Email this page
Print this page
del.icio.us
digg
yahoo!
CommentsAnother Latino governor?
(page 1 of 2)
A flurry of job swapping in the Gov’s Office has Arizona political junkies pondering the motives behind it.
It makes some nervous that these moves are happening just before the Democratic Convention and presidential election.
If Governor Janet Napolitano is fortunate enough to be called to a President Obama Cabinet, Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer – a Republican – would move up in the chief of state’s seat.
Arizona Democrats are sniffing at winds of change politically in our state, and they don’t want those breezes shifting in an opposite direction with a Republican governor.
What is known is that the southern Arizona Democratic contingent on the ninth floor gets the most lift from the actions.
While one Tucsonan – Dennis Burke – is moving out, another Tucsonan – Jan Lesher – is moving up.
The official press release says Burke is leaving the Guv’s chief-of-staff position to work on some election campaigns.
That may be so: he’s an able Democratic strategist and well respected. If Burke does help out on campaigns, word on the street is he’s collecting political chips for when he runs for state attorney general in 2010.
Lesher is shifting into Burke’s slot from head of the Department of Commerce.
That provided an opening at DOC that Napolitano has shifted Marco Lopez Jr. into. He’ll take over Sept. 15 as director of DOC, a high profile post.
