Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) is amping up his energy on fundraising efforts for his 2024 Senate campaign.
As part of his efforts, Gallego is leaning into memes to gin up support. Although embattled Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake hasn’t officially announced a run, Gallego cited Lake as a reason to support his campaign.
Gallego issued his tweet warning about “Senator Kari Lake” a day before Lake revealed to Breitbart that she was considering running to challenge incumbent Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ). However, Lake disclosed that she had a “lot of options” to choose from, though she didn’t offer details as to what those might be.
“I am contemplating running for office again,” said Lake. “I may run for Senate, I’m considering that.”
Lake convened with the U.S. Senate GOP’s campaign team in May to discuss a possible Senate run. The visit was a follow-up to a February meeting with the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Gallego again relied on a meme to issue an end-of-quarter plea for more funding several weeks ago.
POV: it’s EOQ, and it all adds up when we're all chipping in. Let’s win this!https://t.co/QPMeFHJYUz
According to the latest Federal Election Commission (FEC) data through March, Gallego has raised over $3.7 million since January. Only about 2,200 of his 11,818 contributions have come from Arizona, totaling about $500,000.
Top donors include Evan Goldberg, executive vice president for global technology giant Oracle Corporation; Andrew E. Beck III, managing director for global investment giant D.E. Shaw; and George Pla, CEO of construction engineering giant Cordoba Corporation.
Over $7,000, the single-highest donation, came from the Swallego Victory Fund: the joint committee between Gallego and fellow Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA-14).
Gallego also received thousands of dollars in early support from a number of national unions: United Food and Commercial Workers International Union; National Beer Wholesalers Association; National Association of Letter Carriers of U.S.A.; National Air Traffic Controllers Association; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; International Association of Sheet, Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers; International Association of Firefighters Interested in Registration and Education; International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers; International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, and Reinforcing Iron Workers; Communications Workers of America
Gallego also received some support from political action committees (PACs) associated with major corporations: Synchrony Financial, Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, Northrop Grummanm, General Dynamics, and Salt River Valley Water Users’ Association.
Several PACs also issued thousands to Gallego: VoteVets, The Next 50 PAC, and Poet PAC.
Since their inception in 2006, VoteVets brought in over $102.6 million. The Next 50 PAC, registered in 2019 and based out of New York, has brought in over $730,000. Poet PAC, established in 2008 and based out of South Dakota, has brought in over $6.3 million.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Multiple Arizona GOP groups deny involvement in an event featuring controversial right-wing speaker Nick Fuentes that purported to have their sponsorship.
The event, hosted by the Arizona chapter of College Republicans United (CRU), claimed support for the event from the Maricopa County Republican Committee (MCRC), the Maricopa County GOP, Yavapai County GOP, Pima County GOP, expelled State Rep. Liz Harris, State Rep. John Fillmore (R-LD16), Prescott chapter of the John Birch Society, and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
📢 Exciting News! We're thrilled to announce that Nick Fuentes will be joining us at the College Republicans United State/National Convention in Prescott Arizona July 30th! Reserve your tickets today.https://t.co/cxAT9kneDx
— 𝕮ollege 𝕽epublicans 𝖀nited (@National_RU) July 8, 2023
The MCRC stated that it had never authorized, sponsored, or promoted the event in question.
NEVER AUTHORIZED | NEVER SPONSORED | NEVER PROMOTED: The #MCRC never authorized, sponsored, or promoted the upcoming July 30 College Republicans United convention. Any placement of "MCRC" or "Maricopa GOP" etc on anything associated with the CRU event is unauthorized. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/16Ti5T0hmf
— Maricopa County Republican Committee | MCRC (@MaricopaGOP) July 10, 2023
The other featured guest speaker — the January 6 prisoner Jake Angeli-Chansley, more widely known as the American Shaman — also spoke out. Angeli-Chansley claimed that while he accepted the invitation to speak, he wasn’t made aware of Fuentes’ invitation.
“When I agreed to speak at the AZ College Republicans United event I was not aware that I’d be sharing the stage with someone who wants a 16 year old wife,” said Angeli-Chansley. “Should I back out? Or should I do the event & blow this schmuck out of the water & expose a false prophet?”
Ok, to start, WTF? When I agreed to speak at the AZ College Republicans United event I was not aware that I'd be sharing the stage with someone who wants a 16 year old wife. Should I back out? Or should I do the event & blow this schmuck out of the water & expose a false prophet? https://t.co/grYsJrvpKC
— Jake Angeli-Chansley (@AmericaShaman) July 10, 2023
State Rep. Alexander Kolodin (R-LD03) debunked the several GOP groups’ endorsement of the event after speaking with the groups about their alleged support.
“The GOP Committees I have spoken to were surprised to hear about it!” wrote Kolodin. “Whoever is doing this should be treated as a saboteur!”
There is a flyer claiming that @ASU_CRU is hosting a joint event w/ noted POS Nick Fuentes and several county GOP Committees. The GOP Committees I have spoken to were surprised to hear it! Whoever is doing this should be treated as a saboteur! @AriBradshawAZ@AdamKwasman
— Rep. Alexander Kolodin (@realAlexKolodin) July 10, 2023
MCRC Chairman Craig Berland also disputed involvement of MCRC or the Maricopa County GOP in a press release.
Former State Rep. and Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) leader Adam Kwasman reported that the Pima County GOP denied involvement or support as well.
I just got off the phone with Dave Smith, Chair of the Pima County GOP. They knew nothing about the Fuentes event, and they will be issuing a statement shortly.
The GOP group issued their own statement later through Chairman Dave Smith.
“The Pima County Republican Party never authorized nor agreed to sponsor or promote, the Arizona College Republicans United event billed for July 30, 2023,” stated the Pima County GOP. “The Pima County Republican Party holds true to the values of the Republican Party, upholds the principles of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the laws of the state of Arizona and that of our country.”
The Pima County Republican Party never authorized support for or agreed to promote the Arizona College Republicans United event scheduled for July 30th, 2023. Any use of our name or logo was unauthorized. pic.twitter.com/BK8BMKMwv0
— Pima County Republican Party (@RealPimaGOP) July 10, 2023
In response to the backlash, CRU stated that they “love Messianic Jews and all ethnicities who accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.” As of press time, they haven’t followed up their original event announcement with clarification on their inclusion of the GOP groups that dispute their involvement in the event.
We love Messianic Jews and all ethnicities who accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
— 𝕮ollege 𝕽epublicans 𝖀nited (@National_RU) July 10, 2023
Fuentes has advocated for the expulsion of Jewish people from the U.S., and repeatedly pledged his love for Adolf Hitler.
The contested event is part of CRU’s second state and national convention taking place in Prescott.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The Scottsdale legal nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) won a religious freedom case at the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).
SCOTUS ruled 6-3 at the end of June in 303 Creative v. Elenis against Colorado’s anti-discrimination law, Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), as unconstitutional. The law would prohibit a Christian wedding website designer from refusing to create a same-sex wedding website.
The plaintiff, Lorie Smith, holds the Christian belief that marriage exists only between one man and one woman, and contests against the possibility that she either must produce content that “contradicts Biblical truth,” such as same-sex marriages, or cease business.
Ultimately, SCOTUS determined in a majority opinion written by Justice Neil Gorsuch that Smith’s creative expression constituted speech and that CADA therefore violated the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause.
“Ms. Smith’s websites will express and communicate ideas — namely, those that ‘celebrate and promote the couple’s wedding and unique love story’ and those ‘celebrat[e] and promot[e]’ what Ms. Smith understands to be a marriage,” stated Gorsuch.
"This is a victory not just for me, but for all of us. Whether you share my beliefs or disagree with them, free speech is for everyone. And the government shouldn’t force anyone to say something they don’t believe. The Court’s decision means we are all more free today than we… pic.twitter.com/wXHqZgAWL2
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) June 30, 2023
Gorsuch further criticized CADA for its fullest possible outcome: compelling speech of all manners and kinds from any commissioned person if their customer belongs to a CADA-protected class.
“Under Colorado’s logic, the government may compel anyone who speaks for pay on a given topic to accept all commissions on that same topic — no matter the message — if the topic somehow implicates a customer’s statutorily protected trait,” said Gorsuch. “Taken seriously, that principle would allow the government to force all manner of artists, speechwriters, and others whose services involve speech to speak what they do not believe on pain of penalty. The Court’s precedents recognize the First Amendment tolerates none of that.”
Smith does have LGBTQ clients; however, Smith won’t create content that runs counter to her beliefs.
After the SCOTUS ruling, ADF CEO and lead counsel Kristen Waggoner stated that differences of beliefs don’t constitute discrimination.
“Disagreement isn’t discrimination, and the government can’t mislabel speech as discrimination to censor it,” said Waggoner. “As the court highlighted, her decisions to create speech always turn on what message is requested, never on who requests it. [T]he government has never needed to compel speech to ensure access to goods and services.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has rightly reaffirmed that the government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe. The court reiterated that it’s unconstitutional for the state to eliminate from the public square ideas it dislikes, including the belief that marriage is the… https://t.co/9BtiPg0skn
Following the ruling, critics alleged that Smith fabricated a request for a same-sex wedding website after a news article insinuated she did. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser also derided Smith’s complaint as “a made-up case without the benefit of any real facts or customers.” ADF and Smith rejected those claims.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The city of Phoenix plans to send hundreds of unclaimed guns to Ukraine, around 500 to 600 guns, over the next two years.
The Phoenix City Council approved the measure during last week’s formal meeting. The city will give the guns to a private company headquartered in Pennsylvania, D.T. Gruelle, who will then transport them to the National Police of Ukraine. The city will expend nothing for the transfer.
The approximately $200,000 in firearms given to Ukraine will only be 9mm, 45mm, 39mm, and 12 gauge. The firearms transfer agreement is binding for two years: June 28 of this year to June 28, 2025.
However, the gun donation may be unlawful.
Arizona House Judiciary Committee leaders immediately contacted Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego over the arrangement. In a letter, the committee members warned that the gun donation violates state law.
Reps. Quang Nguyen (R-LD01) and Selina Bliss (R-LD01), chair and vice-chair of the committee, urged Gallego to repeal the ordinance.
The lawmakers noted that state law prohibits political subdivisions from enacting any ordinance concerning the possession, sale, transfer, purchase, acquisition, or use of firearms.
The lawmakers also noted that state law doesn’t permit cities or other local governments from disposing of their firearms through donations. Rather, statute permits local governments to either trade the unclaimed firearms to a federal firearms licensed business in exchange for items like ammunition or weapons, or sell the unclaimed firearms to an authorized business who will then sell those firearms to the public.
The pair reminded Gallego of Brnovich v. City of Tucson, in which the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the city of Tucson’s ordinance ordering the destruction of unclaimed firearms conflicted with state law.
It appears that Phoenix’s donated guns may not only go to the National Police of Ukraine, but the citizens themselves.
The company contracted to take the unclaimed guns, D.T. Gruelle, has close ties to the Ukrainian government. Their managing director, Marco Gruelle, sits on the board of Ukrainian Arsenal of Liberty (UAL): a group created by Ukrainian Parliament members for the purpose of arming citizens. Parliament member Maryan Zablotskyy sits on UAL’s board.
Also on UAL’s board are Oleksandr Markushyn, mayor of the city of Irpin, and Ivan Slobodyanyk, chair of the Union of Local Communities and Farmers Union of Ukraine as well as a fighter in the Territorial Defense Force.
According to UAL’s donation brief, they utilized donated and unused guns obtained by American states’ police forces. Unclaimed guns are held by the Phoenix Police Department; as the Arizona Daily Independent first reported, the donation plan didn’t mention tracking measures for the guns once donated.
The company first engaged in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict last February. D.T. Gruelle has provided “critical aid transport” to various conflict zones since 2019.
That same year that D.T. Gruelle began providing conflict zone assistance, it established its 501(c)(3) nonprofit, D.T. Care, which currently provides emergency relief to Ukraine. Marco Gruelle also serves as president of D.T. Care. In its last annual report, issued in 2021, D.T. Care distributed over $361,000 in relief to South Africa, Panama, Lebanon, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, respectively.
D.T. Gruelle was founded in 1982 by Durard Timothy Gruelle, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War who continues to preside over the company today.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) principal serving on the board of a prominent LGBTQ+ activist group has won principal of the year.
Pueblo Elementary School Principal Shelley Hummon won the 2023 National Distinguished Principal (NDP) from the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP). The Arizona School Administrators’ (ASA) Elementary Division selected her to win. Hummon also serves on the board of one-n-ten, a Phoenix-based LGBTQ+ activist group targeting minors and young adults.
We are celebrating @PuebloSUSD Principal Shelley Hummon at the @Arizona_ASA Conference for winning the National Distinguished Principals Award!
— Scottsdale Unified School District (@ScottsdaleUSD) June 13, 2023
As part of the award, Hummon will be flown to Washington, D.C. in October for formal recognition at an NAESP event.
Like one-n-ten, NAESP supports promoting LGBTQ+ ideologies among children. NAESP expanded its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion in recent years to include gender identity and sexual orientation.
In June 2021, NAESP featured another elementary school principal, Seth Daub of Orange County Public Schools, to argue that educators should guide children in LGBTQ+ beliefs.
“When addressing the topic of LGBTQ inclusion at the elementary school level, schools need to exhibit much more than mere tolerance,” wrote Daub. “Educators must make the conscious choice to accept, embrace, and celebrate it, and must do so without question and without hesitation.”
NAESP, like one-n-ten, also opposes the exclusion of males identifying as females from female sports and private spaces.
Another significant one-n-ten board member is Tracy Nadzieja, the first transgender judicial officer in Arizona. Nadzieja, a man who identifies as a woman, has served on the Maricopa County Superior Court bench since 2018. Nadzieja also volunteers with the women’s collegiate fraternity, Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG). (KKG is considered a “women’s fraternity” because it was founded before the creation of the term “sorority.”)
Other one-n-ten board members are:
Rick McCartney (chair), CEO of InMedia Company and board member for the Children’s Museum of Phoenix and Gov. Katie Hobbs’ Workforce Council;
Kris Cano (vice chair), WestWorld general manager and former Scottsdale Police Department forensics director;
Scott Greenwood (treasurer), longtime ACLU general counsel, board member, and executive committee member;
David Cane (secretary), Wag! executive and former Uber program lead;
Cory Braddock, partner at Snell & Wilmer law firm;
Bev Crair, senior vice president for Oracle Corporation;
Calvin Cole, vice president of AmTrust Bank and board member for Terros Health, Keogh Health Foundation, and Boys and Girls Club of the East Valley;
Angie Dittrich, American Express senior manager and lead for the company’s PRIDE+ Colleague Network;
Darryl Embrey, Vanguard senior business technology project manager;
Valdo Figueroa, Wells Fargo senior technology operations manager and formerly Bank of America senior vice president;
Lou Goodman, retired Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections executive and pro tem Maricopa County justice of the peace;
Floyd Hardin III, Rio Salado College’s executive officer of equity and college relations;
Manuel (Manny) Soto-Griego, health information management professional and Arizona Health Information Management Association board member;
Sima Thakkar, Raza Development Fund senior director of health & climate equity, with former roles as regional relationship manager for PetSmart Charities, and manager of the city of San Diego’s Community Development Programs on affordable housing and homelessness;
Judie Verb, U.S. Bank executive vice president, Arizona Council on Economic Education board member, and Government Relations Council member for Consumer Bankers Association;
Nate Rhoton (one-n-ten CEO), chair of the city of Phoenix’s Human Relations Commission, vice chair of Leading for Change, member of Maricopa County Community Colleges’ LGBTQ Advisory to the Chancellor, with former roles as a Human Rights Campaign steering committee member, Greater Phoenix Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce board member, and Equality Arizona board of directors co-chair.
Sponsors of one-n-ten include American Airlines, Cox, SRP, Tito’s Vodka, and Estrella Jalisco.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Governor Katie Hobbs has rejected a request made by 12 of Arizona’s 15 county attorneys to rescind her executive order taking away their authority to enforce abortion law. The county attorneys submitted a letter to the governor on Monday. The county attorneys issued a Friday deadline for her response.
The governor issued an executive order last month stripping county attorneys of their ability to enforce abortion law. Hobbs bestowed that responsibility onto Attorney General Kris Mayes, who has already said she plans on ignoring the law.
Abortion is banned after 15 weeks’ gestation in Arizona.
The letter pointed out that Hobbs’ action undermined the duty and discretion of the county attorneys to enforce the law.
“The governor’s office should not interfere with the discretion of prosecutors in fulfilling their duties as elected officials,” stated the letter. “Whether this was the intended purpose, the result [of the executive order] is an unnecessary and unjustified impingement on the duties and obligations of elected county attorneys in Arizona.”
The county attorneys also contested that Hobbs had usurped authority that didn’t belong to her.
“This executive order results in an exercise of authority not vested in the governor’s office,” read the letter. “It is a substantial overreach to suggest the governor may strip away prosecutorial discretion from local, elected officials.”
— Maricopa County Attorney's Office (@marcoattorney) July 4, 2023
Hobbs’ new communications director, Christian Slater, tweeted in response that Hobbs’ assuming control over the judiciary in an effort to undermine the current law was part of her putting “sanity over chaos.” Slater labeled those opposed to abortion as “extremists.”
“Governor Hobbs will continue to use her lawful executive authority to put sanity over chaos and protect everyday Arizonans from extremists who are threatening to prosecute women and doctors over reproductive healthcare,” wrote Slater.
We will not rescind this order. Governor Hobbs will continue to use her lawful executive authority to put sanity over chaos and protect everyday Arizonans from extremists who are threatening to prosecute women and doctors over reproductive healthcare. https://t.co/9uw1xxVtnC
Hobbs issued the executive order one day before the one-year anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Hobbs’ order revoked the authority of county attorneys to prosecute abortion-related cases, and passed that authority onto Mayes.
Hobbs called abortion a “fundamental right,” the existence of which she claimed was paramount to freedom.
“I signed an Executive Order protecting Arizonans’ reproductive freedom,” said Hobbs. “I will not allow extreme and out of touch politicians to get in the way of the fundamental rights of Arizonans.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
