The AZ
Republic has endorsed my campaign for Secretary of State. In fact, they said
“it was an easy call”. Please read their endorsement here.
Reagan
has acted like secretary of state for years
Editorial
board, The Republic | azcentral.com
Our
View: State Sen. Michele Reagan has a long track record of election-law reform,
which best prepares her for this office.
The
traditional duties of an Arizona secretary of state, such as keeping essential
records and overseeing elections, seem so quaint these days. So
anachronistic.
Election-related
duties are more tied now to hot-button political issues pitting the interests of
the parties against each other.
Keeping
a list of voters who automatically receive early ballots, for example, once may
have been an apolitical housekeeping matter.
But
don't tell that to the Republicans and Democrats fighting over whether to
cleanse the list of people who don't vote early.
Likewise,
the secretary of state is at the center of the debate over "dark money," the
money spent by all-but-anonymous organizations.
The
office should be an honest broker for developing policies to bring transparency
to such groups. Again, that has become a fierce partisan battle that can
compromise the office if the elected secretary of state lets
it.
And then
there is a history of Arizona secretaries of state ascending unexpectedly to the
governor's office. That is a consideration when weighing whom voters should
favor.
In the
Republican primary race for secretary of state, one candidate is well suited for
the job under these modern-day qualifications. Another may have the intellectual
chops to grow into the job. A third does not belong in the
race.
The
top-rung candidate of the three Republicans vying to be secretary of state is
Michele Reagan.
It is an
easy call.
