RECALL RUSSELL PEARCE \ Senate President, Legislative District 18

Who is Russell Pearce?

Russell Pearce is a leader in the Arizona Mormon Church whose largest base is in District 18. Citizens for a Better Arizona – Recall Campaign Kick-off Considered the author of SB 1070 and the recent attacks on the 14th Amendment, Pearce has a long list of “friends” like J.T. Ready who are leaders of neo- Nazi groups.

Pearce through Ready has been linked to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). The Southern Poverty Law Center has listed the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) as a since 2007.

In 1995, Pearce became the Director of the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division. Pearce was fired from that position in 1999 after an investigation revealed that Pearce and two underlings had tampered with a Tucson woman's driving record. Official campaign filing at Secretary of State’s office

In October 2006, Pearce forwarded an email from Campaign Facts:

National Alliance, a white separatist group, to a group of supporters. The email titled "Who Rules America" • January 10, 2011 campaign kick-off at State Capitol criticized black and white intermixing and Jews in the media for promoting multiculturalism and racial • January 15, 2011 volunteers canvass District 18 talking equality, for depicting "any racially conscious White to voters about Russell Pearce’s record Person" as a bigot, and for presenting the Holocaust January 22, 2011 Mesa Town Hall – Russell Pearce was as fact. He quickly apologized. a no show after confirming his attendance In October 2010, Pearce was criticized for drafting SB 1070 as a way to provide income for the private January 31, 2011 official filing of petition to recall prison industry by incarcerating illegal immigrants. In Senate President Russell Pearce R-18 particular Pearce was linked to the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) through a December • May 31, 2011 petition signatures due. 7,756 signatures 2009 meeting with the American Legislative Exchange are needed to file. Only registered voters in Legislative Council (ALEC) at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, District 18 can sign the petition. They can be of any D.C. It was at this meeting that Pearce and members party. of ALEC including CCA officials wrote the document that would later, almost word for word, become The official petition can be downloaded here.

Arizona SB 1070. The recall campaign budget is approximately $32, 000. To date we have raised $8,000+.

RECALL RUSSELL PEARCE Arizona Senate President, Legislative District 18

Total AZ Voters Republicans Democrats Independent Libertarian Green 3,191,939 Current Registration 1,142,605 1,008,689 1,010,725 24,880 5.040

Net change +/- +10,803 +5,752 +28,248

District 18 Registration 26,789 18,384 22,499 603 134 68,409 (2% of state)

(Change is recorded for the time period from the The Petition: “We, Citizens for a Better Arizona and November 2, 2010 General Election to January 1, 2011.) residents of District 18, submit this petition to recall State Senator Russell Pearce for his failure to focus on issues and concerns that affect all Arizonans. Mesa and Arizona General Election Results need a leader who will pass laws to create jobs, protect public education and ensure access to health care for our There are 51 precincts in Legislative District 18 children and those most in need. We deserve a Precinct turnout = 28.11% to 64.78% representative that reflects our values, beliefs and vision Total votes for Senate = 31,091 for Mesa and all of Arizona. By signing this petition we o Republican = 17,552 publicly withdraw our support for Russell Pearce and what o Democrat = 10,663 he represents.” o Libertarian = 2,808

About Legislative District 18

“This district has the fourth-fewest registered voters in the state. District This district lies in the middle of the pack in most demographic categories: 19th in per-capita income, 15th in percentage living in 18 poverty, 11th in percentage of Hispanic residents and 19th in percentage of white residents (61%). It is a fairly young district with nearly 45% of residents between 19-44 years. It is also not a highly educated population with only 17% obtaining a bachelor’s or graduate degree. (Source: Arizona Capitol Times, February 12, 2010, Vol. 111, Issue 7)

Campaign Leadership The recall campaign was started by Randy Parraz and many other citizens from District 18. Randy started his career as a community Arizona Progress ACTION organizer. From organizing house meetings in East Dallas to solve Barbara McCullough-Jones neighborhood issues, to establishing the National Strawberry Executive Director Commission for Workers Rights for strawberry pickers struggling to form a union in the fields of California, to organizing residential construction workers in Arizona so that workers could receive fair, Phone: 480-477-7415 just and timely compensation for their labor, Randy has spent Email: [email protected] considerable time working with others in pursuit of progressive, positive change. PO Box 24217 Tempe, AZ 85285 From 2002-•‐2004, Randy’s commitment to helping Arizona’s middle and working families began when he moved to the state to fulfill his duties as the Arizona State Director for the National AFL- www.azprogress.org •‐CIO. In the fall of 2007, Randy returned to Arizona and began Partnering with progressive organizations utilizing work in the housing industry as a political organizer for the online communication to promote offline action. Laborers’ International Union of North America. The residential organizing campaign not only exposed the unfair treatment of We are proud to partner with workers, but it also shed light on the shady lending practices and Citizens for a Better Arizona on this recall campaign. treatment of home buyers.