PHOENIX – Attorney General Brnovich announced today that the Attorney General’s Office awarded nearly $400,000 in grants to community organizations that provide mental health treatment and services to first responders. The organizations will assist firefighters, emergency medical services, and law enforcement across the state.

Four different grants were awarded to organizations, including the United Phoenix Firefighters (two separate grants), EMPACT Suicide Prevention, and Marana Health Center. Over 2,000 first responders and first responder families are expected to be served statewide over the next year through direct treatment, mental health services, and training.Read More

PHOENIX — Governor Doug Ducey announced today $300,000 in funding from the AZ Coronavirus Relief Fund has been allocated to organizations across the state that support senior citizens, the homebound and those who are medically fragile. The funding will support organizations that have provided much needed aid to vulnerable populations impacted by COVID-19, by assisting with grocery shopping, meal deliveries, transportation to medical appointments, emergency errands and social interaction during a time of physical distancing.

“Arizona continues to focus on protecting public health, especially for those most at-risk like seniors and those medically vulnerable,” said Governor Ducey. “Volunteer and community organizations across the state are working day and night to provide support for those in their care through additional food deliveries, transportation and other services — and we’re proud to support their efforts. Thank you to everyone who has donated to the AZ Coronavirus Relief Fund so we can protect at-risk Arizonans, and to everyone who has stepped up to help others.”

Recipients of the funding include:

• Foundation for Senior Living (statewide)

• Benevilla

• Aster Aging

“We are so appreciative of this generous donation,” said Tom Egan, President and CEO of Foundation for Senior Living. “Our team has been working diligently to shift many of our programs to meal and food bag deliveries to seniors and adults with chronic health issues or disabilities. So far, we have seen our expenses increase by 25 percent and we’re anticipating the community will continue to need help throughout the summer. This donation will help offset our expenses and allow us to serve those in need.  We are so grateful to Governor Ducey and the AZ Coronavirus Relief Fund!”

“We believe we are strongest when we work together,” says Joanne Thomson, President and CEO of Benevilla. “The support from the AZ Coronavirus Relief Fund Now will help provide much needed services to the most vulnerable population in our community. Working together we are able to help seniors with grocery shopping, emergency errands and more, we are able to provide support and friendship to caregivers who might feel overwhelmed and alone and continue to support families in our community during this time.”

“The support that Aster Aging has received from the AZ Coronavirus Relief Fund is truly making the difference for vulnerable older adults in the East Valley,” said Deborah Schaus, CEO of Aster Aging. “Requests for Meals on Wheels and our other basic need services have continued to grow as we strive to keep seniors safe during the pandemic.”

The AZ Coronavirus Relief Fund was established by Governor Ducey as part of the Arizona Together Initiative to provide financial support to non-profit organizations serving Arizonans most in need statewide. The AZ Coronavirus Relief Fund has collected more than $8.2 million to date. Arizonans can visit ArizonaTogether.org to learn more, donate and find volunteer opportunities.

PHOENIX — Governor Doug Ducey has announced that following a national search, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has selected Arizona for its new U.S. advanced semiconductor factory. The project will create over 1,600 new high-tech jobs and generate thousands of additional jobs in the state for suppliers and other companies within the semiconductor industry. TSMC’s total spending on this project, including capital expenditure, will be approximately $12 billion from 2021 to 2029.

“We’re incredibly proud that one of the world’s leading technology companies has chosen Arizona for this high-tech project, one with national and global significance,” said Governor Ducey. “TSMC could have picked any place in the world to build this advanced manufacturing factory. They chose Arizona for our unbeatable business climate, already thriving tech sector and ready access to an international supply chain. I’d like to thank TSMC Chairman Dr. Mark Liu for his commitment to Arizona. We are honored to be selected for this project and look forward to building a collaborative long-term relationship with TSMC. I’m very grateful to President Donald Trump for his leadership and tireless efforts to bring more manufacturing back to our shores. I’d also like to thank Secretary Ross, his team at the U.S. Department of Commerce including SelectUSA, and the Trump administration for their partnership.”

Arizona has long been a hub for the advanced manufacturing and semiconductor industries. The state’s skilled workforce, strong supply chain, strategic geographic location, commitment to pro-innovation policies and unmatched quality of life have continued to drive rapid industry growth and economic momentum. This new U.S. facility will enable TSMC to provide enhanced service to customers and partners and increase its ability to attract global talent.

The facility will utilize TSMC’s 5-nanometer technology for semiconductor wafer fabrication and have the capacity to produce 20,000 wafers per month. Construction is planned to begin in 2021 with production targeted to start in 2024. The Arizona facility will be the company’s second manufacturing operation in the United States.

Several sites in the City of Phoenix are still being evaluated for the location of the factory. The Arizona Commerce Authority will continue working with TSMC, the U.S. administration, the City of Phoenix and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council to finalize all aspects of the project.

PHOENIX — Governor Doug Ducey today announced that the Stay At Home order in Arizona will be ending on May 15 and replaced by new guidance for the next stage of economic recovery. The new guidance aligns with gating criteria issued by the White House and Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and aims to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 resurgence, protect vulnerable populations, and guide the reopening of businesses with enhanced physical distancing and safety measures in place.

Arizona’s new Executive Order, which takes effect on Saturday, May 16, builds on Arizona’s comprehensive efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect public health, including: ramping up testing availability and frequency; implementing tracking of key health metrics such as reported symptomatic cases and emergency room usage; standing up surge hospital capacity to be used as needed; expanding statewide contact tracing; bolstering supply chains for personal protective equipment for frontline medical workers and emergency responders; implementing enhanced safety protocols to protect those living and working in high-risk facilities such as nursing homes; and providing public health guidance for businesses and individuals to ensure continued physical distancing.

“Since the start of this pandemic, Arizona has taken a calm and steady approach to protecting health and slowing the spread of COVID-19,” said Governor Ducey. “Today, our hospitals have capacity to provide care to those who need it; our businesses are implementing and adapting to new physical distancing measures; and data shows Arizona is headed in the right direction. It is time to move forward with the next steps of Arizona’s economic recovery — while continuing to make health and safety our number one priority. I’m grateful to all Arizonans for their partnership and cooperation during these trying times. By continuing to follow the data and recommendations of public health officials, we can continue to move forward safely and responsibly together.”

Governor Ducey also announced today an accelerated plan to test all staff and residents of long-term care facilities as well as individuals within Arizona’s prisons. As part of this plan, the Arizona Department of Health Services will partner with private-sector labs to expand testing to 147 long-term care facilities and provide antibody tests for correctional officers. Additionally, major league sports can resume limited reopening, without fans, this Saturday, May 16.

The Arizona Department of Health Services also released additional guidance for businesses and customers as more industries resume partial operations. This guidance includes:

• Pools, with physical distancing and enhanced sanitation – can reopen Wednesday, May 13 (GUIDANCE)

• Gyms & Fitness Providers, with physical distancing and enhanced sanitation – can reopen Wednesday, May 13 (GUIDANCE)

• Spas, with physical distancing and enhanced sanitation – can reopen Wednesday, May 13 (GUIDANCE)

While never formally closed, many places of worship opted to temporarily change or suspend services in order to follow physical distancing guidelines. As they resume operations, the Arizona Department of Health Services released GUIDANCE for enhanced physical distancing and safety precautions.

View today’s Executive Order HERE.

View daily Arizona updates HERE.

By Tim Peeler

Taylor Swift was in town this past weekend to kick off her new tour with two shows at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Getting a Taylor Swift-sized event to come to a city is almost always a major plus for that city. It generates buzz, and boosts the local economy thanks to increased spending on restaurants, bars, hotels, etc. But that wasn’t enough for Glendale Mayor Jerry P. Weiers. He saw an opportunity to personally capitalize even further on the event and he took it. I don’t know if I can blame him for shooting his shot, but I can roll my eyes at the way he chose to go about it. 

On March 13th Mayor Weiers issued a proclamation addressed to Swifties (Taylor Swift fans), littered with her lyrics, declaring that for the weekend (March 17-19) Glendale would be renamed to “Swift City”. Did Mayor Weiers create additional buzz with his little PR stunt? Absolutely. Would I have heard about Taylor Swift coming to town if it wasn’t for the ‘Swift City’ name change? Almost certainly not.

But does any of this matter? Does creating all of this extra noise really benefit Glendale economically or in any other way, especially when the shows were always going to be sold-out regardless of what else happened? Are non-concert goers really making their way out to Glendale because of Swift City?

Instead of an effort to benefit the city, what the ‘Swift City’ name change really was, was a painfully obvious attempt to pander to young voters by someone who is up for re-election in August 2024. Additionally as a Republican, many young voters stand across the political aisle from Weiers and maybe he thought this would be an easy way to win some of those votes. 

I think that you could you argue that the hours that the Mayor and his team spent working on the ‘Swift City’ name change, drafting the proclamation, working with Taylor Swift’s team, etc. was a waste of time and could have been better spent working on something actually important for the city, but I don’t know that those five wasted hours or so warrants torches and pitchforks. 

Gimmicks are a part of most political campaigns; hopefully they are funded with political campaign coffers instead of taxpayer funds, although the actual cost to the taxpayer was likely minimal on this one. But the Mayor so obviously attempting to placate and appeal to a voter base that otherwise has probably no interest in him just comes off as disingenuous and cheap. I would prefer that he focused on making Glendale a better city instead of trying to garner attention through transparent gimmicks.

Photo Credit: 12 News

The battle for local control and municipalities and their attempts to reign in the excesses of short-term rentals (STRs) has turned into one of the most important issues across all of Arizona and is due to become a major platform piece for political candidates of all stripes in 2024 (we’ve spoken extensively about it, you can get up to date here). A very recent event in Scottsdale demonstrates exactly how important it is, and may turn into a clarion call for additional local control.

In what could rightly be described as a blockbuster of a discovery, Scottsdale police uncovered an incredible amount of drugs in a Scottsdale home often used as an STR. The totals? Over seven pounds of cocaine, 110 pounds of methamphetamine, and an absolutely shocking 1.7 million pills of fentanyl. This single sting found enough hard drugs to keep tens of thousands of Arizonans locked into a life of addiction.

Then again, what can we expect with the shackles that our state government has repeatedly put on municipalities regarding STR regulation? In what was clearly one of the most counterproductive turf wars of our time (fueled by significant lobbying from the STR industry), the state has repeatedly made it difficult for all municipalities to take matters into their own hands and implement the will of its citizenry. STRs operated with little oversight, and as such an environment perfect for criminality was set.

Meanwhile, as municipalities all across the state (and the country) have attempted to implement regulations that ranged from ambitious to common sense, they have been largely litigated into silence. While some of these regulations, such as that in Paradise Valley which seemed to have the desire to squeeze the industry out of the town entirely, were a bit of a stretch from a constitutional perspective, all regulations have faced opposition from a well-funded lobby and a legislature that would rather uphold a turd war than listen to its constituency.

Thankfully the state did relent a bit and did cede a tiny crumb of local control back to cities, and Scottsdale responded with new regulations that were compliant with the new state law. That said, this recent bust shows that those rules haven’t done enough to not embolden criminals from operating in plain sight within an STR.

And until we follow up with much more stringent rules and allow municipalities to better keep their citizenry safe and to defeat “party houses”, we have to imagine that crimes like this, as well as even more nefarious crimes, will continue on mostly unabated in our city and state.

By Terry Goddard

It comes as no surprise that the Dark Empire has struck back against Prop 211 and Transparency in who pays for Arizona political ads with two lawsuits.  The first was filed in state court in December and the second last Friday in Federal Court.  The state plaintiffs are the Free Enterprise Club, Scott Mussi, and the Center for Arizona Policy, Kathi Herrod (AKA the Dark Money masters of Arizona). The Federal plaintiffs are Americans for Prosperity and the Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AKA the Godfathers of Dark Money).

As many have commented, these plaintiffs  are obviously not happy about  the Arizona voters’ decision on Prop 211 and are trying to do in court what they failed to do at the polls.  Others might be dissuaded by a 72% favorable vote representing every shade of the political spectrum, but these folks have too much at stake to go away quietly. Laurie Robert described the situation beautifully in her Republic column.  Two money groups now fighting Arizona’s new disclosure law. Shocker. (azcentral.com)

Their arguments have a familiar ring.  They say that disclosure will interfere with their donors’ free speech and free association because they cannot participate in political discussion for fear that having their names associated with a political campaign will result in “doxing” and other horrific attacks. They want the courts to see disclosure as tantamount to a gag, when it is no such thing.

Plaintiffs conveniently ignore the long line of court opinions holding that a political donor’s identity is not protected from disclosure by the First Amendment, that our Constitution does not give a political contributor the  right to hide, that citizens should have the right to know who is trying to influence their votes.  They choose to ignore that most of their fellow citizens have been disclosing their identity without adverse consequences for years when making political contributions.   The tiny percent of political contributors they represent would like a special privilege.  It’s that simple.

The Voters Right to Know Act, which has been the law in Arizona since December 5, 2022, provides for legal representation to defend the statute.  The defendant in both cases, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, immediately hired the Osborn Maledon firm to defend the statute.  Our support group, Voters Right to Know, entering the defense as an intervenor, has retained the Campaign Legal Center, a national nonpartisan group of elections law experts who helped draft the initiative in the first place.  In addition, the Arizona Secretary of State and the Arizona Attorney General are appearing in defense of the statute.  All in all,  a strong and heartwarming show of support in court.

This will be a difficult and time consuming process, I won’t say otherwise.  But we are blessed with great representation, overwhelming popular support and a long string of legal decisions supporting disclosure of political contributions.  The most recent decision is from the Ninth Circuit just weeks ago.

To say that it has been a tumultuous past few weeks in the financial markets in America would be an understatement. The dramatic collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the main banking institution for much of the tech and start-up industry, was directly followed by the regulatory seizure of Signature Bank, which represented the 2nd and 3rd largest bank failures in American history. And now, Scottsdale may have its own small-scale financial crisis on its hands, partially because of the same foundational reason that eventually destroyed those aforementioned banks.

In 2019 Scottsdale voters voted for an ambitious public funding program designed to fund 60 projects throughout the city. However in a bombshell new report from the city, the program is now 36% (or $115 million) over budget, meaning that many of those projects will not come to fruition without major changes.

The majority of the cost overruns are a result of the rampant and unexpected inflation that has gripped the entire country, an unfortunate circumstance that would have been difficult to plan for considering the low inflation environment up to 2019 (rising interest rates in order to combat inflation were a big reason for the eventual run on Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank). However, significant mistakes in estimates by staffers also contributed to major cost overruns, mistakes that could have been avoided and are disappointing.

So what does it mean? Simply put, that the promise of Bond 2019 will not come to fruition as it was originally sold. Whether or not a significant percentage of the projects will just be nixed, downgraded, reworked or all of the above has yet to be determined. Since revenue to the city has not been as robust as years past, the city’s coffers are not as strong as before and they will not be able to simply fill the hole with excess liquidity. 

While it is easy to attempt to point fingers, I would caution against that, at least insofar as the inflation problem is concerned. While it is difficult to bring ourselves back to the ancient days of 2019, a virus causing a global pandemic had not yet transferred to a human via a wet market or leaked from a lab (depending on which government department you talk to), so it would have been impossible to predict either the serious supply chain issues or the flooding of money into the markets, which when combined with persistent low interest rates caused the inflation that led to this problem. That issue deserves a pass.

That said, the poor estimates made by staffers do deserve a second look. Mistakes are always made, but ones that lead to misestimates of millions of dollars of taxpayer money demand at least some consequences. We’re not here to name and shame, but taxpayers deserve better.

In summary, Scottsdale is not collapsing like Silicon Valley Bank or Signature Bank. We are not declaring bankruptcy like Orange County. But one of the ramifications of our ongoing inflation issue (along with a few dashes of incompetence) will be felt. But still, our problems are by definition “first world problems”, and we should thank our lucky stars that our problems are so mild.

By Alexander Lomax

Photo Credit: Marco Raaphorst, Flickr

The proposed move for the Arizona Coyotes from Glendale to Tempe was to be the truest definition of a win-win. It is much more central and near the light rail, making games much more accessible for the vast majority of the valley. Along with the proposed entertainment sector, there simply are far more options for pre- and post-game recreation than there is in Glendale. For the casual hockey fan in Phoenix or Scottsdale, heading to Tempe on a Tuesday night is much more palatable of an option than going to Glendale.

Plus, it is to be built on an effin landfill…a huge economic and environmental liability for Tempe currently.

But of course, as with any good idea there will be nay-sayers; idealogues who stand in opposition to the will of the masses, people who are desperate to make a name for themselves or stay in the limelight, or those who are bitter that they are not able to capitalize off of it themselves. And while we are not generally ones to presume the silent intentions of others, we have to believe that one or more of these motivations are coming into play here.

That is where opposition group Tempe 1st is at ; attempting to rally their community under the guise of the unfairness of tax breaks. Leaving aside the obvious gigantic economic injection that this project would be for years and years to come, the “BILLIONAIRES BAD!” street signage that the group uses screams of an ideology-first mindset. Going after a successful billionaire might play relatively well in Tempe, but it is not as though Tempe’s recent stratospheric growth was built from co-ops and socialism. Wealthy people and corporations have played a gigantic role in Tempe’s current growth and increase in jobs.

Then it’s worth looking into who is behind this effort. Dawn Penich-Thacker got a reasonable amount of attention (or notoriety, depending on who you ask) by being one of the leaders of Red for Ed, the educational movement from 2018. What education has to do with a hockey arena is tough to tell, although it certainly does give an opportunity to make a further name for herself and stay in the limelight. For someone who makes sure to sign every letter with “PhD”, this shouldn’t be too surprising.

Additionally there is former Tempe city councilwoman (and former Arizona Corporation Commission candidate) Lauren Kuby leading the charge. Kuby was known to have a sometimes contentious relationship with other members of the council, being an idealogue who would stand in opposition of growth if it did not perfectly worship at the altar of sustainability and lowering costs for the working class, consequences be damned. I suppose that the idea of putting 2,000 new apartments on the market and the obvious impact it would have on pushing rent prices down all around the area doesn’t fit into the ideological mold of “affordable housing”, as pragmatic as it is. After all, a billionaire boogeyman is to be blamed, and nothing good can come from that in the mind of an idealogue who desires to stay in the public eye.

Kuby apparently ignores the project’s commitment to creating union jobs as well the hypocrisy of voting for direct financial assistance for the Los Angeles Angels’ billionaire owner for his spring training stadium, along with a tax break for ASU while in its employ.

It’s unfortunate that good ideas can sometimes be derailed by people who are hypocritical and desperate to feed their own ego and have their names in the papers. We are confident that the people of Tempe will see through it and instead judge the project on its merits, merits that will be beneficial for the city.

By Ronald Sampson

Photo Credit: AZCentral.com

It’s a new-ish day for Democrats in Arizona. Having finally captured the Governor’s seat they finally have some degree of legislative power. But since they couldn’t get a majority in either the Arizona House or the Arizona Senate, that legislative power is nearly purely relegated to the power of Governor Hobbs’s veto pen. While the ability to say yes to legislation you like would be preferred, the ability to stop legislation that you don’t like in its tracks certainly isn’t anything to scoff at.

And this is where Governor Hobbs lies, and she has already been busy with that veto pen (you can get up to date on Hobbs here). Her latest veto demonstrates what is very likely to be one of the most hot-button topics of her time in office: education.

In her 16th veto already in just two months, Hobbs recently vetoed a bill authored by J.D. Mesnard outlawing the teaching of “critical race theory” in schools. For those who are unaware, critical race theory, or CTR, is essentially a progressive educational approach that involves teaching “anti-racism”, the inherent advantages of being white, and other such race-heavy teachings that one would consider part of the curriculum of Oberlin College or Cal Berkeley.

This is an extension of a fight that has gone on across the country. Democrats have often been insistent that CRT is purely relegated to college campuses, but that isn’t necessarily true: aspects of it are often found in heavily Democratic school districts around the country. Republicans have rallied against it, also somewhat disingenuous in its concern that it is a present threat and will take over our schools.

Arizona is not California, Phoenix is not San Fran, so the concerns may well be overblown. However, they very well may not be, considering one of the biggest current educational issues in our state coming from the Washington Elementary School District. Their decision to end a contract with Arizona Christian University due to a difference in values is based on a push from governing board member Tamillia Valenzuela, who publicly and proudly describes herself as a “disabled, neurodivergent Queer Black Latina”. Considering her current prominence in the board and her description essentially being a walking advertisement for the purported importance of that subject material, it certainly seems like a school board that would be very comfortable with implementing CRT in their schools.

Hobbs didn’t offer up any particulars she disliked about the bill when asked, which itself was a bit of a tell and an indication as to what the next few years will likely look like. It will be ideological battles, left vs right. It will be much less about reaching across the aisle and much more about getting the other side on the record for being for this or against that.

Welcome to Arizona Governance in 2023 and 2024: little will get done and lots will get vetoed. I’m sure our Founding Fathers would be so proud.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

A recent bombshell hit Arizona politics recently, one that will have very significant ramifications for the 2024 election, but one that hasn’t gotten as much widespread attention as it may deserve. Another party has qualified to be on the ballot in the ‘24 election, the relatively centrist “No Labels Party”.

The No Labels Party will join the Libertarian Party alongside the Democrats and Republicans as recognized political parties in the state, offering them ballot access and the ability to field candidates. But unlike the Libertarian Party, which has always been on the fringes in politics and typically has only served as an additional option for disaffected Republicans, the No Labels Party has the opportunity to do the same for disaffected Democrats AND Republicans, but this time with some relatively big guns (and likely some decent funding) to bring it to larger prominence.

The efforts are spearheaded by former US Senator Joe Liebermann, well known for having left the Democratic Party to become an independent, along with North Carolina Governor Patrick McCrory and civil rights leader Benjamin Chavis. The group states that it will only field candidates if the electorate seems displeased by the two options presented, a slightly veiled dig at Biden and Trump. That said, one wonders how they could reasonably field a candidate after the finish of what may be a tough and long Republican primary in a way that could be anything but purely a spoiler.

So what will it mean for Arizona? It could very much impact the two biggest ticket races in the state next year.

First and most obvious is the Presidential race. After Biden won the state by a razor thin margin in 2020 and with his approval ratings currently underwater (and facing the specter of a potentially difficult economic landscape 18 months from now), he has little room for error. A centrist candidate could easily pull a few percentage points away from him; while it could do the same for Trump, it seems less likely. Perhaps a Libertarian candidate could also be put on the ballot to further balance out the dynamic, but that’s not a small feat either.

That said, the entire premise that it will be Biden against Trump round 2 is a tenuous one. While there may not be anyone challenging Biden on the Democratic side, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is almost guaranteed to give Trump a very strong run for his money. He has both a highly successful track record, has been very good about using his pulpit to stay in the headlines regarding controversial social issues (ergo becoming a darling on the right), and will almost certainly be very well funded.

Second is the US Senate race. As you are likely aware by now, US Senator Kyrsten Sinema abandoned the Democratic Party and is now an independent. Her political orthodoxy does seem to align well with the No Labels Party, and she could perhaps be the very first big ticket candidate to run under that moniker, something that would give the party real gravitas (and also likely give a boost to the Presidential candidate). Her participation could be transformative for the new endeavor, even if it likely wouldn’t impact her chances much in either direction.

There is still a lot of time to go until the 2024 election, and many things can still happen. But this move has inserted some true electoral intrigue in those races already, and yet again Arizona will be Ground Zero for all of the excitement.

Opinion Piece by Alex McLaren

I have been concerned about this situation for some time now. I am not exactly sure why because I live in south Scottsdale, miles from the Rio Foothills area. My concern is that as good neighbors Scottsdale should help as best, we can, within the law and also as stewards of our overall water resources. I am also concerned that the issue has become so politicized and handled so badly.

I have spoken on a few occasions to the City Council urging a solution to the problem.

This past Tuesday (March 7th) I asked the Council why they would have approved the Agreement with the County on February 21st. I have read in the press, (Scottsdale Progress Sunday March 5th) that a letter dated February 21st from Supervisor Galvin to the City expressed major concerns with the deal points in the agreement that the city was going to consider (and later approved) that evening. At the meeting I congratulated the city on having appeared to have initiated a workable temporary solution. Many Rio Verde Foothills residents also praised the city. On March 1st the County resoundingly rejected the agreement.

I worked for the city for 21 years (1985 to 2007) and was involved in many Intergovernmental Agreements and we would never ask the Council to approve an agreement if both parties were not satisfied with all the deal points. Why would the Council approve an agreement that was not supported by the County? And why would the County be so adamant, according to news reports, in rejecting the city agreement?Read More

By Councilwoman Solange Whitehead

Councilmember Solange Whitehead

Last Friday, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) voted down the intergovernmental agreement to deliver water to the unincorporated residents in Rio Verde Foothills. This is the second time in 9 months that the supervisors have voted against a water solution for these residents. I am deeply disappointed.

In Scottsdale, we know that water management prevents water wars and policies must be free of politics. For these reasons, the City Council directed the City Manager and attorneys to develop an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with counterparts at Maricopa County. These negotiations also involved legislators and staff and the Attorney General’s office.

Scottsdale’s involvement was to assist Maricopa County in securing a regulated water supply for its residents in Rio Verde Foothills (RVF). Something these residents have never had and is increasingly important as wells run dry in the area. Within a week of the draft IGA’s completion, the Scottsdale City Council unanimously approved it allowing flexibility to best serve all parties. Council inboxes and City Hall were filled with RVF residents supporting the plan.

Now RVF residents are once again without hope. The County rejected the IGA with a demand that the City of Scottsdale enter into a contract with EPCOR, a private company, to provide water for Rio Verde Foothills residents. This places legal responsibility and liability for RVF water service on Scottsdale and its taxpayers. Scottsdale is a city government, not a utility. Intergovernmental agreements, by definition, are between governments. IGAs are the mechanism by which one municipality can share resources with residents from another municipality. The draft IGA between Maricopa County and Scottsdale would have provided treated water to RVF residents, upheld Scottsdale’s drought management plan, and met the City’s obligations to its residents. The framework is what matters. Not the source of the water.

In its resolution, the Board of Supervisors explicitly requires EPCOR-sourced water. What is unclear to me is why. At a recent AZ Corporation Commission meeting, RVF residents came out in large numbers against a proposed ‘EPCOR solution’. Also worth noting, EPCOR delivers water to Fountain Hills and Rio Verde residents today and Scottsdale is not involved. The County also opposed Scottsdale’s proposed building moratorium in RVF. Ultimately, this would be a Maricopa County decision but it seems like common sense until a permanent water supply is in place.

Had the Board of Supervisors approved the IGA, water could have flowed to existing residents quickly. Scottsdale is negotiating water allotment increases from existing sources. No new contracts to bid, no new infrastructure. The 3-year time commitment gives the County and residents time to establish a permanent water source. While the water costs are increasing everywhere, cities charges are based on actual cost of service. The Scottsdale-Maricopa County IGA was and remains a very good solution for these residents.

Both Rio Verde Foothills and Scottsdale residents are represented by Maricopa County Supervisor Tom Galvin. I believe he should reconsider the IGA in order to best serve his constituents on both sides of the border.

The saga of Scottsdale Unified School District Superintendent Scott Menzel, his past “woke” interview and the controversy it has generated has gotten a lot of coverage both in the mainstream media and on this blog. But a recent development at a Scottsdale school demonstrates that “woke-ism” clearly is not the norm in Scottsdale schools.

Unfortunately, not even the Holocaust is fully respected in our schools, as several unnamed students drew swastikas over the pictures of Holocaust victims in a Scottsdale school recently. Little other information is known at this point except that it is a result of several 7th graders, but not much else needs to be said.

While some people will attempt to explain it away as a “false flag” or just a stupid frank, the disappointment from the teacher who had to deal with it jumps off the page. The request of the parents to reinforce the importance of empathy in this case is noble, but shouldn’t need to be reinforced. It serves as an effective example of the challenges that teachers go through and how good parenting isn’t ringfenced away from learning completely.

It had been a while since our state had embarrassed itself on a large scale in such a way. More people moved to Arizona than any other state last year, presumably an indicator that our national brand is strong, but any event like this is bound to be shared around, especially in Jewish circles. Especially as the state that was so notoriously resistant to implementing the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday for no good reason (other than racism).

So what’s the takeaway? We won’t attempt to guess on how those students got to this point, but regardless…we have work to do. As an area, as a society, as parents; if we can’t all agree that the death of around seven million souls because of their ethnicity isn’t an evil that deserves our recognition, then what can we agree on? Yes, they are children, but children have to learn these things from somewhere.

While Menzel’s statements in 2019 may be to the left of what would generally be seen as appropriate in Scottsdale, there is a lot to be said about inclusion and treating people with decency in our schools. This seems like just the sort of event to avoid that he talked about in that much maligned video. Perhaps the various politicians will take a step back and realize that perhaps there are lessons to be learned from Menzel and his insights on inclusion. Hopefully they will realize that Scottsdale has a ways still to go in this regard.

Photo Credit: Brian Hancock

For a few moments, we thought that the Rio Verde Foothills water crisis was mostly resolved. We thought we had turned a corner, and that an agreement had been largely agreed upon. But to the detriment of the citizens of the Foothills and to the benefit of the pundits who appreciate good stories to write about, the story is clearly not over. But the battle lines have clearly shifted and hardened recently.

Now we fully and publicly understand: it is the city of Scottsdale versus Maricopa County, and more specifically, Supervisor Thomas Galvin.

As recent developments demonstrate, Scottsdale city leadership is now fully coalesced behind their plan to restore and facilitate water delivery to the Rio Verde Foothills as demonstrated by a recent unanimous vote in favor of their plan.

But the vote doesn’t tell the entire story; the intrigue is in the details. For instance, Councilmember Solange Whitehead said in an email to supporters, “I believe (Thomas Galvin’s) rejection of the IGA fails his constituents on both sides of the (Scottsdale/Rio Verde Foothills) border and allows unregulated development to dig this water crisis deeper”.

Furthermore, new councilmember Barry Graham is planting his own flag and demonstrating gravitas; in an email to the Executive Director of Scottsdale Water, Graham says “Fair to say this is difficult because it’d be an open-ended “water blank check” from (Scottsdale) since (Rio Verde’s) growth is open-ended?” To be an established member of the council dais is one thing, but for a new member to be asking difficult but pertinent questions about the facilitation of expectations and dependency is another development, one that is worth real consideration.

Along with the open-ended nature of Maricopa County’s proposal, all parties on the Scottsdale side seem to object to a specific part of the proposal from Maricopa County, and more specifically Supervisor Thomas Galvin: the mandate that the city work with Epcor, a third party water delivery vendor. Indeed, it does seem as though it is overreach (and has at least an appearance of cronyism) to mandate that the city use a particular vendor if others are able to satisfy the need. Considering that the work still needs to be done with the city, it is not a stretch to see a vendor mandate as being overly burdensome.

Regardless of the rationale, one thing seems clear: the city is putting on a united front. Mayor Ortega backing away from attempting to block any attempt at water facilitation was a wise move, and now he has a part of a consolidated battle against the county. As we come up towards an election year, it is in his best interest to not be on an island. 

By Alexander Lomax

Kelli Ward, since she played a large role in starting this mess

The old and tired phrase in local politics amongst left-leaning folks has been “You can’t spell crazy without AZ”. And while the state has certainly moderated some away from that moniker as well as the “meth lab of democracy” name that Senator Sinema famously labeled us, we have unfortunately become Ground Zero for the zaniest and dumbest political conspiracy theories in the country.

You almost certainly have heard plenty of the conspiracies related to the 2020 and 2022 elections. Never mind that a Republican was in control of Maricopa County elections in 2022, never mind that a Republican super-majority was in charge of oversight of county elections in both elections. Never mind that in 2020 the man accused of fixing the election (Adrian Fontes) somehow forgot to fix his own. Never mind that reasonable Republicans of all stripes acknowledged that the elections were fair. Never mind that numerous judges dismissed all lawsuits challenging the veracity of the election as having had no or little merit.

For any reasonable person, that many “never minds” would be overwhelming proof that the conspiracies had no merit. Yet fans of the previous president all across the country still believe these lies.

Meanwhile, the newest and most insane conspiracy theory is now taking hold in Arizona as well as across the country: that Governor Katie Hobbs and many elected officials, judges and leaders are in the pocket of the Sinaloa drug cartel.

Does this sound crazy to you? Congratulations, you are a reasonable person. Unfortunately, it would seem that there are many, many unreasonable people in this country.

We have freshman legislator Liz Harris to thank for this new low. She aired a presentation with these absurdist charges in front of the entire legislature. And we must give credit to Republican leadership in both the House and Senate for condemning this action: both Senate President Warren Pederson and Speaker Ben Toma spoke out against this insanity. Of course, in the eyes of the conspiracy theorist, this means that they must be in on this as well!

That said, it feels like a “genie out of the bottle” moment: they were happy to let election conspiracies fester for a little while as long as it helped their chances for power, but now its gone too far. Now it is actively turning off reasonable voters, as the 2022 election results already demonstrated.

Meanwhile, the AZ GOP seems a slow motion car crash: they know they are turning away moderate voters and hurting future chances, but can they do anything about it?

Ne’Lexia Galloway

Students of history (or older readers) will remember the Saturday Night Massacre: it was the last gasp of the Nixon administration and its attempt to cover up the Watergate scandal. In it, Nixon ordered his Justice Department officials to fire the Special Prosecutor in charge of Watergate, which led to a string of resignations as a result.

The Maricopa County Democratic Party seems to have had its own version of the Saturday Night Massacre in what seems to be embattled Executive Director Ne’Lexia Galloway’s attempt to protect her own job in the midst of underperformance, internal dissatisfaction, and a potential financial scandal. As a reminder, Galloway is engaged to be married to Bruce Franks Jr., the disgraced former Missouri State Rep/battle rapper/campaign grifter who played a significant role in tanking Julie Gunnigle’s campaign for County Attorney (get up to date on him here).

In a bombshell recent action, we’ve learned that Galloway personally fired every member of the staff except for one older, part-time employee nearing retirement (i.e. someone not deemed a threat). Their last day was at the end of February. The positions that were eliminated were organizing director (the person in charge of reaching out to potential voters), political director, and campaign director. While short term jobs are not renewed immediately after an election, to have such critical roles eliminated in a battleground county with all countywide seats up for election next year is unprecedented.

Some might say that money is a significant issue, and they are indeed light on cash, with only $16K available at the end of February. However, insiders say that part of this cash crunch is a result of gross mismanagement of funds, including a large allocation of cash sent out for what was supposed to be for mailers; but those mailers never went out. Insiders say that Galloway pushed for this vendor because the pricing was so cheap, but the pricing was so cheap because it didn’t account for the large majority of the costs: postage. A true rookie mistake. Now the party is attempting to claw back those funds, and numerous district chairs are extremely displeased.

Adding to that awkwardness? The fact that one of Galloway’s first actions after becoming the ED of the county Democratic Party was a highly public attempt to attack her former boss Ruben Gallego. Galloway spent several days hyping up a major announcement she was going to drop, only for it to be this statement, amounting to little more than a Gen Z’er who is amazed to learn that their boss won’t fawn over every single idea that a new college graduate has. This is much, MUCH more awkward of a dynamic now that Gallego is the presumed Democratic candidate for the US Senate race in 2024.

Additionally, the friend’s list seems to be narrowing, as the county party became an official sponsor of an event that Galloway’s fiance Franks Jr. put on which neglected to invite the Kesha Hodge Washington, a Democrat and favored candidate of Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. Attempting to purposely alienate the most powerful Democratic elected official of a local seat is…highly risky.

So in summary, it has been bad decisions compounded by bad performance followed by bad financial management that has led to this place: where threats were all around and where money was tight, so Galloway decided to solve both issues at once. And now they will be hamstrung regarding organizing for the future, and their brand has taken a real hit. Her hire has turned into a one-person disaster.

Good governance depends on at least two strong parties that are led competently and have compelling messages. We have seen parts of the Republican party in Arizona devolve into conspiracy theories, and now we are seeing the local Democratic party devolve into power struggles designed to paper over incompetence and underperformance. Much like the Saturday Night Massacre, it’s a sad state of affairs. We can only hope that much like that event, it leads to a wholesale change in leadership and an entirely new direction.

The new owners of our Arizona Coyotes, the Meruelo family, are blazing serious trails in our community and truly making a name for themselves in the rarified air of professional sports team ownership. Tonight you will have the opportunity to take part and witness history for yourself.

In what is a first in Arizona’s franchise sports history, perhaps even a first in NHL franchise history, the team has collaborated with Rhuigi Villasenor, a globally renowned fashion designer, in order to take their team gear and apparel to the next level. The looks are so cutting edge that even Phoenix Suns superstar Chris Paul has been seen wearing his first Coyotes jersey!

Tonight, Friday March 3rd, Rhuigi Villasenor will join the team owners and staff for this fun pop-up experience to unveil these new looks and apparel. You can join them and check out this incredibly unique event at 901 N. Central Avenue in Phoenix from 6pm to 10pm.

Delicious food from Bacanora and Loco Style Grindz will be available. The buzz will be incredible, and this is your opportunity to see and be seen with a world famous designer and show your support for our team. See you there!

It has been a tumultuous past month or so for Scottsdale Unified School District superintendent Scott Menzel. After Fox News uncovered a 2019 interview where Menzel seems to support ideas that many would consider “woke”, he has been the target of Republican legislators and a cause de celebre for local Democrats (you can get up to speed on the entire saga here).

However, it feels as though we are getting some degree of resolution in this saga, and Menzel is able to breathe easier knowing that his job is not in peril. According to the Arizona Republic, “scores” of supporters showed up at a recent SUSD meeting to demonstrate their support for the embattled superintendent.

As our regular readers know, this was after a trio of Republican legislators who represent Scottsdale came out against Menzel’s prior comments and called for his resignation. None of this is particularly surprising, as Menzel’s comments stepped right into the social morass of identity politics, perhaps one of the hottest of hotbed subjects in today’s political climates.

By most unbiased perspectives however, Menzel stepped into the role of Scottsdale Unified superintendent in a very difficult time, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and led the district through the tough time with rational and reasonable strength. While extremists looking for attention attempted to hijack board meetings, he justified his hire with a strong focus on the material matters of education and away from political traps.

If the district had found itself in significant financial trouble (aside from that which every district went through before the state legislature lifted the spending cap), perhaps he wouldn’t have found so much grace. Or perhaps, even if his performance was questionable, the nativism inherent in politics today might have necessitated a defense. After all, charges of “woke-ism” will almost always draw battle lines with attackers on one side and defenders on the other. It is simply the nature of our algorithm-fueled conversation these days.

However, one added dynamic in this particular case is the makeup of the SUSD governing board. Even with two new conservative members, it was clear that they were not in a position to make a real move towards a new superintendent. And just like that, not only is a somewhat left-leaning superintendent preserved in his role, but we now see that the SUSD governing board remains similarly somewhat left-leaning for the time being.

Hosted by the Arizona Coyotes, This FREE Skate Event Offers Valley Residents a Chance to Meet Special Guests and Learn More About How Tempe Wins by Voting Yes on Proposition 301, 302 303 on May 16th

Mullet Arena is located on ASU’s main campus in Tempe at 411 S Packard Dr, Tempe, AZ 85281. The parking lot and the arena are on the east side of Packard Drive between East 6th Street and Rio Salado Parkway.

Propositions 301, 302 and 303 would authorize Tempe to transform an old landfill near the Town Lake into a privately funded and vibrant entertainment district that includes new housing, retail and restaurants, and a new home for the Arizona Coyotes. The district will create 6,900 permanent jobs in Tempe, more than $200 million in tax revenues for critical city services and more than $2.1 billion new spending.

For more details on Tempe Wins visit www.TempeWins.com.

For any media inquiries, please call Jennifer Parks-Sturgeon at 480.495.3806 or email Jparks-Sturgeon@RoseAllynPR.com.

Paid for by Tempe Wins, sponsored by Bluebird Development LLC, with 0% out-of-state contributors. Not authorized by any candidate. Top donors: Bluebird Development LLC and Arizona Hockey Co., LLC.

Photo Source: City of Scottsdale YouTube channel

Public outrage has a way of swaying politicians. So does looking around and seeing that you’re on an island with a particular view. Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega apparently has learned this firsthand, and it seems to have shifted the conversation regarding the most notable and controversial topic so far this year.

After public disagreement and obstinance, it now seems as though the city of Scottsdale is on board with continuing to help the Rio Verde Foothills through their current water crisis. In a unanimous vote, the Scottsdale city council has expressed support for a plan to resume the facilitation of water delivery to the embattled community. While details are left to be resolved, this de facto ends the showdown that had dominated the non-Super Bowl related news stories in Scottsdale since the beginning of the year.

This comes after Rep. David Cook requested an expedited decision by new Attorney General Kris Mayes, who affirmed the county’s ability to work with the city to resolve this issue. Mayor Ortega praised the ruling from the new AG, but it didn’t come without consequence: Brahm Resnik grilled Ortega about why it took a representative from Globe to move this forward instead of the mayor himself, a question to which Ortega did not have a concrete answer for.

Ultimately, Ortega earned the rarest of tributes: to have the legislature, county governance, and citizenry all focusing their anger on him and him alone. And while he surely fancies himself as a force, as someone who will not be swayed by the winds of short-term politics, these winds were closer to a Category 2 or 3 hurricane. If he didn’t notice that he was on an island, someone in his “kitchen cabinet” of supporters almost certainly whispered as such in his ear.

As the cliche goes, the devil is in the details, which will certainly be the case here. There are already significant rumblings about proposed pricing from the city. County Supervisor Thomas Galvin seems to be displeased by how this entire ordeal went down, and that view will likely color his future interactions with the city and the mayor. But the right thing happened, even if it took too long, and us in the chattering class can now go back to complaining about significantly less vital topics.

Now we get to see how much of a partner Mayor Ortega wants to be in this endeavor, or if he is simply allowing himself to get dragged along for the ride. I hope that he has learned that his power has limits, that being collaborative is much more fruitful than being obstinant, and that soft power is sometimes more meaningful than hard power. For the sake of the city as well as his re-election prospects, it is in all of our collective best interests for him to learn these lessons soon.

By Councilman Barry Graham

By Councilwoman Solange Whitehead

Councilmember Solange Whitehead

Scottsdale has a well deserved reputation for being an international tourist destination. Aside from the amenities that tourists and regulars alike can enjoy, there are also quite a few truly special events that make it stand out amongst its brother and sister cities within the Valley.

One of those events is the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show, Arizona’s cornerstone of equestrian heritage since 1955. It has since grown to an 11 day affair showcasing over 2,400 horses. And due to a recent study from CH Johnson Consulting, we now understand how much of an economic impact this annual event has on the city of Scottsdale.

The annual event has a staggering direct impact of nearly $100 million per year! That said, thi doesn’t even include the multiplier effect inherent in economics, which would put the economic impact in the $300 million range. This is in addition to the $986,000 generated in tax revenue to the city of Scottsdale as per a 2006 study, which when adjusted for inflation equates to $1.4 million in today’s dollars. Lastly, not included is the additional benefit that the incredible event has regarding sparking investment into farm and ranch purchases across Scottsdale and the Valley.

How did the consultants arrive at this eye-popping economic impact number? First, the 11-day event features gala parties, equestrian education seminars, an international cuisine court, and more than 2,000 horses, 4,500 stalls, and 250 vendor booths offering everything from lavish jewelry, clothing, and works of art; all of these offer ample opportunities for tourists and locals alike to inject money into the local economy.

Also, the demographics of horse owners, presenters and attendees alike paint a picture of spending power. More than 10% of attendees have incomes exceeding $250,000 per year, as are over 20% of exhibitors and 40% of horse owners. Additionally, 48% of the over 300,000 attendees are from out-of-state and 3.4% from outside the country.

The Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show is an incredibly dynamic event, one of the types that makes Scottsdale a national and even international destination for tourism. But more than that, it is the sort of economic driver that helps make our city world-class for those of us who are lucky enough to live here. We are truly fortunate to have numerous such events in this brilliant city we call home. Now that’s our kind of horsepower!

Ne’Lexia Galloway

Students of history (or older readers) will remember the Saturday Night Massacre: it was the last gasp of the Nixon administration and its attempt to cover up the Watergate scandal. In it, Nixon ordered his Justice Department officials to fire the Special Prosecutor in charge of Watergate, which led to a string of resignations as a result.

The Maricopa County Democratic Party seems to have had its own version of the Saturday Night Massacre in what seems to be embattled Executive Director Ne’Lexia Galloway’s attempt to protect her own job in the midst of underperformance, internal dissatisfaction, and a potential financial scandal. As a reminder, Galloway is engaged to be married to Bruce Franks Jr., the disgraced former Missouri State Rep/battle rapper/campaign grifter who played a significant role in tanking Julie Gunnigle’s campaign for County Attorney (get up to date on him here).

In a bombshell recent action, we’ve learned that Galloway personally fired every member of the staff except for one older, part-time employee nearing retirement (i.e. someone not deemed a threat). Their last day was at the end of February. The positions that were eliminated were organizing director (the person in charge of reaching out to potential voters), political director, and campaign director. While short term jobs are not renewed immediately after an election, to have such critical roles eliminated in a battleground county with all countywide seats up for election next year is unprecedented.

Some might say that money is a significant issue, and they are indeed light on cash, with only $16K available at the end of February. However, insiders say that part of this cash crunch is a result of gross mismanagement of funds, including a large allocation of cash sent out for what was supposed to be for mailers; but those mailers never went out. Insiders say that Galloway pushed for this vendor because the pricing was so cheap, but the pricing was so cheap because it didn’t account for the large majority of the costs: postage. A true rookie mistake. Now the party is attempting to claw back those funds, and numerous district chairs are extremely displeased.

Adding to that awkwardness? The fact that one of Galloway’s first actions after becoming the ED of the county Democratic Party was a highly public attempt to attack her former boss Ruben Gallego. Galloway spent several days hyping up a major announcement she was going to drop, only for it to be this statement, amounting to little more than a Gen Z’er who is amazed to learn that their boss won’t fawn over every single idea that a new college graduate has. This is much, MUCH more awkward of a dynamic now that Gallego is the presumed Democratic candidate for the US Senate race in 2024.

Additionally, the friend’s list seems to be narrowing, as the county party became an official sponsor of an event that Galloway’s fiance Franks Jr. put on which neglected to invite the Kesha Hodge Washington, a Democrat and favored candidate of Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. Attempting to purposely alienate the most powerful Democratic elected official of a local seat is…highly risky.

So in summary, it has been bad decisions compounded by bad performance followed by bad financial management that has led to this place: where threats were all around and where money was tight, so Galloway decided to solve both issues at once. And now they will be hamstrung regarding organizing for the future, and their brand has taken a real hit. Her hire has turned into a one-person disaster.

Good governance depends on at least two strong parties that are led competently and have compelling messages. We have seen parts of the Republican party in Arizona devolve into conspiracy theories, and now we are seeing the local Democratic party devolve into power struggles designed to paper over incompetence and underperformance. Much like the Saturday Night Massacre, it’s a sad state of affairs. We can only hope that much like that event, it leads to a wholesale change in leadership and an entirely new direction.

By Alexander Lomax

Now that midterm elections are out of the way, next comes the tradition of political parties having their “reorganization” meetings. What this entails is all of the dedicated party apparatchiks coming together to vote on who should be in their party’s leadership. At the county level, Precinct Committeepeople (PCs) come together to vote on county party leadership. PCs also vote to see who will be on the State Committee, the members of which then vote for state party leadership.

Often, these events are dry and long, full of procedural votes on their party platform, or votes for such boring and generally meaningless positions as 2nd Vice Chair of the county party or the like. Often, leadership will run for re-election, and unless they are particularly unpopular, any opposition will be token opposition. There often aren’t a ton of surprises. However, the chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, Raquel Teran, is not seeking re-election, which means a power vacuum. And with any power vacuum, it won’t go unfilled for too long.

Even more interesting and impactful is the fact that the Dems have had big wins, winning the US Senate seat, the Governor’s race, Secretary of State, and (pending recount) the AG’s office. There is actual power to be had in roles like this. So when those newly electeds all coalesced behind candidates quickly, our ears were perked.

Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo threw his hat in the ring; as the only Democrat of the five member board for several election cycles, he has not had much impact on local politics or policy, and while he has been a mainstay in the local Dem scene he hasn’t been too influential. Therefore it was intriguing to see Governor-elect Katie Hobbs giving her endorsement to him. While his other support seems to have been lackluster, having Hobbs on his side is not to be trifled with. Along with that is a member of her transition team stating that it is her right to anoint the next Chair, which…received pushback.

The next Chair shall not be anointed, however: longtime local union organizer Yolanda Bejarano has stated her intention to run. While many people announce an intention to run, hers is followed by a who’s who of local Democrats backing her: Senator Mark Kelly, Secretary of State-elect Adrian Fontes, presumptive Attorney General-elect Kris Mayes and Congressmen Greg Stanton and Ruben Gallego have all announced their support.

Quite the intriguing development, where Arizona’s incoming Governor is nearly alone in her support of the party’s next Chair. It seems as though Bejarano, an organizer by trade, organized around Gallardo/Hobbs and consolidated support extremely deftly. Meanwhile Gallardo, a candidate in a safe blue seat with no primary challenges for ages, didn’t understand the game that he was playing and assumed that being friendly with one person was enough.

While the votes still need to be tallied, it certainly looks like Bejarano is in the driver’s seat, and with that a deep understanding of organizing and less of the social justice dedication that Teran (or at least gave lip service to).

And now, we wait to see the glorious show that the race for the AZ GOP Chair shall undoubtedly provide! 

Data Orbital is pleased to announce the results of its latest statewide, mixed mode survey of likely Republican primary election voters. The survey was conducted from July 18th to July 20th.

The survey tested all Republican candidates whose names will appear on the ballot for Governor in the upcoming August 2^nd Republican primary.

With mail-in ballots already being returned, Kari Lake shows a commanding 11-point lead over Karrin Taylor Robson. Lake is pulling away from the field as a poll conducted by Data Orbital earlier in July showed Lake only 4 points ahead of Taylor Robson.

Pollster George Khalaf had this to say about the latest results, “With nearly 250,000 Republican ballots returned, it is clear Kari Lake has maintained – and grown – her lead in the Gubernatorial race. We have seen the Undecided rate steadily drop from 28% in late June to 12%, with a little more than a week until Election Day. With what we are seeing in our polling, and every other public poll released on the Governor’s race, one thing is clear: Kari Lake is on her way to securing the Republican nomination.”

###

This poll of 550 likely primary election voters was conducted through a combination of live survey and text to web that collected 32.4% of the results from live caller landlines, 34.2% from live caller cell phones, and 33.4% from text to web. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.26% with a 95% confidence interval. Respondents were weighted on a number of different demographic figures based on prior primary election voter turnout figures. The poll was conducted from July 18 – July 20, 2022. All non-released questions would not reasonably be expected to influence responses to all released questions. The questions released are verbatim from the survey provided to respondents. Toplines and demographic data can be found here. Crosstabs for this survey can be found here.