Free Republic

Conservatives in Arizona can have a little more hope now that their views will begin to be represented in the Arizona Republican Party. The AZ GOP State Convention was held today and, after a contentious and close race for the chairmanship, conservative Republican Randy Pullen won by a slim margin of 408 to 404. His opponent, Lisa James, was hand-picked by Sen. John McCain and represented the moderate, establishment Republican wing of the state party. Although she did pick up a handful of conservative supporters, for the most part her supporters were the liberals, moderates, and RINOs of the party....

Republicans are upset with a letter penned by Gov. Janet Napolitano to a top business group in which the Democrat takes credit for business property tax cuts approved during the 2005 session. Napolitano recently wrote the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, applauding the group's support for business tax cuts that included a reduction in corporate property tax rates. In the letter, the governor said she "was pleased to spearhead the effort to reduce the business property tax" as well as a number of other tax credit measures. Napolitano signed the business property tax cut when she approved a series...

Business folks and main street voters in Arizona may not care all that much, if at all, about the ongoing spat between Republicans and Gov. Janet Napolitano over funding for the state's independent redistricting board. But Monday events regarding the "inside baseball" restricting issue showed Napolitano's media savvy and knack for being able to stay ahead of the political curve. Republicans have been criticizing the governor for a week or so for not including funding for the Independent Restricting Commission. That panel was given the responsibility to draw up legislative and congressional district lines and now faces lawsuits from Democrats...