The Think Tank with Mike O'Neil

This week’s Think Tank will consider both the legal and political aspects of impeachment with legal expert Paul Bender and political consultant Chuck Coughlin.

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Policy analyst for the Morrison Institute Erica Quintana, Executive Director of Arizona After School Courtney Sullivan, and Darlene Newsom, the head of UMOM, which focuses on housing and homelessness issues, join the Think Tank to discuss how to build stronger families in Arizona.

 

 

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Republican Arizona Governor Fife Symington and Democratic Mayor Paul Johnson join consultant Chuck Coughlin and Mike to engage in a wide ranging discussion in this week’s Think Tank.

We cover life after politics, their personal friendship, and their post-political careers (they each have them). We also discuss charter schools (which first became a big issue in the state during Gov. Symington’s term of office) and a few other political issues. 

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There is an interesting story at the Arizona Republic. And you won’t read about it in the Arizona Republic: Reporters at Arizona’s leading paper are attempting to organize a union. Rebekah Sanders is among those attempting to organize, and she joins the Think Tank to tell us why.

Then Mike and Steve Krafft will discuss some of the issues involved. Steve can talk freely, since he just retired after 25 years at Fox 10 TV in Phoenix.

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Long time political operative Rick DeGraw and attorney Tom Ryan join this week’s Think Tank as we consider the overwhelming defeat of Phoenix Propositions 105 and 106, Martha McSally's primary challenger on the right, Joe Arpaio's potential candidacy, and unionization at the Arizona Republic.

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Sidney Rittenberg was a confidant of Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai and much of the Chinese communist leadership even before they took power in the late 1940s, was imprisoned for years (spending a total of 16 years in solitary confinement), and later in life his advice was sought by Americans like Bill Gates and Henry Kissinger. 

Sidney Rittenberg passed away last week at the age of 98. In this interview with The Think Tank from 2017, he talks about some of his fascinating life story.

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Steve Krafft just retired after almost 30 years at Fox 10 TV in Phoenix. Jack Lunsford has been involved in AZ politics for even longer than that (and was once the youngest elected AZ county assessor at 26).

We discuss gun policy, immigration issues (including Tucson’s Sanctuary City initiative), the viability of Curt Schilling's candidacy, recent polling that suggests that AZ will truly be a battleground state in 2020, and more. 

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Beth Meyer is President and CEO of Leading for Change a non-profit that, among other things, trains prospective candidates for public office. We discuss this with Beth and two elected officials who are graduates of her program: Lorenzo Sierra (a member of the Arizona House of Representatives serving LD 19 who previously served on the Avondale City Council) and Brian Garcia (the Vice Chair of the Tempe Union School Board who is believed to be the first Native American to serve on this Board).

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Early voting is underway until election day August 27th, and voters have several propositions to weigh in on. Proposition 105 will end constructions of light rail extensions and redirect funds to other transportation projects; in effect, it would mean the end of an expanded light rail system. Proposition 106 will cap most spending until the City's pension liabilities are 90% funded. 

Paul Johnson is a former mayor of Phoenix and opposes these measure, while Sam Stone is Chief of Staff to Councilman Sal Decicio and is an advocate of them.

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Political analysts Chuck Coughlin and Bennet Kelly join Mike to discuss the second round of Democratic Presidential debates. Who helped themselves this week? Whose campaign is on life support? And who will make the cut for the next round of debates?

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