U.S. Sen. John McCain, R – Ariz., visited BASIS Oro Valley on Thursday to discuss issues affecting Arizonans and the nation.

Recently, several dozen residents came together in front of U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake’s office on Oracle Road in order to protest his vote against a scaled down bill that would have extended background checks to purchase firearms.

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.

Congress has approved a bill that will end furloughs that have delayed hundreds of flights daily for air traffic controllers.

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

After U.S. Senators voted against a bill that would have increased background check requirements, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wrote the following opinion piece for the New York Times on April 17.

Governor Jan Brewer today established via Executive Order the Governor’s Task Force on Human Trafficking. Among their charges, members will be tasked with identifying opportunities to strengthen Arizona’s current human trafficking statutes, with the ultimate goal of reducing human trafficking and assisting victims of this heinous crime.

Gov. Jan Brewer today signed into law SB 1139, legislation that officially establishes an annual “National Day of the Cowboy” in Arizona.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., visited the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Monday to discuss his platform on immigration reform and a pending immigration bill that would introduce a guest worker program for illegal immigrants already working in the United States. 

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.

Senator John McCain was scheduled to speak at an event sponsored by Basis School in Oro Valley on March 26 at 4:00 p.m. I drove over there arriving around 2:45 p.m. only to find out that the event had been cancelled by the Senator’s office. There were no McCain staffers there, an no explanation was given as to why the event was cancelled.

Rep. Adam Kwasman, R-District 11, said his number one priority is defeating Gov. Jan Brewer’s proposal to expand Medicaid in Arizona.

Some Republicans in the Arizona House of Representatives insist on wasting time on extremist legislation that promotes an ideological agenda focused on undermining the federal government instead of working on what matters most to Arizonans – creating jobs and improving education.

Governor Jan Brewer today appointed Toni Hellon to serve as the Clerk of the Superior Court for Pima County.

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. 

Typically, liberal progressives rally away from facts and towards the use of standard sound-bytes to make their case. Why didn’t Mr. Safier include Jimmy Carter in all his applauds. Long gas lines, extreme interest rates and failed foreign policies, those were certainly bold plans.

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.

Every year as federal and state lawmakers start working on the year’s tasks at hand from budgets to amending, defeating or approving new laws, there’s always a list of proposed legislature that makes one raise an eyebrow.

The debate over photo traffic enforcement, better known as photo radar, is definitely not over, as the Arizona Legislature will be considering House Bill 2579, which looks to ban this type of enforcement, in the current session.

Pending voter approval in March, the Marana Wastewater Reclamation Facility could, after years of litigation, become the property of the Town of Marana. 

With the re-election of President Barack Obama, half the nation rejoiced while half stood in disbelief.

Early Monday morning, I was surprised to hear Arizona’s own Sen. John McCain talking about bipartisan legislation that would be brought before the Senate and the House to address the longstanding issue of illegal immigration in America.

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband and former astronaut Mark Kelly, have been chosen as the Grand Marshals for the 88th Tucson Rodeo Parade. They are honored for their community service to southern Arizona and the nation.

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.