Senate candidate Blake Masters believes that the modern school system is broken, characterized by “twin tower issues,” he told AZ Free News: teaching “junk” instead of what they need to know. Masters delivered that message in his latest campaign video, similar to his last: a monologue on conservative values delivered in a field, hearkening back to the simplicity of Thomas Jefferson’s yeoman farmer.
“Here’s a harsh truth for you. Our schools are making our kids dumber. The 1619 history curriculum teaches kids that America is somehow fundamentally evil, or racist. Critical Race Theory teaches kids to identify with each other in racial terms. You’re either a victim, or an oppressor based on the color of your skin. And even if you wipe away all this left-wing toxic ideology from our schools – the schools are still failing to teach kids the basics. We’re graduating kids that can’t even read or write. I’m Blake Masters. I’m running for the U.S. Senate in Arizona. And I approve this message because we’ve got to fund students, not systems. We’ve gotta make sure that young people are learning to think for themselves.”
“We’re going to stop woke teachers and schools from turning our kids into losers,” tweeted Masters.
We’re going to stop woke teachers and schools from turning our kids into losers. pic.twitter.com/dkWMCG7NnR
In an interview with AZ Free News, Masters explained that his video was a sort of thought experiment to inspire a critical assessment of our modern school system – every type from public to private schools. He remarked that the focus on pushing social justice agendas at the expense of “teaching real history and cultivating actual skills and talents” was both a cause and effect of deep-rooted issues in the school system.
“I think that’s both a driver of the poor performance but also somehow a symptom of it,” said Masters.
Masters believes the problematic school system is why Republican Governor-Elect Glenn Youngkin secured victory in a presumptively deep-blue state.
“I think we just saw the Youngkin win in Virginia had a lot to do with the school issue and parents frustration and that one gaffe [by Democratic candidate Terry McCauliffe], but it wasn’t a gaffe it was really what he thought: that parents shouldn’t have a say [in their children’s education,” assessed Masters.
Just over a month before Election Day, McCauliffe declared that parents ought to have no power when it comes to their children’s curriculum.
Masters has firsthand experience of political indoctrination in the school system, all the way back in 1994. He told AZ Free News that his teacher had his second-grade class write letters to the editor of the local paper, The Arizona Daily Star, to object to a housing development that razed desert land next to the school.
“I remember in second grade my dad got really mad because [… the school] had us write letters to the editors. There’s a letter that’s printed from me saying it’s so unfair that the developments would do this and that to the lizards and cacti,” recalled Masters. “That was the beginning of some kind of left-wing environmentalist indoctrination. [Other students said that] people shouldn’t even live in houses, they should live in mud huts. The teachers were pointing us in a certain direction. My dad wrote a very scathing response and it was published [as well].”
AZ Free News found the young Masters’ letter to the editor: in 1994, letters from Canyon View Elementary School second-graders were published in a full-page spread titled “Damaging the Desert” in The Arizona Daily Star. The students all echoed similar messages about how “the animals must find new homes,” and condemned both the developers and homeowners for their greed and “killing Mother Nature.”
“Man is killing Mother Nature just for money,” wrote one second-grader, Brian Benhke.
It appeared that one or more teachers took the students into the desert after it had been razed by developers, where they reportedly found blood-covered rocks and animals’ remains. It is unclear if that was the intent of the educators.
Reproduced below is the letter from a young Blake Masters:
“I am concerned because next to our school they are destroying the environment to build new houses. I think they should make sure all the houses in Tucson are taken up before constructing new ones. Why do the workers listen to the boss? If the boss told them to jump off a cliff, would they do it? For the money, sure, just for the money, they’re destroying other animals’ habitats when they don’t have to. Pretty soon we won’t have enough oxygen to live on. In a few years the Sonoran Desert could be ruined. We should make a Desert Belt like the Green Belt in Boulder, Colo[rado]. Maybe if more people lived together, we would not need to build so many houses. If someone doesn’t do something, the Earth will be gone, and we have only one. Maybe people who have more money should not build a huge house. When workers finally realize what they have done, they will say they’re innocent.” (emphasis added)
A month later, Masters’ father issued a lengthy response criticizing the public school system for prioritizing a social justice agenda over educating the second-graders about American freedoms such as private property. The senior Masters pointed out that the vacant land was the private property of the developer, anyway, and that the children who grieved over losing their playground were actually trespassers on that private property. Masters also pointed out that the developed land was for multi-family housing, His remarks strike a familiar tone with parents’ current grievances with the school system.
“These letters these children authored demonstrates that they are being taught (by intent or default) the antithesis of economic freedom. Inherent in our free enterprise system is the vital concept of private property. Without economic freedom and its private property derivative, all other freedoms are meaningless. Along with other constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms, grade school children can understand the critically important concept of private property. After all, what child by the age of 2 has not mastered the usage of the word ‘mine?’ If the children had been exposed to the importance of private property rights, wouldn’t one expect that at least one of the letters would mention that vacant land was the developer’s private property? Had anyone pointed out to the children that when they played on this vacant land, they were in fact trespassing on the private property of another? My surprise at what they are not being taught is surpassed only by what they are being taught. That they are not being taught the basic American values of the individual over the state, economic freedom, and private property is bad enough. What’s even worse is that these letters reveal that our children are being taught that mankind is subservient to plants and animals. Even more alarming is that they are being taught so with scare tactics.”
After that, Masters attended public school until the fifth grade before switching to a private school from sixth grade through his senior year of high school. He recalled learning that Christoper Columbus was a “murderer” in the fourth grade. It wasn’t all bad, however – Masters said he had some unadulterated history education, such as the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I think that stuff has gotten way way worse since I was a kid,” remarked Masters. “I remember learning about MLK and why that was important. I remember that people used to treat people badly based on the color of their skin. I remember learning about that. Now that seems so old-fashioned. That’s just not what kids learn in K-2 anymore. It’s really shifted since I was a kid.”
Both of letters from the senior and junior Masters are available here.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
State Senator Victoria Steele (D-Tucson), minority whip, voiced opposition to the recent threats made against Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, but records don’t show her speaking out against any of the multiple threats made against Senate President Karen Fann this year.
“I’m so sorry you are the target of so much sick, hateful behavior,” wrote Steele. “Please, please Katie, be safe. We need you.”
I'm so sorry you are the target of so much sick, hateful behavior. Please, please Katie, be safe. We need you. https://t.co/ESmH3c9yul
AZ Free News inquired with Steele about not speaking out against the death threats to Fann. Steele didn’t respond by press time.
Steele has spoken out against other threats to Republicans before. Last December, Steele condemned death threats against Governor Doug Ducey.
Hobbs’ office received multiple voicemail threats from supporters of previous President Donald Trump. The callers told Hobbs she would hang or be executed in another way for treason. The secretary of state submitted two of the calls to the FBI. The men behind the call were unapologetic, according to interviews they had with Reuters. Reports showed that FBI agents visited at least one of those men for other threats he’d made in calls to other elected officials, giving him a warning and instructions on how to lawfully express grievances – they did not arrest him.
Fann received death threats for a different reason: her leadership and support for the Cyber Ninjas audit.
“You are a completely worthless human being and an evil s**t. And you will die very soon. It will look like an accident. I’ve done this before. I have killed people,” wrote one anonymous individual. “I will kill again. I will kill you. Sleep well.”
Even those critical of the audit on the Republican side have received threats. State Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-Scottsdale)received email threats in early September after she signaled that she no longer supported the Senate’s audit.
“Listen up you s**c b***h, you have one chance to give the American people the Audit report or were [sic] coming from [sic] you, we know where you live, we know where you get your groceries, and we know where your family lives. You better do the right thing or your [sic] going to feel the consequences. Do you understand? We the people are no longer willing to play….”
Got this yesterday. It’s been sent to law enforcement. My family’s safety is my #1 priority & I will NOT tolerate anyone going after me or my family. Due to misinformation & the unmet expectations of the public surrounding the audit, threats like this will unfortunately continue. https://t.co/wjlNeaSeMdpic.twitter.com/bZhKi9He0l
Chandler Police Department (CPD) appeared to coordinate with Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) in surveilling and acting against parents that protested masking. The coordination was evident as far back as April, according to emails between CUSD Director of Safety and Security Tanya Smith and CPD Sergeant Greg Howarth. In the series of emails published by the blog site Not In Our Schools, Howarth passed on information about the parents’ activities and plans, gathered from posts made in private Facebook groups and other, unspecified sites.
In one of the earliest obtained emails from April, Howarth offers suggestions to Smith for how CUSD should handle parents opposed to masks.
Tanya, Hello. I am anticipating based off my Intel from various social media platforms that we will have a group again of protestors (anti-mask). I found what I call there [sic] game plan where they are talking about walking into the lobby with the mask on then they want to remove it. If told to put it back on, some will and some will force you to have them leave. The other chatter is they will put the mask back on but as they are lead into the board room they will take it off and talk at the podium. With that being said, have 4 additional officers we need to use besides[…] who comes in at 6:30 p.m. The 4 SRO’s and myself with start at 5:00 p.m. and remain until they have cleared out to 8:00 to 8:30ish. We modify that time period as needed since this is a fluid and evolving situation.
These are my suggestions only and more food for thought as you get the [sic] make the final call on this:
One (1) Security Officer and two SRO’s at the north gate.
The security officer at the north gate will have to call the person to the gate who wants to speak and has filled out the blue card.
The security officer will instruct the person that they must have a mask on and put it on as they are walking through the gate and into the lobby area. In addition, they must be told the mask has to be worn at all times.
If they claim they have a medical condition, according to ADA rules and your attorneys, they can wear a mask and be brought inside straight to the podium where if you allow them to lower their mouth, speak, and then once done pull the mask up and be escorted out of the back like we talked about.
I will put (1) SRO by the double doors leading into the lobby area.
I will put (1) SRO inside the board room to ensure everything goes smooth. [sic] This is an option if you want but recommended.
NOTE: You might want to consider attaching a document (stapled) to the blue card with instructions about masks being required at all times. In addition, masks will not be provided to anyone. If they do not have a mask they can fill out a blue card and a staff member will read it to the board, but they will not be allowed in since they have no mask. If someone claims they have a medical condition, pull them off to the side and have them fill out a blue card, take the blue card and then when you ready for them to speak, you must have them walk from the gate directly inside and be the next person to speak so they are not waiting in the lobby pulling the mask down on us. The goal is to do our best to meet their needs if we can and again this is based off of what you want. We are only assisting to keep the peace and not enforce the mask issue. The mask issue as you know has to be addressed by you and your staff. If someone doesn’t comply and you want them removed from the property let us know. If they fail to leave let us know that you want them trespassed and we can do that.… I believe this is an excellent action plan and will result in a successful outcome for all. (emphasis added)
At least one parent was arrested at a June meeting.
— • Subject of DOJ Task Force Investigation • (@ThatParentP4P) October 29, 2021
Smith revealed in another email that CPD’s intelligence officers had a dossier of sorts on certain parent groups protesting CUSD. According to available email records, Smith and Howarth coordinated to address two separate meetings: one in May, and one in June.
“[Howarth and I] spoke yesterday against after he sent the email. CPD Intel is relaying details on methods the group will be using tonight. They do plan to disrupt. Please review [and] forward for more suggestions and information from CPD,” wrote Smith. “We also discussed that Ms. Mozden may want to be prepared to cut the mic for anybody that follows through with removing their mask. Do we want to offer for a masked person to read the public comment for the people that refuse or claim a medical exemption?”
Email records also reveal that the Howarth’s dossier on the parents consisted of information from the left-leaning nonprofit legal advocacy organization Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), as well as mainstream news coverage. SPLC’s largest shareholders are Vanguard followed by BlackRock. AZ Central was cited the most: they are owned by Gannett, whose greatest owners are also BlackRock and VanGuard. BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, while Vanguard is one of the world’s largest.
Howarth also acknowledged that they were coordinating with Smith, and that CPD’s intelligence would allow CUSD to respond accordingly to parents.
“Here are some sites for you to pass along to the Intel Unit and Lt. Salazar so whomever is coordinating and running this opp. [sic] can continue to monitor and prepare for this one. I included Tanya on this email so she can coordinate with you,” wrote Howarth. “This info will provide her the resources to review and access the situation.”
We asked CUSD why they worked with CPD to shape board policy and track parents’ online activities to premeditatively remove them or arrest them at school board meetings. In a statement to AZ Free News, CUSD asserted that our question assumed inaccurate facts and couldn’t be answered.
“We are not authorized to speak for the Chandler Police Department,” stated CUSD spokesman Terry Locke. “However, we can say that the District has not engaged in any unlawful or inappropriate activities, in collaboration with the Chandler Police Department or on its own.”
Judicial Watch, a conservative group that files and investigates open records requests, originally sued CUSD on September 14 to obtain access to these email records and others. CUSD never responded to three requests issued June 17, June 18, and August 5. According to the lawsuit, CUSD reportedly didn’t acknowledge receipt of any of those requests. The last action in that case occurred September 16, in which court records reflect that CUSD received the summons.
June 17 Records
Judicial Watch requested records on CUSD’s documents on policies, rules, directives, memos, emails, and texts addressing: compliance with public meetings proceedings, implementation of the CDC’s “limited in-person attendance,” enforcement actions regarding trespassing and assault statutes on district office property. They also requested many items related to CUSD’s June 9, 2021 governing board meeting: any attendance rosters, criteria for who would be allowed inside, and any records kept.
On June 9, the CUSD governing board opened its regular meeting with an announcement that CUSD wasn’t exploring, adapting, or implementing Critical Race Theory (CRT).
Additionally, Judicial Watch asked for a specific set of CUSD documents ranging from June 17 2019 to June 17 2021 related to contracts, policies, rules, directives, employee evaluations, memos, emails, and texts addressing wages or salaries and/or conduct standards or expectations of Smith and James. Lastly, the group requested all employment, vendor, and security contracts; memorandums of understanding; and agreements and/or authorizations pertaining to an individual named Shelby Smith and an unknown male identified using the inclusion of a picture in the court filing.
June 18 Records
A day later, Judicial Watch submitted another records request concerning a specific date range: May 1, 2020 and June 18, 2021. They requested policies, rules, directives, memos, emails, board minutes, teaching curriculum, and employee training outlines/guidelines and/or texts that included the words “CRT” and “critical race theory,” as well as its related terms: “equity,” “diversity,” “inclusion,” “inherent,” “implied,” “racism,” “reparations,” “systemic,” “bias,” “1619,” “discrimination,” “equality,” “white,” and “privilege.”
August 5 Records
Several months later, Judicial Watch followed up with another records request – a much briefer one, this time. They requested documents from January 1, 2019 to that day, August 5, 2021, concerning any trespass orders sent or served to individuals, entities, and/or groups.
That last request was accompanied with a copy of a trespass order served to a community member named Stephen Daniels. According to the order, Daniels attended the June 9, 2021 governing board meeting discussing how CUSD didn’t implement CRT. He was accused of “unsafe and disorderly conduct” such as blocking the entrance to the meeting while attempting to enter. At that time, CUSD reportedly had capacity limitations and couldn’t admit Daniels into the meeting. Daniels was removed from the meeting by CPD after refusing a request to do so from Smith.
We requested follow-up on Judicial Watch’s records request lawsuit. They didn’t respond by press time.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
More questions of Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board President Jann-Michael Greenburg’s involvement in a secret dossier of parents and other political opposition created by his father, Mark Greenburg, have arisen due to a documented history of him sharing a computer with his family members. Jann-Michael has denied any knowledge of or connection with the dossier. However, there are two instances in the past where his shared computer activity became evident.
In an August school board meeting, Jann-Michael admitted that his brother, also named Mark, was the one who set up his Microsoft Word account. He didn’t explain further why his brother’s profile and name continued to be on his computer.
“[M]y brother originally set up my Microsoft Word – my brother’s name is Mark Greenburg that is why it says Mark Greenburg as opposed to my name Jann-Michael Greenburg,” stated Jann-Michael.
SUSD's Greenburg's Claims Raise More Questions. Who's really using Jann-Michael Greenburg’s computer? He claims his father created the G-Files, but in a previous school board meeting, he claimed that although his brother's name showed up on the material, he was the actual author. pic.twitter.com/I6eHmRoXAa
Nearly 50 parents and political opponents were targeted in the dossier, which reads like opposition research (“oppo research” for short) – a practice of gathering intelligence on political opponents. Folders were either given the names of their subjects, themes of where they fell in his mind (such as “crazy” or “faith-based”), or musings of what kinds of action the creator could take with their contents: for example, “false and defamatory” follows after the names of some parents.
This wouldn’t be Mark’s first foray into conducting oppo research and attacks against Jann-Michael’s political enemies. According to AZ Central, Mark created a parody website and Twitter account in 2018 for previous SUSD Governing Board President Barbara Perleberg. At the time, Jann-Michael was running to join the board; Perleberg wasn’t a candidate. Jann-Michael defended the website, and criticized Perleberg for initially pursuing a defamation lawsuit against his father.
That would count as the second instance of shared computer activity. According to a court subpoena, Mark’s computer was also used to purchase the website for Jann-Michael’s campaign. Yet, Mark denied both purchasing the website for and being involved in his son’s campaign.
That parody website is still active, though the Twitter account was deleted. In fact, it appears that Mark (or another individual granted access to the site) continued to post on the blog after Jann-Michael’s election; the latest post was published August 2020.
YIKES: Here's the father of Scottsdale Unified school board president Jann-Michael Greenburg, secretly taking bodycam footage of parents on school property and saying he hired a "private investigator who is writing down all their [license] plates." pic.twitter.com/CXt5dJDtKg
Mark’s latest creation, the dossier, went into great detail. Beyond collections of political Facebook posts, Mark collected records of nursing licenses, divorces, mortgages, family trees, bankruptcies, civil and criminal charges, and a slew of other personal information. It appears that Mark went so far as to file a complaint against one nurse for opposing masks, according to a screenshot. He also included pictures and videos of the children of his perceived political opposition. Mark made sure to note in one file name that the wife of one of his political opponents had an elementary school student. The associated picture was from a social media post highlighting the child’s disability.
Parents and children weren’t the only targets: acclaimed black conservative radio host James T. Harris appeared in the dossier. Harris’s picture with children outside a school board meeting was included, as well as a video he’d posted. Harris addressed his inclusion in a video on Wednesday, likening the dossier to another incident recently uncovered in Chandler where Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) board members coordinated with police to address parents against masks.
“Today on my radio show I found out how deep this thing goes,” said Harris. “Why do these school board members feel the necessity to get information on tax-paying citizens. All we want to do is make sure that our kids are being taught, […] that our kids aren’t being indoctrinated.”
One of the mothers targeted, Amy Carney, called for Jann-Michael’s resignation. A mother of six, Carney is also running for a seat on SUSD’s governing board in 2022.
“I am calling for the immediate resignation of our board president Jann-Michael Greenburg,” asserted Carney. “We cannot allow anyone in a leadership position to secretly compile personal documents and information on moms and dads who have dared speak out publicly or on social media about their grievances with the district.”
Another mother, Heather Rooks, was in complete shock upon discovering the dossier.
“Calls into question: who the real domestic terrorists are here?” said Rooks. “I didn’t know anything about this until late last night. Me and my husband looked it over. It was pretty shocking to see that much information on a file about multiple parents… I wouldn’t even know where to begin because I’m still processing it. I get it, with people who are running for school boards now, but this is completely different. This is parents and their kids, background information, very personal stuff that is all shared on the file. What was he planning on doing with it? What purpose does this serve, to go after parents who are concerned for their kids?”
After the Greenburgs were confronted about the dossier, reports show that someone changed accessibility from public to private. SUSD confirmed in an email to parents on Wednesday that Mark was behind the dossier. They also assured parents that their privacy would be protected.
The dossier does have one other direct tie to Jann-Michael: a PDF download of an email sent to Jann-Michael’s SUSD email account through Outlook, a web app often used by professionals and organizations for email and file storage. The PDF download identified Jann-Michael as the original source – all of the emails and links are clickable, which occurs when an email is downloaded as a PDF from Outlook. The bottom of the PDF also shows the source as this link, https://mail.susd.org/owa/#path=/mail/inbox, which is an SUSD professional email account.
Legal experts say that the dossier may be a violation of Arizona’s Parents Bill of Rights. In a statement, lawyer Alexander Kolodin explained that even Jann-Michael’s tacit consent of certain personal items in the dossier such as those obtained through Mark’s bodycam video would pose a violation.
“These allegations are deeply troubling, especially as concerns the photography of a minor child without parental consent and the taking down of license plate numbers of parents who Mr. Greenberg supposedly perceived as political opponents. Mr. Greenberg is an elected member of the school board. If such a photograph was taken with his express or tacit consent, he would potentially be liable for violations of Arizona’s Parents’ Bill of Rights, which recognizes a parent’s “fundamental” right to consent before the government makes a video or voice recording of the minor child. In addition, it has been reported that Mr. Greenberg’s father undertook these acts while he kept his face hidden under a helmet and was wearing motorcycle gear. Both Arizona and the federal government have laws prohibiting both intimidation generally and voter intimidation in particular such as ARS Titles 13 and 16, the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, the Civil Rights Act of 1957, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. If these allegations are true, Mr. Greenberg and his father might be liable for violating one or more of these laws – though it is difficult to say from the limited facts that have been reported and they must, of course, be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.“
The dossier also included multiple uncategorized bodycam videos recorded by Mark doing various things: eating in a cafe, riding his motorcycle, and even waiting outside a school board meeting. In one video, Mark adjusted his motorcycle gear with his helmet on.
The incognito Mark then walks into a kitchen, where Jann-Michael is seen eating at a table; he looks up at Mark and says “Hi, Dad.” The conversation that follows sounded like Mark and Jann-Michael were talking about legal strategy about a parent.
“We can file a verified complaint,” said Mark. “In other words, like it would start out with her allegation about Frank Graham saying, ‘Of course this isn’t true.’ She messaged Frank Graham.”
“Why not just go solely on the complaint that she filed?” asked Jann-Michael.
“That’s in her letter,” said Mark. “Way before that are her statements about how she’s, like, doing anything she can do to, like, ruin you.”
Jann-Michael received a law degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He passed the New York Bar upon returning to the U.S., and assumed a position as Director of Legal Services at an international music licensing firm based in Arizona: Tresona, the company his father chairs.
In one screen recording of a parent advocacy Facebook group, Mark and Jann-Michael were recorded discussing what Mark was doing. Mark explained that he was recording Facebook parent commentary on Jann-Michael’s critics and political opponents.
“I’m making a movie, a screen movie for you,” explained Mark.
Jann-Michael doesn’t question why. That’s consistent with his other responses to Mark’s actions against political opponents. Jann-Michael hasn’t questioned why his father would create the dossier. He’s only categorically denied his involvement.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Invest in Arizona, a campaign to have voters overturn three Senate bills via a ballot referendum, failed a signature review for at least one of their efforts in their three-prong approach: the ballot to overturn SB1783. The Secretary of State’s attorney, Spencer Sharff, shared this information during oral arguments Friday in the case Arizona Free Enterprise Club, et al. v. Katie Hobbs, et al. (CV2021-011491). The campaign reportedly turned in over 123,500 signatures, but only 100,300 were valid. Signature reviews for the other two are underway.
Invest in Arizona characterized SB1783 as a “direct attack” on Prop 208, the ballot initiative passed last year to accrue more educational funds by imposing an additional 3.5 percent surcharge on taxpayers with an annual income over $250,000 for those filing individually or $500,000 filing jointly.
“It gives wealthy individuals a new loophole to use to avoid paying taxes,” claimed Invest in Arizona.
A ruling is pending in the case, which named both Invest in Arizona and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs as defendants. The plaintiff, Arizona Free Enterprise Club, argued that Invest in Arizona’s referendum would violate the state constitution.
“The Arizona Constitution even provides that legislative actions ‘for the support and maintenance of the departments of state government and state institutions’ may not be the subject of a referendum,” asserted the group. “And as our complaint contends, these provisions ‘provide for, and directly relate to, the generation of revenues that are remitted to the general fund and appropriated to various agencies, departments and instrumentalities of the state government.’ That means they are not referable. It also means that [Hobbs] must refuse to accept for filing, verification, or certification any petition in support of these three referendums.”
As AZ Free News reported, out-of-state donors gave millions to Invest in Arizona. One of their principal donors, the National Education Association (NEA), donated over $2.4 million, $30,000 of which Invest in Arizona refunded. The NEA has come under fire by its state associations and the nation at large after it submitted a letter to the Biden Administration requesting parents and community members protesting or getting involved in school board operations be investigated for domestic terrorism.
Just days later, the Biden Administration heeded the NEA’s request. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo directing the FBI and local agencies to investigate the NEA’s claims. It appears that the NEA was comfortable with reaching out for Garland’s assistance: they submitted formal letters of endorsement on behalf of his appointment earlier this year.
“This is a complex issue, it’s a systemic issue, and so [Attorney General Merrick Garland] wants to bring the best thinking in terms of how to resolve it,” says NEA President @BeckyPringle
In August, the Arizona Supreme Court found that the majority of Prop 208 was “likely unconstitutional,” but remanded the case to a lower court. The justices determined that the constitutionality of the proposition wouldn’t be evident until revenue is accrued: that is, if Prop 208 exceeds the state constitution’s limits on education spending. If the trial court agrees with the supreme court’s assessment, then Prop 208 would be struck down.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
