Tom Ziemba

After yesterday's vote we reached out to two prominent political consultants and asked them their thoughts on John McCain's decision to not address the recovery bill from the floor and to vote for the measure. Democratic consultant Tom Ziemba, a partner at Ziemba Waid Public Affairs agreed to submit his thoughts on the record. Our Republican consultant, a respected Republican asked for his comments to be on background as he "wished to be able to work in the state after November."

As the TIME Coalition tries to fight its way back onto the ballot through the courts, there are a lot of questions being asked about how the Coalition - backed by Gov. Janet Napolitano and supported by some of the top political consultantcy firms in Arizona - found itself in this position.

The Coalition is trying to put a 1 cent sales tax increase before voters to pay for improvements in transportation infrastructure - an initiative the governor considers vital for Arizona's future. Yet Secretary of State Jan Brewer invalidated a large number of signatures collected in the effort, and unless the Arizona Supreme Court rules otherwise, TIME will not appear on the November ballot.

Much of the blame is being placed with Ziemba Wade, the relatively new but high profile consulting firm that was ultimately in charge of the campaign. Though not many political insiders are speaking publicly, behind the scenes there is talk that Ziemba Wade failed its first major test as a power in Arizona politics.

In the controversy that has followed the deal reached between TIME Coalition and the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona to bring the developers' group on board with an infrastructure improvement ballot initiative, TIME members have stayed relatively mum.

Now Tom Ziemba, political consultant and TIME Coalition member, is speaking out on the deal to PolitickerAZ.com. Ziemba maintains that there was nothing unethical or illegal in leveraging a $100,000 contribution from the HBACA, and minimized the role of Gov. Janet Napolitano in finalizing the agreement.