Before ending the 151-day session on Thursday, the Arizona Legislature made it where constituents to have to start paying taxes on what they buy from catalogs and on the World Wide Web.

After reading Mrs. Grimes interview with Captain Al, and then reading the article about how he continues to defend corporate welfare, I can only hope (tongue in check) that Captain Al will be the nominee for Governor on the Republican ticket. 

Al Melvin (Melvin thinks bold ideas will carry him in governor’s race...May 1, 2013) would make a perfect governor for Arizona, thereby keeping alive an almost unbroken 30-year record of intellectual midgets in that office.

After forming an exploratory committee to consider running for governor, Sen. Al Melvin, R-District 11, is confident that his bold ideas could lead him to the state’s top position in 2014.

Last month my organization, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, launched a statewide campaign to raise awareness of the continuing problem of corporate welfare and special interest handouts being pursued at the state legislature. In particular, we want voters to be informed when their lawmakers are more interested in helping out politically-connected industries and lobbyists than hard-working taxpayers.

The GOP race is becoming a crowded field as Sen. Al Melvin, R-District 11, has announced that he is forming an exploratory committee.

Those who know me, know that I have worked hard to limit the size of government, balance our state’s budget, and get our state’s economy growing again.  They know that I had signs made up that read “Jobs are Job #1” and had them distributed to my colleagues in the Arizona Legislature. And they know that I have had to battle against liberal candidates and groups every two years as part of this struggle.

Consider Rep. Melvin’s statement that “Wind and solar are nice, but they cannot power private sector industry more than the 1 to 2 percent they are doing now.”

The opinions against David Safier and the partisan column by Senator Al Melvin show how much work must be done to restore our State to a Democratic form of government, a Republic, a government of, by and for the majority of the people. That is what David Safier was celebrating.  I am at a loss to identify anything Senator Al Melvin has voted for to help Pima County residents.  He is proud to carry out the agenda of his Republican friends in Phoenix.  We voted for a tax increase to be used for education.  Melvin voted to put the money in the General Fund. When Melvin talks of schools, he is talking about private schools, which can be owned by individuals for a profit.  It they fail, the owner can keep all the school capital assets paid for by tax monies.  Melvin also voted to deny Pima County its share for the Regional Transportation Authority money and to allow the recall of the Rio Nuevo development funds. Using his “hit woman”, Terry Proud, Melvin so intimidated the Redistricting Board, that he assured his re-election by getting an 11 to 16 point advantage against other candidates for his job. 

This article is in reply to a recent Special to The Explorer written by Jo Holt published in the Feb. 20 issue of the paper. Because Arizona has had two balanced General Fund budgets in a row, our state is ranked number one in the nation for business startups.  We went from 46th to number four in private sector job creation. We are 10th in overall great business climate compared to California which is ranked 50th.  During the past four-year recessionary period, we never let K-12 public school per pupil funding go below $9,000 (federal, state plus local funding). We mortgaged the Senate, House and Executive buildings in order to protect K-12 education funding. The north side of Tucson has four outstanding public school districts in Catalina Foothills, Amphi, Marana and Flowing Wells. We have more charter schools per capita and more school choice than any state. We have open enrollment between public school districts, tuition tax credits and a great home school program.

The recently elected State legislators from our part of Arizona seem to think that Arizona’s ongoing economic recovery is due to their leadership and ideology. This is no more the case than it would be to blame the State legislature for the Great Recession that devastated so many lives. They appear to believe that cutting Arizona’s educational system by billions in order to balance the budget has resulted in no real harm. A visit or two to some of our public schools might change their minds.

In her State of the State address last Tuesday, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer expressed her continued optimism about the direction of Arizona’s economy, and called for increased competition in the realms of job creation and education.

Over the weekend, golf legend Phil Mickelson told reporters ‘drastic changes’ are ahead for him because of high taxes in his home state of California. In November, voters there raised the state sales tax and increased taxes on high-achievers. Mickelson estimated he is now paying more than 60% of his income in taxes.

Problem with Smith’s quote

With the high number of provisional and mail-in ballots last week, the state had more than 600,000 votes to count after the Nov. 6 General Election. In Pima County, election crews spent the last week going through nearly 80,000 ballots.

In the race for Legislative District 11 State Representative, Republicans Adam Kwasman and Steve Smith have claimed the two available House seats, defeating Democrat Dave Joseph.

Sen. Al Melvin was elected to a third term in the Arizona Senate Tuesday night, defeating Democrat Jo Holt for a seat in Legislative District 11, which was formerly District 26.

Ann Kirkpatrick - The Arizona Republic and the Tucson Daily Star endorsed Jonathan Paton, not Ann Kirkpatrick. The Arizona Republic stated, in its Paton endorsement wrote, “For an hour, Kirkpatrick ridiculed, belittled, cut off and scolded her opponent in a manner that exceeded rudeness. We have seen more complete meltdowns in our board meetings but never one so unexpected . . . What sets them apart is composure. She lost hers during a significant test for endorsement. He did not.”

Response to Al Melvin’s column in the Oct. 19 edition of  The Explorer.

The Explorer has received several calls this election season about the signs, all the great big signs at every corner, with every candidate’s name or photo everywhere you turn.

Steve Smith, currently a Senator in the Arizona State Legislature, District 23, is looking to take his political and business experience into the House of Representatives, District 11. 

You, an LD 11 voter and reader of the Explorer newspaper, deserve to know the truth about Arizona K-12 public education funding, energy, nuclear recycling and all subjects being debated during this election cycle. I am writing about these three specific subjects because they have appeared in recent political ads and letters to the editor. I want you to know the truth about them.

In Regards to Al Melvin’s tirade on Democrats