What’s the problem this week?

In 2005 Matt Salmon was the Arizona GOP Chairman. It was as AZ GOP Chairman that he actively recruited then independent U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona to run for Governor as a Republican against Janet Napolitano. Carmona had been a registered independent since 1996 but his liberal leanings had been known since his appointment as U.S. Surgeon General.

If Carmona’s name sounds familiar it is because he is seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Arizona to replace Republican Senator Jon Kyl. Ironically, Carmona is running against Jeff Flake, the conservative Republican congressman that Salmon replaced after he left Washington to become a lobbyist.

But what did Matt Salmon have to say about Richard Carmona in 2005?

“I will tell you point-blank I think he’d be a fantastic candidate,” said Matt Salmon, the state party chairman who was the GOP candidate for governor in 2002.

“He’s very intelligent, very engaging,” Salmon said. “He has incredible connections at the federal level and I believe that’s extremely important for any CEO of a state to have. He has a really diversified background in law enforcement, medicine, politics. For a leader to be able to know so much about so many areas is a really good thing.”

Back in February, New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer hosted a fundraiser for Carmona.

But surely Salmon can claim that no one could foresee Carmona’s switch years later, right?  Wrong:

Barry Dill, a top adviser to Napolitano, said Carmona sounds like he agrees with the current governor based on what Carmona said in the Times interview.

“It would appear his views more closely resemble those of Governor Napolitano than those of most Arizona Republican primary voters,” Dill said. “In its search for candidates to run for governor, the Arizona Republican Party is beginning to resemble a Baskin-Robbins store. We’re left to anticipate who will be the next flavor of the week.”

Ouch. We are beginning to see a portrait of Salmon that his team would love to remain hidden from voters, especially conservative voters. Salmon has now not only accepted donations from progressives but has recruited them to run for the highest state office as a Republican.

But as it turns out, he helps people in other ways, too. In watching and learning about Romney, I have come across some of the stories that others have about specific instances in which Romney rendered aid to people. Helping find the young girl lost in New York. Rescuing the people whose boat had sunk. Hearing those stories, I couldn’t help but feel as though there are probably more—that people with those sorts of stories in their past probably have done similar things that we’re not hearing about.

And sure enough . . .

BIG-HEARTED MITT
Romney’s life characterized by little-told stories of generosity

One cold December day in the early 1980s, Mitt Romney loaded up his Gran Torino with firewood and brought it to the home of a single mother whose heat had been shut off just days before Christmas.

Years after a business partner died unexpectedly, Romney helped the man’s surviving daughter go to medical school with loans for tuition — loans he forgave when she graduated.

And in 1997, when a fellow church member’s teenage son fell seriously ill, Romney sprinted to the hospital in the dead of night, where he kept vigil with his terrified parents.

Stories like these — tales of long hours spent with grieving families, financial assistance to those in need and timely help given to strangers whether asked for or not — abound in the adult life of the Republican presidential candidate. Many of them, though not all, are connected to his work as a Mormon bishop.

And yet these stories are largely absent on the campaign trail . . .

It is theorized that the campaign is trying to avoid talking about Mormonism too much, and to the extent that Romney’s acts of kinds are, or could be perceived as being, tied up with Mormonism, the campaign is avoiding talking about these acts of kindness and helping. Whether that is a wise move or not on the part of the campaign, someone should tell these stories. As I continue to observe Mitt Romney, he seems to be increasingly likable to me. Something about him that once seemed a bit quirky and awkward has slowly become familiar and even endearing. And if he truly has this deep, warm, caring side—and apparently, he does—then he becomes even more likable. People should know about it.

The article lists more such stories, too:

Either way, there’s no escaping the fact that Romney’s many kind acts — some of which were first reported in the recent book “The Real Romney” — are sharply at odds with his persona on the campaign trail.

Take the story of Ellen Hummel, whose father died of a heart attack when she was 5. Ellen turned to the Romneys to learn more about her dad, a close family friend who worked with him at Boston Consulting Group and later, the private equity firm Bain Capital. Later, she also asked Romney for a loan to help her pay tuition at Columbia Medical School.

“I went to him asking him for help and he freely gave it,” said Dr. Ellen K. Hummel, today a general practitioner at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Just before graduation, she received a note from Romney, forgiving the loan. “It was a Christmas letter,” she said. “It was something caring and it was something saying ‘This is a gift.’ ”

Then there’s Kim Clark, the president of Brigham Young University-Idaho. When an adverse reaction to medication landed his 16-year-old son Michael in the hospital in 1997, Clark turned to Romney.

“I called Mitt because I wanted to give Michael a blessing,” Clark told The Daily. “Whenever in our family we had situations arise we always called Mitt because we knew he would always come.” Even after it was clear the teenager would recover, Romney remained at the hospital with the family through the night.

[ . . . ]

Stories like these are legion. Romney gathering neighbors in a quick effort to clear out a burning house until firefighters arrived on the scene. Showing up unsolicited to clear a hornet’s nest near an injured church member’s house. Organizing a New York City search for a business partner’s missing daughter — a story actually told by Romney’s campaign in a 2008 ad reprised by a super PAC supporting him this year.

You’ll excuse me if I go out on a limb, and run against the grain of the supposed “personal likability” meme about Barack Obama, but somehow, I doubt he’s got many stories like this in his past. Someone with that much grievance and anger (reportedly heavily in evidence in his two memoirs) is usually not as disposed to help others. Someone narcissistic enough to write two memoirs that early in his life is probably not particularly disposed to such things either. I don’t have proof, but I’d take a risk and bet dollars to donuts.

This story about Romney needs to be told.

Distributed by C O M M O N  S E N S E , in Arizona
Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Former County Manager David Smith gave away large settlement amounts of taxpayers’ money out of anger (for being forced to resign?)  Judge who dismissed criminal charges against Wilcox admitted he never adjudicated it on the merits

Supervisors did great political botch job by Laurie Roberts Arizona Republic May 15, 2011   Take a bow, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. You, Max Wilson and Andy Kunasek and Fulton Brock. Special accolades to Mary Rose Wilcox for a job exceedingly well done. Oh, it won’t rate the coveted Golden Rule in Government Award. I think we can rule that one out, based on her decision to trample the “do unto others” clause on her march to nearly a million dollars — of our money, that is. But overall, applause all around. Hands down the best political botch job I have seen this year, and given that this is Arizona, that is saying something. In the end Wilcox got her money, and Wilson, Kunasek and Brock got caught with their pants down. And the taxpayers? We got played. As usual. U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wake on Friday ruled that we owe Wilcox $975,000 — plus whatever the cost of her legal fees for having to return to court to pry loose her bonanza. On Monday, the supervisors were busy tugging on their Sansabelts, pondering how they got outmaneuvered and whether to appeal. “I still think it requires a board member to sign off on it,” Kunasek said. This particular piece of political theater began in December 2009 when Wilcox was charged with 42 criminal counts, stemming from allegations that she voted to grant public funds to Chicanos Por La Causa while obtaining loans from one of its subsidiaries. Three months later, a Pima County judge dismissed the charges, citing prosecutorial misconduct, but noted that he never considered the merits of the case against Wilcox. Cue the pain, the suffering and the inevitable lawsuit against us. Wilcox claimed that she suffered terribly, losing not only her restaurant but her Golden Rule in Government Award, an honor withdrawn by the Arizona InterFaith Movement after she was indicted. She joined fellow Supervisor Don Stapley and seven others in filing $46 million worth of claims against us for mistreatment at the hands of then-County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio. In June 2010, the supervisors — the three who weren’t preparing to sue us — authorized then-County Manager David Smith to settle the claims. In February, Smith talked about paying only their legal fees. Then suddenly last month, as one of his last acts before retiring, he began doling out big money: $500,000 to retired Judge Barbara Mundell and Stapley’s secretary, Susan Schuerman. Then, the shocker: He offered Wilcox $975,000. “David Smith was leaving and he didn’t care if he angered the board,” Scott Isham, Wilson’s chief of staff told me on Monday. “This was an ‘Fyou’ out the door.” County Attorney Bill Montgomery advised that the Wilcox windfall would have to be approved by one of her colleagues and the county treasurer. When her colleagues refused, Wilcox headed to federal court, hoping to convince Wake that she didn’t need anyone’s approval to cash in on her pain and suffering. On Friday, Wake agreed with her. It was almost hard not to, given the anemic defense put on by Steve LaMar, the attorney hired to defend the county. He acted as if he’d never heard of Montgomery’s legal opinion, which, in any case, the judge said “clearly doesn’t apply.” And LaMar’s argument — that any outlay over $200,000 needed board approval — fell apart when Smith testified that $500,000 checks had already been cut to Mundell and Schuerman. Bottom line: Wake found that the supervisors long ago handed Smith a blank check to settle the claims as he saw fit. Kunasek told me on Monday he always believed that Wilcox’s settlement would have to be approved by at least one board member. “If I want to get reimbursed for cab fare, I need to have another board member sign off on it,” he said. Both he and Wilson signed affidavits noting that they advised Smith that any Wilcox settlement would be subject to board approval. They just didn’t show up in court Friday to defend that point of view — a fact duly noted by the judge. Meanwhile, Smith was there to testify that he doesn’t recall ever being told any such thing. “My authority was to settle claims and, acting within that authority, that’s what I did,” he said. It took Wake about two seconds to order us to show Mary Rose the money, and an elated Wilcox proclaimed that justice prevailed. “I will rededicate myself to being the best county supervisor I can be,” she told a reporter. Of course, the best county supervisor she could be would be one who declines to take money from the people who for decades have been electing her. Yeah, that’ll happen. Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8635. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2012/05/14/20120514roberts0515-supervisors-did-great-political-botch-job.html#ixzz1ux7Zm9Z5

A man touted as one of the Republicans’ best contenders for governor of Arizona in 2006 has been a registered Independent for years and often skipped voting in statewide elections.

U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, who is being courted by Republican Party officials, has been a registered Independent since 1996, according to the Pima County Recorder’s Office. He did not vote in the 2002 gubernatorial election and also missed the 1990 and 1992 general elections. He voted in the 1996 presidential election, and also in 2000 and 2004. The only primary election Carmona has participated in was 2000, the first year that Independents were allowed to vote in Arizona primaries.

In an interview that ran in the Sunday New York Times magazine, Carmona said he tried marijuana once and backs stem-cell research, an approach that social conservatives vehemently oppose but supporters say could lead to cures for debilitating diseases. During the interview, Carmona was asked if he is a Republican. He answered: “No, I am not. I’m an Independent.”

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Calls to Carmona’s office Tuesday were not returned. So far, he has not given any indication he wants to challenge Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano in 2006. In an Arizona Republic Editorial Board meeting earlier this year, he said he would not rule out a run for governor.

Many Republican political operatives in Arizona have assumed that Carmona was a Republican because he was a Bush appointee.

Republican Party Chairman Matt Salmon and others have been pushing for Carmona to run and circulating his name as a possible candidate because he’s a Hispanic from Tucson possessing a rags-to-riches life story. Salmon acknowledged he didn’t know Carmona isn’t a Republican, but he said that wouldn’t prevent a potential candidacy.

“I don’t know a lot about his positions, but he seems like a really nice guy,” Salmon said. “He’s intelligent, charismatic and very likable.”

Carmona’s comments are the latest example of the Republicans’ uphill struggle to find a candidate to run against Napolitano. Four prominent Republicans – former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, U.S. Reps. J.D. Hayworth and Rick Renzi, and former Gov. Fife Symington – have already decided to skip the 2006 race. Republicans are still waiting to hear from Marilyn Quayle, wife of former Vice President Dan Quayle, who has privately talked with party officials about a possible run.

Barry Dill, a top adviser to Napolitano, said Carmona sounds like he agrees with the current governor based on what Carmona said in the Times interview.

“It would appear his views more closely resemble those of Governor Napolitano than those of most Arizona Republican primary voters,” Dill said. “In its search for candidates to run for governor, the Arizona Republican Party is beginning to resemble a Baskin-Robbins store. We’re left to anticipate who will be the next flavor of the week.”

Republicans differed greatly Tuesday when asked what Carmona’s comments portend for a potential candidacy in 2006.

Some said it could hamper a potential run because even if he changed parties, many social conservatives would view his answer about stem-cell research with skepticism. In 2001, President Bush limited federally funded research to fewer than two dozen such stem-cell colonies, or lines. Polls have indicated that the public strongly supports the research.

Most Arizona Republicans said the size of the GOP field would determine how Carmona would do in 2006.

“It is fairly standard for someone in a nonpartisan governmental position to avoid partisan labels,” said Nathan Sproul, a Republican strategist. “However, in my personal conversations with Dr. Carmona, he clearly aligns himself with the Republican Party.”

Others said his comments show Carmona won’t be leaving his current job any time soon.

“I think it shows he’s serious when he says he’s not running for governor,” said Steve Voeller, former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. Voeller referred to public comments Carmona has made over the past year indicating that he loves being surgeon general.

Carmona’s term as surgeon general will expire in August 2006, though Bush could reappoint him. Meanwhile, Salmon said the Republican Party could easily turn elsewhere for candidates.

“We have a lot of talented candidates waiting in the wings,” Salmon told The Republic. “I think the world of (Senate President) Ken Bennett. He’s a stand-up guy. It’s high time we elected a governor from rural Arizona.”

"We will stop the unfairness of government workers getting better pay and benefits than the taxpayers they serve," Romney said.

Each day, our country benefits from the efforts of dedicated federal, state and local government employees who do their jobs with pride and passion. So many of these men and women work tirelesly on behalf of their fellow citizens to confront the challenges impacting our communities and our nation. During Public Service Recognition Week, we recognize these committed civil servants and honor their efforts to ensure a brighter future for the next generation.

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