MARICOPA COUNTY
REPUBLICAN BRIEFS
RepComm@cox.net
July 22, 2010
Arizona Sheriffs Babeu and Dever To Defend Themselves Against ACLU’s SB1070 Lawsuit In Court Thursday www.BorderSheriffs.com
UPDATE ON MARK MARLEY SURGERY. Mark Marley, LD4 PC and long-time political activist is recovering from July 13 heart surgery at Good Sam Hospital.
7 protesters arrested during hearing on Arizona law
http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2010/07/22/20100722arizona-immigration-lawsuit-scene.html#ixzz0uT557A4r
Rep. Michele Bachmann, center, speaks at a press conference for the Tea Party Caucus July 21 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo)
The formation of an official Tea Party Caucus comes at a critical time in the movement’s quest for identity and influence, with midterm elections on the horizon. The existence of a caucus in Washington potentially puts pressure on Tea Partiers to better define themselves before somebody else does it for them.
The caucus debuted Wednesday and already counts nearly 30 House Republicans as members. They did not claim to speak for the Tea Party movement, and Tea Partiers say that’s the way it ought to stay.
“They’re not the leaders of the movement. … They don’t give orders of any kind,” said Shelby Blakely, a leadership council member for Tea Party Patriots and the director of the network’s online publication. She said Tea Party Patriots is fine with the caucus, provided its only job is to listen. She described it as just another Tea Party, nothing more.
“We went from 2,350 groups to 2,351 groups nationwide,” Blakely told FoxNews.com.
But the Tea Party has traditionally picked which candidates and lawmakers it supports, not vice-versa. Blakely said the motives and loyalties of incoming caucus members is “something worth watching for.”
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) scored another in a series of major political victories, signing a bill capping the growth of property taxes and municipal spending at 2% annually. The bill replaces the Garden State’s previous cap, at 4%, which the governor assailed as ineffectual due to 14 exemptions that allowed local governments to virtually ignore the law. The new cap, which Christie pushed the Democratic-controlled legislature to enact, requires municipal councils to get approval from the voters before going over the lower limit.
The bill is the result of a compromise between Christie and Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Camden). Christie had proposed a 2.5% cap as part of a package of 33 bills, which he dubbed a “toolkit” for local government to get skyrocketing spending and property taxes under control. Christie’s proposal would have amended the state constitution to include the 2.5% limit and mandated the approval of a supermajority of 60% of voters for a local council to exceed the cap, with debt service as the lone exception.
Sweeney and Senate Democrats favored a non-constitutional 2.9% cap. Sweeney’s bill would have provided automatic exemptions for a broad set of items such as pension obligations, healthcare premiums, and natural disasters and other emergencies. The bill would also have allowed local school boards to apply for a waiver for spending necessary to meet core curriculum standards, and for towns to seek waivers for items related to “public safety, health and welfare.” Democrats in the House and Senate passed this bill and sent it to Christie for his signature.
