Greetings to all my loyal and faithful readers of the Daily Grind! I am writing today to introduce a new blog which I have just set up, to be dedicated to covering and reporting on local and state politics right here in the great state of Arizona, the state so good it has two nicknames, and the only state I know of with an official neckwear. The purpose of this new venture will be to report on what is happening at the state and local level of politics that has relevance and importance in our daily lives. I hope to be able to use this forum to educate, enlighten, and as always, at least make an attempt to entertain.
Why a blog devoted to local politics? Quite frankly, it is a topic that I feel deserves much greater coverage than it currently gets, and I believe that I am not alone in feeling that while what happens at the Capitol Dome on Washington Street in downtown Phoenix has an impact on Arizonans, it is also a great mystery for the most part. We dutifully pay our tax dollars to the federal and state governments, and while we get at least a general idea of the comings and goings of the federal government due to extensive media coverage of issues and personalities, we know very little about what happens to our state tax dollars.
How does education get funded? Most of us have a vague notion that property taxes play a major role, but how does the money get allocated, who makes the decisions on how much to spend on what, and how much of our property taxes actually goes to schools. What about the state economy? What is our current economic policy as it pertains to things like job creation and wealth distribution? What about our state budget, what kind of fiscal situation are the state and various cities really in, and how does that impact the services that we receive from our government, the so-called bang for our buck?
There are many issues that are both national and state issues, such as environmental and energy policy. As possibly the nation’s leader in sunshine, Phoenix is noted for getting over 300 sunny days a year, why are we not also the nation’s leader in producing solar energy? What is being done to reduce the brown cloud that envelops Phoenix after a few days of no wind and heavy commutes? What about environmental issues as they pertain to rural Arizona, or to our neighbor to the south, the Old Pueblo?
Immigration is an important national issue, but it certainly plays a major role in Arizona as well since we are a border state and home to a large Latino population, especially in Phoenix. Domestic issues such as health care and social welfare also hit home throughout the state. And the issue of government accountability and reform is always pertinent, and a seemingly never ending cause.
These are just some of the issues that I hope to address in this space. I plan to, as much as time allows while still keeping my day job as a high school history teacher in downtown Phoenix, and while attending to the numerous family responsibilities and activities as a husband and the father of a teen son and a tween daughter, to be able to cover the state, to talk with our representatives, to attend public meetings, and to educate myself and my readers on how it all works.
I look forward to this adventure and am going to kick start my experience by working at my local polling place tomorrow all day long, representing a candidate for the State House of Representative whom I support as someone who is committed to an issue that is dear to me, improving funding and performance for public schools in Arizona. Many of you will have met me and found out about this site from reading this, and I hope that you will check in as time allows and that you always feel free to leave comments on what I am discussing. A democracy is only as good as the people who partake in it, and my hope is that together we can make our democracy, and by extension, our society a better place for us and for future generations to live, work, and play.
Websites are as follows:
The Capitol Dome can be found at www.thecapitoldome.blogspot.com
The Daily Grind can be found at www.nmark03.blogspot.com
The Political Progressive can be found at www.thepoliticalprogressive.com
I can also be reached via Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1040382563&ref=profile or if that doesn’t work just look me up under Mark Nicholas.
Sincerely,
Your humble political reporter
Monday, November 3, 2008
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