Play the video above to see these stories on AZ Illustrated Politics for Friday, Aug. 30, with guests U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva; Don Jorgensen, Pima County Democratic Party chairman; Jonathan Paton, Republican strategist; and Lea Marquez-Peterson, Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce president:
Congressman Grijalva discussion topics include:
IMMIGRATION REFORM: Grijalva said he was concerned that immigration reform efforts might fall apart in the House of Representatives, but added that he saw a few ways it could still become law. He said National Republican Committee’s recent vote to oppose a path to citizenship would likely alienate Latino voters.
ANTI-GAY FLIER TARGETING DANIEL HERNANDEZ: Grijalva called for an investigation into a recent anti-gay flier targeting Sunnyside School Board member Daniel Hernandez, who is well known as the intern who raced to Gabby Giffords’ side after she was shot on Jan. 8, 2011.
ROSEMONT MINE: Grijalva said he thought the U.S. Forest Service was rushing the process to approve the Rosemont Mine and not taking into account the long-term consequences of the mine.
SYRIAN MILITARY ACTION: Grijalva said he was concerned about the possibility that the Obama administration would take military action against Syria without congressional approval.
Panel discussion with Jorgensen, Paton and Marquez-Peterson topics include:
IMMIGRATION TOWN HALL: Marquez-Peterson said she attended this week’s immigration town hall with Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake and thought the major hold up in immigration reform remained the question of a path to citizenship for undocumented people now in the United States. Paton said Republicans wanted to see more efforts to secure the border. Jorgensen praised McCain for making a strong case for a path to citizenship as part of immigration reform, while Paton said Republicans would be misguided if they considered the political advantage of rewarding those who had entered the country illegally rather than working out the right policy for the country, regardless of whether it meant alienating Latino voters.
ELECTION-LAW REFERENDUM: Jorgensen said the petition effort to block a law overhauling Arizona’s election procedures might not gather enough signatures to have a sufficient buffer to make up for invalid petitions, while Paton expressed skepticism that the effort would be successful. Marquez-Peterson said she had concerns about the law’s impact on Latino voters.
CITY COUNCIL ELECTION: In the wake of this week’s uncontested primary election, Jorgensen and Paton agreed that the race to watch was the rematch between Democratic incumbent Karin Uhlich and Republican challenger Ben Buehler-Garcia.
AZ Illustrated Politics is produced by Jim Nintzel. Contact him at jnintzel@azpm.org.
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