As ballot returns started to come in last night, it became clear that Proposition 123 is headed to a photo finish. In recent weeks, other surveys had claimed that the proposal was in a strong position with 59.7% support in one push button poll. Another survey declared that Prop 123 was headed to a “big…
DetailsAs early ballot voting is underway for Proposition 123, many school districts and education supporters are deep in the midst of considering potential overrides and bonds for later this year. The deadline for referring items to the November 2016 General Election is fast approaching. For some, November has been the plan all along, and for…
DetailsMy Turn – Arizona Republic, Tuesday, April 26th As parents we often encourage our children to do better. Typically, that is a hard message to deliver – we love our kids and we want to encourage them, but we cannot be overly enthusiastic or negative about mediocre work. I can remember many times be it…
DetailsToday marks the first time in many years that Ryan Smith hasn’t called HighGround home. After nearly eight years at our firm, Ryan began his new career today as the Government Relations Coordinator for Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. All of his colleagues here at HighGround cannot be more pleased for him and for the Airport Authority;…
DetailsSB1516 is nothing short of a pure deregulation of political committees in Arizona. Under the false pretences of streamlining our system, this proposal abdicates nearly all responsibility for regulating political committees. If you think dark money rules our current system now, buckle up because it’s about to get a whole lot darker. Article 7, Section…
DetailsReject SB 1516 – Reject Corruption Dear Members of the Arizona House of Representatives: As soon as this afternoon, you may be considering SB 1516. I urge you to reject it. In Sunday’s Arizona Republic (3/27/16), Representative Ken Clark offered his opinion on why this bill should be defeated. For my part, I agree wholeheartedly…
DetailsArizona has lost another icon, and I lost a good friend. Yesterday afternoon, I received back-to-back calls from friends and colleagues from Tucson to inform me that Don Diamond had passed away. After 91 years on the planet, I was sad to hear that Don was no longer with us. Don was a mentor and…
DetailsThe Crucible of Public Service Steady, purposeful, compassionate, thoughtful, quiet, humble, kind, joyful, patient, dignified and… funny. It is understandable that this past week, a momentous announcement took Unfortunately, in today’s political environment, announcements like this are often followed by speculation that something else is afoot; that the elected is stepping down for some other…
DetailsThe HighGround team had a big night at the 2016 Reed Awards and Conference in Charleston, South Carolina taking home five awards including Best Public Affairs Campaign and Best Newspaper Ad of 2015 for their work with the David and Gladys Wright House. The Reed Awards, named after Campaigns & Elections’ founder Stanley Foster Reed,…
DetailsOur nation has been built on the principles of liberty, equality and fairness. For 1.2 million Arizonans, this current system does not represent any of those principles. Independent voters face a 21st century poll tax put in place by electioneer cronies looking to keep these Independent voters disenfranchised. According to an article in this morning’s…
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