The last I knew Grover Norquist was not a resident of Arizona. So can someone tell me why he has so much clout with our governor, state senators and members of the legislature?

 Our elected state officials have taken an oath to represent the people of Arizona, not Grover Norquist. Yet, according to the (Arizona) Republic article "Tax pledge influenced legislators on budget" many of those officials were spending valuable time checking with Grover's lobbyist crowd at his lobbying group, Americans for Tax Reform, to see if they were in compliance with a contract they signed with this lobbyist/kingmaker.

Arizona needs officials that are independent of outside influences. The fact that many of our elected officials have been even bothering to check in with Grover and his minions rather than simply listening to what their constituents are telling them is plainly wrong and arguably making them a paid recipient of influence peddling.

We need to remember this issue next time our officials ask us for their vote and, perhaps instead, tell them to ask Grover for his vote.

 (This was submitted this morning as a Letter to the Editor of the Arizona Republic.)