by Staff Reporter | Apr 12, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Governor Katie Hobbs appointed a new member to the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission: Christina Estes-Werther, formerly the deputy general counsel for former Governor Jan Brewer and state elections director for former Secretary of State Ken Bennett.
In a press release last Friday, the governor explained that she selected Estes-Werther for her extensive knowledge of Arizona election law and administration.
“With her years of practical experience in elections at the state, county, and local level, I am confident that she will bring valuable insight to the Commission as it continues its important work during the 2024 election year.”
Estes-Werther most recently served as one of 18 members of Hobbs’ Bipartisan Elections Task Force, established at the beginning of last year via executive order. Estes-Werther is a partner at the Pierce Coleman law firm; she often serves as counsel for local governments in election-related lawsuits.
That task force earned the ire of some Republican lawmakers, who claimed it was the governor’s way of circumventing transparency in modifying election law and procedures. The task force issued a 69-page report last November with proposals to improve elections administration ahead of the 2024 election.
Hobbs tapped into $2.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to carry out some of the proposed changes issued by the task force. The reliance on federal funding ensured the governor had more flexibility in working around the legislature to seek out her desired reforms.
A year before being named to Hobbs’ task force, in 2022, Estes-Werther served as the privately retained counsel for Santa Cruz County in its lawsuit against an election integrity organization led by Tucsonan John Brakey, AUDIT USA, for submitting a public records request seeking the 2022 primary election’s cast vote records.
The county had sued AUDIT USA after denying the request, in an attempt to squelch further efforts by the organization to obtain the records.
In court proceedings, Estes-Werther had argued on behalf of the county that government officials had the right to sue over fears that the independent auditors’ continued public records attempts would eventually result in a lawsuit against the county.
Estes-Werther characterized AUDIT USA’s attempts at obtaining transparency as putting “a target on [the county’s] back.” A Pima County judge tossed the county’s lawsuit, declaring that Brakey and AUDIT USA had the right to challenge the denial of their public records request.
The judge, Casey McGinley, expressed concern that the county was attempting to set precedent for lawfare against private citizens seeking transparency from their government, per audio recordings obtained by Tucson Sentinel.
“What’s to stop a county from deciding that they’re going to sue a private entity, whether it’s a person or group of people, for fear that one day that person might seek a public records request that they don’t want to provide?” asked McGinley. “I think we can all imagine very nefarious scenarios that could result if a county or other government official could file a lawsuit seeking declaratory relief in response to a public records request.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | Apr 11, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega said he opposes an Arizona ice hockey team’s efforts to buy state land for a new rink in North Phoenix.
In an open letter, Ortega said the Arizona Coyotes’ plans for a new entertainment complex and arena “was presented without mention of market demand for a new entertainment venue disguised as a hockey arena, or congested highway access, or questionable arena zoning entitlement.”
“The glitzy proposal was portrayed as the last gasp to keep hockey in Arizona,” Ortega said.
The team has previously said the proposed complex would generate more than 10,000 jobs and $15.5 billion in spending over 30 years without costing taxpayers. The Coyotes currently play their home games at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena. A proposal for a new arena in Tempe was voted down last year.
Ortega said the hundred acres that would be used for the complex near Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road would jeopardize industry in the city. He argued that water and sewer infrastructure does not exist for such a venue, saying Scottsdale’s “water assets are absolutely not available.”
He called the proposal a “fantasy” due to the team’s lagging attendance.
“I admire the hockey sport, Arizona Coyotes community involvement and phenomenal youth clubs at the Scottsdale Ice Den,” Ortega wrote. “But I along with City of Scottsdale staff will continue to monitor any actions that occur, and negative repercussions for Scottsdale. As it stands today, the fantasy hockey project must move west, away from Scottsdale.”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Apr 11, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona Republicans and Democrats traded insults over the status of a legislative proposal that would increase restrictions on firearms across the state.
Earlier this month, Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes expressed her outrage over the Legislature’s failure to consider HB 2791, which would have regulated guns in the hands of certain Arizonans. The bill was sponsored by Democrat State Representative Stacey Travers and co-sponsored by a bipartisan duo: Republican Kevin Payne and Democrat Laura Terech.
Mayes said, “I’m disappointed, and I’m angry that even narrowly-tailored gun violence prevention bills like the one we worked to introduce this session don’t stand a chance with our current legislature.”
She added, “Our bill that would’ve given us more tools to address threats of violence at our schools is not moving forward this legislative session. But we’re committed to Arizonans to keep on trying in order to protect public safety.”
The bill laid out the process by which an education protection order is filed, adjudicated, and executed in the state of Arizona. Such an order would “prohibit the defendant from possessing, controlling, using, manufacturing, or receiving a firearm for the duration of the order, [or] order the transfer of any firearm in the defendant’s possession or control, including any license or permit that allows the defendant to possess or acquire a firearm, to the appropriate law enforcement agency for the duration of the order,” or both.
Republicans disagreed with the attorney general’s sentiments about the bill. Senate President Warren Petersen wrote, “I’m extremely proud that we blocked legislation that would make it harder for you to defend yourself from criminals and harm.”
Representative Alexander Kolodin also weighed in, saying, “Let Kris Mayes take your guns away? That would be a hard NO from me!”
Travers, the bill sponsor, took umbrage with Kolodin’s attack on her proposal. She argued that HB 2791 has the “same due process as current orders of protection and constitutional rights. Higher threshold to issue order, and (existing) discretionary firearm restrictions. Includes mental health component. Protects LEO, Schools, Kinds. Not reinventing the wheel. Just saving lives.”
The Democrat State Representative promised to re-introduce the bill in 2025, calling it “a great bill with huge bipartisan and community support.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Apr 10, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A judicial decision from Arizona’s high court may have significant political ramifications in the swing state for the 2024 election.
On Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court issued its opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Mayes, finding that the state’s near ban on abortion, which was established in 1864 and reaffirmed several times since, was, in fact, the guiding law on the controversial issue. The vote in the State Supreme Court was 4-2, with one justice recusing himself.
The four prevailing justices wrote that they “merely follow[ed] our limited constitutional role and duty to interpret the law as written…. The legislature has demonstrated its consistent design to restrict elective abortion to the degree permitted by the Supremacy Clause and an unwavering intent since 1864 to proscribe elective abortions absent a federal constitutional right – precisely what it intended and accomplished in 36-2322.”
They added, “To date, our legislature has never affirmatively created a right to, or independently authorized, elective abortion. We defer, as we are constitutionally obligated to do, to the legislature’s judgment, which is accountable to, and thus reflects, the mutable will of our citizens.”
The decision from the Arizona Supreme Court ended one chapter of the state’s abortion saga and confirmed the legal theory of former Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, who, soon after the Roe v. Wade reversal from the Supreme Court of the United States, issued a statement about Arizona’s abortion status. In a statement made on June 29, 2022, Brnovich said, “Our office has concluded the Arizona Legislature has made its intentions clear regarding abortion laws. ARS 13-3603 is back in effect and will not be repealed in 90 days by SB 1164. We will soon be asking the court to vacate the injunction which was put in place following Roe v Wade in light of the Dobbs decision earlier this month.”
Brnovich went to court in Pima County Superior Court to lift the injunction on the abortion law in question and was successful.
However, the Arizona Court of Appeals reversed the ruling from the Superior Court, leading to the consideration from the state’s Supreme Court.
The outraged reaction from Democrats was swift, while the responses from Republicans were mixed.
Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs said, “It is a dark day in Arizona. We are just fourteen days away from of one the most extreme abortion bans in the country. But my message to Arizona women is this: I won’t rest, and I won’t stop fighting until we have secured the right to abortion. That is my promise to you.”
Attorney General Kris Mayes, also a Democrat stated, “This is far from the end of the debate on reproductive freedom, and I look forward to the people of Arizona having their say in the matter. And let me be completely clear, as long as I am Attorney General, no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law in this state.”
Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma, both Republicans, issued a joint statement, saying, “During this [60-day waiting period], we will be closely reviewing the court’s ruling, talking to our members, and listening to our constituents to determine the best course of action for the legislature.”
The conservative Arizona Freedom Caucus cheered on the Court’s opinion, posting, “Today, the Supreme Court of Arizona made the correct ruling, upheld the intent of the legislature, and preserved the rule of law today by ruling that the pre-Roe law will remain effective. … As Republicans, we should be proud of the fact that today the lives of the preborn are more protected than they have been since SCOTUS’ fatally flawed Roe decision more than a half century ago. As Republicans, we should be unashamed in proclaiming the value of life.”
Republican Senator Wendy Rogers also weighed in on the news of the day. She wrote, “Then, as now, LIFE must be upheld in the laws of the land. I will vote against any laws that would dimmish life in Arizona, including any laws that would dilute our existing statutes. Defending life is the right thing to do.”
The Senate Democratic Leadership released a statement after the announcement from the Court, writing, “The Republican-appointed Arizona Supreme Court has decided to criminalize abortion in Arizona by upholding the 1864 territorial abortion ban and end legal abortion in all cases unless necessary to save the life of the mother. It’s a worse-case scenario Democrats predicted and have been preparing for, working to see the future of reproductive freedom in the hands of Arizonans.”
Arizona for Abortion Access, the group working to plant a constitutional amendment on abortion on the November ballot, expressed its anger over the judicial opinion. It said, “Today, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled to uphold a devasting near-total ban on abortion from 1864, a territorial law in place before Arizona became a state. This means Arizona now has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the nation.”
The group revealed that it had over 500,000 signatures from Arizona voters – well over the threshold needed to qualify for the ballot.
Last year, one of Arizona’s top pro-life leaders, Cathi Herrod from the Center for Arizona Policy, came out in fierce opposition to these efforts from pro-abortion interests, alerting her followers that this measure “would tear down virtually all pro-life precautions and make it nearly impossible to regulate abortion.” Herrod also explained how, if passed, the constitutional amendment would likely allow the likelihood of abortion at all stages of life in the womb, stating, “The broad exemption of ‘mental health’ of the mother after viability is widely understood, even in the courts, to mean virtually anything the abortion provider wants it to mean, including stress or anxiety. Even barbaric partial-birth abortion is legal under this exemption.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 10, 2024 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
A transgender high school teacher received a three-year suspension of his teaching certificate for multiple alleged offenses, which included discussing his sex life and conducting private storage closet excursions with students.
Erin Quigley — a man who identifies as a woman — up until recently taught sports medicine for Amphitheater High School at Amphitheater Public Schools (APS) in Tucson.
In response to an investigation launched last year by the Arizona State Board of Education (ASBE), Quigley agreed to a negotiated settlement in which Quigley’s teaching certificate would be suspended for three years. Quigley also agreed to take the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification Prevention and Correction course.
ASBE’s case file on Quigley noted that he gave a student a gold necklace under the pretext of being a “secret admirer” and texted that student to discuss his personal life. According to ASBE, Quigley regularly gave out his personal phone number to students. On at least one occasion, Quigley was reported to have given his home address as well when he invited the entire class to his house for a Thanksgiving dinner.
The student gifted the necklace also reported that Quigley publicly discussed his sex life with students, offering details about how he had sex with many women in the past. Quigley also reportedly encouraged his students to share their sex lives — such as whether they were sexually active or if they needed Quigley to buy condoms for them — and other private information with him.
Another student in Quigley’s class reported that Quigley would periodically leave his classroom to take several other students into a storage closet for up to 20 minutes at a time, leaving the other students unattended.
Quigley also reportedly asked students to hook him up with their “hot aunts.”
In one reported instance, Quigley participated in a prank requested by another student in which Quigley told a female student that he heard two heartbeats through his stethoscope on her midsection, and offered to buy her a pregnancy test.
Quigley also reportedly divulged details of the abuse he experienced from his father, as well as the gender transition processes he had yet to undertake.
ASBE further reported that Quigley managed multiple school clubs granting him off-campus time and access to his students.
ASBE began investigating Quigley after receiving a report of unprofessional conduct from the high school’s general counsel and associate to the superintendent last January.
According to a feature by Northern Arizona University (NAU), Quigley received his Career and Technical Education (CTE) Bachelor of Science in Education (BSED) in 2015, followed by a CTE graduate certificate in 2016.
However, neither of NAU’s commencement programs from 2015 (May, December) listed any CTE BSED candidates named “Erin Quigley,” nor do they list any individuals with the last name “Quigley.” NAU ceased digitizing its full commencement programs after 2015.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 10, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The U.S. leader of a top global feminist organization, Women’s Declaration International (WDI), urged Arizona’s Democratic lawmakers to support a bill protecting women’s rights by ending gender identity codifications.
Senate Bill 1628, the Women’s Bill of Rights by Senator Sine Kerr, was passed in the House last week and will head to the governor’s desk. SB 1628 would codify new definitions for sex-based terms used in statutes, administrative rules, regulations, and public policies. It’s unlikely the bill will be codified: Governor Katie Hobbs has openly expressed her disapproval for similar bills she deems against LGBTQ+ ideology.
“The purpose of this act is to bring clarity, certainty, and uniformity to the laws of this state regarding sexual discrimination, equality of the sexes and benefits or services that are specifically provided to males and men and females and women,” read the bill.
WDI USA President Kara Dansky, a Democrat, wrote in an Arizona Daily Independent op-ed that the popularized replacement of the concept of sex with gender identity results in the discrimination and oppression of women.
“[The victories of women’s rights] are being thrown out, including by Democratic women leaders, because of the nonsensical, psuedoscientific concept of ‘gender identity’ — the idea that somehow sex isn’t real, that a person can be the opposite sex, or that there is some mysterious third sex class (there isn’t),” said Dansky. “There is nothing progressive about pretending sex isn’t real.”
Dansky’s organization most recently filed a brief in the ongoing Washington court case determining whether a female-only nude spa may exclude men.
Significantly, SB 1628 would declare in no uncertain terms that the term “sex” indicated the existence of only two sexes: male and female, biological truths established at birth which are “objective and fixed.” The defined term “sex” further explicitly excludes concepts like “gender identity” or similar terms, which the bill noted imparted subjective senses of self and antonymous with the term “sex.”
The legislation further clarified that differences in sex development wouldn’t establish a third sex, such as those cases in which an individual with a congenital and medically verifiable disorder or difference in sex development. In those cases, the bill specifically directs compliance with accommodations according to federal and state law.
Other definitions given for sex-based terms included:
- “Male,” meaning an individual who has, had, will have or would have, but for a developmental anomaly or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces sperm for fertilization of female ova;
- “Boy,” meaning a human male who has not yet reached adulthood;
- “Man,” meaning an adult human of the male sex;
- “Father,” meaning a male parent of a child or children;
- “Female,” meaning an individual who has, had, will have or would have but for developmental anomaly or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces an ova;
- “Girl,” meaning a human female who has not yet reached adulthood;
- “Mother,” meaning a female parent of a child or children;
- “Equal,” meaning the recognition of the equality of sexes but not sameness or identicality;
With those definitions, Senate Bill 1628 would effectively root out gender identity protections by replacing the term “gender” with “sex” in all laws, rules, publications, orders, actions, programs, policies, and signage. The bill also directed the sex-based segregation of environments like bathrooms, locker rooms, living facilities, athletics, domestic violence shelters, and sexual assault crises centers.
Further, public schools as well as those agencies that collect vital statistics related to sex would identify all individuals as either male or female.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
