valley Patriots (For American Values)

and you can't forget Chicanos Por La Causa.

Supporters who have signed on to the Accord can be found here.

Notable signers (which reads like the Jerry Lewis donors list):
JERRY LEWIS
David Johnson
Lydia Guzman and Respect Respeto
Raquel Teran
Alan Soelberg (Kirk Adams' wife is a Soelberg)
Tyler Montague Vice Chair in LD18
Colleen Wheeler  Secretary in LD18
Damon Wheeler
Liana Clarkson   major player in recall effort who worked with Parraz
John Giles
Mike Triggs
Martin Quezada
Dennis Kavanaugh
Kieran and Anson Clarkson
Kenneth P. Smith
Dea Montague
Saul Solis
Dan O'Neal (PDA)
Don Flake
Robert Tolman
Mike Wright
Bill Richardson
Lisa Urias
Nancy Burke
Paula Pennypacker
Rep. Catherine Miranda
Phoenix DREAMers
La Raza
Promise AZ
Mesa Human Relations Advisory Board
Arizona Farm Bureau
Chicanos Por la Causa
The Real Arizona Coalition
Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform
Friendly House
Western Growers



The article also quotes Scott Higginson who helped organize the Arizona Accord effort.  The same Scott Higginson who was the Treasurer for the BIZPAC for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce?

The same BIZPAC that Farrell Quinlan, former Spokesman for Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform, was also Treasurer?

Higginson said,

This is a broad set of guiding principles designed to frame the discussion both at the state and the federal level.

Is this the same Scott Higginson who was on the Mesa Redistricting Commission and whose fellow Commissioner, Deann Villanueva-Saucedo, was one we mentioned previously?.

Deann Villanueva-Saucedo, Secretary of the Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens.  (community liaison between Mesa Public Schools and Maricopa Community Colleges. Donated to Jerry Lewis' campaign/ on the Board for Mesa United Way with Kirk Adams)

What a small, politically-connected Mesa World.

You see, the Mesa Redistricting Commission were very careful when planning the new districts to cater to Latino voters in order to avoid a slap down by the DOJ.

Minutes from a Mesa Redistricting Commission meeting:

Chairman Higginson remarked on how well Commission member Villanueva-Saucedo and the consultants did in drawing Plan 9 Modified and said he was surprised at how close the HVAP (Hispanic Voting Age Population) "A" came to meeting the target.

Further discussion ensued relative to the legal significance of a 1% decline of the HVAP as it applies to retrogression concerns with the Department of Justice (DOJ).


Doug Johnson, President of NDS, explained that the voting strength of the Latino population is very important to the DOJ. He said that if the commission fails to "hit the benchmarks", it would be necessary to create a "solid record" indicating that the Latino voting strength was not affected. Mr. Johnson noted that although it could be a risk, it was not an impossible hurdle. 
He advised that the jursidiction would be required to make the case to DOJ
explaining the reason why the target number was not reached.