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A mess in Mesa

Democrat Judah Nativio is David standing in the way of Russell Pearce in the race for the state Senate seat from District 18 in Mesa.

Democrat Judah Nativio is David standing in the way of Russell Pearce’s Goliath in the race for the state Senate seat from District 18 in Mesa.

Nativio ran unopposed for his the Democratic nomination, but the brave candidate’s chances are almost zero as Pearce, the winner of the GOP primary, has a lock on being elected in November in the heavily Republican district.

Let’s see, state Senate members serve two-year terms with term limits limiting senators to four terms. Do the math, and it adds up to the sad fact that the rest of us not from Mesa will have to endure Russell’s anti-immigrant and anti-Latino rantings for eight more years.

Even his fellow Republicans couldn’t derail the Pearce extremist express.

Despite the best efforts and intention of Nathan Sproul, a former head of the state Republican Party, Pearce prevailed in the Sept. 2 primary.

Sproul sent out attack videos and flyers on Pearce. One showed Pearce applauding a speech at the state Capitol by J.T. Ready, a Mesa resident associated with White supremacists and neo-Nazi groups.

Then again, you have to remember that Mesa is filled with voters who don’t mind their politicians hobnobbing with extremist groups.

Seems Mesa voters can forgive anything but a Latino running for a city elected office.

Trust us, the Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens has sent out a steady stream of qualified candidates, only to see them rejected by city voters.

In 2005, good ole’ boy J.T. got more votes for city council than Pat Esparza, a MAHC executive director who had faithfully served on several city commissions.

That same year, MAHC treasurer Carmen de Novais lost an election for a Mesa school board.

The election cycle before, Mesa voters rejected MAHC co-founder Teresa Brice-Heames in her run for mayor.

MAHC’s other co-founder, attorney Phil Austin, lost a city council election in March to a woman candidate he had out-fund-raised 10 to 1. And Phil is a proud Republican.

Austin didn’t respond to a question from LPJ about his reaction to losing the city council race.

But maybe if he had sent out a campaign video with him hugging a J.T. Ready type….