Justin Heap campaigned for Maricopa County Recorder on a simple promise: he would restore trust in elections that he and his allies claimed had been mishandled. It was a message built on suspicion of process, chain of custody, and procedural integrity. Eighteen months into the job, those very concerns are now being raised about his own office. A Scanner, a … Read More
Tempe City Council Results: Who Rose, Who Fell, and What It Means for the City
By Vanessa Rogers Tempe voters delivered a clear verdict on May 19. The runoff election reshaped the city council in ways that will echo for years. For a full breakdown of the unofficial results, Maricopa County Elections has the numbers. Here is a look at who came out ahead and who didn’t survive the night. Rising: Arlene Chin Chin never … Read More
Consequences for Political Parties Run Amok: the Recent Firing of a Democratic Party Staffer Implies Fault (and Change)
A Recap of the Allegations In late April, the Arizona Progress & Gazette reported on allegations that the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee had quietly routed money to benefit one candidate over another in a contested primary: specifically, that $15,000 moved from the Navajo County Democratic Committee to Arizona List, which then paid $10,000 to a consulting firm whose services … Read More
Breaking News: Axon Is Polling to Purchase a Scottsdale City Council
By Alexander Lomax The corporate playbook for buying local influence is not new. Scottsdale has seen it before. But the scale and audacity of what appears to be unfolding ahead of the July 21st primary deserves the full attention of every resident who cares about who actually governs this city. Several sources say Axon Enterprise is conducting active polling in … Read More
Get to Know Your Candidates: Our Exclusive Q&A with Scottsdale City Council Candidate Bob Littlefield
In the name of helping our readers make more informed decisions and better understand the people who want to lead our city, we sent out questionnaires to all Scottsdale City Council candidates. All of the questions were the same for each except for two questions that were customized for each candidate. Mr. Littlefield declined to answer two of the questions. … Read More
Get to Know Your Candidates: Our Q&A with Scottsdale City Council Candidate Raoul Zubia
As a reminder, we sent out a similar questionnaire to every candidate for Scottsdale city council. Their submissions are being posted in the order of being received. All of the questions were the same except for the last two, which were customized to each candidate. Do you support the Axon development as originally proposed, including up to 1,900 residential units, … Read More
Unintended Consequences Coming to Scottsdale: Why the Dubauskas Recall Now Means that Anyone is Fair Game
By Ronald Sampson Scottsdale has real issues to navigate: water supply pressures, development tensions, a competitive city budget cycle, and an ongoing power struggle on the City Council that has consumed far too much oxygen for far too long. What the city does not need is a recall effort driven by a failed candidate settling ideological scores, and setting one … Read More
Get to Know Your Candidates: Our Q&A with Scottsdale City Councilmember Solange Whitehead
As a reminder, we sent out a similar questionnaire to every candidate for Scottsdale city council. Their submissions are being posted in the order of being received. All of the questions were the same except for the last two, which were customized to each candidate. Do you support the Axon development as originally proposed, including up to 1,900 residential units, … Read More
Galán-Woods Picks Up Fontes Endorsement in AZ-01 Race
Democratic congressional candidate Marlene Galán-Woods announced this week that Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has endorsed her campaign for the state’s First Congressional District seat. Galán-Woods called Fontes a “tireless defender of democracy” who has been on the front lines fighting for election integrity. The endorsement carries particular weight given the two have a working history: Galán-Woods served as … Read More