U.S. Congressman Harry Mitchell

Little government tyrants become big government tyrants

Congressman Harry Mitchell started off as a power hungry teacher at Tempe High School who ruled his class with an iron fist. He become a small time tyrant as Tempe’s mayor, moved on to being a petty tyrant the Arizona Legislator and is now a big time tyrant as a U.S. Congressman. Sadly petty tyrant Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon could take the same path and move on to being a big time tyrant in the U.S. Congress.

Sadly voting in these elections is often like having an election where you get to vote for Hitler, Stalin or Mao. They are all bad choices and you don’t want any of them as your master. Sadly you don’t get to vote for “None of the Above” meaning you don’t want a government master to micro-manage your life and steal your money!

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Nowakowski the next Phoenix mayor?

Phoenix Councilman Michael Nowakowski said he thinks Mayor Phil Gordon would make a pretty good congressman.

Of course, if Gordon does resign and officially throw his hat in the ring to replace retiring Rep. John Shadegg, Nowakowski would become mayor pro tempore.

"I've been getting calls left and right from individuals saying, 'Congratulations, Michael, you're the next mayor,' " Nowakowski (below) said Friday, half jokingly.

You see, Nowakowski last week was elected by his colleagues as vice mayor, a mostly ceremonial title that demands appearances at lots of groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings.

But the city charter states that upon the mayor's resignation, the vice mayor automatically becomes mayor until the council appoints one of its members on an interim basis.

The council must make the appointment between 12 and 15 days after the resignation.

Because there is more than one year left on Gordon's term, the council also would need to call a special election, possibly in August, to fulfill the remainder of the term.

Council members would have to resign their seats before entering the race for mayor. The remaining members then would have to fill those vacancies through an appointment process.

In other words, it would be a big mess.

This scenario has happened before in Phoenix.

When Mayor Paul Johnson resigned in March 1994 to run for governor, Councilman John Nelson became mayor. He served just 11 days before the council appointed colleague Thelda Williams as interim mayor.

The office changed hands again on Nov. 4 of that year when Councilman Skip Rimsza won a special election.

Buzz about a possible Gordon bid for Congress began swirling Thursday after Shadegg, the eight-term GOP congressman, said he was retiring and not seeking re-election in November.

The Democratic mayor now appears to be weighing whether to enter the race for the Republican-leaning Congressional District 3. Election laws would require Gordon to resign if he were to announce his candidacy for higher office.

Councilman Bill Gates, whose district is located in CD3, said a number of strong Republican candidates are lining up for the job, but conceded Gordon could be a formidable candidate.

Democrats "are going to have a tough hill to overcome there, with the Republican registration advantage. We don't know how it will end up. It could be a every good year for Republicans, but then again in this state it could be a good cycle for Democrats," said Gates, a Republican.

Someone who knows something about name recognition, Gates added: "He (Gordon) has very strong name ID, so he will have that as a built-in advantage."