State Representative Raquel Terán to Take Over Alleged Child Sex Abuser Tony Navarrete’s Senate Seat

State Representative Raquel Terán to Take Over Alleged Child Sex Abuser Tony Navarrete’s Senate Seat

By Corinne Murdock |

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors have chosen State Representative Raquel Terán (D-Phoenix) to take over the State Senate seat vacated by alleged child sex abuser Tony Navarrete. Terán is also the chairwoman of the Arizona Democratic Party, elected at the beginning of this year. The board announced their decision Wednesday.

Terán will serve out the remainder of Navarrete’s term, which expires January 2023. Her transition will also leave a vacancy; the board now must find someone to serve out the remainder of her term, which also expires in 2023. They haven’t indicated who they are considering to fill Terán’s seat – the board is awaiting Terán’s official resignation to commence the replacement process.

As a state representative and chair of the state’s Democratic Party, Terán has fallen in line with mainstream Democratic beliefs: universal health care, abortion rights, tuition-free college for Arizona students, the Green New Deal and similar climate change policies, permanent early voting and same-day voter registration, new pathways to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and stricter gun control to name a few.

Most recently, she’s expressed her support for President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Supervisor Steve Gallardo went on the record to express his support for Terán’s appointment.

“It was my pleasure to nominate Raquel Terán,” said Gallardo. “I know Raquel will do a tremendous job in her continued public service for the constituents of LD-30.”

Terán was one of three finalists. The two not chosen were Isaac Elementary School District Governing Board Member Harry Garewal Jr. and Arizona Democracy Collaborative Director and state representative candidate Flavio Bravo.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

After Lawmaker Calls Out Maricopa County Supervisors, Two Vacancies Filled In Legislature

After Lawmaker Calls Out Maricopa County Supervisors, Two Vacancies Filled In Legislature

By Daniel Stefanski |

After a state senator aired his frustrations with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, two legislative vacancies have been filled.

On Friday and Monday, respectively, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors filled a vacant seat in the Arizona House of Representatives for Legislative District 13 and a vacant seat in the Senate for Legislative District 26.

Julie Willoughby was appointed for Legislative District 13. The newest House Republican fell short of victory in the 2022 election but found her way into the chamber in 2023 thanks to the expulsion of former Representative Liz Harris.

In announcing the selection of Willoughby, Maricopa Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Jack Sellers issued the following statement: “I would like to thank the PC’s from District 13 for selecting three qualified candidates for our consideration. I interviewed all of them about important issues such as Prop 400, homelessness, water, and elections. We take this duty seriously and follow a process that includes background checks and interviews so residents can be confident in the person chosen to fill the vacant seat.”

House Speaker Ben Toma told AZ Free News, “We’re proud to welcome Representative Willoughby to the House and to be a part of our majority Republican Caucus. There is still a lot of important work for us to accomplish this session for the people of Arizona and we can’t wait to get it done.”

Representative Flavio Bravo was appointed for Legislative District 26, opening up another vacancy to be filled in the state house. Bravo was selected after the resignation of former Senator Raquel Terán.

Bravo’s appointment was also heralded by another Maricopa County Supervisor, Steve Gallardo, who stated: “I would like to thank the PC’s from District 26 for selecting three qualified candidates for our consideration. It was a difficult decision because I respect all three of these community leaders. Flavio Bravo knows this district well and will represent it vigorously in the Senate.”

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors’ appointments came after Arizona Senator J.D. Mesnard took to the floor of his chamber to address the Board’s ongoing consideration of two legislative vacancies.

Senator Mesnard’s frustrations boiled over on the Senate floor as he laid out his charge against the Supervisors’ alleged delay in filling the two vacancies for 19 (Senate) and 20 (House) days. He informed his colleagues “the length of these vacancies is the longest, while we’ve been in session, in a half a century – 56 years!” Mesnard also said that 8.76 days is the historical average to fill the vacancy.

The East Valley lawmaker indicated that due to this historic delay, changes in statute could be on the horizon to ensure a more expedient selection by a county board of supervisors during an ongoing legislative session.

Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.

Arizona Senate Minority Leader Announces Congressional Run

Arizona Senate Minority Leader Announces Congressional Run

By Corinne Murdock |

Raquel Terán (D-LD30), the State Sen. Minority Leader until February, launched her congressional campaign on Wednesday.

Terán is gunning for the seat currently belonging to Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03), who announced his Senate bid in January. 

Terán’s initial campaign video cited her past leadership roles within the Democratic Party and the legislature, as well as her stint working at Planned Parenthood.

“Arizona is facing many challenges. Our housing prices are out of control. Our reproductive freedoms, including legal and safe abortion, are under attack. Our democracy is in jeopardy,” said Terán in the video. “The super wealthy continue to rig the system against our working families, and we desperately need comprehensive immigration reform.”

Terán repurposed her state senate campaign website into her congressional campaign website. 

According to records available via the Department of Justice (DOJ) Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), Terán received funds for her congressional campaign, “Raquel Terán For Congress,” as early as 2020 and 2021: $100 on December 1, 2020, and another $100 on January 2, 2021. Both amounts came from Felipe Carlos Benitez Rojas, who runs a political consultancy firm called Benitez Strategies.

Terán hadn’t announced a run at the time. 

This latest announcement from Terán reflects a quick succession of career shifts to position herself for the congressional bid. Most recently, Terán stepped down as Senate Minority Leader in late February. State Sen. Mitzi Epstein (D-LD12) took over Terán’s leadership role. 

Terán became the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) chair in early 2021. Then that September, she advanced from the House to the Senate by taking over the seat from former State Sen. Tony Navarrete, who was arrested for alleged sexual abuse of a male minor. 

Terán was appointed State Senate Minority Leader for this session in November. Then in December, she gave up the ADP chairmanship.

Terán has also been carving out a political pathway that differs from the state’s top leader. She opposed Gov. Katie Hobbs’ pick for ADP chair, shortly after she’d stepped down for the role. Hobbs backed Maricopa County Board of Supervisors member Steve Gallardo.

Prior to ascending into a leadership role in politics, Terán served as a political activist with a major nonprofit backed by leftist dark money networks, Mi Familia Vota, as well as Promise Arizona. Terán joined Mi Familia Vota around 2006 to combat statewide efforts to combat illegal immigration. 

Terán claimed victories over former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, former President Donald Trump, and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Gov. Hobbs’ Veto Streak Kills Bill With Strong Bipartisan Support

Gov. Hobbs’ Veto Streak Kills Bill With Strong Bipartisan Support

By Corinne Murdock |

Last week, Gov. Katie Hobbs’ veto streak killed a bill with strong bipartisan support. It was one of the 15 bills vetoed by the governor so far: SB1184, SB1248, SB1523, SB1524, SB1525, SB1526, SB1527, SB1528, SB1529, SB1530, SB1531, SB1532, SB1533, SB1534, and SB1535. 

The bill that earned strong bipartisan support was SB1248, which originated from HB2529 by State Rep. T.J. Shope (R-LD08). SB1248 would’ve repealed the mandate for regulated health professions seeking an expanded scope of practice to undergo a statutory sunrise review. It passed 21-9 in the Senate, with five Democrats and all Republicans voting for it; in the House, it passed 42-18, with 12 Democrats joining all Republicans in voting for it. Hobbs vetoed the bill last week. 

Talonya Adams, the woman twice vindicated in court for racial discrimination faced under Hobbs, said the legislature’s override of Hobbs’ veto “jeopardized her relevancy.” 

“A principled [government] comprised of co-equal branches will eventually check a branch that exploits its power, with a [two-thirds] veto override,” said Adams.

So far, the legislature hasn’t overridden any of Hobbs’ vetoes. 

In a letter explaining her decision to veto SB1248, Hobbs argued that fixing part of the problem with scope of practice expansion wasn’t sufficient for her since the government couldn’t ensure that these expansions would result in “equitable access to care.” She argued that the legislature needed to ensure equity in health care. 

“Without the sunrise application process, provider groups could fast-track their priorities through the legislative process without adequate attention to why the change is necessary, or if it will impact communities with the greatest needs,” wrote Hobbs. 

The same day that she vetoed the heavily-bipartisan legislation, Hobbs pledged to work with Democratic leadership to “find real solutions” to current state issues.

It wasn’t until last week that Hobbs allowed bills to pass unscathed by her veto stamp: SB1103 and SB1171. Hobbs said she signed these two bills because they were “good,” indicating that all other past legislation wasn’t. 

SB1103 from Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14) allows the legislative body of a municipality or county to authorize administrative personnel to approve construction plans without public hearing. The intent of the legislation was to expedite home construction approvals in an effort to counter the ongoing housing shortage. 

SB1103 passed 59-0 in the House and 25-3 in the Senate. Only Minority Leader Raquel Terán (D-LD26), Minority Caucus Chair Leah Alston (D-LD05), and State Sen. Anna Hernandez (D-LD24) voted against it. 

SB1171 from State Sen. J.D. Mesnard (R-LD13) aligned Arizona tax law with changes made to the federal tax law by Congress. The legislation passed without any opposition in either the House or Senate. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Gov. Hobbs’ Veto Streak Kills Bill With Strong Bipartisan Support

Hobbs Vetoes Budget She Once Called Awesome

By Daniel Stefanski |

As expected, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed the budget sent to her by the Arizona Legislature, putting the state’s financial future into a potential situation of future limbo.

Instead of signing a budget very similar to one passed last session by a bipartisan majority of legislators, Governor Hobbs repeatedly attacked Republicans for doing their constitutional duties over the past month, characterizing the $15.8 Billion budget as “approved by a slim, partisan majority.” Her statement, released after her veto of the budget, framed the legislature’s offering as a “do-nothing budget” that “kicks the can down the road,” and that it was “an insult to Arizonans.”

After these sharp assertions by Arizona’s new Chief Executive, her office released a tweet from her @GovernorHobbs account that reiterated her oft-used claim that her “door is open” and that she welcomes “any sincere efforts to work on a budget that puts people, not politics, first.” Hobbs’ “open-door” claim has been refuted by Republicans throughout the first month of the legislative session, including one statement from Representative David Livingston on February 1, 2023, when he said, “It’s one thing to talk a big talk & use social media to say you have an open-door policy, but I can tell you from personal experience, her door is locked from the inside.”

Senate President Warren Petersen had also shared his concerns about the lack of communication from the Ninth Floor in the weeks leading up to this budget passage and gubernatorial veto. Also on February 1, Petersen told his chamber that “we have an open door policy to hear all budget requests and suggestions, and we haven’t heard a peep from Governor Hobbs!”

Republicans had no shortage of responses after seeing the news of the governor’s veto. Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope tweeted, “How brave to veto a budget that just six months ago was awesome. Gonna be a long session and a long four years @GovernorHobbs but I’ll be here for all of it. Some of us have been working and others have been offering platitudes about open doors and such. Arizonans deserve better…”

Representative Lupe Diaz wrote, “Katie Hobbs just vetoed a sensible strong budget that both Republicans and Democrats voted on last year. With this veto she shows that she is willing to put the citizens of Arizona in the path of a State shut down.”

Representative Joseph Chaplik informed his followers that “Every single Dem in #azleg voted for this budget in 2022. Katie Hobbs’ veto shows she’d rather shut the state down than do the right thing for every citizen of this state.”

Senator Anthony Kern said, “Katie Hobbs just vetoed $82 million for the School Safety Program that provides grant funding for both school counselors and school resource officers.”

Legislative Democrats, however, were appreciative of Hobbs’ veto. House Democratic Leader Andrés Cano applauded the governor’s action, saying, “Republican lawmakers unilaterally introduced a sham budget that they knew would be vetoed. This was a colossal waste of time by the GOP that involved no opportunity for compromise or negotiation.” Senate Democratic Leader Raquel Terán tweeted, “.@GovernorHobbs did right by every Arizona with this veto. This ‘budget’ does nothing to move us forward, but would rather chain us to the past. It’s time to step into the future and craft a budget that addresses our shared reality.”

Arizona’s Fiscal Year 2024 begins July 1, and Governor Hobbs’ veto has now officially kickstarted the stare down over a possible lapse in state funding this summer. Hobbs is expected to veto many more Republican bills this session, and it remains to be seen if communication between the sides will improve as they approach the June 30 deadline to reach an accord on another budget compromise.

Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.