On January 29, Governor Katie Hobbs appointed Appellate Court Judge Maria Elena Cruz to fill the vacancy of Supreme Court Justice Robert Brutinel. Brutinel announced his retirement in 2024. Cruz emphasized her understanding of those “marginalized because of their color or their gender.”
In a news conference on Wednesday Hobbs told reporters, “I prioritized an appointee who is not only eminently qualified, but also someone who reflects our state and who is committed to making our legal system work for everyday people,” according to AZCentral. “Of course, I was focused on credentials and experience, but also, on appointing a justice who will uplift those who need it most.”
As an attorney, she has argued before municipal, state, and federal courts, and been both a defender and a prosecutor.
Cruz highlighted her heritage while standing with her family during the conference saying, “For many, this day is long overdue. And so today, we celebrate. We celebrate that Arizonans will look at their highest court and see a group that looks more like them.”
She told reporters that she has a “deep respect and loyalty for the rule of law, but also, a perspective that is informed by growing up, living, raising a family and working in rural Arizona.” She also said that she has, “a personal understanding of challenges faced by those who are marginalized because of their color or their gender.”
Hobbs also stressed Cruz as “a Justice who gives a voice to working class people in every corner of our state,” adding the dimension of a class-based distinction to her appointment decision as well.
Appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals in 2017 by then-Governor Doug Ducey, Judge Cruz ruled against the Republican-led Arizona Senate, forcing the release of several sealed records related to audit of the 2020 election returns with the Florida company Cyber Ninjas. The court found that Cyber Ninjas, despite being a third party, was compelled to turn over documentation on how the recount audit was being conducted while it was still underway.
Cruz wrote for the three-judge panel, “Allowing the legislature to disregard the clear mandate of the (public records law) would undermine the integrity of the legislative process and discourage transparency, which contradicts the purpose of both the immunity doctrine and the (law),” according to NBC News. She added, “The requested records are no less public records simply because they are in the possession of a third party, Cyber Ninjas.”
As reported by AZCentral, Cruz noted on her application for the role that she officiated same-sex marriages in Yuma County once they became legal after two justices of the peace refused to do so. She wrote, “I had to stand up … for the law and, regardless of the threat of potential backlash at the polls, I officiated over the first same-sex wedding in our county.” She added, “I always said that any decision I made could be the beginning of the end. A good judge should always be faithful to the law no matter the personal risk.”
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen has formally announced his interest in running for State Attorney General and ousting Democrat incumbent AG Kris Mayes in 2026.
Petersen filed his statement of interest with the State of Arizona on last week, and the effort to gather signatures for his nomination has begun according to reporting from KJZZ. Petersen, who has been consistently critical of Mayes’ performance as AG, has regularly opposed her in litigation in his capacity as Senate President, supporting legislation challenged by the AG on largely political grounds.
He has also stepped in to defend state laws that Mayes has refused to defend in good faith, a core tenet of her role as Attorney General, and described her as an “activist.”
“We have been defending laws she has not. Not only have we done our job but hers as well,” Petersen told KJZZ via text.
In a statement reported by AZCentral, Petersen said, “Voters have delivered a message: they want legislators and top law enforcement officials to secure the border and make our neighborhoods safer. They want someone who will abide by and enforce our laws. Unfortunately, we have an activist Attorney General who has blatantly failed to enforce our laws.”
In an op-ed published by AZ Free News in December, Attorney Steve Twist and Phoenix radio host & Claremont Institute Senior Fellow Seth Leibsohn offered a fulsome endorsement of Petersen writing, “Whether as Judiciary Chairman, or now as Senate President; time and time again, he has demonstrated the ability, courage, and leadership to put Arizona first and fight for its interests, whether at the legislature, or in the courts. In many ways, for the last two years, Petersen has been the moral voice for justice in our legal affairs. Now is the right time for him to run to become the actual Attorney General.”
Incredible endorsement from respected lawyer and former Assistant Attorney General Steve Twist and conservative radio show host Seth Leibsohn.
At their behest and that of many in the legal community I have taken the first step to run for AG. Yesterday I filed a statement of…
In a post to X announcing his intent to run, Petersen wrote, “Incredible endorsement from respected lawyer and former Assistant Attorney General Steve Twist and conservative radio show host Seth Leibsohn. At their behest and that of many in the legal community I have taken the first step to run for AG. Yesterday I filed a statement of interest.”
According to AZCentral, former Democrat and 2022 GOP Primary candidate Rodney Glassman has also filed a statement of interest for the 2026 race, and Duwayne Collier of the Green Party has as well.
Congressman Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) announced the reintroduction of a bill to rollback and nullify Biden administration policies that flew in the face of the sovereignty of native American property owners and tribal governments.
The congressman explained the need for this corrective measure, saying in a press release, “Secretary Haaland and President Biden engaged in selective sovereignty driven by extremists with no concern for Navajo interests or the energy needs of all Americans.”
He continued, “I’m proud to reintroduce this bill that would invalidate the Biden admin’s meddlesome ban. Together, with the Trump Administration, I’m confident we will be able to advance tribal interests, unleashing energy sovereignty and prosperity.”
The bill was drafted in reaction to a 2023 Public Land Order that banned the resource development of 336,404.42 acres of federal mineral estate surrounding the Chaco Canyon National Historical Park until 2043, barring Navajo citizens allotted the land from profiting from any possible mineral leases.
At the time, Navajo Nation Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley said, “The Navajo Nation attempted to compromise by proposing a 5-mile buffer as opposed to the 10-mile,” as reported by Cactus Politics. However, she continued, “The Biden Administration has undermined the position of the Navajo Nation with today’s action and impacted the livelihood of thousands of Navajo allotment owners and their families.”
Rep. @EliCrane_CEO has introduced legislation reversing a Biden Administration ban on mineral leasing land in Chaco Canyon, allowing the Navajo Nation to invest in energy development.
The Energy Opportunities for All Act would nullify and negate Public Land Order No. 7923, thereby declaring the restrictive order to “have no force or effect.”
During the 117th Congress, the House Committee on Natural Resources voted to bring the bill to the floor in a bipartisan decision after Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren offered his testimony in committee. Nygren said, “I appreciate Rep. Eli Crane for introducing this piece of legislation. The Navajo Nation continues to be an energy-producing tribal Nation. I support the Navajo people having a say in how their land and minerals are developed. In this case, the Navajo allottees have an important right to have their voices heard.”
Politico reported Friday that the Navajo Nation is also pursuing a route through the courts to fight the Biden administration’s action through a lawsuit filed in New Mexico Federal Court.
In the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court, the Navajo Nation argued, “From the very beginning of this process, Defendants have single-mindedly pursued an exact ten-mile buffer without sufficient analysis or explanation of why that particular number was chosen or how it relates the actual topography and geology of the landscape or the location of the Chacoan sites.”
The tribal leaders went on to allege that the Department of the Interior, under the previous administration, made the controversial decision without consultation from the tribe’s members to address the economic consequences to communities already beset by financial struggle.
In a recent report, the Common Sense Institute of Arizona (CSI) addressed the gradual slowing of enrollment in Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program and traditional public school classrooms. The report shows that despite narratives for one or the other, the decline in both can be explained quite directly as a matter of demographics and parental choice.
In a press release issued Monday, CSI explained, “Headlines about declining enrollment and the subsequent financial struggles this creates in Arizona’s public schools have caught the state’s attention. However, CSI’s data shows this shift was inevitable, driven by dramatic demographic changes and a shift in enrollment preferences during the pandemic.”
Among CSI’s findings, it found that the school-age population of Arizona peaked in 2021 and is projected to decrease by 40,000 by 2028, heavily impacting an educational system which was structurally predicated on the assumption of a continually growing population.
CSI added, “The 2012 kindergarten cohort—the state’s largest ever—is now preparing to graduate. Future K-12 enrollment is not expected to grow in the foreseeable future.”
Arizona’s Public School Enrollment Decline: No Surprise
CSI research shows Arizona’s K-12 demographic shift has been years in the making: 📉 School-aged population peaked in 2021 🎓 The largest kindergarten class (2012) is now preparing to graduate 👶 By 2028, the school-aged… pic.twitter.com/u5rbGnVLFp
— Common Sense Institute Arizona (@CSInstituteAZ) January 28, 2025
CSI observed further that during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Arizona’s public schools lost 50,000 enrolled students from 2020-2021. Only 18,000 of those students re-enrolled in charter schools with the remaining approximate 32,000 otherwise unaccounted for. It is likely that this number presents a combination of expanded home schooling, relocation out of Arizona, and even enrollment in private schools. Indeed, the report indicates that private school enrollment spiked by 33% over that period with homeschooling experiencing a surge from 2% of the total student population to 11%, and settling back to 6% as of today.
Glenn Farley, CSI Arizona’s Director of Policy and Research summarized, “Arizona’s classrooms are entering a new era. The numbers have been clear for years: the system built for growth has reached its peak. Moving forward, policymakers must adapt to a smaller, more diverse student population and rethink how we allocate resources.”
Arizona’s Public School Enrollment Decline is No Surprise According to the Common Sense Institute Arizona–
— Common Sense Institute Arizona (@CSInstituteAZ) January 28, 2025
The CSI report noted the effect on budgetary considerations has been extreme. “Declining public school enrollments since 2020 reduced public K-12 funding formula costs by an estimated $450 million/year, and growing, compared to pre-pandemic trends. Since last year, the universal ESA program has returned these ‘missing kids’ to the public K-12 rolls – reinvesting prior ‘savings’ into education.”
The ESA, a subject of controversy in the state legislature, has reached a “steady state” according to CSI, with the recent period of rapid growth unlikely to be repeated and future increases owing almost exclusively to parental and student choice.
CSI concluded, “Demographic changes likely mean fewer school-aged children and lower overall enrollment across Arizona’s publicly funded K-12 options over the next ten years. And ultimately it is this demographic change, and pandemic-era changes in parental behavior that are changing K-12 in Arizona – and not-so-much universal ESA itself.”
As previously reported by AZ Free News, Governor Katie Hobbs’ repeated attacks on ESAs have centered primarily on the narrative of the program alternately being “rife with waste, fraud and abuse,” being costly to the state budget, and calling for a repeal of the popular program.
The City of Glendale is moving forward with its Veteran’s Transitional Housing Project. Through the approval of an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Maricopa County Human Services Department (MCHSD), it will jointly develop a transitional housing project to assist homeless or at-risk veterans on land near 63rd Avenue and Grand Ave. The city will be working in partnership with the Veterans Community Project (VCP) to see the project through.
According to a city press release, Mayor Weiers hailed the City Council’s approval saying, “I am grateful that my fellow councilmembers recognize the severe needs of our veterans. This project is just one of many that the city is working on to improve the lives of the people we serve daily.”
He added, “As most folks know, military personnel and veterans have always been a top priority to me; combined with veteran homelessness, this project is something all our councilmembers support. By partnering with Veterans Community Project, we are able to take on these top priorities while working with a nationally renowned veteran-serving organization.”
“I look forward to seeing veterans going through this program to become self-reliant again, and more importantly be able to hold their chest out and feel good about themselves.”
As reported by ABC15, the VCP has already partnered with multiple cities across the country to construct veterans’ villages comprised of mini-homes and community spaces to accommodate the veterans in need.
The organization announced in a post to X.com that it expects to break ground on February 1st at the site adjacent to VFW Post 1433 on 63rd Ave. in Glendale. The development will include housing for single veterans and families with fifty units ranging in size from 240 to 360 square feet.
Big news! Our mission to fix Veteran homelessness across the United States is taking a big step forward on February 1 as we break ground on Veterans Community Project of Glendale in Arizona. pic.twitter.com/2t3Pmt1wgC
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers said in an article published by KTAR, “After bravely serving our country, it is a shame that our veterans often exit service only to face challenges like not being able to afford housing.”
“By offering support and transitional housing options, we can help these selfless men and women more easily reintegrate into civilian life and provide stability for their families.”
As reported by the outlet, the board approved $3 million in funding to help defray the costs of the project. The City of Glendale has allocated $3.8 million and the State of Arizona has set aside another $3.2 million in funds. Overall the Intergovernmental Agreement earmarked a sum of $14.2 million from all stakeholders.
