http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/knau/local-knau-890909.mp3
Phoenix, AZ – Reports with the Secretary of State's Office show backers already
have collected more than $400,000, including $100,000 from the
Professional Fire Fighters Association and nearly $80,000 from
the Arizona Campaign for Arts and Culture. But the Ax the Tax
Campaign opposing that temporary one-cent hike in the sales tax
hasn't reported any contributions so far. Despite that, Sen.
Russell Pearce who chairs the campaign said he's not worried.
(Today we have some advantages. We have the blogs. We don't rely
on mainstream media as much as we used to. So there's lots of
avenues to get that information out.)
But time is tight. Early voting starts in less than six weeks.
And if past votes are any indications, most Arizonans won't wait
until election day on May 18 to make up their minds and cast
their ballots. Maricopa County Elections Director Karen Osborne
said 55 percent of all ballots in November's general election
came in by mail. And in the just-completed special election this
month, only 1.5 percent of county residents who voted actually
went to the polls. In a related development, a new poll paid for
by pro-100 supporters claims 39 percent of likely voters said
they definitely plan to support the measure to hike the state
sales tax to 6.6 percent for the next three years. And another 19
percent described themselves as likely to vote for the measure.
For Arizona Public Radio this is Howard Fischer.