Executive Guidance Council of the Maricopa County Republican Committee Resolution:

Concerning the Maricopa County Attorney 2010 Republican Primary Election

Whereas, Bill Montgomery has a proven record of prosecutorial success at the County Level, and

Whereas, Republican Candidate Bill Montgomery has vowed to vigorously prosecute those arrested under SB1070, and

Whereas, Bill Montgomery commands the respect of all agencies to which he must interact as County Attorney including Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Board of Supervisors,

Whereas, Interim Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley has endorsed numerous Democrat Party Candidates for office, even when in direct violation of Maricopa County Republican by-laws (e.g. 2002 Democrat Candidate for Secretary of State Chris Cummiskey, 2008 Democrat Candidate for Maricopa County Attorney Tim Nelson, and 2008 Democrat Candidate for Maricopa County Sheriff Dan Saban), and

Whereas, Rick Romley has abandoned his lawful responsibilities as County Attorney and refused to prosecute illegal immigrants under Arizona's human smuggling law, which has a 94% prosecution success rate under former County Attorney Andrew Thomas, and

Whereas, just today, Rick Romley pulled $700,000 of funding for Employer-Sanctions enforcement from the County Sheriff's office further obstructing efforts to identify, arrest, and prosecute perpetrators of identity theft, the gateway crime of illegal immigrants, and

Whereas,  Rick Romley in his previous 16 year career as County Attorney failed to aggressively defend Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, resulting in millions of dollars in losses to Maricopa County in civil judgments, and

Whereas, the second of three Republican candidates and Chandler Mayor, Boyd Dunn has no prosecutorial experience whatsoever, and

Whereas, Mayor Dunn has traveled to Washington, D.C. as recently as 2008 to defend Comprehensive Immigration Reform, and

Whereas, Mayor Dunn has prohibited Chandler Police from inquiring about  the immigration status of someone arrested for a misdemeanor offense, enforcing a de facto Sanctuary City Policy, and

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that the Executive Guidance Council of the Maricopa County Republican Committee endorses Bill Montgomery for Maricopa County Attorney in the upcoming Primary Election to be held on August 24, 2010.

On Thu, Jul 1, 2010 at 10:43 PM, LP Gorman <lpgorman2@gmail.com> wrote:

Horst, please pass this along:

The EGC voted on a resolution tonight to endorse Bill Montgomery in the County Attorney's race.  Although I am personally a big fan of
Bill Montgomery and am supporting him, and although Rick Romley deserves the condemnation of the EGC for the support he has provided Democrat candidates, I argued against this resolution because there is a 3rd candidate in the race -- Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn.  I believe that the EGC should normally avoid endorsing candidates except in special circumstances.   Although Bill Montgomery is a stronger candidate than Dunn, in my opinion the appropriate forum for deciding who should represent the party in the general election should be the primary election campaign and not an EGC resolution.

The main argument in favor of this resolution centered around the need for the leadership of the Republican Party to take a stand in the race due to its importance and the consequences should Rick Romley win the primary. I believe that there are several races in the primary season that have similar importance -- the governor's race and the attorney general's race, among others -- and there was not a clear reason to me why this particular race should warrant involvement from the EGC when similar races do not.

There were other arguments centered around the idea that the EGC should be more aggressive about endorsing candidates in primary
elections. Those arguing in favor of this believe that as party leaders, we should not be afraid to choose who we think  the best candidates are and to put the weight of the EGC endorsement behind them in order to help them win elections.

According to the county bylaws, resolutions to endorse primary election candidates require 60% of the votes in order to pass.

After a spirited debate, the resolution passed with 18 votes in favor and 8 in opposition.  I voted against the resolution.

Larry Gorman, Chairman
Executive Guidance Council