3-28-18 Briefs

Condolences To The Family Of Yavapai County Precinct Committeeman Stacy O Stine who passed away March 16, 2018 after a 2 ½ year battle with state IV cancer. The Republican activist owned Arizona Cap Company, well-known for producing conservative hats, shirts, and other merchandise. He is survived by his wife, Christina, and five children (two of whom, Wesley and Kaylin also serve as Precinct Committeemen in the Buck precinct). See obit at Daily Courier. (Photo courtesy of Prescott Daily Courier)

The Gila County Republican Committee passed a resolution last week in support of HB2012 (The Proxy Bill), and any means to limit use of proxies at state conventions, according to Gila County Chairman Gary Morris.Scroll down to “Notes from Readers” for Morriss’s complete statement. – ft

See What Phoenix And Glendale Are Doing To Land Another NFL Super Bowl, Pro Bowl - Phoenix...Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers, CouncilorsBart Turner and Ray Malnar said they will vote for the resolution. Weiers said he would vote for the resolution citing the economic development benefits of the hosting the game. ...

A Meet & Greet Fundraiser For US Senate Candidate Joe Arpaio is scheduled between 5:30-7:30 pm, Mon., April 16 in the Prescott Country Club HOA office meeting room, 1103 Old Chisholm Trail, Dewey, AZ 86327 Hear “American’s Toughest Sheriff” plans as a US senator. Hot dogs, chicken, salad will be available for sale. Limited seating for 70. RSVP to suepachy@gmail.com OR fbarwood@cableone.net

The National Rifle Association (NRA) will hold its 147^th annual meeting May 3-6 in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, TX. Over 80,000 patriots are expected to attend. 15 acres of guns and gear will be on displays between 9am-6 pm on Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5, as well as from 10 am to 5 pm., Sunday, May 6. The NRA-ILA Leadership Forum is scheduled at 12:30pm., May 4. Tickets start at $10. Charlie Daniels, Travis Tritt and the Gatline Brothers will entertain at 7pm, Sat., May 5. (Doors open at 6 pm) For tickets go to ticket/online/upcomingEventSearch Pre-register here https://prereg.nraam.org/

Join the National Rifle Association at membership.nra.org/

Grassroots Tea Party Activists will join forces with The Arizona Project at the AP office, 3375 E Shea Blvd. in Phoenix at 6:30 pm., Mon., April 2 to hear Heidi Mundof Frankfurt, Germany who has been touring the US speaking out against the Islamic invasion of Europe. Known as the “Brave German Woman” because of her protest against a prayer being chanted by an Imam inside a Lutheran Church was thrown out of the church. Her video of the ejection went viral on the Internet. She is a faithful Christian who has become involved in other anti-islamic activities. She is drawing the attention of judicial authorities in Frankfurt who are considering action against Mund for what they are calling her publicly organized prayers as ‘incitement’. She led a ‘prayer at the borders’ in early October 2016 and they didn’t like it, according to GTPA facilitator Francine Romesburg. See ‘Brave German Woman’ Rebukes Islam’s Lie And A-Possible-Charge-Of-Incitement-Against-Heidi-Mund-For-Her-Public-Prayers Ronald Ludders, AP Chairman 602.677.1496or Romesburg at grtp@grassrootsteapartyactivists.com

Pima County Republicans Nando Zepeda and Sandy Kenney, will host the Pima “Dinner Under the Stars with author and radio host Jesse Romero at 6 pm., Thurs., April 19. A TrunkN’Tusk member Reception will open at 5 pm., Tickets $100 per person or $175 per couple. TNT members - $75 person or $150 per couple. Tickets available at www.PimaGOP.org

Phoenix College presents "Tunnel of Oppression" between 9 am-3 pm and from 5-7 pm., Wed., March 28 in the North Gym. "Tunnel of Oppression is an interactive theater and sensory-based multimedia experience. The program highlights contemporary issues of oppression and is designed to challenge participants to think more deeply about oppression, privilege, and power. Participants walk through different scenes designed to display oppression of marginalized groups. At the completion of the Tunnel, participants will participate in a processing session, where they will discuss the experience and learn how they can rethink their role in creating positive social change." For more info: Phoenix College Social Justice Organization

Secretary of State Michele Reagan reports: “Arizona’s largest counties continue to perform routine list maintenance as we gear up for the busy 2018 election cycle. As the state gears up for a busy election cycle this year, I’m confident our registration totals will continue their typical upward trend.”

Ahwatukee’s Festival of Lights Committee’s 23^rd Annual Wine & Beer Tasting Festival is scheduled between 6:30-10:30 pm., Sat., April 14 at Rawhide Western Town, 5700 W North Loop Road in Chandler. Advance tickets are $50 and be purchased at any Safeway in Ahwatukee or at www.folaz.org $60 at the door. Proceeds go toward the millions of lights glowing along Chandler Blvd during the Christmas season. Volunteers are needed. Interested persons can attend committee meetings at 6:30 pm., April 3 and April 10 at the Desert Foothills United Methodist Church. Contact: admin@folaz.org.

American Post-Gazette - Fixing The Redistricting Sham: Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission is a sham. With only five members – two each are appointed by Republican and Democrat leaders and the fifth is an Independent who is the chairman – one corrupt person can wreak havoc. During the last redistricting process, Republicans got scammed by a fake Independent who ended up secretly meeting with one of the other Democrats in her kitchen in Tucson over a weekend, creating the new maps and presenting them for approval the following Monday with no discussion. The vote was 3-2. The new maps assured continuing the ridiculous practice of populating districts heavily in favor of one party over another with no real competition of ideas or candidates. This resulted in the primaries essentially being the general election. Whether it favors the Republicans or the Democrats – it’s still ridiculous. Additionally, in order to guarantee one party’s control of the various districts (R or D), the districts were overpopulated with Rs or Ds, respectively, resulting in thousands more voters in some districts compared to others. This would mean that if you lived in one of the overpopulated districts, your vote carried less weight than another district with thousands of fewer voters. Since there are more Republicans than Democrats registered in Arizona, you know where the imbalance occurred: A stacked district of fewer voters made up of a majority of Democrats to assure a Democrat was chosen in selected districts. That resulted in an overpopulated Republican-controlled district. Fewer Democrats in more districts; more Republicans in fewer districts. Ironically, even that couldn’t give the Democrats a majority at the Legislature. It’s a matter of arithmetic: there are more Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents than there are Democrats and Democrat-leaning Independents in Arizona. So, despite their best, nefarious efforts, the Redistricting Commission couldn’t pull off their attempted coup – not enough Democrat-friendly voters in Arizona. The fact that all statewide elected officers are Republican is evidence of that. Senate President Steve Yarbrough (R-Chandler) has proposed a bill, SCR1034, to be referred to the public for a vote, that will correct the mistakes of the current Commission and truly make it fair or at least more fair. It would expand the Commission to nine members (less chance of one “independent” chairman to corrupt the system); four of the commissioners would be from Maricopa County, two from Pima County, and two from any of the other 13 counties (the last Commission was made up of two from Maricopa County and three from Pima County – hardly representative of the whole state); and the chairman selected by these eight from a pool of Independents selected by the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments, making up the total of nine on the Commission. Two more items to assure fairness and transparency (no more secret weekends in the Chairman’s kitchen): (1) the Commission will be subject to Open Meeting Laws; and (2) no more than a two-percent difference in population in each district. The Democrats, as usual, are and will continue to howl in protest that “minorities” aren’t being treated fairly. Actually, they are; it was the majority that wasn’t being treated fairly. The scales were tipped in the Democrats’ favor and they still couldn’t win (sound familiar, Hillary supporters?) because of two simple things: not enough supporters and bad policy ideas.

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NOTES FROM READERS

Opinions expressed by readers are not necessarily those of the Briefs. Commentary running over 400 words is subject to editing

Gila County Republican Chairman Gary Morris: The Gila County Republican Committee, last week, officially passed a resolution to support House Bill 2012, and any means to limit to use of proxies, at state conventions. At the latest Republican state convention in January, 581 state committeemen were present. They carried 388 proxies – more than 40 percent of the eligible votes cast were by proxies and many of those votes were cast by persons carrying a dozen, or more than two dozen proxies.Anyone with a basic IQ can understand the potential voter abuse and fraud of this practice. The present use of proxies is every bit “ballot harvesting”. And the State of Arizona went all the way to the U.S. Supreme court to win a law suit which eliminated ballot harvesting in primary and generally elections because of the well documented voter abuse and voter fraud.

House Bill 2012, which would limit proxies to two per person at state conventions, passed out to the Government Committee earlier this legislative session. Twenty-two persons signed in to speak – 20 in support of the bill and two opposed. For those who regularly attend hearings on bills, this is considered a large turnout. It also illustrates the level of grass roots support to fix the problem. Further, it should be noted that the current chair of the AZGOP By-Laws Committee spoke in OPPOSITION. The Chairman of the Rules Committee, Representative T.J Shope, is holding the bill. His statement in opposition was he believed that government should not interfere with or micro manage political parties. Well T.J., have you read ARS 16-828 on proxies. This is a “government” law that stipulates the criteria required AND restrictions on the use of proxies. Government is already managing political parties. House Bill 2012 simply limits proxies to 2 per person and the legislature should pass the bill.

The Gila County Republican Committee “walks their talk” in opposition to the current practice. The Committee did not want to participate in the abuse use of proxies, and for elections of State Committeemen, we utilize “alternate” state committeemen. For the last 6 years, during elections for state committeemen, we continue the list beyond the allotted number and the “alternates” are ranked by the number of votes received. When an elected state committeeman cannot attend a meeting – even at the last minute, we call on an alternate to fill the position. That process has worked very well. However, AZGOP By-Laws require the State Chairman to approve those “fill ins” – and as such, the chairman could also reject that person.The cleanest and quickest means to correct the “ballot measure” voter abuse by proxies is to simply change existing law and the legislature should pass House Bill 2012.

LD23 PC Chris P. P. Brant (Former Royal Marine Commando) - Some context to Representative McSally’s Statement on the Omnibus Bill: I am not happy with the Omnibus Bill and the way it came to the floor; but at this stage it was difficult for President Trump and Congresswoman McSallynot to accept it. Obama obliterated our military. General Mattis USMC, Secretary Pompeo (certainly no liberal) and McSally felt it essential to pass this bill for the sake of our national defense. On behalf of all ground troops I’m happy our Senatorial Candidate has championed the fight to save the A-10 Warthog, as it has saved many thousands of our troops. To just pull one phase out of a statement (“proud to vote for it”) is a tactic used by CNN and MSNBC. Let’s include some context, McSally’s statement included, “This bill fully funds Southern Arizona’s critical defense missions—including the A-10, the EC-130H, and important missions at Fort Huachuca. I also successfully fought to include $20 million in this bill towards re-winging the entire A-10 fleet. In addition, this measure includes funding for critical munitions. It provides an increase of $290 million for co-production of U.S.-Israeli missile systems like Iron Dome and David’s Sling and supports the Tomahawk missiles used against Syria,” said Rep. McSally. H.R. 244 fully funds the largest pay raise for the troops in six years and ensures the Armed Forces have the training and equipment they need to fight ISIS and other terror threats. Additionally, the spending bill provides an increase of $781 million for the fight against the nation’s opioid epidemic. McSally added, “No bill is perfect, but this bill includes important priorities that I have championed that impact our troops.” As I said context is important!

Dale Gohr of Clarkdale: The appointment of a special council without any restrictions [Parameters] is “stupidity” beyond belief: It is like having a ‘Ballgame of some kind wherein one of the playing teams is given the audacious authority to make the rules of play as they wish and those rules apply only to the game being played. Idiocy on opioids comes to mind when thinking about our government administrators initiating an investigation without any guidelines. I was critical of this Special Council, shortly after it was initiated; I recognized a lot like the Unlimited Expense Account etc. but with me having been a Property Auditor and Supply Officer; with five mess halls on my property book and having to keep track of beds, bedding etc., along with pots, pans and serving utensils. I didn’t think much about the lack of parameters, which I neglected to notice; because for the life of me, at that point; I never would have believed that the United States Government Justice Department harbored the kind of negligent abandonment of principle required to establish a ‘Top Level Analysis of International Misconduct’, without standards. However, as I look back; it fits so well with corruption and lack of accountability, that has plagued Washington, DC for the past 30 years; with particular emphasis on the past nine years. We were assured most sincerely by then President Obama that whoever was responsible for each of the many scandal and legal transgressions, the perpetrators would be found and held accountable; which was more mythological than the tooth fairy. Their lies about accountability are not mentioned in the politically correct world. It appears that Robert Mueller has a lifelong government appointment, with personnel, administrative and financial assets solely at his discretion and no one (individual or entity) has the authority to end his reign; because he was appointed with the authority to establish his parameters as he sees fit.

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CALL TO ACTION

Attention Republican Group Leaders: If your event announcement is not posted within 24 hours from the time you submitted it - Briefs did NOT receive it. Please resend it to either frostytaylor@cox.net or repcomm@cox.net. – Editor Frosty Taylor

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ELECTED OFFICIALS COMMENTARY

State Treasurer Jeff DeWit announced today he will resign effective Tuesday, April 3, 2018 to become the Chief Financial Officer of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration.

“It has been such an honor to serve the State of Arizona as Treasurer and I have worked hard to make sure our financial results reflect the trust that the voters placed in me in 2014,” Treasurer DeWit said.

“The superb performance of the Treasurer’s office during my tenure has been recognized nationally and I truly love the job of Treasurer for the great state of Arizona,” DeWit said. “I am extremely grateful that President Trump and the United States Senate have entrusted me to serve the country at such an accomplished agency as NASA. It is a very exciting opportunity for myself and my family, and I will continue to work hard to make the people of Arizona proud for putting their faith in me four years ago. As I continue to serve the country at NASA, I want to thank my wife Marina and our family for the tremendous sacrifice they have made and are willing to continue to make as I proceed with my public service.” Treasurer DeWit was nominated for the CFO of NASA position by President Donald J. Trump on Nov. 29, 2017. He was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on March 14, 2018.

Highlights of DeWit’s tenure as Treasurer:

• Arizona Land Trust Endowment reached record high of $6 billion on January 31, 2018 and more than $3 billion in unrealized gains from investments.

• Record of total Assets Under Management of $15.85 Billion on January 31, 2018.

• Distributions from Endowment in excess of $800 million, more than three times the amount of any previous State Treasurer in Arizona history. Another $345 million will be distributed starting July 1, 2018 based on the performance of the Endowment through December 2017.

• In June 2016, Endowment performance over a 1-year, 3-year, 5-year and 10-year timeline surpassed that of the largest pensions and university endowments in the country.

• More than doubling the amount of interest earnings in FY 2018 for Local Government Investment Pools participants compared to last year on top of a more than 138% increase in FY 2017 over FY 2016.

• LGIP Pool 5 received the highest rating possible from Standard & Poor’s under recently revised and more stringent rating criteria.

• The State of Arizona’s credit rating was upgraded in 2015 to AA from AA- by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services and to Aa2 from Aa3 by Moody’s Investors Service.

Secretary of State Michele Reagan: It only took nearly two decades, but Congress finally took steps to provide $380 million of left over election infrastructure money originally approved back in 2002. I was glad to see Congress embrace how important it is to provide adequate funding to improve election integrity around the country. Along with this financial investment, I’m optimistic states will soon receive the critical resources we need to further improve elections. The number one issue for nearly all of Arizona’s election officials is voters being issued provisional ballots. While they are meant to guarantee each eligible vote is counted, each time someone is given a provisional it costs the counties time and money, not to mention that it can create long lines and confusion for many of our voters. Imagine what our counties could do with this critical funding. I believe most would purchase new polling place equipment that would allow election officials to determine voter eligibility at the polling place and greatly reduce the number provisional ballots. As you know, Arizona’s voters deserve an election system that makes it easy to vote but hard to cheat. This is the one issue where we all agree. Every person in the country wants elections where they trust the results. Congress has taken a good step forward but much remains to be done to protect the vote and ensure election integrity. I hope this is only the first step towards rebuilding a system of elections that reflects the world’s greatest democracy.

Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio: Phoenix Breaking Barriers as Only Major with Women as Police and Fire Chiefs - Women have made major strides in many male-dominated professions. But two fields that remain male-led bastions are police and fire departments. One rare exception is Phoenix, we are the only major city in the U.S. where women serve at the helm of both those departments. But they are not the only public safety departments with women leaders, women also lead the Phoenix homeland security, emergency management departments, and prosecutor’s office. The city is breaking away from the national trend of having men dominate leadership roles. Women in Phoenix say that what makes the city so unique is that they have broken down the stereotypes that have hindered women in the past, and the mentality in the city is that women can do anything a man can. In 2016, almost 88 percent of full-time law enforcement officers were males. In 2013, 88 percent of full-time law enforcement officers were males, according to the FBI. In firefighting, the national annual average of female firefighters was 4.6 percent, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Chief Williams and Chief Kalkbrenner have both done amazing work in their departments to keep Phoenix safe.

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MARCH 29

Dr. Sebastian Gorka, Washington CD insider, will address “Making America Safe Again” gatherings for US Senate candidate Dr Kelli Ward at 7 pm., March 29 at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas, 6333 N Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale. A VIP reception will be held between 5:30 – 7 pm. Tickets available at Dr-Sebastian-Gorka Transportation from Pima County is available at Transportation From Pima County Doors for the main event open at 6 pm.

Phoenix City Councilman Jim Waring invites the community to join him in a meeting with City of Phoenix Aviation Director Jim Bennett for a update on the Aviation Department, the lawsuit the City won against the FAA, and take questions, at 6 pm., Thurs., March 29 in the Paradise Valley Community Center - 17402 N. 40th St., Phoenix, AZ (Map) If unable to join them, watch the latest episode of "On The Issues" with Jim Bennett here.

A Fund Raiser Reception for LD20 House candidate Shawna Bolick is scheduled between 5:30- 7 pm., Thurs., March 29 at Antique Gatherings, 3601 E Indian School Road in Phoenix. Registration required. RSVP to Bolick at 602-842-1912, or info@BolickforArizona.com

College Republicans United and the Young Americans for Liberty are hosting Dick Heller at 6 pm., Thurs., March 29 at the ASU Tempe Campus , 976 South Forest Mall , COOR-170, Tempe, AZ 85287. Tickets at asu-students-for-the-2nd-amendment-tickets

MARCH 30

Dr. Sebastian Gorka, national recognized speaker and terrorism expert,will appear in behalf of US Senator candidate Dr Kelli Ward at a VIP reception between 7-8 am, followed by Gorka’s speech at 8 am in the Cottonwood Room of the Prescott Resort & Conference Center, 1500 AZ Hwy 69, Prescott, AZ 86301. Doors open to Gorka’s speech at 7 am. Tickets atGorka-Prescott

MARCH 31

The Colorado River Tea Party ‘Meet and Greet Candidates’ with author, filmmaker and public speaker Trevor Loudon is scheduled between 2-5 pm., Sat., March 31 at the American Legion Post 19, 2575 S Virginia Dr in Yuma. Loudon appeared at the Conservative Conference in Phoenix over this past weekend Donations to the Tea Party accepted. Other guests include Congressman Paul Gosar, US Senate candidate Kelli Ward, LD13 Rep Darin Mitchell, LD13 Senator Sine Kerr, CD3 candidates Sergio Arellano and Nick Pierson, and more. Contact Chr Sally Kizer at coloradoriverteaparty@yahoo.com

The Grassroots Tea Party Activists will hold an open discussion on getting back to basics and their disgust with the way politicians are running their parties when they meet at 6:30 pm., Wed., March 28 at Denny’s Restaurant Banquet Room, Access Rd, Dunlap Ave off the I-17 exit. Facilitators Dave and Francine Romesburg. Speakers include Archie Dicksion, Marianne Ferrari, Francine Romesburg, Senate Candidates Randy Miller,Charlie Loftus, Brian Lesinsky. PCs, Tea Party members and voters are welcome.grtp@grassrootsteapartyactivists.comwww.grassrootsteapartyactivists.com

APRIL 2

The Lincoln Republican Women will meet with Republican Asst. Deputy County Recorder Matthew Morales to discuss “Integrity of Maricopa County elections’ and conduct an Arizona Corporation Commission panel debate with candidates Neil DeSanti, Rodney Glassman, Justin Olson, and Eric Sloan at 6 pm., Mon., April 2 at the The New McCormick/”Millennium” Resort Scottsdale-McCormick Ranch, 7401 North Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale. 5:30 pm – meet ‘n greet, 6 pm – business mtg, 6:20 pm – dinner and 7 pm., program. $35 per person. Spouses welcome. Reservations required. RSVP by Fri., March 30 to Pat Kaufman, 7436 E Tuckey Lane, Scottsdale, AZ 85250, call 480-368-2777 or 602-214-2114or email her at patiamiam@gmail.com

Grassroots Tea Party Activist will join with The Arizona Project at 6:30 m., Mon., April 2 at 3375 E Shea Blvd in Phoenix to listen to a presentation by Heidi Mund from Frankfurt, Germany – a Freedom Activist fighting against Islamic terrorist takeover in Europe. Contact Tea Party spokesman Francine Romesburg at grtp@grassrootsteapartyactivists.comwww.grassrootsteapartyactivists.comorRon Ludders

April 3

The Payson Tea Party meets at 6 pm., April 3 (each Tuesday) at Tiny's Restaurant in Payson. That organization also welcomes candidate speakers. Contact Darlene Younker at 858-395-1850.

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SEEING RED AZ

· Dana-Loesch: “NRA-Biggest-Defender-Of-Free-Speech” And-Crucial-Update

· AZ-Conservative-Conference-Attendees-Threatened-With-Hormone-Dosing-At-Starbucks/

· Teen-Anti-Gun-Marchers-Influenced-By-Leftists-Descend-On-DC-Other-Cities

AMERICAN FREEDOM BY BARBARA

· Census 2020 Will Now Have A Citizenship Question

· Former “High-Level” CIA Agent Confirms "Deep State" Video

· Justin Amash: A Ominbus Bill Is Law A Budget Is Not

· Trump Signs $1.3 Trillion Spending Bill Into Law Despite Being 'Unhappy' About It: Says Never Again

· President Trump Participates In Signing Omnibus Spending Bill Video

· 12-Years-After-Columbine-Shooting A Student’s Father Said…