Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes reportedly hasn’t received updated felony reports from the federal government for about a year, but the Department of Justice (DOJ) says it has provided them.
Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap stated in a press release on Thursday that he learned the reports were available after contacting the DOJ. Heap said Fontes has refused to provide these reports for a year. As a result, county recorders are reportedly missing three quarterly reports containing up-to-date data on ineligible voters.
Heap said he was “disappointed” by Fontes’ decision to misrepresent the status of the reports.
“As the County Recorder for Arizona’s most populated county, I am disappointed that Secretary Fontes would gamble the trust of Arizona voters on a lie,” said Heap. “Arizona is missing at least three full quarters of felony data and voter ineligibility due to Secretary Fontes’ failure to follow the law.”
Heap also reported that the DOJ advised him that it had issued its second quarter federal felony report for 2026 to Fontes on Thursday.
“I am calling on Secretary Fontes to produce the missing reports immediately, so that Recorders can do their job and ensure integrity on our voter rolls,” said Heap.
Rather than focus on giving county recorders the data they need to locate those who need to be removed from the voter rolls, Fontes has focused his efforts on addressing the Trump administration’s recent initiative to purge voter rolls of unlawful voters.
This week, Fontes submitted a letter to the Arizona District Attorney’s Office addressing “troubling allegations” from a whistleblower that the Unlawful Voter Initiative, the federal government’s new initiative to identify and remove unlawful voters, was granting unauthorized access to voter registration information.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Citizenship and Immigration Services were cited as partners in the initiative. These agencies coordinate to cross-reference voter rolls with immigrant databases.
As the Attorney General of Arizona and the Arizona Secretary of State, we are charged with protecting the personal identifying information of Arizonans.
Today, we jointly sent the undersigned letter to U.S. Attorney Courchaine regarding troubling allegations that the federal… pic.twitter.com/Ar0OODb7N8
District Attorney Timothy Courchaine responded on Friday that the federal government was not violating privacy laws, citing the Supreme Court’s Friday decision in DHS v. League of Women Voters permitting DHS to request and receive citizenship status information.
“By prohibiting interference with the disclosure of information regarding citizenship status to DHS — ‘[n]otwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law’ — Congress necessarily authorized DHS to request and receive that information,” stated the ruling. “It is improbable that Congress intended to place officials in such a bind when it passed the [Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996].”
President Donald Trump issued an executive order last March directing DHS to grant every state and local official responsible for voter registration systems with free access to federal citizenship and immigration status verification systems.
U.S. Attorney Tim Courchaine's response to concerns raised by Attorney General Mayes and Secretary of State Fontes earlier this week about Arizona voter registration information. pic.twitter.com/nNNTH88IOa
DHS praised the ruling as supportive of a new safeguard for American elections.
“This decision is a victory for election integrity,” said DHS General Counsel James Percival. “It’s remarkable that we had to file an emergency petition in the Supreme Court just so we can use government data to stop noncitizens from voting illegally. American elections are for Americans. The Trump Administration and the Department of Homeland Security will use every tool at our disposal to secure our elections.”
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Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes secured an internship for the son of one of her campaign donors who was also behind Wednesday’s debate, new records revealed.
Mayes’ campaign aide arranged for the son of Tim Riester, a donor, to receive an internship this past summer following a request from Riester, according to records reported by The California Globe.
Riester is the founder and CEO of RIESTER, an advertising and public relations firm with operations in Los Angeles, California and Park City, Utah in addition to Arizona.
Riester donated nearly $1,400 over two installments to the Mayes campaign. Riester asked Grace Forster, a campaign aide, about an internship for his son, Jim Riester, allegedly promised to him by Mayes herself the day after he made his second donation.
“When I was with Kris at her event on November 18th, she met my son Finn who is in law school and offered him an internship with the AG’s office this summer,” wrote Riester in an email to Forster.
Forster forwarded Riester’s email to several undisclosed recipients, then followed up days later on the internship request in an email to Mayes and multiple members of Mayes’ office: Bill Mundell, chief deputy attorney general; Emily McConnico, executive assistant; and Delaney Corcoran, who was Mayes’ deputy communications manager at the time and is now her campaign manager.
Mundell responded to Forster with a promise that an officer member would contact Riester. His son interned with Mayes’ Tobacco Enforcement Unit over the summer.
Riester was one of the principal partners behind Wednesday’s debate between Mayes and her Republican opponent, Senate President Warren Petersen.
Riester took over as a contractor for Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission (CCEC) candidate debates in January 2024 alongside the Arizona Media Association after CCEC parted ways with Arizona PBS.
During the pandemic, Riester achieved significant public attention as one of the principal creative minds behind Arizona’s COVID-19 campaign advising masks under the direction of former Gov. Doug Ducey in 2020, according to reporting from the Arizona Mirror. The state spent somewhere around $3 million on the campaign. Riester gave $10,000 to Ducey’s reelection campaign in 2018, though a vast majority of his thousands in donations to state-level and federal-level candidates in recent years have gone to Democrats.
Last year, Riester and his wife, Mirja, also donated $11,000 to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, the Democratic incumbent, and $1,000 to Nick Mansour, Democratic candidate for Arizona State Treasurer.
The pair also donated $10,800 to Gov. Katie Hobbs’ reelection campaign in October 2024. Mirja donated $10,000 to ActBlue Arizona and $10,000 to the Arizona Democratic Party in December 2022.
Last June, KJZZ interviewed Riester on President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Riester dismissed the “Made in America” movement as rooted in white prejudice, not patriotism.
“The first documented usage was in [1800s] San Francisco, in the cigar industry, and Americans were concerned because of the mass immigration of Chinese residents who were moving to the United States. And they were afraid they were going to be able to make the products much more quickly and inexpensively,” said Riester. “So they created a label that, really, was about prejudice. It was a white label, and it meant that the cigars were made by white people instead of by Chinese people. And that evolved into the Made in America brand that over the years we’ve seen used periodically.”
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Years after losing a primary election to State Rep. Walt Blackman (R-LD7), Steve Slaton is still finding ways to challenge him — even if it means deriding Black Americans as “apes” on social media.
Blackman issued a press release on Friday calling on his fellow elected officials and community leaders to condemn the rhetoric.
“Depicting Black Americans as apes and portraying an entire race as a societal problem is racist and dehumanizing. Leaders should have no difficulty saying so,” said Blackman. “Political considerations must never become an excuse for tolerating racial degradation. Our children are learning from what adults say and what leaders tolerate. They deserve to see courage expressed through respect for others and a willingness to speak when silence would be easier.”
I once served under a Army Command Sergeant Major who drilled one lesson into his soldiers:
“Choose the hard right over the easy wrong.”
I challenge my colleagues to live by that wisdom. Leadership demands the courage to do what is right—even when it comes at a political cost. pic.twitter.com/W78hYxlKd3
— Chairman Walt Blackman LD7 Representative (@BlackmanForAZ) September 25, 2026
Slaton’s social media posts in recent months have characterized Blackman and other Black Americans as “North American Pavement Ape[s]” who are a “problem” for the country.
Slaton unsuccessfully challenged Blackman in the Republican primary for the Legislative District 7 seat in the 2024 election. During that messy primary, the Navajo County GOP discovered evidence that Slaton was committing stolen valor.
Slaton claimed to be a decorated combat veteran who served in the Vietnam War, but service records reflect that he enlisted after the war. Slaton reportedly provided an altered DD-214, the official government discharge papers reflecting a service member’s military service, to portray himself as an attack pilot and Special Forces member.
Slaton initially defended his false claims of military service but has since deleted that commentary.
“I am a Vietnam combat veteran – no left wing smear campaign will ever deny that fact. These people doing this are doing to me what the liberals did to my fellow Vietnam veterans decades ago when they returned – spitting on them and mocking them,” said Slaton.
Slaton lost that primary, but he didn’t quit the race. He issued advertisements seeking voter support as a write-in candidate for the November 2024 ballot. Arizona law prohibits primary election losers from qualifying as write-in candidates in a general election.
The 2024 showdown between Slaton and Blackman was years in the making. Blackman unsuccessfully sought an injunction against Slaton in court in 2023, alleging Slaton had harassed him, his family, his donors, and his legislative staff for more than six years.
After winning the election, Blackman introduced the Stolen Valor Act to make it a criminal offense in Arizona to impersonate a veteran for benefits. That act passed the legislature and was signed into law in April 2025.
Slaton then turned around and accused Blackman of stolen valor.
In social media posts last fall, Slaton and his wife, Karen MacKean-Slaton, accused Blackman of lying about receiving a Bronze Star Medal with valor designation. Military records confirm that Blackman did receive a Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service during Operation Iraqi Freedom II; Blackman denies that he ever claimed to have received the individual valor designation with that award.
Blackman sued Slaton last December for defamation.
Slaton returned the favor with a lawsuit of his own that sought to disqualify Blackman from the ballot.
Slaton sued Blackman over unpaid fees for late or missing campaign finance reports.
The 17 most recent campaign finance reports due for the Committee to Elect Walt Blackman are late and have not been filed. These missing reports range from 51 to 1,624 days late, beginning with this most recent post-primary election report due in August all the way back to the 2022 – Quarter 1 report due in April 2022. Blackman’s candidate committee is currently suspended.
Only six of the absent campaign finance reports reflect fines incurred. Blackman currently owes more than $221,000 in late fines for these missing reports.
On Blackman’s other campaign finance profile, six reports were filed anywhere from one to 14 days late but are not missing. All six have late fines due, totaling $310.
The Maricopa County Superior Court quickly dismissed Slaton’s case due to procedural defects.
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Wednesday night’s debate between the Democratic and Republican candidates for Arizona attorney general grew heated, with outbursts from the incumbent and repeated accusations of lies and coverups.
Attorney General Kris Mayes, the incumbent and Democratic nominee, initially focused on presenting herself as apolitical.
Mayes emphasized her prosecutions of fraud, waste, and abuse in the state’s Medicaid and school choice programs. She explained away the disproportionate number of lawsuits she’s filed against the Trump administration as justified, claiming that the actions of the Biden administration didn’t warrant lawsuits.
“Whether it was a Republican president or a Democratic president, our criteria is the same: has the Constitution been violated? Has the state been harmed?” said Mayes. “And that has happened all too often over the past two years.”
I’ve prosecuted Democrats and Republicans alike for crimes and corruption, and I don’t care what someone’s party is when it comes to enforcing the law. I removed from office and prosecuted a Democratic county attorney in the most Democratic county in AZ for alleged corruption. I…
Senate President Warren Petersen, the Republican nominee, focused on Mayes’ controversial administration of the office, and accused her of focusing office resources on political lawfare.
“Kris Mayes is the most political and partisan AG that this state has ever had,” said Petersen. “She’s got [more than] 50 lawsuits against her political opponents. She has weaponized the office.”
One of the sponsors for the debate was Riester, whose CEO Tim Riester secured an internship in Mayes’ office this summer for his son after contributing to her campaign, as reported by The California Globe on Thursday.
Most Heated Points of the Debate
Mayes interrupted Petersen multiple times during the debate.
One interruption came when Petersen brought up that Mayes hired Vanessa Daily (Hickman), her former division chief who committed felony mail theft, despite warnings from the city of Peoria, her prior employer, about allegations against Hickman of fraud, conversion, and breach of fiduciary duty.
“Her office is in total disarray,” said Petersen. “Mayes was warned about a specific hire, red flags. She hired her anyway as her division chief. That hire ended up committing a felony.”
Mayes immediately jumped in with a demand that she be allowed to provide a response while Petersen still had time remaining to speak.
“Am I going to get a rebuttal for this?” said Mayes. “This is outrageous.”
Mayes again interrupted Petersen when he alluded to reports that she “is known for having meltdowns” to include “yelling, screaming, pounding her fist on the table, shouting the ‘F’ word” in office. Petersen read a statement from one witness to her behavior. Mayes accused Petersen of making false and defamatory statements.
“This is outrageous. I can’t believe you’re allowing this to be aired,” said Mayes.
Following the debate, however, Mayes admitted to a press gaggle that what Petersen said was true — she has engaged in that behavior while in office.
“If I’m passionate about something? Yeah,” said Mayes. “Do I, you know, drop an F-bomb every once in a while? I do. I’m passionate about protecting the funds that the people of Arizona deserve.”
Mayes looked straight into the camera and lied about this at the debate. What else is she lying to us about. Disturbing to see an AG this corrupt and dishonest. https://t.co/T389LH3cSV
Mayes also went over her time, shouting over moderators to blame Petersen for her unsuccessful lawsuit to stop opioid settlement funds from being taken from her office to cover budget shortfalls, something to which Gov. Katie Hobbs, a fellow Democrat, agreed. The reallocated funds were given to the Department of Corrections to assist individuals impacted by opioids.
On Supporting Law Enforcement
Mayes and Petersen each claimed that they were more supportive of law enforcement than the other. Mayes claimed to have “great relationships” with federal law enforcement agencies.
Petersen has received the endorsement of every law enforcement organization in the state, whereas Mayes has received none.
For the first time in AZ history, a challenger to the sitting AG has the overwhelming support from law enforcement. As your next attorney general I will fight crime, defend the laws and the Constitution and root out fraud, waste and corruption. pic.twitter.com/wDXRHpFDom
Mayes said Petersen voted against increased burial benefits for widows of fallen officers, and accused her opponent of putting forth a ballot initiative, HCR 2040, to prevent collective bargaining for first responders.
Petersen countered that HCR 2040 had “nothing to do” with first responders. The proposed constitutional amendment would have prohibited school districts from using public funds to support union operations; a court struck down the ballot proposition over the summer.
Petersen referenced Mayes’ recent remarks issued in January, when she advised Arizonans that they have a legal justification to shoot certain law enforcement officers.
“[The] law says that if you reasonably believe your life is in danger and you’re in your house or your car or on your property that you could defend yourself with lethal force,” said Mayes.
In response, Mayes’ law enforcement liaison resigned. Both the Arizona House and Senate called on Mayes to resign from office, an unprecedented action that the legislature had never taken prior to Mayes. Gov. Hobbs broke party rank and condemned Mayes for her remarks.
On Immigrant Enforcement
Mayes said she wants deportations to end and instead would like to require immigration enforcement to work on cartel cases. Mayes clarified that she doesn’t support illegal immigration.
“I think we need ICE to go back to what it normally does, which is to help state AGs go after Mexican drug cartels,” said Mayes. “Arizonans don’t believe in mass deportation, they believe in immigration enforcement.”
Petersen, whose wife immigrated legally from Mexico, said he supports legal immigration and opposes illegal immigration because it renders illegal aliens vulnerable to crime.
“We know this nation was built and strengthened by people who came here the right way,” said Petersen. “When someone enters into the country illegally, they become vulnerable to human traffickers and criminal organizations.”
Mayes claimed that Petersen supported deportations for Dreamers: illegal aliens residing in the country on deferred deportation who entered the country illegally as minors. When Petersen responded that was untrue, Mayes interrupted him to claim he had made that statement.
Petersen said that those who are here illegally in the country shouldn’t be surprised if they are deported, not that they should be deported.
Petersen said the community members should have input on the establishment and expansion of immigration detention centers, including the recent $1.2 billion expansion plans for the detention center in Florence.
Mayes reminded the public that she successfully sued to stop the Trump administration from establishing a new immigration detention center in Surprise.
On Green Energy
Petersen said his first action in office would be to allow the Arizona Corporation Commission’s (ACC) Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff (REST) Rules to be repealed. The REST Rules require electric utilities to generate 15% of their energy from renewable resources by 2025. Mayes helped to enact those rules while on the ACC and is currently challenging the repeal.
Petersen accused Mayes of imposing green energy rules and approving rate increases under the justification that ratepayers would be willing to pay more to implement renewable energy.
Mayes claimed that her policies passed on the ACC have saved residents money, not cost them more over time.
The REST Rules resulted in more than $2.3 billion being collected via surcharges to customers.
On Data Centers
Petersen said that he supports data centers to a point, but that they need to be governed and decided on by the community.
Mayes backs a moratorium for all data centers. She said utility rate increases were caused by data centers, not renewables as Petersen claimed.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) violated the law with its school closure and consolidation committee, but the county attorney says it’s too late to stop them.
The complaint was filed originally with Attorney General Kris Mayes back in April, claiming that SUSD’s Phase II Design Advisory Team, an advisory committee responsible for coming up with school closure and consolidation options, violated Open Meeting Law because it prohibited the public from attending meetings.
Mayes waited nearly three months to refer the complaint to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO); she cited a conflict of interest as the basis for not taking on the investigation herself.
MCAO told AZ Free News that Mayes didn’t refer the complaint to their office until July 17.
By then, SUSD’s Phase II Design Advisory Team had held all five of its Phase A meetings and three out of five of its Phase B meetings. The final meeting for this illicit advisory committee occurred on August 17.
Since all of the meetings have already occurred, MCAO Deputy County Attorney Caitlyn Mitchell said in a disposition letter on Tuesday that nothing could be done beyond recommending to SUSD that they not recommit a similar Open Meeting Law violation in the future and acknowledge their wrongdoing at the special meeting scheduled to occur that day.
“[I]t is too late to require SUSD to take corrective action concerning future Phase II Team meetings,” stated Mitchell. “MCAO has informed SUSD of its findings and conclusions, recommended that SUSD revise its future use of superintendent appointed committees, and requested that the SUSD Governing Board acknowledge the results of this investigation publicly at the open meeting to discuss the Phase II Team’s recommendations.”
Arizona law requires any legal action taken in a meeting that violates Open Meeting Law to be rendered null and void, unless ratification occurs under certain parameters during a public meeting within 30 days of discovery of the violation.
Non-public advisory committees have been a recurring problem for SUSD. Mayes has previously found SUSD in violation of Open Meeting Law for its use of non-public advisory committees.
During the SUSD special meeting on Tuesday, the governing board didn’t advise the public of the MCAO letter or the fact that the advisory committee responsible for creating the school closure and consolidation options had been conducted in violation of the law. It also stopped the community from making any mention of the letter.
Mike Bengert, the community member who filed the complaint, attempted to speak about the disposition letter during public comment, but Governing Board President Donna Lewis interrupted him.
SUSD counsel Renee Osipov told Bengert that he could only talk about the proposed options for school closures and consolidations.
“We’re not talking about Open Meeting Law. That’s not what we’re agendized to do,” said Osipov.
Lewis had advised at the beginning of the special meeting that public comments not addressing school closure and consolidation options were only permitted for the next meeting scheduled for October 6 — the day that SUSD is anticipated to vote on school closures.
🚨BOMBSHELL: Scottsdale Unified’s school closure committees VIOLATED open meeting law, according to Maricopa County Attorney Office.
Board wrongfully SHUTS DOWN community member announcing findings at public hearing – ANOTHER violation of OML.
