How about this for news.  The House Republicans elected Rep. John Boehner R-Ohio to be house majority leader.  The party feels that the most recent occupant, Tom Delay, has disgraced himself as part of the Abramoff scandal.  So they want "new faces."  Click here to see who they chose!  This new character doesn’t even want to give his graft money back!

Phoenix, AZ –  Jon Kyl completely flipped his position on extending the enrollment period for the Medicare prescription drug benefit today, voting for a resolution that stated that the enrollment period should not be extended for an additional six months.  This is just days after he said the period should be extended because of the widespread confusion associated with the benefit.  But this isn’t the first flip-flop Kyl has had on the issue – just three months ago, Kyl voted against extending the enrollment period.  Click here to see more on this story.

Mike Caccioppoli issued a press release tonight to point out lies from Rick Renzi.  Here is part of the release.

Flagstaff,Arizona-Democratic Congressional candidate Mike Caccioppoli responds to the latest press release from Rick Renzi in which he lies about not taking Abramoff money. In fact Renzi took $4,000 from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe in 2004 which was represented by Jack Abramoff.

"Rick Renzi, in a desperate attempt to distance himself from Jack Abramoff has once again lied to the people of Arizona by claiming that he never took any Abramoff related money. The truth is that in 2004 Renzi took $4,000 from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe which was represented by Jack Abramoff. Renzi has said in the past that he will not return the Abramoff related money he has, and now he says that he never took any money. It’s getting to the point where he can’t even get his own lies straight. Rick Renzi needs to start telling the truth and come clean to the people of Arizona."

Click Here to Visit Mike’s Website

Kristi Youtsey Ruiz has announced her candidacy for re-election to her position as the Clerk of the Superior Court for Pinal County. Ruiz is a Pinal County native having been born in Florence and raised in Eloy. Kristi attended Central Arizona College and graduated from the University of Phoenix with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. She currently has 18 years of government experience and strongly believes that her prior experience in the Judicial Branch for the Superior Court and Volunteer CASA services, the Executive Branch involving Human Resources, Health and Human Services which have contributed to her ability to successfully continue a career in Public Office in Pinal County. This would be her second term as Clerk of the Superior Court.  Click here to visit her website. 

The Clerk of the Superior Court is an elected position established by the Arizona Constitution.  The Clerk’s duties include administration of court records and exhibits an the collection and disbursement of court and statutory authorized funds.

The Clerk is responsible for office operations, personnel and aligning policies and procedures with new or ammended legislation and court rulings.  In addition to these duties, Ruiz is also the appointed Jury Commissioner and Probate Registar in Pinal County. 

The office of the Clerk of the Superior Court is located at the Pinal County Courthouse in Florence, with satalite offices in Casa Grande, Apache Junction and Mammoth.

During her first term in office, Ruiz was presented with the monumental task of preparing county records, dating back to the late 1800’s, for the move to the new courthouse without interruption of operations or service to the public. "Exercising exemplary team efforts, strategic planning, and commendable dedication by staff resulted in a seamless and successful move."

An additional first term priority for Ruiz was to improve customer service in the Clerk’s office. "Increased information on our website, including self help online forms and with the implementation of various in-house automated systems, we have improved efficiency and timeliness of document flow throughout the court system. This has been accomplished by enhancing operations through technological advances, streamlining processes and promoting increased communication among counterparts. Ruiz credits her staff with their invaluable assistance in this endeavor.

In addition to her past accomplishments, Ruiz has partnered with Superior Court Clerks in statewide standardization projects. She is currently in the final stages of implementing the electronic transfer of documents to the Court of Appeals.

Kristi is currently a member of the Arizona Superior Court Clerks Association; the Arizona Association of Counties; National Association of Counties; Arizona Courts Association; Arizona Family Support Council; National Association for Court Management; Pinal County Domestic Violence Task Force Committee; Pinal County Justice Integration Committee; NAACP; National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials; Council on Judicial Education and Training(COJET). She is currently enrolled in the Institute of Court Management with the National Center of State Courts.

Ruiz feels a strong dedication to the communities and has participated in many community outreach efforts assisting families. "There is no greater feeling than giving back to the communities, especially in a time of need," said Ruiz expressing her belief that it is important to remain connected and involved in the communities.

"It has been a privilege to represent the people while joining efforts with the Judicial and Executive Branches of government embarking on an innovative era of integration and collaboration. It has been my pleasure to work alongside great local, state, and national officials. It’s an honor and a challenge to be part of Pinal County’s historical growth, as leaders we must continuously forecast the needs of our communities and never lose focus on the people we are here to serve."

"I would appreciate your support in my endeavors to continue to hold an active role in the ever changing and growing future of Pinal County and would appreciate your vote in the primary election on September 12, 2006."

PINAL REPUBLICANS SEEK BIG GOVERNMENT

February 6, 2006 — Pinal County Republicans are trying to obtain legislatively what they were unable to accomplish at the ballot box: bigger government.

Led by party flip-flopper Cheryl Chase (R-Pinal), the GOP in this Democratic-leaning county has introduced House Bill 2575 to mandate that Pinal and three other rural counties conduct a special census to determine their population. If the counties’ populations are above 200,000, each would be required to redistrict before the next election and provide for five elected county supervisors, up from three.

Our February meeting will be held on Saturday, February 11th 2006 at 3pm.  Our speaker this month will be Fred Taylor on the topic, “Your Right to Vote”.  Fred is promoting the idea for statewide voting by mail as is done in Oregon.  Click here to visit the Vote By Mail site.

Also, Gabbe Strasser, a SaddleBrooke resident will share his research on the topic “Medicare D Prescription Coverage Made Utterly Simple.” 

The meeting will be held at the Activities Center at 64518 E Galveston Dr.  Be sure to call for reservations  for the pot luck supper following the general meetiing at the home of Ray and Kate Frank.

Vice President Cheney has shot one of his guests, a Republican.  We note that the Vice President put out a "News Blackout" for 24 hours following the event.  No doubt, Dick wanted the chance to consult his attorneys and media advisor on how to explain this point blank shooting.  No Joke, this poor man is intensive care.  Click here for the story on Yahoo News.

Today, a congressional report by the House of Representatives on the Katrina disaster and the federal government’s role in that disaster became public.  The report was written by REPUBLICAN congressmen without much, if any, input from Democrats.  That’s because Democrats have asked for an independent, non-partisan commission to investigate the situation.  As a result, few Democrats participated in the "congressional investigation"  Anyway, now the Republicans have reported their findings on the situation.  Suprise, they found the government [W (worst ever)] is guilty of "an abidcation of the most solemn obligation to provide for the common welfare." They did not comment on charges of racisim by the administration, but it was clear that this issue is just below the surface.

As one might expect W (worst ever) came out this evening with statements denying any mistakes ever.  The name calling can be expected tomorrow morning.  But the simple fact is that having spent however many billions of to create the Department of Homeland Security, we are less safe today than we were four years ago.  Can anyone imagine that the response to a terrorist attack would be any better than the response to Katrina?  Click Here to read this story. 

The Pinal County Democrats hold their meetings at 7pm on the third Wednesday of each month in Florence. We generally gather for a dutch treat supper at about 5:30 pm at the Mount Athos Greek Resturant at 444 N Pinal Parkway, in Florence. This is great opportunity to meet and greet fellow Democrats in an informal setting. The meeting is held at the offices of the Pinal County Attorney at 31 N Pinal St. Carpooling is generally available from SaddleBrooke. Hope to see you there!

Krista Pacion, a computer professional and Treasurer of the Pinal County Democrats, has announced that she will seek to become an Arizona Representative from District 23.  Krista’s last name sounds like "passion."  Krista has filed her papers and, as of now, will be running under the slogan Pacion for the People.