Another AZ Regent profits from prisons: DeConcini and CCA

I posted details on the whole CCA board awhile ago, but this one bears repeating DeConcini is also (in addition to  Anne L. Mariucci) on the AZ Board of Regents, and will help select the next University of Arizona president...

---from Corrections Corporation of America---

 

Dennis DeConcini

Dennis DeConcini, the former U.S. Senator from Arizona, was elected as an independent member of CCA's Board of Directors in February 2008. Senator DeConcini currently serves as a Director of Ceramic Protection Corporation, a publicly traded company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

He is a partner in the law firm of DeConcini McDonald Yetwin and Lacy in Tucson, Arizona, which he co-founded in 1968. DeConcini also is a Principal in the lobbyist consulting firm Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Lacy P.C. in Washington, D.C. Senator DeConcini served three terms, from January 1977 through January 1995, representing the State of Arizona in the United States Senate. As Senator, he served on the Senate Appropriations Committee, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government.

He also served on the Subcommittees of Defense, Foreign Operations, Energy and Water Development, and Interior and Related Agencies. Prior to his service as a U.S. Senator, DeConcini served one elected term as the County Attorney for Pima County, Arizona.

He also is a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, a position to which he was appointed in 2006 by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Senator DeConcini received his B.A. from the University of Arizona in 1959 and his L.L.D. from there in 1963. He also is a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, a position to which he was appointed in 2006 by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Senator DeConcini received his B.A. from the University of Arizona in 1959 and his L.L.D. from there in 1963.

 -----------from the Tuscon Citizen-----------

Here's the Tucson Citizens' Three Sonorans' reporting on the significance of DeConcini's role on the AZ Board of Regents from August: 

UA Presidential search committee headed by CCA board member and former SALC president

by DA Morales on Aug. 16, 2011, under Immigration news

The puzzle becomes clearer as more pieces are put together.

One co-chair of the UA presidential search committee is the former SALC president, and the other is a board member of CCA, the Corrections Corporation of America, member of ALEC and one of the groups behind SB1070.

Arizona’s plan for the future seems to be less education funding and more prison funding. We knew this was true of the Republicans, but also of the Democrats?

Consider Arizona’s former Democratic Senator, Dennis DeConcini, who has the Border Patrol’s port of entry in Nogales named after him.

Corrections Corporation of America, the nation’s largest provider of corrections management services to government agencies, announced today that Dennis DeConcini, the former U.S. Senator from Arizona has been elected as an independent member of CCA’s Board of Directors.
“Senator Dennis DeConcini has a distinguished career serving the state of Arizona and the U.S. government,” said William F. Andrews, chairman of CCA’s Board of Directors. “We are extremely pleased to bring Dennis onto our Board. His extensive knowledge and understanding of government, coupled with his experience with other directorship positions, make him ideally suited to help lead management’s initiatives to enhance government’s utilization of public/private partnership in corrections.”

The press release goes on to say:

Senator DeConcini, age 70, is a partner in the law firm of DeConcini McDonald Yetwin and Lacy in Tucson, Arizona, which he co-founded in 1968. DeConcini also is a Principal in the lobbyist consulting firm Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Lacy P.C. in Washington, D.C.

The law firm may look familiar as it is the same law firm that TUSD has hired to defend it against Huppenthal’s ruling which demands the immediate end of Ethnic Studies in Tucson or else TUSD will be faced with 10% budget cut.

Talk about a win-win situation. If the appeal goes down, the likelihood of making more profits for the largest private prison corporation in America increases, and Dennis DeConcini still wins.

Respected Arizona Democrats on the board of CCA, the Arizona Democratic Party having a policy of staying silent on SB1070 and immigration… makes you wonder if it really is a two-headed beast.

"Criminal" Chalking and free speech: Know your rights.

Last fall, as I was engaged in protracted debates with the Capitol Police and security crews about first amendment rights, chalking, and criminal damage, I found and posted some articles about this guy at UofA who was in an absurd amount of trouble for his own chalking activity in Tucson. I was looking into all that again (dusting off all my gear for an action), and I came across this great blog, Sally Gradstudent, that speaks more directly to the Arizona criminal codes in question in the case. Neat blog with good links - it takes on the UofA administration and rallies other students to do the same.

The chalking charges against Jacob Miller and his trusty comrade (someone who began chalking after his arrest in solidarity) were ultimately dropped by the university, by the way, but it doesn't sound like they would have stuck.

--------------------

SALLY GRADSTUDENT

Friday, September 25, 2009

Criminal?

Jacob Miller's arrest is all over the news, turning a peaceful protest into a vortex of media attention. Tucson Citizen's Renee Schafer Horton is trying to get an interview with the UAPD, KGUN9 and KVOA4 both reported on it last night (with interviews from Jacob Miller), the Daily Wildcat filled up most of the front page with a photo from the story. The Desert Lamp has done a great job listing several other chalking incidents on campus.

Not only is the arrest of a peaceful protester disgusting, it also does not seem to us to follow the letter of the law.

Consider the definitions:

"A. A person commits interference with or disruption of an educational institution by doing any of the following:

1. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly interfering with or disrupting the normal operations of an educational institution by either:

(a) Threatening to cause physical injury to any employee or student of an educational institution or any person on the property of an educational institution.

(b) Threatening to cause damage to any educational institution, the property of any educational institution or the property of any employee or student of an educational institution.

2. Intentionally or knowingly entering or remaining on the property of any educational institution for the purpose of interfering with the lawful use of the property or in any manner as to deny or interfere with the lawful use of the property by others.

3. Intentionally or knowingly refusing to obey a lawful order given pursuant to subsection C of this section.

A. A person commits criminal damage by recklessly:

1. Defacing or damaging property of another person; or

2. Tampering with property of another person so as substantially to impair its function or value; or

3. Tampering with the property of a utility.

4. Parking any vehicle in such a manner as to deprive livestock of access to the only reasonably available water (???what's this doing here??? -Peg)

5. Drawing or inscribing a message, slogan, sign or symbol that is made on any public or private building, structure or surface, except the ground, and that is made without permission of the owner."

Any short walk around campus will reveal numerous chalk drawings, usually made by the sororities. And yet, the police do not interfere with their right to free speech.

This is a serious matter. If Jacob Miller is convicted of these alledged "crimes", he stands to have a criminal record for the rest of his life, as well as fines and possible jail time. The university could then be in a position to suspend or expel him. His court date is October 14th, and if the charges haven't been dropped by then, we should take our peaceful protest to the courthouse.

Check out http://www.arizonaforeducation.com/ for more updates on the case.

Renee Schafer Horton of the TC online raises some important questions about the cost estimate for removing the chalk, and thanks to a quick-thinking graduate student with a camera, we have some answers for her. No power washing was done; the chalk was removed (as we watched) in less than 20 minutes by a group of 3 janitors.

According to UAPD, they may be looking for evidence of even more chalking so that they can hand out new citations. This is from Renee Schafer Horton's blog: Sgt. Juan Alvarez of UAPD said "There were other people that help Mr. Miller, but we couldn’t identify them. If we are able to identify them, we could pursue charges."

Is it just us, or does this come off as "Watch your backs, protesters"?

We will not be intimidated.

Posted by Sally Gradstudent at 9:23 AM