State Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, Secretary of State Ken Bennett.
Backed by Arizona’s secretary of state and attorney general, a lawmaker is pushing to require corporations established to influence elections to disclose where their money comes from.
Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, said it’s important that the public know who is behind such efforts.
HB 2835 would require corporations, limited liability companies and labor organizations that influence elections to act as a political action committee does and file campaign-finance reports listing their sources of funding.
“This bill allows us to know clearly who’s contributing and it’s not done under a cloak of secrecy,” Farnsworth said.
The bill is a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, which found that governments may not restrict political spending by corporations. The court found that such restrictions would infringe upon free speech.
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Union Demands Exposed: More Money/Power
What you are about to read will create a significant stir at city hall, and I need you to pass this information to others.
Phoenix is about to enter another round of union negotiations, and I am insisting the public see all the demands and be involved in the discussions.
You will be told that these negotiations should be done behind closed doors, away from your eyes. But they forgot an important point: You are the boss, and it is you who needs to approve the direction and final plan.
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Job creation: Cutting red tape/costs
DiCiccio, Simplot chair panel to make Phoenix the best city in the nation for business creation
Councilmen Sal DiCiccio and Tom Simplot will co-chair a committee for job creation by cutting the red tape and the cost of doing business in Phoenix. The goal will be to prepare Phoenix to compete in the global market and bring back a stabilized work force to our community.
A credible death threat against community activist Randy “Open Borders” Parraz is under investigation. Parraz led the successful recall effort against Senator Russell Pearce.
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All I could say was, “Is this a joke?” Are city officials really asking to buy lounge chairs at nearly $700 a pop?
As unbelievable as it may sound, Phoenix is asking to spend $688.09 apiece for lounge chairs for city employees. The request on this afternoon’s council agenda is being considered so employees will no doubt be able to watch TV or read a book in comfort.
The Ahwatukee Foothills News editorial board is giving its nod to Wes Gullett as the preferred candidate for mayor of Phoenix.
It is our opinion that City Hall needs new blood, and that Gullett will work well with those already on the council to make the changes necessary to rein in government spending by trimming the city budget and putting forth a sensible plan for pension reform that has worked for corporations across the nation. Gullet has already been endorsed by our very own District 6 City Councilman Sal DiCiccio, showing that current members of the council feel he is someone with whom they can work. His “Seven Point Jobs Plan” is a no-nonsense and easy-to-understand strategy for creating quality jobs and putting Phoenix on the path to economic recovery and long-term growth.
Gullett has a wealth of experience to draw on from the business world and brings a much needed fresh perspective from outside the current City Hall environment.
Through a realistic approach of proposed changes at City Hall, Gullet realizes that in some cases, like with his 401(k) proposal to replace the broken pension system currently in place, it will be necessary to pay the price that has been kicked down the road by previous governments in the interest of not passing a larger expense to future generations.
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Money does grow on trees — for Phx staff using tax dollars
Here’s one more example of not understanding the pain people are feeling: Phoenix city management is recommending that taxpayers foot an extra $1.1 million above appraisal for a land purchase. For an item on today’s 3 p.m. meeting at Phoenix City Hall, airport staff is recommending the $4.9 million purchase price for property near the airport for employee parking. In the council agenda available to the public, they somehow forgot to mention that the appraised value for the vacant land is only $3.7 million. Please see the response to my email below requesting further information from staff.
When you, the boss, look at the agenda online, all you see is the purchase price and a short description. My question is: Why does a councilman have to ask for price details, and why are not more details available to the public? And why is something as fundamental as an appraised value not included in the staff report? We can both guess why this information was not given to you. I will request that we offer no more than appraised value, and if that fails, I will vote against the city manager’s request.
Phoenix taxpayers spend millions of dollars to pay full salary and benefits for city employees to work exclusively for labor unions, a Goldwater Institute investigation found.
Collective bargaining agreements with seven labor organizations require the city to pay union officers and provide members with thousands of additional hours to conduct union business instead of doing their government jobs.
The total cost to Phoenix taxpayers is about $3.7 million per year, based on payroll records supplied by the city. In all, more than 73,000 hours of annual release time for city workers to conduct union business at taxpayers’ expense are permitted in the agreements.
The top officials in all of the unions have regular jobs with the city. But buried in the labor agreements are a series of provisions for those employees to be released from their regular duties to perform union work.
For top officers, the typical amount of annual release time is 2,080 hours, a full year of work based on 52 weeks at 40 hours each. They continue to draw full pay and benefits, just as if they were showing up for their regular jobs. But they are released from their regular duties to conduct undefined union business.
Union officials say the time is a good investment that leads to a more productive workforce. Critics say it amounts to an illegal gift of taxpayer money.
