By Councilmember Barry Graham
Infighting Amongst the Arizona Dems: Fractures Show Between Gov. Hobbs and Her Caucus
Arizona Democrats have had to relearn what power means considering how long they had been relegated to an afterthought in Arizona politics. Since they are in a one vote minority in both the state House of Representatives and state Senate, the most powerful tool in Hobbs’s arsenal has been her veto pen, as we have covered here. One would assume … Read More
Further Fracturing Impacting Rio Verde Foothills Water Solution
The ongoing water crisis at the Rio Verde Foothills has seen a lot of chaos and a lot of bitter struggles (get up to date here). There has been finger pointing, battle lines drawn between Scottsdale Mayor Dave Ortega and the county Board of Supervisors, protests, state representatives taking shots and nearly everyone having an opinion. And that doesn’t appear … Read More
Scottsdale in a Financial Crunch: What Should They Do?
For all of its fantastic features and generally strong governance, the city of Scottsdale is in a bit of a financial pickle. We outlined it previously here, and you can read about it in full here. In essence, a large spending package that Scottsdale voters approved in 2019 is now running far behind as costs have spiraled far past initial … Read More
CHAOS with the LD3 Republicans: the Scottsdale/Fountain Hills GOP is Melting Down
As a rule of thumb, the higher up the politics go, the more professional they are, but when the stakes are the lowest (at the more local level), the more messy it can get. We have covered significant political messiness in both local parties here, but what is unfolding in the LD3 Republican Party (covering Scottsdale and Fountain Hills) might … Read More
Rep. Joseph Chaplik Getting Heat Over Liz Harris Expulsion: The Genie Isn’t Always Friendly Outside of the Bottle
By Alexander Lomax Specifically in the social media age, it is common in politics to whip your base into a frenzy. After all, they are more inclined to become your foot soldiers and to spread the good word if you get them all nice and fired up. That’s all well and great, but when that genie is out of the … Read More
Lessons in Leadership: What Really Happened to the Rio Verde Foothills Water Plan
You are very likely aware of the ongoing Rio Verde Foothills water crisis; hopefully you’ve read some of our coverage, but regardless you’re likely aware of the highly concerned citizenry in the unincorporated town on the outskirts of Scottsdale, as well as the political bickering between the city of Scottsdale and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. A new story … Read More
Guest Editorial: The Tempe City Council voted yes for the Tempe Entertainment District – Now it’s Your Turn
By Tempe Councilmember Randy Keating As a landlocked community, Tempe is committed to making the best use of the land we have. And whenever possible, we want maximum resident input on any major decisions. That’s why the Tempe City Council worked with the Arizona Coyotes to unanimously approve a historic project to turn an old, unlined landfill near the Town … Read More
Guest Editorial: Why Golf Courses Don’t Deserve Your Blame for the Water Crisis
By Tim Peeler As most people know, Arizona and the rest of the Southwest have been experiencing water shortages for quite some time now. The long-standing drought has obviously brought some major problems to the region which will require collaboration from experts in various fields to solve. Because I am not an expert, I will not be attempting to solve … Read More
Arizona Representative Liz Harris Expelled from Legislature: How Did We Get Here?
In what is easily one of the most regrettable developments in the modern times of Arizona politics, freshman Arizona Representative Liz Harris has been expelled from the legislature after a truly bipartisan 46-13 vote. This is the culmination of the sort of behavior that has been a source of national embarrassment for our state for years now. So what happened … Read More