Photo Credit: Time MagazineBudget time at the Arizona Capitol is always an interesting place to be, but perhaps no more so than now. It had already been a rough month or so for Governor Katie Hobbs (get up to date here), but the budget negotiations (or relative lack thereof) look like they will make “tamale-gate” look like a walk in … Read More
The Delicate Dance Continues: GOP Learning How to Work with Gov. Hobbs
Governor Katie Hobbs has had a relatively tumultuous short reign in the 9th floor; facing GOP majorities in both the state House and the state Senate, her powers have largely been limited to her veto pen, which she has used to an unprecedented degree so far. Recently there have been issues within her own caucus, i.e. “tamale-gate” (you can read … Read More
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
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
Gov. Hobbs’s Spokesperson Forced to Resign: A Cautionary Tale of Chasing Clout and Failing Up
Governor Katie Hobbs has generally done a good job of hiring department leads who are not idealogues, who have a significant amount of experience and don’t appear to be the result of political favors or seeking the path of least resistance. But for the choice of her Spokesperson, that did not seem to be the case, it blew up in … Read More
The Kari Lake Electoral Anchor: How She Is Arizona Republicans’ Biggest Problem
By Alexander Lomax Groundhog’s Day was last month, but you almost wouldn’t know that’s the case in Arizona. Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Kari Lake claimed election fraud and judges told her that she has almost no case whatsoever. And yet she keeps trying, bless her heart. And the biggest winners? Arizona Democrats. Just like they made the … Read More
Governor Hobbs’s Veto Parade Continues, and Not Even Our Schools are Exempt
By Ronald Sampson 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 … Read More
Arizona Maintains Status as Conspiracy Central, and We’re All Dumber as a Result
By Alexander Lomax 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 … Read More
Join Governor Katie Hobbs, Arizona Historical Society and Marked By COVID For the 3rd Annual COVID-19 Victims and Survivors Memorial Day Event Featuring an Exclusive Screening of the new Documentary 2020 CHAOS and HOPE
Monday, March 6th, 2023, 3:00 – 7:00 PM at Arizona Heritage Center at Papago Park (1300 North College Avenue Tempe, AZ 85288) See the Powerful Documentary, Meet the Survivors, Hear Their Stories of Resiliency and Hope, and Learn About the Proposed National COVID Memorial Day On what is proposed as the National COVID Memorial Day, (first Monday of March) on … Read More
Gov. Hobbs Taking on New Fight on Behalf of Dreamers: Will She Have the Political Capital?
Arizona’s Dreamers (that is, undocumented students brought here through no fault of their own) got a very big win last year when Prop 308 protected their ability to receive in-state tuition pricing if they otherwise qualified after being approved via the public. They might have another big win in their sights soon too, but that will be highly dependent on … Read More