by Matthew Holloway | Nov 9, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
With Arizona’s Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs languishing at a 36% favorability rating and her efforts to flip the state legislature blue appearing to have failed, Arizona stands poised to hover in political limbo for the next two years. In effect, Hobbs, who has vetoed 216 bills since taking office, could now be a lame-duck governor.
In an appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Hobbs confirmed her 216 vetoes to the host, proudly extolling the inaction of the log-jammed government in the most insulting terms possible.
“We have a legislature that is run by literal insurrectionists and indicted fake electors. And they didn’t get the message that voters wanted sanity over chaos, and so they kept sending extreme measures that I had to veto. But here’s the good news about our ballot. In addition to all the garbage that the legislature sent, we also had the chance to vote on a ballot measure to enshrine abortion in our state’s constitution.
Right now, the results of that are looking very good. So I’m optimistic about that passing and us being able to restore our rights here in Arizona. “
Dan Coulson of Citizens for Free Enterprise shared video of the moment on X writing, “In a really awkward interview, @KatieHobbs claims that Arizona Republicans ‘didn’t get the message’ from voters… Hobbs currently has a 36% approval rating and Republicans in the State Legislature expanded their majorities so I have no idea what the hell she’s talking about.”
Conservative Political Consultant Constantine Querard observed, “Among what Katie Hobbs calls ‘garbage’ that the Legislature sent to the ballot is border security, cracking down on those who traffic kids for sex, support for our police, and more. I see she’s in fine form as she launches Campaign 2026!”
As reported by AZCentral, unofficial election results showed Republicans poised to expand their advantage in the Arizona House. The State Senate also appears likely to remain in GOP control, as of this report.
Should these opposing forces in the legislative and executive branches of the Arizona government remain unchanged, then it is likely that even basic business of the government will be brutally fought, and no real reforms will be possible for either party, until the inevitable 2026 rematch for the Governor’s office.
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 Matthew Holloway | Nov 9, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
On Tuesday, during the early hours of Election Day, American Majority Action (AMA) announced that with record numbers of early voters in the state of Arizona, it had exceeded 3.25 million voter contacts in its targeted voter group and conducted over 600,000 live conversations with them. In so doing, the group stated that it led the effort to encourage conservative voters to vote early.
Arizona Executive Director of American Majority Action Tracy DuCharme said in the statement:
“We focused our Arizona efforts on generating more absentee ballots and changing the voting behavior of low propensity conservative voters. We have been working with our partners to get more conservatives to vote absentee, whether through the mail or in person. We are having face-to-face conversations with voters at the doors, and through their phones with live calls and personal text messages.
Our absentee ballot generation plan was extremely successful and now 68.98% of conservatives who requested a ballot have returned them. We have engaged in nearly 3 million live contacts over phone calls, door knocks, and text messages with targeted voters. While they are tired of being bombarded through the airwaves, we have found people still appreciate personal conversations about the issues that face us all each day. We’re making a lasting impact on our state, one conversation at a time. I’m proud of the work AMA has done here in Arizona, and I know we’ll continue this mission for years to come.”
AMA credited the employment of advanced canvassing technology in its statement adding, “Face-to-face conversations are the highest form of voter engagement, and are shown to greatly increase election turnout. AMA’s activist groundswell is powered by Voter Gravity’s groundbreaking technology that allows staff to quickly and accurately get out the vote through micro-targeting voters.”
According to the Arizona Mirror, as Election Day voting commenced, 785,231 Republicans had already voted early for a turnout of 52.71% as compared to 643,450 Democrats and 466,140 independents.
Final voting data for the 2024 election is not yet available, however, President Donald Trump has been declared the winner of Arizona’s eleven electoral votes. And as of this report, in the race for the U.S. Senate, Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego currently leads Kari Lake 1,381,684 votes to 1,348,362 votes.
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 Matthew Holloway | Nov 9, 2024 | Economy, News
By Matthew Holloway |
The City of Glendale’s Proposition 499, the “Hotel and Event Center Minimum Wage and Wage Protection Act,” was soundly defeated on Election Day. The defeat was a rebuke to Worker Power, a California special interest group seeking “economic justice and the preservation of democracy.” Prop 499 was met with staunch opposition in Glendale from the coalition “Save Glendale Jobs,” funded by hospitality industry leaders and supported by three Glendale Councilmembers Lauren Tolmachoff, Joyce Clark, and Vice Mayor Ian Hugh.
The ballot measure would have mandated “hotel and event center workers receive a $20.00 per hour minimum wage (increases annually), service charge payments and premium pay to be enforced by a newly created city department of labor responsible for investigating employer violations involving payment of wages, reporting, recordkeeping, and overtime requirements.”
Hotel developer Chris DeRose, president of CivicGroup LLC, a firm seeking to bring a LivSmart by Hilton Hotel to downtown Glendale, was joined on a conference call prior to the vote by Clark, Hughe, Tolmachoff and Councilmember-elect Dianna Guzman. DeRose explained the serious problems that the proposition would cause for the burgeoning West Valley City, deep in an extended project of downtown revitalization as well as business owners.
“We’re in the process of taking that out to capital. Then we get a proposition that gets ballot access that threatens to upend all of our economic modeling and throw uncertainty into the whole project,” DeRose explained.
“Unfortunately, that’s frozen us in our tracks because whether you’re talking to a bank or you’re talking to investors, they want to know, ‘Hey, what’s the labor cost here?’ For a hotel, your number 1 expense, especially in a limited-service model where you don’t have F&B, it’s salary for staff. And so, this proposition has created uncertainty, and we’re not able to answer those very basic questions right now. And as a result, we’re not able to move the project forward.”
He added that the proposition appeared to be a “Trojan horse.”
“What’s really unusual about this, it’s a minimum wage that’s really – it’s a proposition that is disguised as a minimum wage. The minimum wage part is the Trojan horse.”
“The problem is that there’s actually a cap on productivity and that is unprecedented. I don’t know of another jurisdiction in America where you have a cap on productivity and in this case it’s 3,500 square feet, which is about 10 hotel rooms.”
Councilmember Clark noted the serious impact the proposal could have had on Glendale’s competitiveness in attracting businesses saying, “I think it’s important to note that Glendale will be the only city in the state to mandate $20 an hour. And overtime, it’s more than that. It’s $40 an hour, which people are not paying attention to. It puts Glendale at a competitive disadvantage with every city in the state and the Common Sense Institute says that it may cost Glendale anywhere from a million dollars on up annually just to regulate this and in lost revenue from other projects that may have considered locating in Glendale.”
Councilmember Tolmachoff expressed concerns about navigating the regulatory mandate the city would be required to assume saying, “To put the city in a position to be a regulatory authority and to have to intervene and interact between a civil disagreement between an employee and an employer is absolutely no place for a city to be.”
Save Glendale Jobs Chair Kim Grace Sabow said in a statement after the proposition’s defeat:
“I extend my sincere appreciation to Glendale voters, who chose to preserve and protect the jobs our industry creates. I want to thank the many supporters of our effort, without whom this result would not have been possible, including key business leaders, elected officials, and law enforcement. I also want to thank our dedicated campaign team, which expertly managed every aspect of this campaign, and our volunteers, who spread the word across the city about how damaging this measure would be. Together, we formed a mighty coalition.
“I am thrilled for Glendale, which I am certain will not only continue to grow and create more outstanding destinations, attractions, and experiences for visitors but will also continue to deliver more great jobs and career opportunities for Glendale residents.”
According to Maricopa County Elections, the proposition was defeated by 15.32 pts., or approximately 10,338 votes as of this report.
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 | Nov 8, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The next President of the United States has seized Arizona’s eleven electoral votes on his way to a landslide victory in the November General Election.
About 24 hours after polls closed in the critical swing state of Arizona, the state was called for President-elect Donald J. Trump after his sizable lead proved to be too great for Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris to overcome. Trump had already reached his requisite 270 Electoral Votes, without needing the states of Arizona or Nevada, to put him over the top for a shocking and resounding victory for the White House.
The Republican Party of Arizona reacted to the news on its X account, posting, “PRESIDENT TRUMP WINS ARIZONA. Thank you Donald Trump for stepping back into the ring. You never gave up on us, and we will never give up on you. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. Let the Golden Age begin!”
After Fox News and other outlets declared the 45th and soon-to-be 47th President to be the victor of the whirlwind contest against Harris, Trump took to the stage of his party headquarters and thanked his supporters in attendance and millions around the country and world who tuned into his address. He said, “I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president. And every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and for your future. Every single day, I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body.”
As of this report on Thursday night, President Trump leads his opponent in Arizona by more than 155,000 votes. He narrowly lost the state back in 2020 to current President Joe Biden by fewer than 11,000 votes. In 2016, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in Arizona by over 91,000 votes. There are still hundreds of thousands of ballots outstanding across the state that will be tabulated in the coming days before the numbers are finalized and certified.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Nov 8, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Barring a turn of events with additional ballots being tabulated from the November General Election, Maricopa County Republicans appear to be holding onto their positions for the upcoming term of office.
After Tuesday’s November General Election, a number of Maricopa County Republicans are likely returning and / or ascending to positions of leadership.
As of this report on Thursday night, Eddie Cook received 54.36% of the vote for re-election to County Assessor.
Rachel Mitchell acquired 55.01% of the vote to return as County Attorney.
Justin Heap won 52.56% of the vote to assume the position of County Recorder. Heap is currently a state representative.
In a statement, Heap said, “I look forward to immediately beginning the work of transitioning into the office, and working with the legislature to develop a common sense legislative agenda that will make our elections more effective, efficient, and most importantly, honest, while allowing us to deliver faster election results in the 2026 and 2028 elections.”
Shelli Boggs obtained 51.85% of the vote for County School Superintendent.
Jerry Sheridan received 53.78% of the vote for County Sheriff.
Sheridan posted a statement to his X account, writing, “The real work now lies ahead as we work with the community, the Board of Supervisors, and the amazing employees at MCSO to rebuild the Sheriff’s Office to better protect the people we are entrusted to serve. To those voters out there that didn’t support my campaign, I want you to know that I will work hard to earn your trust and support. I will keep the promises I made during this campaign, especially treating every person with dignity and respect, and protecting the civil rights of all Maricopa County residents.”
John Allen was unopposed for his reelection bid for County Treasurer.
As of Thursday’s report of ballot tabulation, Republicans would control the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors with a 4-1 split. Two races – both with a Republican leading – are within three percent or less.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Nov 8, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The right to an abortion will now be enshrined in the Arizona Constitution after voters approved a radical ballot measure on Tuesday night.
Proposition 139 passed in the Grand Canyon State, receiving over 61% of the vote as of Thursday night. It will create a “fundamental right” for abortion up to “fetal viability” and allows a baby’s life to be ended potentially up until birth.
Arizona for Abortion Access released a short statement on its social media platform after the outcome became clear, stating, “We did it! Arizona has overwhelmingly voted to protect abortion access! We proved, yet again, that Arizona is a state that values freedom and individual rights. Thank you to the thousands of voters, volunteers, and donors – this victory belongs to you.”
Pastor Eric Jones, who helped organize a large coalition of local faith leaders against Prop 139, bemoaned the result of the campaign in a statement posted to his Facebook account. Jones wrote, “While I mourn and lament over the passage of Prop 139, there remains a silver lining as over 700 Arizona Christian pastors crossed denominational and doctrinal lines to unite over this biblical issue and take a stand for the sanctity of human life. Our unity and willingness to stand together pleases the Lord. “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity (Psalm 133:1)! And so, let us not grow weary in doing good and let us pray without ceasing. God, have mercy on us.”
Cathi Herrod, another pro-life advocate against this ballot measure, issued a warning about the effects of this amendment on her state, saying, “Arizona will come to regret passing Prop 139 – when girls and women lose their doctors and safeguards, when parents get shut out, when a staggering number of unborn lives end before they even begin, and when voters realize they have been lied to by proponents who would say anything to pass their extreme abortion amendment.”
Herrod added, “I suspect abortion activists know, and that is why they deceitfully lied to voters, telling them there was a ban – when there was no ban – and shamefully telling them women cannot get treatment for miscarriages without passing the proposition. Again, false. But Prop 139 was never about protecting women; it has always been about unregulated and unlimited abortion.”
For several decades, Arizona had been one of the most pro-life states in the country – largely thanks to Republican legislators, governors, and effective activists. Because of the constitutional amendment being passed by voters, a simple majority of the members of the state legislature would not be able to reform any of the policies enacted by the measure.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
