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State Rep. Krysten SinemaProtect Arizona's Freedom (PAF), a group chaired by state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Phoenix) that opposes the anti-affirmative action Arizona Civil Rights Initiative, has vowed to fight on in its quest to keep the initiative off the ballot.

Sarah Luna, the group's communications manager, said that PAF plans to sort through the signatures on the ACRI petitions and look for a basis on which to challenge the proposed amendment to the Arizona constitution.

"It's a time intensive process," Luna told PolitickerAZ.com. "Depending on what we find, that'll determine what the appropriate legal action would be."

Last week the Maricopa County Republican Committee Executive Guidance Council decided to get involved in the LD18 senate primary after it was learned Republican Kevin Gibbons had received $1,500 in campaign contributions from former Democrat Party Chairman Jim Pederson and his family. The County Chairman of the MCRC, Tom Husband encouraged Gibbons to give the donations back to Pederson.

After three years on the job, Susan Gerard is resigning as director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. Gov. Janet Napolitano's office announced the decision today.

"I think this is the right time for me to move on," said Gerard in a statement. "I'd like to thank Governor Napolitano for giving me the opportunity to work at my dream job for the last three years."

Gerard served as a Republican state representative and senator from LD18 before being appointed to the DHS directorship in 2005 by Napolitano. At that post, Gerard spearheaded enforcement of the Smoke Free Arizona Act and was credited with increasing the agency's access and transparency.

This weeks Winners & Losers is a day early because we know you won't want to leave on vacation until you have read it.

Dan Saban: Campaign photoIn the contest to see who can raise more money in the Maricopa County sheriff faceoff, it’s no contest. Joe Arpaio wins hands down. If the money hunt was an actual race, Arpaio would have lapped opponent Dan Saban close to nine times by now.

As of June 1, Arpaio had raised in excess of $430k for his election bid, and began the second part of the year with $358,357 in the bank. In the first five months of 2008 alone Arpaio raised a whopping $121,127 – more than many serious congressional candidates can manage.

By contrast, Saban, who ran against Arpaio in the 2004 Republican primary and has returned as a Democrat to take another shot at him this year, raised under $50k in the first reporting period. Though he asserts he raised $13k in June, when he “really started” his fundraising efforts, that pace still isn’t quick enough to close much ground between he and the incumbent sheriff.

According to Saban, though, that has something to do with Arpaio playing dirty.

Gerald Richard: Campaign photoGerald Richard ended the 2nd quarter with just over $40,000 on hand, lagging far behind his primary rival Tim Nelson and incumbent Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

However, Thomas had the weakest quarter of the three. He managed a relatively slim $39,750.03 for the period from April 1 through June 30, while Richard pulled in $60,004.75. Despite his poorer showing, Thomas is still the leader in the field. He came into the reporting period with over $200k, and has $213,599.12 on hand to start 3Q.

The big winner this quarter was Tim Nelson, who pulled in nearly $207k from April to the end of June. With no money to start with, he has now come within $37k of Thomas's total, finishing 2Q with $177,463.03.

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle GiffordsTUCSON -- The Southern Arizona Solar Energy Development Conference, brought over 100 elected officials, industry leaders and public administrators to the Arizona Historical Society Monday, provided more than a comprehensive look at the state of solar energy development in southern Arizona. It was a public declaration of the strength of the solar movement among leading political figures, prefiguring a spate of potential battles to come between those who prioritize solar development and those who don’t.

Lawmakers and their election year opponents are debating the nation’s energy future in all 50 states and the nation’s capitol, with all agreeing that there is a looming crisis but with little consensus on solutions.

In southern Arizona, which experiences more sunshine than any other region in the nation, the political ramifications of solar development are serious. As expected, the race to fill three seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission, which oversees the state’s public utilities and is intimately involved in shaping Arizona’s energy policy, has and will continue to feature the question of renewable energy sources, solar chief among them.

In what will surely be one of the hottest debated campaigns of the year, The Stop Illegal Hiring initiative filled more that 284k signatures yesterday to secure their place on the ballot. Supporters are selling the initiative as a tool for law enforcement to give them the tools they need to go after the causes of illegal immigration. The bill would also allow businesses to have two violations before they would lose their license. A competing measure being touted by Don Goldwater would pull a businesses license after the first offense.

State Sen. Albert HaleDespite a challenge by opponent Royce Jenkins, state Sen. Albert Hale (D-Window Rock) is staying on the ballot in the 2nd Legislative District. Jenkins failed to persuade a Maricopa County Superior Court judge that a number of signatures on Hale's nominating petition should be disqualified, based on the signers giving post office box numbers as their addresses.

Yet even though he tried to use the confusion over whether or not a lack of listed physical address can be used to disqualify a ballot signatory, Jenkins agreed with Hale that the system needs to be sorted out.

"It definitely needs to be fixed" said Jenkins of the process.