Attorney General Kris Mayes’ five new selections to the Arizona Civil Rights Advisory Board (ACRAB) are all progressive Democrats, challenging her characterization of the board as “politically balanced.”
These latest ACRAB additions are Heather Ross, Enrique Davis-Mazlum, Justin Weinstein-Tull, Holli Ploog, and Lydia Peirce Linsmeier.
Ross and Weinstein-Tull are Arizona State University professors. Ross specializes in health equity and policy, while Weinstein-Tull specializes in constitutional law, state and local courts and governments, and election law. However, both were highly supportive of centralized COVID-19 government responses and oversight.
As a special advisor to Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego from 2019 to 2022, Ross was principally behind the mask mandates and ordinances. Ross also advocated for an expansive COVID-19 contact tracing team to ensure quarantining. In a 2022 paper, Weinstein-Tull advocated for increasing the power of the federal government, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as justification.
Ross is also, notably, an elected precinct committee person and state party delegate for the Arizona Democratic Party, and was a Democratic congressional candidate in 2018.
During her 2018 run, Ross advocated for progressive policies such as stricter gun control, expanding Medicare and Medicaid, and expanding clean energy.
Ross also chairs both the Arizona Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Phoenix Women’s Commission.
Weinstein-Tull signed onto a letter opposing now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the highest court, along with 13 other ASU professors.
Weinstein-Tull formerly served as a DOJ Civil Rights Division trial attorney and clerked with Ninth Circuit Justice Sidney Thomas.
Davis-Mazlum holds a doctorate in Gender Equality in Politics, noted for his defense of secularism while promoting gender equality and human rights. Davis-Mazlum has led several prominent progressive organizations: he was Arizona State Director for UnidosUS and UnidosUS Action Fund, campaign director for LUCHA Blue Campaign, and organizer for Voter Choice Arizona.
Through these groups, Davis-Mazlum has advanced progressive agendas, such as legalizing illegal immigration and abortion, and backed Democratic candidates for office: President Joe Biden, along with congressional candidates Ruben Gallego, Raquel Teran, and Kirsten Engel.
Holli Ploog is the vice mayor of Sedona, endorsed by pro-abortion Democratic organization Arizona List. Ploog is on the Democrats of the Red Rocks Board of Directors, and a supporter of progressive policies to address climate change.
On her reelection website, Ploog is seen posing with Governor Katie Hobbs. Ploog also pledged her support for Senator Mark Kelly back in 2020 during his reelection bid.
Ploog was the sole dissenting vote on a council plan allowing the homeless with full-time jobs to sleep in their cars in a parking lot at Sedona Cultural Park. Ploog voted against the plan due to the uproar from constituents.
Peirce Linsmeier works as an attorney specializing in fair housing, and serves as a board member for Disability Rights Arizona. Concerning disabilities, Peirce Linsmeier recently defended President Joe Biden’s reelection bid: she compared 32nd president Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s physical disability (paralyzation from polio necessitating a wheelchair) to Biden’s apparent mental disability (a cognitive impairment resembling dementia).
“FDR used a wheelchair, and he did a pretty good job as president. Mobility aids have nothing to do with competence. #ableism,” wrote Peirce Linsmeier on LinkedIn.
In a press release, Mayes explained that these five additions provided much-needed expertise to ACRAB.
“Their contributions will be invaluable as we work together to advance justice for all Arizonans,” said Mayes.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
A new study released by the ASU Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy found that while Generation Z voters have become frustrated with the current state of American politics, there is still major motivation to participate in the 2024 election.
The survey, published by Noble Predictive Insights, polled Arizona registered voters from 20-30 years old and showed that 66% of them say they will “definitely” participate in the 2024 election but are wildly dissatisfied with the political parties as they exist today. 80% said they feel that the major political parties are “out of touch” with their generation and that there should be more choices on the ballot.
According to the poll, several conclusions stood out. Notably, the cohort predominantly identifies as independent with 49% of them eschewing membership in either major party.
The pollsters added, “they are profoundly frustrated with the political world that has been handed down to them. Only 20 percent of this group feels that the current political system works for their generation and 80 percent feel that both the Democratic and Republican parties are out of touch with people their age. Well over half feel that all politicians are corrupt.”
Thom Reilly, professor and co-director for ASU CISD explained, “Arizona’s Gen Z voters are sending a clear message that they are dissatisfied with the political status quo. They’re rejecting traditional party affiliations in favor of a more independent stance. Still, they haven’t given up on the democratic process. They are looking for alternatives and believe in their power to affect change through voting.”
Our recent survey of 1315 registered Gen Z voters: 2 out of 3 in Arizona say they will vote in November; 4 in 5 say the 2 major parties don’t represent them ; 49% are registered as independent ; top issues: economics , abortion, fair and secure elections https://t.co/ecsdYzVIKl
The poll indicated that by far the most pressing concerns of the Generation Z voters are economically and resource driven with the cost of living, affordable housing, and the protection of the water supply as most important, followed by healthcare, free and fair elections, jobs, and abortion.
Co-director Jacqueline Salit added, “Understanding these priorities is crucial for any candidate or party hoping to engage with Gen Z voters. These young Arizonans are deeply concerned about their economic futures, but they’re also engaged with broader social issues like healthcare access, election integrity, and reproductive rights.”
Clean Elections Executive Director Tom Collins told ASU News, “Understanding how Gen Z voters see our electoral system is particularly important for outreach to build and sustain democratic principles.”
Conversely, lowest on the agenda for Generation Z voters according to the survey are the potential ban of Tiktok, the U.S. role in the Russo-Ukrainian war, student loan debt, and LGBTQ+ rights.
Noble Predictive Insights found that the broad issue revealed by the poll is political disengagement in addition to a general dissatisfaction with the existing political status quo. Mike Noble, NPI Founder & CEO noted, “Young voters are giving us a clear message: ‘Show me that you care about what I care about.’ The data from this survey can act as a roadmap for political campaigns and civic organizations to motivate young voters.”
He added, ”What we’re seeing is a generation that’s rejecting political labels and traditional party loyalties. They’re independent-minded, issue-focused, and deeply committed to their principles. Any candidate or party that hopes to succeed with these voters will need to speak to their unique concerns and values and engage with them on the digital platforms where they’re getting and communicating information and opinions.”
Rep. Alexander Kolodin (R-AZ03) and Republicans for National Renewal issued “America First Platform Planks” on July 5 and put forth a call for them for to be adopted by the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to meet July 15-18, 2024 in Milwaukee, WI. In a post to X, Republicans for National Renewal challenged RNC Chairman Michael Watley and co-chair Lara Trump to support their proposal.
@RNRenewal has been working with RNC delegates to craft strong America First platform planks.
— Republicans for National Renewal (@RNRenewal) July 5, 2024
Rep. Kolodin reposted the statement writing that he, “was proud to help with the drafting of these America-First proposed planks for our party platform!” The RNR document shared via X outlines eight platform planks:
Restricting Mass Immigration
The First Amendment: Freedom of Expression; Defeating the Deep State and its Weaponization of the U.S. Government
Fighting Racism and Defending the Individual Rights of Americans
The U.S. Territories; Our Nation’s Capital
Voting Rights
Against Interventionism and Unconstitutional War in Ukraine
In Support of the “Defend the Guard” Act
Sound Money in the Digital Age
Under the heading “Restricting Mass Immigration,” the proposal explains that, “If a person comes into the country and/or stays in the country in violation of the country’s laws, that person, no matter what their motivations or personal circumstances are, has absolutely no business being in the country, nor does this country have any obligation to show these lawbreakers any leniency.”
The proposal posits that many illegal immigrants who by definition break the laws of our nation merely by being here “continue to break other laws while here. This has led to an explosion in crime, severely underreported by the media, that is felt in border towns and across the country,” and recommends a policy of eliminating welfare benefits to illegal immigrants, and an overall end to mass immigration in the form of a pause or reasonable reduction in immigration overall.
Regarding the Weaponization of Government, the RNR has suggested that the next of President of the United States, “ensure the survival of the First Amendment by prioritizing and aggressively dismantling the deep state and its pervasive weaponization of our government.” They add, “Cutting this weaponization off at the roots is not optional; it must be utterly thwarted, or else our society is not free, our citizens are not free, and our Constitution is just lofty words on paper.”
The proposal addressing racism and individual rights also offers a direct rebuke to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion narratives and Critical Race Theory saying, “Terrifyingly, the Democratic Party is waging war with the egalitarian ideals of the Civil Rights Movement. Pervasive and anachronistic critical race theory (CRT) dogma, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) mandates in the workplace and in government, and the racialization of every facet of daily life have had the effect of undoing the progress achieved by the Civil Rights Movement.” The RNR specifically calls out the simultaneously much maligned and willfully ignored rising specter of “anti-white racism and hatred,” describing it’s insidious rise as, “something that would be considered beyond the pale if it were directed at literally any other community in this country, is becoming increasingly commonplace in every institution.”
In addition, the platform rejects the non-Constitutional notion of statehood for Washington, D.C., and the admission of U.S. territories such as Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico to the union as states. It further recommends aggressive voting security measures, the abolition of mail-in-voting and Ranked-choice voting, and the use of electronic voting machines as well as a requirement of photo ID and proof of citizenship for all voters.
Finally, the recommendations breaks from many establishment voices in Washington, D.C. by arguing strongly against interventionism and American participation in the Russo-Ukrainian War. It also calls upon President Trump to enact his avowed support for market-driven crypto-currency and rejects central bank digital currencies or CDBCs.
Longtime Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva wants President Joe Biden to drop out of the race.
Grijalva told reporters on Wednesday that he would support Biden as the presidential candidate, but would much rather see the president drop out while he’s ahead in order to preserve Democratic footing at the national level.
“If he’s the candidate, I’m going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” said Grijalva in an interview with the New York Times. “What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of the race.”
The sentiment marked a sharp departure from his last public endorsement of Biden, which was issued the day after the debate last week.
“This election is a clear choice: protect our freedoms and democracy with Joe Biden, or succumb to a convicted felon’s unhinged vengeance and reckless desire to destroy everything to save himself,” said Grijalva. “To stop Trump, we must win AZ. I’m ALL IN and will do all I can to make sure we win.”
This election is a clear choice: protect our freedoms and democracy with @JoeBiden, or succumb to a convicted felon's unhinged vengeance and reckless desire to destroy everything to save himself. To stop Trump, we must win AZ. I'm ALL IN and will do all I can to make sure we win.
Grijalva also issued a lengthy defense of the Biden administration, specifically their massive spending on projects through the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and CHIPS and Science Act. Grijalva expressed confidence that it was Biden who could usher in more aggressive progressive changes to laws and regulations on abortion, minimum wage, paid leave, climate change, corporations, and race relations.
“The Biden presidency stands in clear contrast to the extremism presented by Trump and Congressional Republicans,” said Grijalva. “It’s clear the American people have benefitted from the leadership of President Biden and his commitment to defending the freedoms and values essential to American democracy.”
Grijalva is an automatic delegate for the Democratic National Committee next month.
Conversely, Governor Katie Hobbs has doubled down her support for the president. Hobbs effectively agreed with a remark from Biden that, while he may not be a great candidate, he was better than Trump.
“As the president himself has said, don’t compare him to the almighty, compare him to the alternative. And by that metric, the choice is abundantly clear in this race,” said Hobbs.
Grijalva joins a growing coalition of top Democratic leaders urging the president to allow another to take his place as the party’s candidate such as Texas Congressman Lloyd Doggett.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also came out to question Biden’s fitness to secure a Democratic win this November, let alone carry out a second term.
“I think it is a legitimate question to say is this an episode or is this a condition?” said Pelosi.
A number of other Democratic congressmen have not completely sided with the notion that Biden should step down, but expressed concerns to the New York Times about his ability to improve his performance: Reps. Jake Auchincloss, Don Davis, Debbie Dingell, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Jared Golden, Greg Landsman, Ann McLane Kuster, Seth Moulton, Katie Porter, Mike Quigley, Jamie Raksin Hillary Scholten, Peter Welch, and Sheldon Whitehouse.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
A north central Phoenix legislative district may have a chance to replace its Democrat state senator in the upcoming November election.
State Senator Christine Marsh is running for reelection in Arizona Legislative District 4 this November. Based on her history of election finishes, Marsh may be in for another close contest in the swing district.
Marsh has served in the Arizona Legislature since January 2021. In the November 2020 General Election, she defeated Republican State Senator Kate Brophy McGee by fewer than 500 votes in Legislative District 28 (under the last redistricting lines). The previous election, McGee had bested Marsh by 267 votes in the 2018 General Election.
In the first election under the new redistricting lines for the decade, Marsh won another narrow victory over Nancy Barto by less than 1,200 votes for the right to represent the citizens of Legislative District 4.
The Democrat legislator has been a fierce opponent of her state’s efforts to increase school choice opportunities for Arizona families. In January 2017, Marsh co-authored an op-ed in the Arizona Republic, entitled “Expanding vouchers is dangerous for Arizona.” She wrote, “Those of us who care deeply about public education and the future of our state must work together to focus on what impacts 80 percent of students in our state – stopping the expansion of vouchers and School Tuition Organizations.”
On June 24, 2022, Marsh voted against the historic legislation to expand Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program, joining nine of her colleagues.
The following year, Marsh penned another op-ed for the Arizona Republic, stating that “Anti-public-school Republicans have chosen a path apt to cut safety and services, and sacrifice Arizona’s next generation’s chance to succeed. It’s time our state scrapped the universal private school voucher expansion before our public school system and, more importantly, your neighborhood public school is shuttered.”
Marsh has proven to be a reliable Democrat vote during her time in office, joining her caucus on a number of controversial issues that haven’t always reflected the sentiments of her district. Many of her votes throughout her tenure in the Arizona Legislature defy one of her posted priorities on her campaign website, which reads that “we need more balance at the Capitol in order to force negotiation and compromise.”
In 2022, Marsh cosponsored SB 1281, which would have repealed the preemption on cities from banning plastic bags. That same year, she voted against bills that would have prohibited minors from having irreversible sex change surgeries, banned taxpayer money from going to lobbyists, stopped government from forcing children to mask up without parental consent, and prohibited one single politician from unilaterally shutting down businesses in a self-declared state of emergency.
That same year, when Marsh voted against a proposal requiring accommodations for students who do not want to use a bathroom with a student of the opposite sex, she said that the schools can just get shower curtains.
Earlier this year, Marsh voted against a bill “requiring students in grades 7 to 12 to be taught about the Holocaust and other genocides” – even though fellow Democrat, Governor Katie Hobbs, signed the legislation into state law.
REMEMBER: 10 Senate Democrats voted NO on requiring students in grades 7 to 12 to be taught about the Holocaust and other genocides.
Despite the disproval from Democrat lawmakers, Governor Hobbs went on to sign it into law. pic.twitter.com/o4BcbeO8s0
Marsh also “voted NO on tougher punishments for public school and public library employees who expose our children to wildly disgusting pornographic books and images.”
REMINDER: Senate Democrats voted NO on tougher punishments for public school and public library employees who expose our children to wildly disgusting pornographic books and images.
She voted against a bill “prohibiting the court from ending probation early for criminals who are in our country illegally and are being deported.”
REMINDER: All Senate Democrats present voted NO on prohibiting the court from ending probation early for criminals who are in our country illegally and are being deported.
This bill passed the Senate with full Republican support, but was later vetoed by Governor Hobbs. pic.twitter.com/IBKQwQc3oJ
At the end of the 2024 legislative session, Marsh opposed legislation “classifying Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations.”
🚨JUST IN- A rare Saturday at the Capitol to wrap up the budget and bills, but Senate Democrats are up to the same disgusting and irresponsible tactics to work AGAINST the citizens of Arizona.
In another major action for the just completed legislative session, Marsh voted no on HCR 2060, which referred several border-related policies to the ballot in November for Arizona voters to empower local law enforcement with more tools to protect communities from the historic effects of the border crisis.
Today, all Arizona State Senate Democrats voted NO on:
❌Protecting our citizens from border related crimes ❌Providing law enforcement with tools to keep our communities safe ❌Preventing known terrorists from entering Arizona ❌Tougher punishments for criminals trafficking… pic.twitter.com/9v5vhfed5U
Additionally, Marsh voted against “a child safety bill cracking down on companies that don’t perform reasonable age verification before allowing access to the websites they manage with content considered harmful for children.”
🚨JUST IN- All Senate Democrats voted NO on a child safety bill cracking down on companies that don’t perform reasonable age verification before allowing access to the websites they manage with content considered harmful for children.
Senator Marsh has also been an advocate for legislation seeking to mitigate the liberty provided by the Second Amendment, boasting about Democrats’ efforts to pass universal background checks.”
On National Gun Violence Awareness Day, I #WearOrange because it is time we address the epidemic of gun violence.
Legislative Democrats have introduced numerous gun safety bills, including to mandate safe storage and universal background checks, that never receive consideration.
— Senator Christine Marsh (@ChristinePMarsh) June 7, 2024
On her website, Marsh lists several endorsements from interest groups, including left-leaning Arizona List, Moms Demand Action, and the Sierra Club.
Marsh is running unopposed for the Democrat nomination for state senator in the July primary election. Republicans Kenneth R. Bowers, Jr. and Carine Werner are vying for the Republican nomination to face the Democrat incumbent in the November General Election.
According to the Arizona Legislative District 4 Democrat Party, Republicans control 38% of the district’s voter registration, compared to 27% Democrats and 35% Other. In 2022, LD 4 had a higher voter turnout than both Maricopa County and the State of Arizona at 76%.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
The balance of Arizona’s Legislature may hinge on Republicans being able to pick up seats in districts under Democrats’ control in the upcoming election. Robert Scantlebury, who is running for state senate in Legislative District 9 in Mesa, may be one of those candidates for the Republicans in November 2024.
Robert has lived in Mesa since 1992, when he joined the City of Mesa Police Department as an officer after graduating from California State University with his Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. He started his career with Mesa in its holding facility before serving as a police officer, special investigations detective, patrol sergeant, school intelligence detective, and a detective sergeant. After this distinguished body of work for the Department, Scantlebury retired in 2018, completing 25 years with the city.
Retirement couldn’t keep Robert from the persistent itch of public service. He served as a volunteer Reserve Police Officer until 2020, when the Mesa Police Department ended the program. In this role, he worked as a School Resource Officer and School Intelligence Detective. As Scantlebury reflected on this period of his life, he said that “I loved my job and have always felt I had a calling to protect and stand up for others.”
When his tenure at the Department came to an end after the sunset of the reserve program, Scantlebury followed in the footsteps of his parents, creating his own small business, Little American Tractor Service. He also serves as a school board member for Step-up School, which is a nonprofit school in his community.
The Mesa law enforcement officer veteran entered the political realm in 2018, when he unsuccessfully ran for Mesa City Council in District 4, finishing third. However, Scantlebury just barely missed the bar to move on to the November 6 election, falling 39 votes short of second place. He then challenged incumbent State Senator Tyler Pace in the August 2022 Primary Election, garnering more than double the votes for a shocking victory. Robert couldn’t defeat his Democrat opponent, though, losing to incumbent Eva Burch by five percent (just over three thousand votes).
Scantlebury decided to run again for Legislative District 9 in the 2024 cycle. In August 2023, he wrote that “people have asked why I’m going to run for office again when it is so hard to do,” answering that he has “always done hard things to do my part to make things better and stop bad people from hurting others.”
On March 29 of this year, Scantlebury turned in 920 signatures of qualified voters to make the ballot for the primary election. That number was almost three times the minimum he was required to submit to the Arizona Secretary of State. In a Facebook post, he thanked “all the people who talked with me at their front door and all the supporters who visited their neighbors and advocated for me.”
His three top priorities for public office at the state legislature are public safety, lower cost of living, and supporting parents and students. On his campaign website, Robert writes that his “thirty years in law enforcement have made it clear to me that we need our state government to do more. I will be a voice to empower local law enforcement, address serious mental illness appropriately, and work to stop human trafficking and the flow of drugs coming across our border.”
Scantlebury goes on to address his economic priority, stating that “we should be able to afford groceries, gas, electricity, and rent or buy a home in a safe neighborhood. But today, we’re paying more to buy less and our kids can’t envision ever affording a house. That’s the opposite of the American dream.” He promises to “defend our flat tax, oppose new taxes, stand up to radical environmental policies that raise the cost of our gas and electricity, and balance community needs with individual property rights.”
In addressing his priority of supporting parents and students in Arizona schools, Robert asserts that “one size doesn’t fit all and families should be able to access what works for their child, regardless of where they live or how much money they make.” He assures voters that “I am going to protect this for any family that needs it.” He adds that he “want[s] schools to focus first on the basics of education like reading, writing and math” and “schools that are responsive to students’ and parents’ needs.”
The Republican lists endorsements from the Mesa Police Association, the Arizona Republican Assemply, LUCA-Latino United, East Valley Young Republicans, and Arizona State Representative Barbara Parker on his website.
Robert has been married to his wife, Heather, for 23 years, and they have two daughters, Ryley and Robyn.
In July’s Primary Election, Scantlebury faces off against fellow Republican Christopher Stapley. The winner of the contest will be pitted against the entrenched Democrat incumbent, Eva Burch, for the November General Election.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
