Raúl Grijalva

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Could another Arizona Democrat be destined for the Obama White House?

Southern Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva is being mentioned by bloggers as a leading candidate for secretary of the Interior Department, just after Gov. Janet Napolitano's name is receiving prominent mention as President-elect Barack Obama's choice for secretary of Homeland Security.

How likely is it that Grijalva will be tapped?

Well, doubters, consider this: The Interior secretary usually comes from the West.

The Interior Department oversees federal lands, endangered species and national parks.

Grijalva, an outspoken critic of President Bush on land-use and environmental policy, has introduced several pieces of legislation to protect federal lands, including trying to stop uranium mining on a million acres near the Grand Canyon and to halt future mining claims in the Coronado National Forest.

And just Friday, Politico.com reported Grijalva was "emerging as a top contender" for the post, "according to sources close to the transition."

Grijalva's spokeswoman, Natalie Luna, stayed mum.

"The congressman has not been formally contacted by the Obama transition team, but he is very flattered by the thought of it," Luna said.

Stay tuned.

The elections integrity battles of the last two years have been so much fun that the Democratic Party is taking the show on the road.

Through two years of legal battles and contentious Board of Supervisors meetings, activists have brought Pima County into compliance. The county now turns over elections databases once the vote is canvassed or made official.

Now, the state party's elections integrity committee wants all 15 counties to turn over their elections databases. The party sees the request as part of its duty to make sure there is no hanky-panky in local elections.

Secretary of State Jan Brewer — soon to be governor if Napolitano indeed goes to Washington, D.C. — is none too pleased.

Despite a Pima County Superior Court ruling that the databases are public record, Brewer still says releasing the documents will allow political ne'er-do-wells to hack into elections computers and tamper with results.

In an e-mail to the counties, state Elections Director Joseph Kanefield didn't tell them not to comply, but he didn't exactly encourage it, either.

"We do not believe it was in the best interest of the State for Pima County to release this data because it resulted in the publication of sensitive information upon which future elections will be built in all counties using this equipment, thereby decreasing the overall security of our elections statewide," he wrote. "Nevertheless, the information was released and therefore the security breach has already occur-red. . . . We only note that the Pima County Superior Court decision is not binding on your counties and that you should consult with your county attorney before releasing the information in response to the public records request."

Got that? If future elections are hacked, blame Pima County.

Former state legislator Ted Downing, chair of the Democratic Party elections integrity committee, said the counties ought to comply.

"This is nothing more and nothing less than a public-records request, and they have no reason to deny it in a state famous for its sunshine," he said. "And if a county decides to turn us down, they should first go check their treasuries because it will cost them."

Tucson attorney Bill Risner isn't expecting to have to file many lawsuits. He's only heard from a few counties so far, but those he has heard from plan to turn over their databases.

City Councilman Steve Leal wasn't making himself clear on Tuesday, keeping his colleagues guessing for more than 20 minutes on what exactly he was pro-posing to make law in Tucson.

Leal, it seemed, said that federal poverty standards aren't correct and that he wanted to raise the income levels for poverty standards, making more people qualify.

But other council members quickly surmised this meant hiking the subsidies for numerous city programs during one of the worst budget years in decades.

Councilman Rodney Glassman spent five minutes telling Leal he didn't understand his motion and then offered his own that supported looking at raising the poverty levels, but not offering to pay more money yet.

Then, Councilwoman Nina Trasoff tried to split the baby: Leal's motion meant in theory the council supported the new standards, but in practice it wouldn't yet mean committing money.

After 10 more minutes of discussion, and Mayor Bob Walkup pleading with Leal to make a motion that was easy to understand, the council unanimously passed the measure after City Attorney Mike Rankin told the council what Leal really meant — that city staff would study how much the new poverty guidelines would cost and report back.

Republican Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll, known for his harsh words from the dais and his occasional gamesmanship, was on his best behavior at the first postelection Board of Supervisors meeting.

Faced with a potentially unpopular vote to accept a $5 million buyout offer from the Chicago White Sox to leave Pima County as their spring training site, Carroll had only kind words.

He thanked the county sports and tourism authority for working without pay. He thanked the White Sox for the memories and wished them well at their new stadium in Glendale. He even thanked County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry for negotiating the deal.

Perhaps Carroll feels the need to turn over a new leaf because he'll be sharing the dais with Democratic Supervisor Sharon Bronson for another four years. Bronson wasn't exactly pleased with Carroll's efforts on behalf of her opponent in the Nov. 4 election, retired auto-parts dealer Barney Brenner.

Or maybe it was the sisters in the audience. A dozen members of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary were there for a land-use matter.