Republican Corporation Commission Candidates

GROE NOTE: Choosing your Arizona Corporation Commissioners is an important decision that impacts your utility rates. If you would like my input or assistance in making this important decision, please call or email me before voting on September 2nd.

AZ Federation for Taxpayers/Americans for Prosperity Ratings for ACC Candidates:

Candidate *Party *Previous Office *Year *Score *Scorecard Designation

John Allen R State Representative 2006 72% Friend of the Taxpayer
John Allen R State Representative 2005 82% Champion of the Taxpayer

Rick Fowlkes R None recorded n/a n/a No record available

Joseph Hobbs R None recorded n/a n/a No record available

Marian McClure R State Representative 2008 72% Friend of the Taxpayer
Marian McClure R State Representative 2007 40% Friend of Big Government

Bob Robson R State Representative 2008 77% Friend of the Taxpayer
Bob Robson R State Representative 2007 58% Needs Improvement

Bob Stump R State Representative 2008 82% Champion of the Taxpayer
Bob Stump R State Representative 2007 69% Ally of the Taxpayer

Keith Swapp R None recorded n/a n/a No record available

Barry Wong R State Representative 2000 14% Big Spender
Barry Wong R State Representative 1999 24% Big Spender

Note: AFP Arizona does not endorse or oppose any candidates for public office. Also, past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Further, the policy matters decided by the ACC may be different from legislative or local government matters.

Trish Groe Receives an "A"

I am a member of the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association (founded in 1909 to promote shooting sport) and just received my monthly newsletter announcing a new website and legislative rankings for incumbent legislators. Check out the new website for the ASRPA at http://www.asrpa.com/ and click the "Legislation" button on the left to view their newly posted rankings for those legislators involved in contested primaries only...drum roll please...

Rep. Trish Groe receives an A ranking!

A = Very good, strong pro rights & interests

Thanks ASRPA members, for your continued support. I look forward to working hard during the upcoming legislative session to protect and enhance our 2nd Amendment rights, in addition to protecting our right to safely hunt and fish this great land!

Groe Named Top Champion of the Taxpayer

Groe Note: WOW!!!! After catching your breath and regaining your balance, make sure you check out the complete scorecard. You might be quite surprised at the scores of some fellow republicans.

Arizona’s FY 2008-2009 state budget, which is more than a billion dollars over budget, produced sharp divisions in legislators’ scores on the 24th annual “Friend of the Taxpayer” Legislative Scorecard, sponsored by the Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), formerly the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers. Legislators voting against the budget bills scored an average of 82 percent, while legislators voting in favor scored an average of 10 percent.

The top award stayed in Lake Havasu City, with Rep. Trish Groe narrowly beating out Sen. Ron Gould, who earned the top spot the last three years in a row. Joining Groe and Gould in the category “Hero of the Taxpayer” were Gilbert Reps. Andy Biggs and Eddie Farnsworth, scoring 90 percent or higher.
To view the complete Scorecard, visit http://www.americansforprosperity.org/includes/filemanager/files/az/2008azlegislativescorecard.pdf.

With their combined high scores, Mohave County legislators Groe, Gould, and McLain made Legislative District 3 the highest-scoring district in the state. In second place was LD 22 (Gilbert), and in third place was LD 9 (Glendale/Peoria/Sun City). The average Republican legislator scored 70 percent (Friend of the Taxpayer), while the average Democratic legislator scored 9 percent (Hero of Big Government). Last year’s Party averages were 65 percent and 32 percent, respectively.

Widening the divide in scores were the failure of the Governor and legislative majorities to prevent a possible $300 million increase in property taxes next year, advance school choice legislation, allow for private enterprise to provide for Arizona’s transportation infrastructure, or enact budget reforms that would help to rein in runaway spending.

For AFP-AZ, the brightest spot in the 2008 Legislative Session was the passage of transparency legislation that will allow Arizona taxpayers to go online and view all state expenditures made to all vendors. AFP-AZ hopes the 2009 Session will extend transparency to the county and city levels.

For the second year in a row, Rep. Steve Farley (R-Tucson) was at the bottom of the scorecard, this time with a score of 3 percent. Farley, who received last year’s Empty Wallet Award, secured his spot at the bottom by casting the lone vote against the transparency legislation.

Contact: Tom Jenney, (602) 478-0146, or Phil Kerpen (202) 349-5796

2008 Groe Campaign Endorsements

As campaign season begins my 2008 endorsements are beginning to come in, though many will not be made until this legislative session has ended. Last week, though, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, "America's Toughest Sheriff" endorsed me, which is tremendously exciting. Also supporting my re-election are the following legislators. The list is not complete but I should have the support of the majority of my colleagues both in the House and Senate by the end of the week.

Representatives
Kirk Adams
Rich Crandall
Doug Clark
Judy Burges
Russell Pearce
Bob Stump
Andy Biggs
Eddie Farnsworth
Steve Yarbrough
John Kavanaugh
Andy Tobin
Rick Murphy

Senators
Ron Gould
Chuck Gray
Pamela Gorman
Jim Waring
Thayer Verschoor
Linda Gray
Karen Johnson
John Huppenthal
Robert Blendu
Jack Harper


NOTE: If you would like to add your name to this list, please use the comment section to do so. I will be updating the list as the season progresses.

AFT 2007 Legislative Ranking

Finally made it to CHAMPION OF THE TAXPAYER!

I would love to be recognized as HERO but it is a tough year for that, budget-wise. That is not going to stop me from trying though.

ATF 2006 Legislative Ranking

With the election coming up, I thought things like this chart of rankings from the Arizona Federation of Taxypayers might help you rate your legislators.

AFT 2005 Legislative Rankings

My first year in office, greener than green, and I still manage to rank as "FRIEND OF THE TAXPAYER". Click the title of the post to see how other legislators rank.

Goldwater Institute Legislators Report Card

This link will take you to 2005-2007 Scores for Gould, McLain, and myself. 2008 Report Cards will be out early fall, I believe.

Legislative Report

Check out the latest legislator rankings from the Pachyderm Coalition. Also noted on the page, the previous week's ranking. An explanation on how the legislators are evaluated is found at the bottom of the page. Yours truly has stayed in the top five since the ranking started!

Check Out My Voting Record

Check out my voting record on issues such abortion, regulation, taxes, children and family issues at Project Vote Smart. You can look up your other elected officials there too!