Thread: Anti-illegal immigration group wants to recall Gordon

Anti-illegal immigration group wants to recall Gordon

April 30th, 2008 @ 4:19pm
by Jon Zimney/KTAR

There is an effort brewing to recall Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon for being soft on illegal immigration.

It's being headed by an anti-illegal immigration group called American Citizens United.

FM News/Talk 92.3 KTAR received notice Wednesday by the group's leader, who will unveil details Thursday morning at 9 a.m. about the group's effort and petition drive they hope will be the springboard to oust Gordon from office.

In January, Gordon lashed out on KTAR about some of the people who've formed the group.

"And it's outrageous conduct on the part of these individuals that have proclaimed themselves judges of who belongs in our country and who doesn't belong in our country," he said.

The organization's members are members of a number of anti-illegal groups seen at many of the fronts in the immigration debate, including Pruitt's Furniture and the day labor center in north Phoenix.

http://news.ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=823790

Gordon is another Used Car salesman in a cheap polyester suit ... he'll fit good at the breadline

Boot his corrupt a$$ out of office and onto the street competing for depressed wages

"And it's outrageous conduct on the part of these individuals that have proclaimed themselves judges of who belongs in our country and who doesn't belong in our country," he said.

How do people with such flawed logic become our supposed leaders?????

Is it that he is the mayor, so he gets to make that decision??? He is a self appointed judge of who belongs in our country and as such needs to be removed from office.

Good oust his backside!!

Chances to recall mayor called 'zero to none'
Casey Newton
The Arizona Republic
May. 1, 2008 06:18 PM

The recall effort against Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon is under way, but political observers doubt that a small group of activists will be able to unseat him.

"The chances of successfully recalling the mayor are between zero and none," said Bruce Merrill, an Arizona State University political pollster.

The activists seeking the recall have a narrow window in which to raise funds, enlist volunteers and collect 23,751 signatures by August.


They're heading into the summer months, when experts say it is harder to recruit volunteers.

And should they choose to use paid signature gatherers, they will have to compete with the backers of the various initiatives on Arizona's November ballot, who will be collecting signatures at the same time.

That could send up the price of signatures by 400 percent, observers said.

"They're entering the worst time of year to be on the street, because they're now in competition with other initiatives," said Doug Cole, a Republican political strategist and veteran of Valley campaigns. "If they're going to use volunteers, they're fighting the weather and people leaving town for vacations."

Merrill released a poll this week showing that nearly two out of three people in Maricopa County who are familiar with Gordon approve of the job he is doing as mayor.

"That's very good for a politician," Merrill said. "Even if it should get to a vote - which it won't - he would easily defeat that kind of a recall."

The poll comes after a period in which Gordon has waged a high-profile war of words with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio over how to tackle problems related to illegal immigration.

American Citizens United, the group that took out recall papers against Gordon, said they decided to seek his ouster after Gordon wrote to the Department of Justice calling for a civil-rights investigation of the sheriff and his controversial "saturation patrols."

"That's the reason why I got involved in his group," said Phillip Quihuis, the group's vice chairman, at a Thursday news conference at City Hall. "I got tired of politicians hindering people who are actually trying to do something to combat illegal immigration."

Gordon has dismissed American Citizens United as a fringe group and said he is confident they will be defeated.

If they successfully collected the required signatures, a special election would be called.

But political scientists wonder whether they will be able to gather the 40,000 signatures they say they will.

Rodolfo Espino, a political scientist at ASU, said the activists would be hindered by the fact that they have not offered a substitute for Gordon.

The group would not speculate on who might run against Gordon if they are successful, saying "anyone would be better" than the current mayor.

"If they say they have no opinion, that's not going to help win the election," Espino said. "You've got to have a face. You've got to have someone who has name recognition, who's well-liked. The public is not going to vote for Daffy Duck."

But Quihuis said that his group has strong grass-roots support and that voters have been galvanized by Gordon's outspoken opposition to Arpaio's saturation patrols, in which dozens of deputies and members of the Sheriff's Posse camp out in a Valley neighborhood looking for lawbreakers.

The sheriff has touted the patrols' effectiveness in catching undocumented immigrants, leading to charges of racial profiling.

"This time around, I think it'll be different," Quihuis said. "People will be more motivated, because they've seen (Gordon's) true colors."

Reporters asked Quihuis why his group targeted Gordon for recall and not a state or federal official.

"One open-border liberal at a time," he said.

www.azcentral.com

Website to recall Mayor Gordon:

American Citizens United is a group dedicated to the recall of Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon. Our goal is to remove the status of Phoenix as a sanctuary city and promote a safer and securer city. American Citizens United also promotes secure borders, enforcement of our immigration laws and is for legal immigration.

To learn more about American Citizens United or to become a member, please visit

http://www.recallmayorgordon.com/Home_Page.html