Republican Myron Lizer, a former Vice President of the Navajo Nation, announced his endorsement of Arizona GOP Senate Nominee Kari Lake in a statement released Wednesday.
In the statement provided to AZ Free News, Lizer wrote, “Having Kari Lake’s support for our community as a senator is invaluable and incredibly encouraging to see this as an opportunity for increased congressional engagement with the Navajo Nation. Her presence here is not just symbolic; it reflects her genuine commitment to our people and our issues. Kari Lake has unfinished business, and I wholeheartedly welcome her continued presence and efforts on behalf of the Navajo Nation as she runs for Senate.”
I am honored to be endorsed by small business owner and the 10th Vice President of the Navajo Nation, Myron Lizer.
For far too long, our native community has been ignored by congressmen and senators who delivered them NOTHING but broken promises. Under the America First policies… pic.twitter.com/mY2adcufKC
Lake responded in a post to X thanking Vice President Lizer. She wrote, “I am honored to be endorsed by small business owner and the 10th Vice President of the Navajo Nation, Myron Lizer.
For far too long, our native community has been ignored by congressmen and senators who delivered them NOTHING but broken promises. Under the America First policies of President Trump, our tribes flourished. They can and will have that peace and prosperity again.
Myron supports me because he knows I will be a strong voice for ALL Arizonans, including our native community, in Washington DC.”
Lizer and other Navajo Nation leaders met with Lake, Congressman Eli Crane (R-AZ02), and campaign officials for President Donald Trump at St. Michaels, Arizona, on Tuesday, describing the event on X as “a great night… on the Great Navajo Nation!” He tagged Crane and Lake saying, “you all have tremendous support up here in northeastern AZ!!”
Lizer shared photos of the event and a post from the Trump campaign’s Kally Rael who wrote, “@TeamTrump, @KariLake and @EliCraneAZ met with Navajo Nation leaders from around the tribe for an intimate discussion on Navajo history, conservative values and the negative impacts caused by the incompetency of the Biden/Harris administration. A special thank you to Mr Tom Ranger and @NN_MyronLizer such a wonderful evening. Yéigo Trump!”
Lizer, served as Vice President of the Navajo tribal government from 2018-2023 under former Navajo President and Democrat Jonathan Nez. He is a well-known supporter of President Donald Trump and launched the Native Americans for Trump coalition in Williams, Arizona, with Donald Trump, Jr. in 2020. Nez is currently running to unseat Congressman Eli Crane (R-AZ) in the second district. Lizer launched a primary campaign against Crane but did not gather enough signatures to appear on the ballot.
A state senator instrumental to protecting vulnerable children is also key to Republican control of the Arizona Legislature.
State Senator Shawnna Bolick is hoping her constituents give her the green light to return for her first full term in the Arizona Legislature after returning from a brief hiatus. Bolick was appointed by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in July 2023, when then-State Senator Steve Kaiser surprisingly resigned from his office. The Phoenix-area mother of two had previously served for two terms in the Arizona House of Representatives (2019-2023).
Earlier this year, Bolick authored SB 1372, which “proscribes a court from ordering family reunification treatment that requires certain conditions for participation unless both parents consent,” according to the overview from the Arizona House of Representatives. The bill overwhelmingly passed the state senate with a 19-9 vote (with two members not voting), and it cleared the House with a 32-27 result (with one member not voting).
Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, signed the bill in April.
In a statement after the bill’s signing, Bolick said, “A number of families reached out to me with their horror stories surrounding reunification camps, and I was compelled to take action. Unqualified individuals have been profiting off of the disfunction being forced upon countless kids, and the judicial system seems to be none the wiser to this scheme. Many times, these kids are taken in the middle of the night, sent to seedy locations like motels, sometimes out of state, and are basically brainwashed into agreeing to spend time with a parent that is either mentally, emotionally, or physically harming the child, while having no contact with the parent that the child actually feels safe with.”
Bolick added, “I’m thrilled this bill was signed into law, but I’m utterly appalled nine out of 14 Senate Democrats and nearly all House Democrats voted ‘no’ on protecting our children from this heinous victimization. Their vote against this legislation shows their true colors. Democrats are more concerned with partisan games than following their conscience and doing what’s right for the safety and well-being of these vulnerable kids.”
Hobbs said, “I was glad to sign this bill to codify current best practices of the courts and prevent vulnerable children from being in potentially unwelcome and unhelpful situations.”
On the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, a representative from Arizona National Organization for Women, usually a champion for progressive candidates and causes, endorsed the bill, showing its broad appeal.
The effort on this family reunification legislation follows another from Bolick at the end of her first tenure in office. In 2022, Bolick sponsored HB 2134 to appropriate $150,000 for the award of school safety grants from the Arizona Department of Education, which was approved in that year’s budget. Bolick said, “As a mom of a teenager, I know how much our kids rely heavily on technology. This school safety grant is a small investment in addressing bullying and student safety in our schools. According to a November 2021 Arizona Child Fatality Review Annual Report, bullying is a top reason for children taking their own lives. Teens have told me they have tried to report an incident on their school campus with a trusted adult but were never taken seriously. It is my hope that the responsible use of this technology will lead to safer school campuses for our students.”
Bolick has also championed school choice proposals to protect children who are being bullied in their places of education. In 2019, Bolick wrote an opinion piece for the Arizona Republic about the unfortunate instances of her daughter being bullied and assaulted, leading to her parents looking to relocate schools “because we no longer felt the school would protect her.” She stated that her daughter “is just one of the thousands of children across our country who are victims of a crime on a K-12 public school campus.”
These episodes with her daughter, coupled with her vast experience in the New York City public school system, led Bolick to introduce the Lifeline for Student Crime Victims Act “to expand Empowerment Scholarship Account eligibility to include public school students who have been victims of battery, harassment, hazing, kidnapping, physical attack, robbery, sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape, threatening, intimidation, fighting, sex trafficking or human trafficking.”
The first-term lawmaker (at that time) closed her piece, writing, “As a freshman legislator, I had the choice to be a wallflower or jump into the fray solving problems facing our state. At the end of the day, I side with victims’ rights over the establishment.”
Judy Schwiebert signed in on the legislature’s Request to Speak system to oppose the bill – along with a representative from Save Our Schools Arizona.
If Bolick is given the chance to continue in the legislature for the next term, she is already looking at more opportunities to protect vulnerable children across the state. In an exclusive interview with AZ Free News earlier this summer, she said that she is looking at options to “deal with the bullying in our schools” and to “get to the root of the problem because bullying continues to get worse leading to kids missing weeks of school.”
Arizona Legislative District 2 is one of the most competitive in the state, with a 3.8% vote spread in the past nine statewide elections. It is very winnable for Republicans, however, as the party has emerged victorious in six out of those nine elections.
Senator Bolick will face off against Judy Schwiebert in the November General Election, who is running unopposed in the Democrat primary election.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Former Governor of Arizona Doug Ducey announced Tuesday that he has officially endorsed both President Donald Trump and Republican Senate nominee Kari Lake. Ducey, also a Republican, had previously placed himself at odds with Trump and Lake supporters after his certification of the state’s Electoral College slate in 2020 and has been relatively quiet on the political stage since leaving office in 2023 due to term limits.
Ducey wrote in a post to X, “Much is on the line this election year & I’m encouraging all eligible Arizonans to vote & prioritize the issues that most affect our state & nation. I will be voting for Republicans up & down the ballot in November — and both Donald Trump and Kari Lake have my endorsement.”
Much is on the line this election year & I’m encouraging all eligible Arizonans to vote & prioritize the issues that most affect our state & nation.
I will be voting for Republicans up & down the ballot in November — and both Donald Trump and Kari Lake have my endorsement. 1/
In a thread following the initial post, the former Governor gave several reasons for his endorsement. He wrote, “The border must be secured,” sharing reporting from Fox’s Bill Melugin that new DHS data showed 99 illegal aliens on the FBI terror watchlist were released into the US.
He added, “Inflation must be tamed,” and shared an RNC Research post showing Biden Press Secretary Karinne Jean-Pierre claiming that Biden “inherited” an “economy that was on the downturn.”
Turning to foreign affairs, Ducey wrote, “America must be respected around the globe and World War III must be avoided,” and presented a Republican Jewish Coalition report stating, “Kamala Harris is open to an ARMS EMBARGO against Israel as the Jewish state fights a war for its very survival against Iran and its terrorist proxies.”
Pointing to Democrats’ proposals to modify the Supreme Court to meet its political needs Ducey said, “The Supreme Court should not be restructured by Chuck Schumer.”
Moving back to more domestic affairs such as the economy and education, he added that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a landmark piece of GOP legislation which Sen. Pat Toomey called “the most successful tax reform in at least 30 years,” “must be extended and made permanent.” And sharing a Trump campaign video from a Columbia, SC, rally in which Trump vowed, “I will fight for universal SCHOOL CHOICE,” he added, “School choice must be supported.”
Finally, Ducey concluded, “Differences aside, there is too much on the line and only a Republican in the White House and a majority in the House and US Senate can ensure it.”
The group Republicans Against Trump, who may have hoped that Ducey would either sit out the 2024 campaign or oppose Trump, replied to the former Governor with scorn writing, “Have you no shame?”
Have you no shame?
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) August 13, 2024
Trump and Ducey have long been at odds after the then-Governor infamously ignored a phone call from the President during his televised certification of Arizona’s Electoral College slate. Trump blasted the decision in a tweet saying, “Why is he rushing to put a Democrat in office, especially when so many horrible things concerning voter fraud are being revealed at the hearing going on right now. @OANN What is going on with @dougducey? Republicans will long remember!”
Why is he rushing to put a Democrat in office, especially when so many horrible things concerning voter fraud are being revealed at the hearing going on right now. @OANN What is going on with @dougducey? Republicans will long remember! https://t.co/XILGaHcyw7
As of this report, Trump has not made a public statement regarding Ducey’s endorsement.
Ducey also opposed Lake at a critical juncture after the 2022 gubernatorial campaign when he refuted Lake’s allegations on the integrity of the election. He had supported Lake’s opponent Karrin Taylor Robson and told CNN’s “State of the Union,” “Kari Lake is misleading voters with no evidence. She’s been tagged by her opponents with a nickname, Fake Lake, which seems to be sticking and actually doing some damage,” per Politico.
Lake however, officially acknowledged Ducey’s endorsement and even praised his administration in a post to X writing, “For eight years, Governor @DougDucey transformed our economy and our education system. He made Arizona a destination again. But radical Democrats like Ruben Gallego want to take that away. Doug Ducey supports me because he knows it’s never been more important to unite all Arizonans and win big in November. Thank you, Governor!”
For eight years, Governor @DougDucey transformed our economy and our education system. He made Arizona a destination again.
But radical Democrats like Ruben Gallego want to take that away.
Doug Ducey supports me because he knows it's never been more important to unite all… pic.twitter.com/p8dkrXrGeA
Lake’s gracious acceptance was met with some trepidation by her followers on the platform though, with some commenting, “Is that a good thing?” “That’s not an endorsement to be proud of,” and “I would shy away from that endorsement.”
A middle-of-the-road legislative district in the Phoenix-metro area will be key to deciding the future political makeup of the Arizona State Legislature.
State Representative Seth Blattman, a Democrat, is running for reelection in Arizona Legislative District 9.
The Democrat lawmaker has been endorsed by liberal groups in his reelection bid, including National Organization for Women Arizona, AEA Fund for Public Education, the Progressive Turnout Project, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Jane Fonda Climate PAC, Save Our Schools Arizona, and Stonewall Democrats of Arizona.
Blattman’s support from the Fonda PAC may be one of the most concerning for voters researching his record and determining which direction they want to see for their district. On August 7, Blattman boasted of this endorsement, saying, “I am incredibly honored to announce the endorsement by the Jane Fonda Climate PAC! Their tireless efforts in combating climate change and advocating for sustainable policies are crucial for our planet’s future. Together, let’s create a healthier and sustainable Arizona for generations to come.”
I am incredibly honored to announce the endorsement by the Jane Fonda Climate PAC! Their tireless efforts in combating climate change and advocating for sustainable policies are crucial for our planet's future. Together, let's create a healthier and sustainable Arizona for… pic.twitter.com/qXZVxxZDJs
The mission of the PAC, however, is not as agreeable to a wide swath of constituents. On her website, Fonda writes, “Our planet is on fire and our leaders are failing us, so if we can’t change the minds of the people in power, we need to change the people in power. It is for that reason that I started Jane Fonda Climate PAC, which is laser-focused on one goal: Do what it takes to defeat fossil fuel supporters and elect climate champions at all levels of government.”
This PAC asserts that “major solutions are stopped cold: the Green New Deal, Build Back Better, clean energy investments, ending billions in tax subsidies to the fossil fuel industry – all because of politicians backed by Big Oil.”
The Green New Deal pushed by the Jane Fonda Climate PAC is the same championed by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who is one of the most progressive lawmakers in the U.S. Congress. On Sanders’ presidential campaign website, he wrote about the deal, that “the climate crisis is not only the single greatest challenge facing our country; it is also our single greatest opportunity to build a more just and equitable future, but we must act immediately.”
Sanders added that as president he would “launch the decade of the Green New Deal, a ten-year, nationwide mobilization centered around justice and equity during which climate change will be factored into virtually every area of policy, from immigration to trade to foreign policy and beyond. Part of the details of the Green New Deal, according to Sanders, includes, “declaring climate change a national emergency, commit[ing] to reducing emissions throughout the world, [and] expanding the climate justice movement.”
Though Arizona has so far resisted an extreme move to the globalist agenda of the climate change lobby – thanks, in large part, to its previous Republican governors (Brewer and Ducey) and a Republican-led legislature – Blattman’s recent votes indicate that he might help usher in more of the Green New Deal policies should Democrats retake the legislature alongside Governor Katie Hobbs. He voted against HCR 2050, which would have “constitutionally prohibit[ed] Arizona or any political subdivision or public body of Arizona from restricting the manufacture, use or sale or a device based on the energy sources used to power the device.”
Additionally, Blattman voted against HCR 2018, which would have “prohibit[ed] this state and any city, town, county, municipal corporation or other political subdivision of this state from imposing a fee or tax based on vehicle miles traveled by a person in a motor vehicle or enacting any rule or law to monitor or limit the vehicle miles traveled by a person in a motor vehicle.”
Another of Blattman’s endorsements, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, also highlights its efforts to fight for the Green New Deal. The organization promotes itself as “a proud supporter of Elizabeth Warren since her first run for Senate and was the first national political organization to endorse her for president in the 2020 election.”
Warren, also one of the most liberal and progressive members of the U.S. Congress, presents herself as a top supporter of the Green New Deal. On her campaign website, Warren writes, “This is a crisis. We need bold, aggressive action. We need a Green New Deal – and we need it now. Elizabeth is proud to be an original cosponsor of Senator Ed Markey and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal resolution, which commits the United States to a ten-year mobilization to achieve domestic net-zero emissions by 2030. It provides the framework for an ambitious effort to transform our economy and save our planet.”
According to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, Legislative District 9 is one of the most competitive in the entire state, with a 2.6% vote spread between Democrats and Republicans in the past nine statewide elections. In those contests, Democrats have emerged victorious five times, compared to four for Republicans.
Blattman will attempt to return to the Arizona House of Representatives alongside his seatmate, Lorena Austin. The two Democrats are facing off against Republicans Mary Ann Mendoza and Kylie Barber for the right to represent the district in its two slots.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Citing a report from the Arizona Legislative Budget Committee, the Goldwater Institute debunked the narrative that Arizona’s universal education savings account (ESA) program has harmed students and blown up the states’ budget.
In a lengthy and detailed report from Director of Education Policy at the Goldwater Institute Matt Beienburg, it is made plain that the universal ESA program has been a net-positive development for Arizona’s students, families, and taxpayers.
In a post to X, Beienburg summarized the report writing, “Since universal expansion, AZ enjoyed a $2B budget surplus one year, & an overall K-12 formula savings compared to its enacted budget the second, all as 75,000 ESA students are now being served at lower taxpayer cost $ than their peers in the state’s public school system.”
NEW: Arizona ESAs Defy National Media Propaganda Campaign.
Since universal expansion, AZ enjoyed a $2B budget surplus one year, & an overall K-12 formula savings compared to its enacted budget the second, all as 75,000 ESA students are now being served at lower taxpayer cost $… pic.twitter.com/D1Kc2m3bQ3
In a subsequent comment, he added, “Arizonans deserve better than willful or sloppy misrepresentations by @propublica, @joedanareports, @laurieroberts & @arizona_sos attacking the ESA program while ignoring record public school costs (including recently uncovered misspending on wine tastings & political candidate bootcamps)[.]”
The depth of Beienburg’s breakdown of the committee’s analysis can be summarized into a few key points.
He writes, “While union-aligned journalists and advocacy organizations have painted Arizona’s ESA program as excessively costly to taxpayers and responsible for triggering a budgetary shortfall, the two years of the universal ESA program’s history—and a new report from Arizona’s nonpartisan state budget analysts—suggest otherwise.”
The committee analysts explained, “With the above forecast adjustments, we estimate the total combined district/charter/ESA enrollment will generate savings of $(352,200) in FY 2024 relative to the enacted budget.”
Beienburg points out that the budget deficit of 23’-24’ only arose after Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed the original budget passed by Republican majorities in the House and Senate. That budget would have left the state with over a billion dollars in reserve funds even after fully funding the ESA program.
“Hobbs instead signed a budget that increased state spending by an additional $2 billion to the highest level of all time and exhausted the state’s surplus financial cushion, leaving it unable to absorb lower than projected revenue collections.”
Beienburg also mentions that the bevy of claims from critics of the ESA program “have relied on ideologically motivated, often factually dishonest misrepresentations of the program and its finances,” and “are simply false and represent either basic numerical illiteracy or willful misrepresentation of fact.”
Finally, the report from Goldwater assesses the fifth claim that critics of the ESA make which is that the program “siphons too much money to ‘wealthy’ or ‘high-income’ families,” by supporting families who are either pursuing home schooling or private education. And it is in this last segment of the report, the ultimate, purely ideological and class-warfare driven motivation for all of the “misrepresentations of the program and its finances” emerges.
The glaring inconsistency in the view of ESA critics that the “Empowerment Scholarship Accounts” benefit the wealthy is utterly undone by even a cursory examination of the families utilizing the program. As the Goldwater Institute, the nonpartisan Common Sense Institute, and multiple conservative outlets have repeatedly verified, families of ESA children cover the full breadth of the socio-economic strata from crushingly impoverished to blindingly wealthy, from the broken down trailer parks of South Phoenix to the most lavish homes of Paradise Valley.
Beienburg notes, “By simply proclaiming a national ‘consensus’ in support of their own views—and ignoring an entire half of the nation seeking something better—advocacy organizations like Brookings suggest the education status quo should be preserved because…that’s how it’s always been.”
He concludes, “Yet this same status quo failed families during COVID-19, locked children out of classrooms, has doubled inflation-adjusted K-12 costs over recent decades, and has failed to meaningfully improve student outcomes for generations. The proliferation of education savings accounts—like other school choice innovations such as charter schools—on the other hand, offers families and lawmakers the opportunity to expand the range of educational choices available to students and ensure that each child can pursue an education of excellence, not simply political convenience.”
Arizona has approximately $29 million in unused federal funds for schools, which Arizona Department of Education (ADE) Superintendent Tom Horne seeks to recover.
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) notified Horne of the unused millions last week. The $29 million in Title I funds were underutilized during the administration of Horne’s predecessor, Kathy Hoffman. This was reportedly the first notification of its kind submitted by ED to the state under Horne’s administration.
In a press release on Monday, Horne blamed the underutilization on incompetence.
“The under-utilization of about $29 million in federal funds began in Federal Fiscal Year 2020, but continued under the previous superintendent and the employee who incompetently handed these allocations no longer works at this department,” said Horne.
Horne rejected allegations by Governor Katie Hobbs that he was at fault for the mismanagement of these millions, which fell under his predecessor’s control.
“These dollars should have been sent to districts and charters years ago during the Hoffman administration, but they were allowed by previous staff to accumulate and potentially revert,” said Horne. “In reality she is asking to investigate Kathy Hoffman’s administration, but the problem is being corrected by my administration.”
Horne had clarified in a press release last week, responding to reporting by The Arizona Republic, that it was specifically one employee within Hoffman’s administration that was to blame. Horne claimed that the individual gave incorrect allocation totals to schools. Horne didn’t name that employee.
“The mishandling and failure to notify districts of correct allocations with time for them to properly plan and spend the money resulted from an error by an employee of my predecessor before I took office,” said Horne. “This person told the schools they had smaller allocations than they had. We were constantly on the phone urging districts to spend as much of the money properly as they could.”
The superintendent noted that the Arizona Republic was aware that oversight of the funds fell under Hoffman, but that they had “dishonestly withheld” that information from their reporting. Horne also demanded a retraction of their “false” reporting.
“The story is false, and the reporter responsible for writing it dishonestly and, apparently with intent, withheld information given to him in advance of the story that clearly shows the story is false,” said Horne. “This is unacceptable and cannot stand.”
KJZZ identified the former staffer as a current employee of the Pima County School Superintendent’s Office.
One member of that office, Peter Laing, their CFO, served as Hoffman’s policy advisor and oversaw the various federal funding programs during the pandemic.
Hoffman, in turn, told the Arizona Republic that Horne was to blame for not recognizing the missteps of her administration upon taking over.
“It was their choice to bring in their own leadership, so those people needed to figure out all the grant funding. It’s as simple as that,” said Hoffman.
On Monday, in response to the contested Arizona Republic reporting, Hobbs and six Democratic state representatives demanded the convening of a Joint Legislative Audit Committee to audit Horne and ADE over the Title I funds.
In a press release, Hobbs said Horne was to blame for the disappearance of the majority of those millions, around $24 million, which the governor deemed as lost.
“It is unconscionable that Superintendent Horne has let tens of millions of dollars disappear from our schools—critical federal funding that helps students succeed,” said Hobbs. “Our kids deserve better.”
An accompanying letter from the six Democratic lawmakers — Nancy Gutierrez, Lupe Contreras, Oscar De Los Santos, Melody Hernandez, Jennifer Pawlik, and Judy Schwiebert — argued against ADE’s refusal, per department policy, to release its data and formulas determining reduced Title I allocations.
The lawmakers alleged that it was current ADE practices that withheld federal funding from schools.
“School finance officers across the state have tried and failed to recreate the reductions generated by the Department, leading to confusion and doubt regarding the accuracy of those calculations,” stated the lawmakers.
In order to recoup the $29 million, ADE must apply for a Tydings waiver allowing excess funds accrued due to underallocations beginning with the 2020 fiscal year. Approval of the waiver will increase funding to districts and charters, per ADE.
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