Scottsdale Arizona Businessman Jeff Schwartz Announces Run for AZ State Senate LD23

SCOTTSDALE BUSINESSMAN JEFF SCHWARTZ 

TO OFFER LD 23 VOTERS CHOICE IN SENATE RACE

On Friday, February 28, 2014 businessman Jeff Schwartz filed to run for the Arizona State Senate in Legislative District 23 for the Republican primary at the office of Sec. of State Ken Bennett.

Schwartz said the primary reason he made the decision to enter the political race is the importance of having leadership in Arizona focused on the actual needs of the state, including limiting government, and acting on those key responsibilities in a determined and effective manner. "It's time to do more than talk about what doesn't work and fight enemies that don't exist; we need to focus on a long term plan to ensure Arizona has a secure economy for generations to come and stop being stymied by the personal political expediency of the moment."

As to the current debate surrounding SB1062, Schwartz had this to say, "The fact that this legislature, with all the issues facing this state, would choose to have SB1062 as their first piece of passed legislation says volumes about the priorities of those currently in office."

Residents of Legislative District 23 are eager to have a Senator who understands the value of education and its direct correlation to job creation and retention; the need for public safety and a robust economy and whose priorities will be in line with theirs.  "While Arizona is a wonderful place to visit and retire, we have a generation in our schools that must be a focal point. Those elected to serve our citizens should have these children as their first priority."

Schwartz's campaign will be chaired by Steve Hilton, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Meritage Homes.  For more information, visit his website at www.ElectJeffSchwartz.com.
Schwartz said the primary reason he made the decision to enter the political race is the importance of having leadership in Arizona focused on the actual needs of the state, including limiting government, and acting on those key responsibilities in a determined and effective manner. "It's time to do more than talk about what doesn't work and fight enemies that don't exist; we need to focus on a long term plan to ensure Arizona has a secure economy for generations to come and stop being stymied by the personal political expediency of the moment."

Schwartz's campaign will be chaired by Steve Hilton, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Meritage Homes.  For more information, visit his website at www.ElectJeffSchwartz.com.

Randy Pullen Candidate For Arizona State Treasurer

Meet Randy

These are frustrating, trying times for our country and all Republicans. The course our country is sailing upon is unsustainable. We, the adults in the room, need to take command and turn the ship of state back on the course our founding fathers so rightly set for us. If we fail, America is bound to suffer the fate that every other great nation of the past has suffered. Our moral, economic, and military standing in the world will erode, leaving a hollowed out shell of a nation on top the trash heap of history. Righting our course begins now. The 2014 elections are the beginning.

Here in Arizona, we have been fortunate. After six years of Janet Napolitano as Governor and ever expanding double digit increases in spending every year, we were able to regain political control at the end of 2008 and with the leadership of Governor Brewer and a strong Republican Party led by me as Chairman, change course, reduce spending by 20%, balance the budget, and create a surplus. All of this was accomplished during the great recession. In 2010, the voters of Arizona rewarded us with electing Republicans to all statewide offices and super majorities in both houses of the legislature. We earned it.

Now, I am asking you to trust me and help elect me the next Treasurer of Arizona. Why Treasurer you may wonder? Because, I am the candidate with a financial and accounting background that best qualifies them for the job. I am a CPA and former partner with the international accounting firm Deloitte & Touche. My area of expertise was financial institutions, where I dealt with some of the largest and most troubled banks and savings and loans in the United States in another time of tribulation, the late 1980s and early 1990s. As the state’s banker and investment manager, I am well qualified to oversee the receipt and expenditure of $30 billion a year and the safe investment of $11+ billion dollars each day.

A little known fact, I also was responsible for creating the current accounting system for the Treasurer’s office and all state agencies in 1982 known as the Arizona Financial Information system. I will be the first to say it is time to replace it with a more modern system. I am surprised it lasted this long. As Treasurer, I will oversee the implementation of the new system planned for the Treasurer’s office in 2015, and I promise it will come up on schedule and work the first day it is online and not one dollar will be lost or accounted for incorrectly. I also will work to improve the transparency of state spending and provide financial data for the state in a more readable and easier understood format than is currently available.

I currently serve as the Treasurer of the Arizona Housing Finance Authority, where we have made tens of millions of dollars of home loans in rural Arizona and continue to make millions of dollars of new and refinance loans. The agency is well run and has made money on its loan portfolio when banks were failing. Besides serving as Chairman of the AZGOP for four years, I was elected the Treasurer of the Republican National Committee in 2009 and served in that capacity until 2011. I also am President of a successful startup Internet company named WageWatch, Inc. You can go to the Wagewatch website to learn more about that company.

Finally, let me conclude by asking for your help and support in my race. I would like to thank my co-chairs, Governor Fife Symington, Supervisor Buster Johnson of Mohave County and Supervisor Ray Carroll of Pima County. Who believe I will be the best Treasurer possible. We are well on our way to putting together a statewide team. For those who would like to get involved in my campaign, I have letters of support you can fill out and return to me as well as nominating petitions. We will have a website up and operational very soon. You can email me atrpullen13@gmail.com and my cellphone is 602-524-2241.

Hugh Hallman Candidate For AZ State Treasurer

Perseverance, Integrity, and Principles: Ken Bennett Candidate for Arizona Governor

The Boy Scouts of America played an irreplaceable role in my upbringing and character.  

I distinctly remember writing my first campaign brochure when I was running for the Prescott City Council. I was 26 at the time, and wanted to come across as a competent professional, not a youthful and inexperienced novice. Under ‘Awards and Commendations’, the first entry I wrote was Eagle Scout. Although I am very proud of being an Eagle Scout, I wondered if I might be reinforcing my youthfulness by leading with an award I earned as a young man.

Despite that brochure including a college degree, a CFO (and later CEO), and a wide variety of other commendations, I have had more people tell me they trust and support me because I am an Eagle Scout than for any other reason. As I went to the State Board of Education, the Senate, and now the Secretary of State, this trend has consistently held true.

I am now a candidate for Governor, and I am proud to tell you that I am fully committed to the integrity, perseverance and moral principles I learned in becoming an Eagle Scout. To get elected, I need your help today.

Watch Video

Thank you very much for your support! Please go on my website at bennettarizona.com and do so. The website is also a great place to learn more about our vision for Arizona.

Arizona: Statement From Mayor Scott Smith Re: Governor Brewer Veto OF SB1062

For Immediate Release
"I applaud Governor Jan Brewer for her veto of SB 1062.  Her explanation was thoughtful and well reasoned.   I will continue to focus on issues that have real consequences for Arizonans.  Job creation, educational excellence and the expansion of opportunities that are necessary for Building a Better Arizona are where our efforts should now be concentrated."

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Tom Morrissey AZ Candidate For AZ State Senate Legislative District 18

Tom Morrissey Candidate For AZ State Senate Legislative District 18 by Barbara Espinosa

Mayor Scott Smith Letter to Arizona Business Leaders on H.B.1062

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Dear Arizona Business Leaders,

As a fourth-generation Arizonan, I know this state is the land of opportunity. Our state, under the leadership of Governor Brewer, is on the cusp of a remarkable economic turnaround.  Arizona's economy is poised to become one of the fastest growing in the nation.  

We have attracted significant new investments, such as Apple in Mesa. For the first time since the start of the Great Recession, Arizona's outlook is bright.

Unfortunately, the intense national debate over SB1062 threatens to derail the economic momentum we have worked so hard to create.  This unnecessary legislation could have unintended consequences that will further divide this state and harm our still-fragile economic recovery.

When I first read SB1062, 

I instinctively knew it would be bad for Arizona. As President of the US Conference of Mayors, I had the honor of hosting 45 large city mayors from around the country last weekend for a leadership meeting.  

Many of these mayors came from cities that had enacted travel bans against Arizona after SB1070 was enacted.  I worked with them for years dispelling bad perceptions about our state, and they all decided to come to Arizona.  They gave us a chance to shine.  Then came SB1062.  I learned first hand and in real time how leaders from outside Arizona – many of them fellow Republicans – view Arizona and how damaging this bill is to our reputation. They were brutally honest and straightforward.

On Friday, I became the first Republican candidate for Governor to speak out in opposition to this bill. SB1062 is wrong for Arizona and it is wrong for our business community.  I commit to you that as Governor I will lead, not simply talk.  I will focus on and fight for real issues that have real consequences to Arizonans.  Jobs. Education Excellence. Creating opportunity. Building a Better Arizona.  I’ve done it as a mayor, and I will do it as your Governor.   

Sincerely,