There’s going to be a tough primary in the seat being evacuated by Republican congressman, Rick Renzi(R-AZ-Corrupt). It smells like a Democratic year for this district and Howard Shanker is the progressive, grassroots candidate. He's an environmental attorney who has been representing Native American nations and environmental issues for many years.
He previously represented the Black Mesa Trust, a coalition of Navajo and Hopi who were fighting to stop Peabody Coal from draining the "N" aquifer to slurry coal to the Mojave generating station. Shanker is also an attorney on the case that recently kept the Desert Nesting Bald Eagle from being taken off of the endangered species list – a case in which many of the Apache tribes filed amicus briefs.
In short, Howard’s from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.
Take a look at a live blog session with Howard to get a feel for what a really exceptional candidate he is. Or look over his excellent website.
Shanker is the attorney for the Navajo Nation, as well as the Yavapai-Apache Nation, the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Havasupai Tribe, the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, and others, in the case that is fighting to keep the federal government from allowing the use of reclaimed sewer to make snow on the San Francisco Peaks. Shanker, who argued the Peaks case in front of an en banc court of the Ninth Circuit in December, has distinguished himself as a leader in the fight to protect holy and sacred sites. Shanker also represents the Navajo Nation on uranium contamination issues.
I have read about the other candidates - And I just want to also point what would be my second choice candidate in this primary.
Mary Kim Titla is an Apache, and seems to have strong roots in the community and would be much better than Renzi. The idea of having a Native American represent this district is very appealing. However I am somewhat put off by mentions of her anti-abortion stance, and as I tried to read about her, I could not get a strong sense of her views. She calls herself a "conservative democrat" and mentions entering the race after "much soul searching and prayer." She has a long history as a TV reporter.
The positions expressed on her website are much more general than Shanker's. And what is "America First?" which she mentions on her website does anyone know about that?
As a final note, see this thread on DU with discussion of the candidates. I am in the southern part of the state, so I don't have personal contact with these candidates. But suffice to say I do not support the party insider candidate, Ann Kirkpatrick. But this thread has a discussion, if you want to take a look.
