Caveat: If the Arizona Jackass Party can get its muzzle out of the perpetually offended, Woke-DEI-Victimology-Trough long enough to actually govern intelligently.
Here are 4 broad concepts for the Arizona Dimshevik (nee Democrat) Party to consider in their erstwhile endeavor to become a serious governing force in Arizona. Frankly, I’m skeptical they can keep their dog’s breakfast of a coalition together long enough to focus, outside the realm of their usual retail menagerie of wacky, nut-job issues. That said, if they can just settle down, take the xanax, a few deep breaths, and reflect on some bigger governing ideas …than just pandering to their increasingly erratic caucus.
#1. Make standard terms for Arizona State Senators 4 years instead of only 2 years. West of the Mississippi only 2 other states, both significantly smaller and highly conservative, mandate 2 year terms for state senators: Idaho (pop. 2M) and South Dakota (pop. 924K). Giving AZ State Senators 4 year terms would elevate their status, and would not affect the term limit clause on number served. The real point is to give this part of Arizona’s bicameral legislature a measure of time for deeper reflection and study on critical issues. This, in a much bigger, more globally connected, and more complicated technological state, and one of only 4 states on America’s southern border. No doubt it would hasten to cool down dual ideological craziness in the lower chamber, and thus doing so, add a measure of respectability to both, now seriously lacking. It would force real working compromises upon the puffed-up statehouse-stagehands, who don’t grasp they’re simply glorified order-takers currently.
#2. Make Spanish a mandatory subject in grades K-12. I wrote an entire piece on this one after spending several months in lower South America in 2023. You can read the full op-ed at “Time to Mandate Teaching Spanish in Arizona, K-12”. And why it gives Arizona a truly unique, global economic advantage.
#3. Suspend Arizona’s nutty anti-annexation law (AZ §9-471, Cities and Towns) for large municipalities. This could be accomplished simply enough via an amendment to that existing legislation that stipulates it only applies to smaller cities of 30,000 or less (who have no business annexing anything). The rural caucus that originally spearheaded this anti-urban 2003 legislation is rapidly losing power in numerous ways because they blindly followed those whose only answer to anything new was an emphatic “No!” Now, this same bunch of rural representatives are trying to coax water from stones and trying to wrap their heads around the concept of desalinating seawater from the Baja. Meanwhile, places like Tucson’s disorganized 1.1 million Metro remain ~40% unincorporated, and going nowhere fast, like their complicated desperation of purifying sewage for drinking water. It’s time to fish or cut bait; either incorporate independently or be annexed.
#4. Give Arizonans an elected independent insurance commissioner. In the past, giant insurance companies have placed big operations centers in Arizona because of cheap land, labor, and minimal regulations. Arizona consumers got screwed, but it all worked out due to the real estate booms and in-migration, even though these giant financial combines did their serious investing elsewhere. Now the proliferation of AI-based data centers are poised to wreck AZ’s vast call-center economy (#3 nationally). Currently 13 states have elected or independently appointed insurance commissioners; a near 50-50 mix of red/blue states. They aren’t stupid; giant insurance combines do not get away with uncontested rate increases, rubber-stamped by idiot bureaucrats, and shoved down consumers’ throats. Ditto their imperious refusal to pay claims without nickel-and-diming consumers. Arizona Dems should make the objective of an elected, independent insurance commissioner and some serious oversight—a key party plank.
Sellers is a Southpark, Roosevelt-Republican (TR) living in incorporated Oro Valley; his background is federal technology commercialization, and administers the private group, Tucson E-P-T News, on Facebook
I actually agree with Bill on these.
The smart thing to do would be to ignore everything that Putz Bill Sellers suggests.
Are you kin to Rocco? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocco_Morabito_(mobster,_born_1966)
I can see where that punchlist would appeal to control-hungry Democrats, but as I’m not a Democrat (or an equally control-hungry Republican) I would oppose all of those measures. Although learning a foreign language is a good idea (I’m conversant in 1 and marginally capable in another), there’s no need to specify which one. If we want to bring down insurance rates we need to provide or permit the market to provide alternatives to that monopoly; philosopher-king commissioners are not a thing and never will be. And finally, the answer to better governance is not giving politicians more time on the public teat, rather it is to give them fewer opportunities and less power to practice their shenanigans; again, philosopher-kings, and what not.