by Staff Reporter | Oct 23, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The financier of the ballot initiative seeking to reform Arizona’s elections with open primaries and ranked-choice voting has the impact of flipping states blue — much like its primary funder did in Colorado.
That financier, Unite America, is listed as the single biggest funder on the campaign media spending report for the entity behind Proposition 140, the Make Elections Fair PAC. Unite America gave over $1.7 million to boost the political action committee earlier this month.
Unite America’s primary funder is one of its board co-chairs, Kent Thiry, who was behind several election reforms that shifted Colorado to a blue state. Thiry acquired his wealth being the chairman and CEO of the national dialysis provider DaVita from 1999 to 2019, a role that resulted in him facing a 2021 federal indictment for violating antitrust law. A jury acquitted Thiry of the conspiracy charges in 2022.
Additionally, DaVita agreed to pay out a $34.5 million settlement earlier this year over whistleblower allegations of anti-kickback laws. The millions were a portion of the nearly $1 billion in whistleblower settlements: $450 million in 2015 over allegations of defrauding Medicare by billing the government for trashed dialysis drugs, and $350 million in 2014 for other alleged kickbacks to doctors.
Rather than reform his dialysis business over those years, Thiry trained his sights on elections.
Through his investments and organizational efforts, Thiry has taken credit for several major reforms in Colorado. Those reforms include allowing unaffiliated voters into party primaries (2016), establishing a public vote and nixing in-person presidential caucuses (2016), and thwarting gerrymandering through the establishment of an independent commission (2018).
This year, Thiry has spent millions to achieve the ultimate goal in Colorado and all other states, including Arizona: establishing open primaries and ranked-choice voting. Thiry believes that America won’t survive without those two major reforms.
“There aren’t that many great democracies that have survived more than a couple hundred years. And in order to survive, you have to modernize and modify and reflect society,” said Thiry in an interview with CPR News.
Those three gradual reforms contributed to the state’s shift from purple to blue over the years.
With Thiry’s help, Unite America has spent over $70 million since 2019 on getting states to similarly reform their elections with open primaries and ranked-choice voting.
Unite America (formerly the Centrist Project) gained more momentum in Colorado following Republican firebrand Lauren Boebert’s surprise congressional victory in 2020.
That year, Unite America successfully spent over $3 million to enact open primaries and ranked-choice voting in Alaska. In the first election cycle after those reforms, Republican House candidate Sarah Palin lost the House race, and Republican moderate Lisa Murkowski defended her Senate seat against a more conservative challenger.
In addition to Arizona, the organization has invested in state campaigns for the major election reforms that have benefited centrists and Democrats in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Per Unite America’s research arm, Unite America Institute, their goals for election reforms include top-four nonpartisan primaries, full voting from home, ranked-choice voting used for all offices, and an independent redistricting commission.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 22, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona Republicans continue to fight to protect the integrity of women’s sports.
Last week, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, House Speaker Ben Toma, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne filed a cert petition at the Supreme Court of the United States, asking the nation’s high court to accept a case to decide the fate of the state’s Save Women’s Sports Act, which was signed into law in 2022.
“We cannot remain silent and allow these wrongs against women and girls to continue. We must stand up and fight to protect our daughters, nieces, sisters, and granddaughters from bigger and stronger males who are claiming their identities, their private spaces, their sports, and are putting their safety at risk,” said Petersen. “What’s even more disheartening is that we have a Democratic Governor and Attorney General that claim to support women, but they refuse to keep boys out of girls’ sports. Republicans stand in solidarity to defend women and girls, and I’m confident the U.S. Supreme Court will make it clear- Arizona’s Save Women’s Sports Act should be enforced.”
In their brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Republicans argue that “the Ninth Circuit decided an important question of federal law in an opinion that contradicts this Court’s precedent and splits with other circuits on multiple issues, [and that] this case presents an ideal vehicle to address these important questions.”
In July, Judge Jennifer Zipps granted a preliminary injunction against SB 1165, the Save Women’s Sports Act, which blocked the law from going into effect. Arizona’s Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, the defendant in the case, promised to appeal the ruling, saying, “This will ultimately be decided by the United States Supreme Court, and they will rule in our favor. The Plaintiffs in this case claimed that this only involves pre-pubescent boys, but we presented peer-reviewed studies that show pre-pubescent boys have an advantage over girls in sports. The only expert presented by the Plaintiffs was a medical doctor who makes his money doing sex transition treatments on children and who has exactly zero peer-reviewed studies to support his opinion.”
On the other side, one of the representatives of the plaintiffs, Justin R. Rassi from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, lauded the judge’s ruling, writing, “The Court’s well-reasoned decision exposes the lack of any legitimate justification for this discriminatory law, which inflicts severe and irreparable harm on transgender girls like Megan and Jane. We are very happy that, as a result of this ruling, Jane and Megan will be immediately able to resume playing sports with their friends.”
A panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals previously ruled that the district court’s opinion was in order, agreeing that “before puberty, there are no significant differences in athletic performance between boys and girls;” and that “Arizona’s transgender ban discriminates on its face based on transgender status.” This decision led to the appeal to the nation’s high court by the Republican petitioners.
Republican State Senator Wendy Rogers cheered on the filing at the U.S. Supreme Court, writing, “Arizona Senate Republicans protecting women!”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 22, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A Republican state legislator is standing up for the Second Amendment in a municipal matter.
Last week, State Representative Quang Nguyen transmitted a letter to Sedona Mayor Scott Jablow. The letter, which was also sent to city councilmembers, addressed the validity of Ordinance 12.30.090, which states that “[i]t shall be unlawful to carry or discharge into any park, trail, or open space area firearms or projectile weapons… or other device capable of causing injury to persons or animals or damage or destruction to property.”
In a press release accompanying the announcement of his letter, Nguyen said, “I urge the City of Sedona to review Ordinance 12.30.090 to ensure it complies with Arizona law. It’s important that local ordinances do not infringe upon the constitutional rights of Arizonans or conflict with state statutes.”
In his letter, Representative Nguyen highlighted that the prohibition in Sedona’s Ordinance “on carrying firearms is not consistent with Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-3108,” thus making it “invalid and unenforceable because it exceeds what state law authorizes. He pointed out that “cities may…enact ordinances ‘[l]imiting or prohibiting the discharge of firearms in parks and preserves’ when certain statutory conditions are met.”
The northern Arizona lawmaker requested that the city leaders “conduct a legal analysis of the validity of Ordinance 12.30.090 and contact me at your earliest convenience to discuss your findings and any next steps you intend to take to ensure that Ordinance 12.30.090 complies with state law.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Oct 22, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Security measures for Arizona voting centers are a prominent concern in 2024 and already hardened locations are being selected as polling places. Some facilities used for years have even declined to do so due to concerns over threats and violence. Maricopa County authorities have stepped up coordination with local, state, and federal agencies to address the concerns.
According to a report from NPR/KPBS, one Phoenix-area site slated for a voting center is equipped with barbed-wire fencing, six-foot tall security gates, and badge-controlled access doors. The building is a school district office, and according to the Superintendent, the security features are the only reason he is comfortable with the facility being used on election day.
The District Superintendent spoke to the outlet on condition of anonymity citing a concern over increased threats. He told NPR that his district has provided as many as 17 polling centers in past elections, but that number has been reduced now to just this one, with the high-security district office being the only option.
The school official told reporters that since the tense days of the 2020 and 2022 elections, “What happened is the rhetoric got stronger, higher, louder, and that’s what brought me to the decision — from a safety perspective — I can’t have those kinds of incidents that are making the front page on my campuses.”
Describing the security measures at the district office he said, “This is one step below Fort Knox.”
During the 2022 election, similar security measures were on display at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix.
The District Superintendent recounted that during past elections, it fell to him to inform voters waiting in line that they could not open-carry firearms or demonstrate within the 75-foot weapons and electioneering limit. But rather than stop providing election locations altogether, he’s opted to provide just one that is highly secured. “As a large district, I want to be a community contributor that makes a difference in my community,” he told NPR. “Schools are the community.”
According to VoteBeat, as of May 2024, a survey of election administrators by the Brennan Center revealed that 40% of them have taken steps to bolster the physical security of election offices and polling places since the 2020 election. Approximately 38% reported workers experiencing either harassment or abuse and many are investing in “panic buttons” or training workers in de-escalation techniques.
Tammy Patrick, the chief programs officer for the Election Center, a non-profit representing these officials, told the outlet, “Election officials aspire to prepare for every possible election scenario — sadly, the possibility of violence is one of those scenarios that has been part of election contingency plans and protocols for years, if not decades.”
She added, “What is different this year is the preparation for potential, albeit remote, issues to arise at tabulation centers and election offices over the course of the election, with particular consideration for the post-election period and certification.”
Maricopa County Elections spokeswoman Jennifer Liewer told VoteBeat that county officials are working with the Sheriff’s Department as well as state and federal authorities via the County Command Center. “Agencies have been meeting for more than a year to prepare for the 2024 General Election,” she told reporters. She also noted that the county is among those including de-escalation tactics in poll worker training with “protocols on when and who to contact should poll workers feel the security of the facility or those in it might have a safety issue.” .
“It is our hope that voters will peacefully cast their ballots,” Liewer concluded. “Poll workers are prepared to intervene and de-escalate situations, but should the potential for violence occur, law enforcement is prepared to respond.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 21, 2024 | Education, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A Republican running for Maricopa County School Superintendent picked up a key endorsement ahead of the November General Election.
Late last month, Shelli Boggs announced the endorsement of Riley Gaines for her campaign for Maricopa County Superintendent. In her endorsement statement, Gaines said, “My advocacy has brought me to Arizona multiple times and I have gotten to really know Shelli Boggs. She is genuine. Kids and education are her passion. She believes in empowering students with knowledge and skills.”
Gaines added, “Shelli will always put students and their academic needs first! That is why I fully endorse Shelli Boggs for Maricopa County School Superintendent.”
Over the past few years, Riley Gaines has shot to national prominence over her flawless defense of the integrity of women’s sports as ladies around the country battle the encroachment of biological men within their events. Gaines was a twelve-time NCAA All-American Swimmer, and she serves as an Ambassador for the Independent Women’s Voice.
Boggs responded to the endorsement from Gaines, writing, “I am honored to have Riley Gaines’ endorsement! Riley has been a strong advocate for protecting girls’ sports and ensuring fairness for female athletes. I am grateful for her support as we work to uphold integrity in education and create opportunities for all students in Maricopa County schools. Together, we will protect what matters most in both academics and athletics.”
On her website, Boggs describes herself as “a proud Arizona mom, mimi, teacher, and education leader who got started in Arizona politics when she saw firsthand the decline in education quality and the invasion of radical politics into the classroom.” In 2018, Boggs won a seat on the Governing Board of the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT), where she served as its Vice President and then President. She states that under her leadership, “EVIT has seen enrollment double, administration costs decrease, radical politics and activism removed from classrooms, and more dollars going directly towards student success WITHOUT raising taxes.”
The Republican nominee for county superintendent promises to “ensure that the school children of Maricopa County get the education they need to succeed in life, politics are removed from classrooms, parental rights are defended, fiscal accountability is restored, school board vacancies are filled with responsible leaders, and that good teachers are being supported.”
Boggs vows to protect boys and girls in schools “because we recognize the difference between them.” She intends to “always fight to protect girls’ sports from those who want to allow biological boys to compete against our female athletes.”
Running against Boggs is Dr. Laura Metcalfe, a Democrat and an EVIT School Board Member. Metcalfe lists a number of endorsements on her campaign website, including from Arizona List, Save Our Schools Arizona, Maricopa County Young Democrats, Young Democrats of Arizona, National Organization for Women Arizona PAC, and former Democrat State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman.
The winner will replace Steve Watson as the Maricopa County School Superintendent. Watson is a Republican.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Oct 21, 2024 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced the extension of free services through the Achievement Tutoring Program until the end of the 2024-25 school year. Horne hopes the move will allow a greater number of Arizona students to take advantage of the highly successful program.
In a statement released Wednesday, Horne said, “Studies show tutoring to be the best method for academic growth. A year ago, I announced that we would repurpose about $40 million in COVID relief funds that had been allocated by the previous administration, and were not being used for academic purposes, to create the Achievement Tutoring Program. The results have been excellent as students who get this tutoring have shown significant academic growth. Because we have received an extension that allows remaining funds to continue to be used, this program will continue through at least the end of the current school year.”
The program’s website lays out that it consists of “Six-week tutoring blocks with 60 minute sessions up to four days per week.” The students will also complete pre-and post-tutoring testing to determine their needs and gauge advancement during each tutoring block.
Due to Federal rules in the extension of COVID relief (ESSER) funds, the program is no longer available at public schools but can still be accessed by students in need through private providers and the Arizona Department of Education.
According to the Department, the Achievement Tutoring Program provides tutoring for K-12 students in reading, writing, and mathematics and since its inception, has instructed 30,400 students over a seven session period. Enrollment grew from November 2023 with 4,200 students to over 6,800 students, and the current session is accepting new enrollments through October.
The release noted that in terms of academic achievement, the students enrolled “experienced at least a half-year’s worth of academic growth in six weeks, which is excellent progress in a short period of time.”
Several parents participating in the program with their children sent testimonials to the Arizona Deparment of Education, and Horne highlighted five:
- Colleen, wrote to say, “I am incredibly grateful for the services and support provided by the program. I am confident that all three of my children will have increased confidence and improved report cards in the fall.”
- Heather wrote, “As a single mom raising six young men, I could never afford to get tutoring like this to help them get caught up and build the confidence they need to have in life.”
- From Jennifer, “The Achievement Tutoring program has helped tremendously to fill in the gaps in (my child’s) learning loss… He has improved immensely!”
- Alexandra said, “My son has grown so much in reading… He finally has the confidence in reading that he has lacked for so long! I was so proud I actually cried.”
- Catherine wrote, “My daughter had been struggling, but is now much more confident in her math skills… I truly hope the ATP program will continue, as it’s changing lives and helping so many. Especially some of us with limited financial resources.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
