Posted on 11/04/2002 10:26:33 AM PST by hsmomx3
Perhaps Arizona is entering the era of Boss Pederson.
That would be Jim Pederson, the Democratic Party chairman, who has contributed nearly $2.4 million to his party for this election.
Last election, he spent more than $675,000 on a successful initiative drive to take redistricting away from the Legislature and give it to an appointed commission.
That's more than $3 million. This is an unprecedented attempt by one man to change the Arizona political landscape by force of his wallet.
Pederson sold his redistricting commission as a bipartisan reform, just a drive for good government and fairness.
After its passage, he ousted the incumbent Democrat Party chairman. Pederson's pitch? That his redistricting commission would benefit Democrats.
That turned out not to be the case. Pederson underestimated the extent to which the federal Voting Rights Act dictates political lines in Arizona. If Pederson is truly interested in good government and bipartisan reform, he could help lead an effort to remove Arizona from this federal straitjacket.
But Pederson's bipartisan phase is clearly over. He's now the Democratic Party's chief wheeler-dealer and financier.
He masterfully recruited an all-star lineup for statewide office. Generally speaking, the Democratic candidates are simply more impressive politicians than their Republican opponents. The only exceptions are in the races for the Arizona Corporation Commission and state superintendent of public instruction, and there the quality of candidates is pretty much a push. Putting ideology aside, there is no statewide race for which the Republican candidate is clearly superior.
Moreover, the Democratic candidates had relatively free rides to the general election, while Republicans had some bruising primaries. That's an important advantage, given Arizona's late primary.
The extent to which Pederson arranged this advantage is the subject of much speculation. It's always difficult to peer accurately into the private dealings of politicians, but the evidence suggests that he did try to stifle intraparty competition.
Janet Napolitano supported Pederson's bid for chairman, and he has put his muscle and money firmly behind her gubernatorial ambitions.
Terry Goddard had initially expressed interest in running again for governor but settled for the attorney general slot.
Former state Sen. Chuck Blanchard had already expressed an interest in attorney general and, unlike Goddard, has actually spent his adult life practicing law. But he quickly withdrew after a possible Goddard bid surfaced.
Alfredo Gutierrez has publicly complained about Pederson's heavy-handed efforts to get him out of the governor's race.
Despite a quality cast with little primary opposition, Pederson still faced two problems: the Republican registration edge and its historically deeper financial pockets.
Pederson has to overcome the first at the ballot box. But he overcame the latter by writing checks and manipulating the new campaign finance system.
As a result, publicly financed Napolitano gets to piously denounce privately financed Matt Salmon as the candidate of special interests, while Pederson makes sure there's actually more money spent on her behalf.
Pederson is a real estate developer. And if he were a Republican, his plutocratic donations would be the story of the election. After all, the media used to have vapors over the political donations of Charlie Keating and his cronies, and they were just spending tens of thousands.
Now I happen to believe that how Pederson earns his money is just fine, and if he wants to spend it on politics, that's his right.
Just don't pretend to be the party of the little guy. Or feign righteous indignation about where the other side gets its money.
This gig might succeed this election. But it will be difficult to sustain the trick.
If Democrats win the governorship, they will be in a better position to attract some of the money they complain about the Republicans accepting. But $2.4 million is a big hole to fill.
Moreover, if McCain-Feingold is upheld, individual donations to state political parties will be capped at $25,000. So it will take some elaborate finagling for Pederson to continue being the party's cash cow.
And at some point, surely he will find a less expensive hobby.
The reign of Boss Pederson, while remarkably brazen, may be short.
Reach Robb at robert.robb@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8472. His column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Assuming this is true, it could reveal a BIG ulterior motive for McCain in pushing this all these years.
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