Will there be Writing on LaWall?

We've all read the outraged media accounts about Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas' Crime Prevention booklet.  In fact, the governor referred to the controversy in her State of the State address.

In her annual State of the State Address on Monday, Napolitano said: “Too often lately, we see this money go for TV commercials that amount to little more than publicity for an elected official. That’s the wrong way to use it. Pass a bill that uses the money for core functions of law enforcement.”

So imagine my surprise when I obtained a copy of a 52 page, color glossy book touting the accomplishments of Ms. LaWall and her office.  The book is so slick and thick that it looks like the advertising folder for a new BMW. 

To be sure, Thomas spent more money on his pamphlet and it was more widely distributed, but at least it was about crime prevention.  It wasn't just about Thomas. 

Here's a copy of the full  LaWall brochure. Browse through it and see if it can be characterized as anything other than a campaign piece. 

So far, the Citizen is the only newspaper I can find that has covered the story.  We'll see if the media and the Governor express equivalent outrage, but considering that Thomas is a Maricopa County Republican and LaWall is a Pima County Democrat, I'm not holding my breath

Not that they are biased or anything.

Comments

[Faith]

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/LaurieRoberts/15986

[Nick S]

Its only a problem when Republicans do it...

[SonoranSam]

It doesn't matter that Thomas blew more RICO cash than LaWall on political propaganda.

And it certainly doesn't matter that Thomas is an R, and LaWall is a D.

They're both wrong, and need to be held accountable by the voters.

[phaedrus]

Isn't it the responsibility of the Citizen and Daily Star to cover events in Pima. after all it is the voters who hold them to account and not many Republic readers vote in Pima County.

Last I checked most government agencies (not to mention private sector companies) publish something similar to LaWall's booklet--it is called an ANNUAL REPORT.

If you can't tell the difference between a report that outlines factual information about the activities of an elected official and a vapid booklet which contains information that a third grader could tell you (not to mention the the numerous billboards with his mug that litter the Valley.), perhaps it is YOUR bias that is showing.

[phaedrus]

Isn't it the responsibility of the Citizen and Daily Star to cover events in Pima. after all it is the voters who hold them to account and not many Republic readers vote in Pima County.

Last I checked most government agencies (not to mention private sector companies) publish something similar to LaWall's booklet--it is called an ANNUAL REPORT.

If you can't tell the difference between a report that outlines factual information about the activities of an elected official and a vapid booklet which contains information that a third grader could tell you (not to mention the the numerous billboards with his mug that litter the Valley.), perhaps it is YOUR bias that is showing.

[Avid Reader]

I think we should just give up and let ourselves be governed by the media, rather than by politicians who are forced to bypass it in order to be heard.

[Darryl]

I believe it is against State Law to publish an "Annual Report" or print it on paper using state funds is the exact statute. It was passed after the Romley incident. You will notice the State AG will only publish his on the website and the Governor uses private funds to print hers as well as Jan Brewer. Somehow County Attorney LaWall is immune to that statute I guess? This is clearly an annual report and she deserves the same Ire Thomas got.

[DKinTucson]

Toot my horn at tax payer expense, that is atypical of Ms LaWall. When Barbara LaWall assigned an attorney to challenge the Arizona Room that I had installed on my new Manufactured Home, approved by the STATE Office Of Manufactured Housing by the way, my personal attorney suggested that I visit the OMH and plead my case that Pima County had NO jurisdiction in accessory structures installed on manufactured housing, I made the contact and had the meetings.

At one point in those meetings, one of the OMH folks told me to tell my attorney to tell the Pima Co. Attorney to back off or he would call his attorney, the Attorney General of AZ.

Point: LaWall is out of control always has been and always will be. Pima County needs to dump her before she costs them mega millions in claims.

Oh, I won, but my costs for attorney fee represenatation to take on Pima Co. were very high. Am still enjoying my perfectly legal additions to my perfectly legal home.

[Rex]

Every politician looks for every opportunity to toot their own horn at public expense. The system we have tolerated makes it easy for them to do so. Napolitano has done this herself in state tourism ads and I am not all up in arms about Thomas or LaWall, to be honest, because I think what they did pales in comparison to the centuries-old practice of franked mail used by our Congress.

Why not use episodes like this as more evidence of the need to ban franking AND have public funding of campaigns? Greg, typically, wants to make a partisan point in this post. I see it as a pox on both houses and the incumbent-protection biases inherent in our politics.

[Avid Reader]

I think we should pick our leaders the way they do on LOST.