SB 1070 Advocate Recalled In Arizona

Arizona State Senate President Russell Pearce is set to be recalled, as enough signatures have been gathered to force a special election this November. If you recall, we reported that the recall effort was taking place and the fact that this SB 1070 advocate had ties to extremist hate groups in Arizona, you know, neo-Nazis. So here’s the breakdown from The Arizona Republic:

Citizens for a Better Arizona supporters have said they do not believe Pearce reflects the goals of District 18. They say residents want to see their leaders bring more jobs and improve education and health care, not push more legislation on illegal-immigration enforcement and loosening gun restrictions, as Pearce has done.

The group submitted 16,949 signatures to the county in late May. County elections spokeswoman Yvonne Reed said the county certified that 10,365 are valid. The recall group needed at least 7,756 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Pearce has been a lightning rod of controversy over the past couple of years. He was the primary force behind Senate Bill 1070, Arizona’s tough anti-immigration law. He also unsuccessfully pushed several additional immigration measures this year, including a bill to change how children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants are granted citizenship.

If you take a gander at those numbers, what you’ll find is that, although this recall election may have been organized in part by Latino groups, in order to get that many signatures Pearce has obviously overstepped his boundaries with many more groups in his district. I sincerely hope, for my part, that this is the beginning of a change in Arizona, don’t you?

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Photo Courtesy Arizona Legislature]

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