RSLC Leader to Take Governor’s Post December 1, 2008
Posted by rslcpol in : Secretaries of State , add a commentFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, December 1, 2008
Republican Secretary of State Brewer Will Become Arizona Governor as
Napolitano Named Homeland Security Secretary
ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), the nation’s largest caucus of Republican state leaders, praised Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer as she will likely take the post of Governor in early 2009 with the announcement today that Democrat Governor Janet Napolitano accepted the nomination of Homeland Security Secretary in the Obama Administration. Jan Brewer has a 26-year history in state and local government – having served in both chambers of the Arizona legislature, as chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and currently as Secretary of State. She is a prime example of the mission of the RSLC: building a farm team for the future.
AZ: It’s Official - Republican Secretary of State to Move into Governor’s Mansion
Posted by rslcpol in : Secretaries of State , add a commentFrom the Tucson Citizen:
Napolitano, 51, would be departing after six years as Arizona governor and midway through her second four-year term. She previously served as Arizona attorney general and U.S. attorney for Arizona.
Brewer, 64, is a veteran public officeholder, with more than two decades as a legislator, a Maricopa County supervisor and secretary of state. Arizona does not have a lieutenant general.
Brewer had a reputation as a fiscal hard-liner and conservative on social issues while a legislator in the 1980s and 1990s, so her taking over the governorship would mean a new approach from Napolitano’s direction.
VA: Candidates Emerge for State Offices
Posted by rslcpol in : State Legislature News , add a commentFrom NV Daily:
His all but inevitable campaign announcement, scheduled for Jan. 7, has shaken up the race significantly.
State Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, and Del. Brian Moran, D-Alexandria, had both been off to the races for quite some time in preparation for a primary fight.
McAuliffe, known as a prolific fundraiser at the national level, is quickly putting together a campaign team comprised of veterans from Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s 2005 bid and the presidential team of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.
Delaware Gun Checks Might Violate Federal Law
Posted by rslcpol in : State Legislature News , add a commentFrom Delaware Online:
When the firearms unit was created, the debate in the House was “strictly about purchases, not enforcement,” said House Minority Leader Richard C. Cathcart, R-Middletown. “It seems to me this violates — at a minimum — the intent of the legislation.”
Cathcart, who received an “A+” rating from the NRA before his recent re-election, said the supercheck process needs a quick statutorial fix.
“Obviously, there is a right to bear arms, but the way this is being applied, basically they’re saying it’s a privilege, and they have a right to take away that privilege from people,” Cathcart said. “I have a huge problem with this.”
MO: Payday Lending Foes Hopeful
Posted by rslcpol in : State Legislature News , add a commentFrom the News-Leader:
“I would imagine the climate may now be better for some more regulation in this area,” Lampe said. “We must have regulation that protects people.”
Lampe, along with fellow Springfield Rep. Charlie Norr, D-137, in the past has signed on to bills capping interest rates — an effort Lampe said she would support again.
She also plans to refile a bill today mandating payday loan companies inform borrowers of their balance every three months.
WI: State Budget Hole is Deep; Will Dems Raise Taxes? November 24, 2008
Posted by rslcpol in : State Legislature News , add a commentWe told you about the governor’s tax ideas a week ago, and the discussion continues.
From New Richmond News:
“The new budget numbers are disappointing, but not surprising given the state of the national economy,” said Sen. Russ Decker, D-Weston, Senate majority leader.
Decker said that he agrees that the state has to tighten its belt and protect jobs.
“The best way out of this is to mirror the efforts at the federal level to stimulate the economy by protecting the jobs we have and creating new jobs. Growing our way out of this is the only way to move our state forward,” said Decker in a released statement.
Assembly Republican Leader, Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald, Horicon, said now is not the time for the state to increase taxes.
SC: GOP AG McMaster “Seriously Considering” Run for Governor
Posted by rslcpol in : Attorney General News , add a commentFollowers of Palmetto politics would do well to have a Republican leader like Henry McMaster leading the state. From FoxCarolina.com:
South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster talked about the possibility of his running for governor in 2010 during an exclusive interview with FOX Carolina on Tuesday.
McMaster was first elected as the state’s top lawyer six years ago. McMaster said since that time, he’s come to realize there are some issues he wants to address but can’t in his current job.“We have a crying need for more energy and development in two areas,” McMaster said. “That is economic development and education.”
KY: U.S. Senator Bunning Running in 2010? If Not, GOP Secretary of State Might
Posted by rslcpol in : Secretaries of State , add a commentTrey Grayson is one of Kentucky’s finest Republican leaders. Don’t know much about him - check out his official bio from the Kentucky Secretary of State’s website here. From Cincinnati.com:
Should Bunning not run, Secretary of State Trey Grayson, a Boone County Republican, has indicated he will run. But Grayson has said little publicly about the race in deference to Bunning.
Bunning has been energized by his staunch opposition to the bailout of the financial industry that Congress passed; he is also against a similar bailout for the auto industry. Raising his profile is the fact that Bunning has been a critic for years of the Federal Reserve System and the policies of its leaders, former chairman Alan Greenspan and current Chairman Ben Bernanke.
AL: Mulling Run for Governor; GOP AG King Relies on Common Sense
Posted by rslcpol in : Attorney General News , add a commentLots of news about attorneys general running for governor - that’s what the RSLC is all about. In this instance - in Alabama - it would be a crowded primary field for both Democrats and Republicans. Republican A.G. Troy King has an outstanding record to run on. From al.com:
Troy King might never have become Alabama’s attorney general if he had gotten to go on vacation at age 10.
In the late 1970s, the state and national economies were slumping and the Elba real estate business run by King’s father wasn’t generating sales. The annual vacation would have to be canceled, King recalled his father announcing at a family meeting.
“That was devastating news to a 10-year-old, so I asked my dad, ‘Well, whose fault is that?’ King said. “My dad explained, ‘Well, I guess the president. He sets economic policy.’”
King passed out handbills supporting Ronald Reagan’s bid against President Carter that year and has been active in politics ever since, he said.
New Mexico Lieutenant Governor the Next Governor
Posted by rslcpol in : Lieutenant Governor News , add a commentLooks like New Mexico’s Democrat Governor Bill Richardson is taking the Commerce Secretary post in the new Obama administration. Who will replace him? Why New Mexico’s Democrat L.G.
From KOAT.com:
The governor’s office has refused to say anything and wouldn’t even say if Richardson was in New Mexico Sunday night.
The woman who would replace him as the state’s top executive, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, is staying silent, too.Denish’s husband and her spokesperson would not comment on Sunday but they said she would speak about the possibility of becoming governor on Monday, but the governor has no public appearances scheduled.
Texas House May Continue to See ‘Ghost Voting’
Posted by rslcpol in : State Legislature News , add a commentThere’s actually video of ghost voting in action. Check it out.
From the Statesman:
The Texas House of Representatives is spending more than $100,000 on a new fingerprint-based voting system, but it won’t necessarily stop lawmakers from routinely breaking their own rules by casting votes for each other.
House members now vote electronically from machines installed on top of their desks. While House rules say it’s a violation to reach over and cast a yea or nay for absent colleagues, the controversial practice of “ghost voting” is widespread.
A YouTube video last year of members voting multiple times for other lawmakers has drawn more than a million hits, and a Travis County Grand Jury called on House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, to start enforcing the chamber’s own rules against it.
MS: Contract Lobbyists Center of Controversy
Posted by rslcpol in : State Legislature News , add a commentFrom the De Soto Times Tribune:
State taxpayer dollars could be better spent on things other than contract lobbyists.
That’s the view of Senate Ethics Committee Chairman Merle Flowers, R-Olive Branch, who chaired Senate Ethics Committee hearings at the Capitol this week.
Flowers said he anticipates legislation to “either ban the practice outright or make it transparent.” The 2009 legislative session begins in January.
Tennessee Already Looking Towards Governor Race
Posted by rslcpol in : State Legislature News , add a commentFrom The Tennessean:
The field of potential candidates is crowded, and has been since former House Majority Leader Kim McMillan, a Clarksville Democrat, announced she was launching an exploratory committee in April, before the Democratic presidential nominee had even been decided.
Despite the abundance of would-be candidates, most are waiting to announce their candidacy as they watch for the biggest factor of all: whether former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Nashville Republican, decides to run. If he does, it would probably overturn the playing field and force Democrats and Republicans to carefully weigh whether they wanted to take him on.
OK: LG Not Needed for Tiebreakers, Still Plans to ‘Lead Senate at Times’
Posted by rslcpol in : Lieutenant Governor News, State Legislature News , add a commentThis article has just the slightest hint of whining and political gamesmanship. Thankfully, Republican Majority Leader Glenn Coffee is above the antics demonstrated by Oklahoma’s state senate Democrats. Whining is such an unattractive trait for folks who claim to be leaders. From NewsOK:
“I still believe that should I choose to want to preside that that opportunity is still available,” Askins said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there are times this session when I do choose to preside.”
Askins, midway through her term, occasionally presided over the Senate the past two years when it was evenly divided and broke tie votes a handful of times. In Oklahoma, the lieutenant governor’s duties include being president of the Senate.
IL: GOP Re-elects Cross as their Leader
Posted by rslcpol in : State Legislature News , add a commentFrom The Herald News:
State Rep. Tom Cross was re-elected to the position of House Republican Leader by his colleagues.
As leader, Cross is responsible for developing a statewide legislative agenda for Republican lawmakers and working with the three other caucus leaders and other elected officials on solving the major issues facing Illinois.
“High unemployment, mortgage foreclosures, a rising cost of living, and crumbling roads, bridges and schools continue to plague our state and pose major challenges for lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly. There is no question that it is going to take a bi-partisan effort to turn our economy around and get families and our state budget back on track,” said Cross.
Meanwhile, there were other leadership shakeups: (more…)
