Maricopa County, you have a new head Sheriff. And as far as successions go, this one is a bit more controversial than most. In a surprise move, Democrat Paul Penzone announced that he was stepping down to take a community relations job with Blue Cross Blue Shield. Cleaning up after the myriad federal restrictions in the wake of former Sheriff … Read More
Attempted Malfeasance is Hitting Home: A Revolt at the Maricopa County Republican Party
Regular readers know that we like to talk about local politics in a tough but fair way; we believe that society is better served with both major parties being functional. The Maricopa County Democratic Party went through some serious bouts of chaos and malfeasance, but after an upheaval in leadership seems to be on the right path. Now it seems … Read More
A Near Miss for Serious Financial Improprieties with the Maricopa County Republican Party, and a Story of Two Local Parties
Local parties have long been a little bit more on the political fringes than their statewide counterparts. Their ability to fly under the radar more than their larger counterparts often leads to some more questionable decision-making, and with fewer eyes on them grifters will often see opportunities for exploitation. It wasn’t very long ago that we were talking about just … Read More
County Republicans Want to Hold Their Own Presidential Primary, What Could Possibly Go Wrong
By Alexander Lomax The difference between state politics and county politics is often a large chasm of extremism; state parties are typically much more moderate compared to their county brethren (note: check out our coverage of the Maricopa County Democratic Party here to see some great examples). And true to form, any time it seems as though the state GOP … 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
Chaos at County Reorganization Meetings: What Does That Portend for Next Two Years?
The political election cycle is a standard and predictable one: first there are primaries, then there are generals. Then there is either celebration or disappointment, followed by co-opting of credit or the pointing of fingers. And then…re-organization. Where the parties signal their level of satisfaction or anger with the direction of their party and choose their leadership accordingly. As is … Read More