Posted Mar 8, 2012, 12:40 pm
Dirty bombs, narco-terrorists and heavily armed ranchers were among issues touched on by Arizona CD8 Republican candidate Dave Sitton at the unveilingThursday of his 10-point border security plan.
Sitton acknowledged that with a sour economy in the United States, illegal immigration among those seeking work is down, but said the threat of violence by drug criminals who enter the country illegally is on the rise.
"The area has been turned into a war zone," Sitton said.
"I'm not an expert with the border, but I'm learning," Sitton said earlier.
"My intention of releasing this policy today is to start a discussion," Sitton told a handful of campaign staffers and supporters at his Grant Road campaign office.
Sitton's answer to the "amount of firepower of those bringing drugs into this country" is a shotgun approach of more people and policy that requires air power.
"We need more rotor craft as well as fixed-wing craft [patrolling the border]," Sitton said.
He also called for more Border Patrol stations and forward-operating bases, Border Patrol outposts in the desert, and enhancements at ports of entry to "encourage the legal flow of people."
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Sitton also called out a porous physical border that could attract terrorists. Sitton called for the repair, maintenance and expansion of existing fences, vehicle barriers and walls.
"It's known that for anyone wanting to conduct a 9/11-style attack that doesn't involve an airplane would use dirty bombs," Sitton said, indicating that such weapons would come in over the U.S.-Mexico border.
Sitton said Washington has fumbled border policy for many administrations, and that the lack of concern for people living on the border is an insult.
"I'm not here to impugn agencies," Sitton said. "They need more support and more funding."
Cochise County rancher and real-estate developer Chris Kemmerly, a neighbor to slain rancher Robert Krentz, said he has seen drug scouts while rounding up cattle.
"It's going to happen again," Kemmerly said of border violence.
"I'm better armed than a TPD cop," Kemmerly said. "How sad is that?"
Beyond more people on the border to protect Kemmerly and others, Sitton called for a U.S.-Mexico task force to increase law enforcement cooperation between the countries, increased jail time for repeat offenders and a better Federal plan for assessing the actual costs of illegal immigration.
Sitton joins fellow Republicans Frank Antenori, Jesse Kelly and Martha McSally, Democrat Ron Barber and the Green Party's Charlie Manolakis in the special election bid to fill the CD8 seat left vacant by Gabrielle Giffords.
The primary is April 17, with early voting set to begin March 22. The deadline to register to vote in the special election is March 19. The special general election June 12 will fill the seat in Arizona's 8th Congressional District through next January.
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yes, thanks…maybe I too should attend “gollege”. And, yeah, what a better choice than Gabby Giffords…who actually lived in her district and proved her credentials with her flourishing family business El Campo Tire, right?
I would like to thank you for doing your due diligence. Your comment spells things out pretty clearly for those who are unaware of Jesse Kelly’s political antics.@RRowleyTucson
Several years ago Jesse Kelly decided that he would attend college. Daddy paid for it and Jesse attended a school in the northern US. After a short time, having received passing but lackluster grades, Jesse decided he didn’t like college and so he dropped out. Next Jesse decided to try the military. He joined, went to Iraq for one tour and decided he didn’t much care for that either and quit. After the military Jesse moved back to Tucson, Arizona and went back to work for his fathers construction company and eventually ran for CD8 against Gabby Giffords, and lost. In January of 2011 Jarod Lee Loughner went on a shooting rampage at our neighborhood Safeway store. At the time, Jesse Kelly had the attached picture on his campaign website (can be viewed on Photobucket at: http://j.mp/A5to9a ) Please note that fully auto M-16’s are illegal. This graphic was on-line for some time prior to the Safeway shooting, but, also remained up for THREE DAYS AFTER the shooting. While everyone in the nation knew what happened at the Safeway the same day that it happened, Jesse Kelly did not care and left it up on his site until his Tea Party boss Trent Humphries mentioned that it might not be good PR to leave it up. FLASH FORWARD: Early in 2012 Gabrielle Giffords announces that she is stepping down from office and Jesse Kelly returns to Tucson. Jesse had been living in Texas managing a construction project for his father for at least 6 months. As soon as Gabby stepped down Jesse announces that he is running again for CD8 despite the fact that he is ineligible having not been an Arizona or even a CD8 resident for the past 6 months as is required by law. FLASH FORWARD: Citizens United, the big money, out-of-state group which made corporate personhood famous (a Koch Brothers group) endorses Jesse Kelly (news article at: http://j.mp/w4YGg8 ) and with big, mostly out-of-state business funding him, his signs sprout like weeds over night. FLASH FORWARD: Jesse Kelly in February of 2012 shows he really should have stayed in gollege as he states that “Oil is a renewable resource (News article and video at http://j.mp/xlm23i ).
Simply put, Jesse Kelly has neither the brains for public office, the will for fighting or the compassion to represent the people of southern Arizona either CD8 OR CD2.