Not long after the Arizona Republic compared Phoenix City Council member Sal DiCiccio to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, DiCiccio’s campaign received an endorsement from the popular governor who fought and won the battle for the reform of his state’s government labor benefits.
The Republic endorsed DiCiccio calling him the “2013 version of Scott Walker.”
“Public-sector unions are targeting incumbent Council member Sal DiCiccio, who we recommended for re-election, for one reason only,” according to the Editorial Board of the Arizona Republic. “He is the face of the effort to restrain the growth of what taxpayers must shell out for public-employee salaries and benefits.”
“An all-too-familiar scene is playing out in Arizona right now, where public-sector unions are unleashing their fury at a Phoenix city councilman for daring to raise the issue of the crippling cost of public employee pensions in the city,” wrote Walker. “It’s a reminder that the fight we won to protect Wisconsin taxpayers goes on around the country. We need more leaders like Councilman Sal DiCiccio willing to take on these issues if we ever hope to put our fiscal house in order.”
According to the Republic, DiCiccio is being targeted by union-funded independent groups who “are throwing the kitchen sink at him. His opponent, Karlene Keogh Parks, has raised less than $60,000; however, the independent groups may have expended $700,000 to defeat him.