Think Tank talks to Hiral Tipirneni, discusses deceptive propositions

With the election 10 days away, the Think Tank welcomes one of the most interesting newcomers to Arizona politics and takes on ballot propositions this week.

Hiral Tipirneni is running for Congress in the 8^th Congressional District in the Northwest Valley. Her opponent is Debbie Lesko. A special election was held this spring to elect a successor to Trent Franks who resigned his seat in Congress. The district is heavily Republican and went for Donald Trump by 21 percentage points. It is regarded as a “safe” Republican district, one that has never elected a Democrat to Congress or voted for a Democrat for president in the district’s current configuration. In a result that astounded the entire political establishment, Debbie Lesko won by only 4.7 percentage points in this spring’s special election. (Lesko was invited to be on this show but did not respond to our request). So who is this Wonder Woman?  Tune in and hear firsthand.

Attorney and all-around troublemaker (an observation made with great affection) Tom Ryan opens this week’s show.  Mike and Tom discuss several of the most misleading ballot propositions, the ones that purport to do one thing and do something quite different (and sometimes the precise opposite of what they claim to do).  Included among these:

In 1998, Arizona citizens overwhelmingly voted to have a Clean Elections Commission as divorced from politics as possible. The Republican Party has been attempting to undermine the Commission ever since. This year the legislature referred a ballot initiative (Proposition 306) that would strip the commission of its independence by placing it under the political control of a committee that is completely controlled by the governor. Yeah, there is language that would do something else, but that is only a distraction having nothing to do with the real purpose of the initiative. The real purpose is to end the independence of the independent Clean Elections Commission. (A “Yes” vote will put the commission under the governor’s control, a “No” vote will maintain the status quo and an independent commission).

Proposition 126 says it is to prevent new taxes by “preventing extending sales taxes to anything not already taxed.” Proponents have painted a picture of a legislature poised to tax health care, veterinary care and other necessary services. No one anywhere has proposed any of these. And every tax expert says the best taxes are those that are as low as possible; rates are kept low by having as broad a base as possible. So passing this proposition would preserve the tax exemptions of well-heeled special interests (this effort is funded largely by the real estate industry who wants to preserve their current exemption from sales taxes). Who is against? A virtual who’s who of those of all political persuasions. On the right, Doug Ducey and Americans for Prosperity (that’s the Koch Brothers of the far right). On the left, David Garcia and his primary opponent Steve Farley.  Folks that agree on NOTHING else see this as bad tax policy.

Proposition 305 (vouchers). Not deliberately misleading, but if you favor diverting public school funding for vouchers, vote YES. If you are against this, vote NO. Illogical and complicated reasoning, but it has to do with the law concerning referenda.  Tune in and we will explain why.

All this and more on the pre-pre-election Think Tank.

The Think Tank airs on KTAR News 92.3 FM on Sunday at 1-2 p.m. and repeats at 9-10 p.m.

Podcasts are available after each show is broadcast.