Political Notebook: Redistricting commission to hold Tucson hearings

Arizona’s Constitution says that for elections, “District boundaries shall respect communities of interest to the extent practicable.”

Now’s your chance to say what that means to you.

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission is in the middle of a “listening tour” around the state that finally arrives in Tucson this weekend.

The first meeting is at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Westin La Paloma, 3800 E. Sunrise Drive.

The second meeting is at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Sheraton Hotel, 5151 E. Grant Road.

You can also find links to follow the meetings online at the commission’s website, irc.az.gov.

The commission’s 15-stop tour is focused on finding out how voters define their “communities of interest.” You can also fill out a survey online at irc.az.gov/survey.

The survey says, “A Community of Interest is a population that shares common social or economic interests that should be included for consideration for purposes of its effective and fair representation.”

The survey prompts voters to “think about your neighbors, what they do for a living, housing in common, services in common, social or civic networks, parks, churches, neighborhood associations, environmental conditions, land use issues, transit, languages spoken, celebrations or traditions, large employers or other similar issues or characteristics.”

The redistricting commission draws boundaries for Arizona’s legislative districts as well as its congressional districts.

Ciscomani launches campaign

The persuasion campaign worked.

Juan Ciscomani, whom Jim Click and others tried to “draft” into a congressional run, has decided to go for the GOP nomination for U.S. House.

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Ciscomani, a longtime close aide to Gov. Doug Ducey, announced his decision Tuesday.

In a statement, the Tucson Republican said: “I have worked directly with the people of Southern Arizona, listening to their needs, understanding their concerns and advancing a limited government agenda because we know big Washington government is not the solution to the issues we face.”

Ciscomani is planning to run in Congressional District 2, or whatever it becomes after redistricting. That’s the district that runs from the northwest side of metro Tucson, southeast to the Mexico and New Mexico borders, including the whole southeastern corner of the state.

He will make a formidable obstacle to other Republicans considering running. But Republicans affiliated with the corporate side of the GOP have not always won in the area. Lea Marquez Peterson narrowly defeated surprisingly strong right-wing candidate Brandon Martin in 2018. In 2020, Martin went on to win the nomination, but lost the general election.

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat, is leaving office after this term. State legislators Kirsten Engel, Randy Friese and Daniel Hernandez Jr. are all running for the Democratic nomination in the district.

Scarpinato departs Ducey

The highest ranking Tucsonan in Gov. Doug Ducey’s team is leaving.

Daniel Scarpinato, who grew up in Tucson, has worked for Ducey since the beginning of his governorship, first as spokesman and most recently as chief of staff.

Previously, Scarpinato also worked as a reporter at the Arizona Daily Star and Arizona Capitol Times, for candidate Jonathan Paton, and on the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Scarpinato is joining Ascent Media, a campaign and communications firm, as a partner working in Phoenix.

Gretchen Conger, Ducey’s deputy chief of staff, is also leaving the office to join the campaign of Sarah Huckabee Sanders for governor of Arkansas.

Daniel Ruiz, who holds the title of chief operating officer in Ducey’s team, will take over as chief of staff.