Attorney General Kris Mayes’ official name plaque reads “Landslide Mayes”: a tease of her win last year over opponent Abe Hamadeh.
In a video commemorating the two-year mark of former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods’ passing, Mayes revealed she uses his desk and hoped her legacy would be comparable to his. The video opened with a shot of her desk, with her name plaque reading “Landslide Mayes,” rather than her name.
“If you were to ask me what AG in the past do you consider yourself most like?’ I hope at the end of this people say I was most like Grant Woods, and I work off the premise that he did this job better than anybody ever has,” said Mayes.
It’s been two years since we lost former Attorney General Grant Woods — a good friend and an inspiration. It’s an honor to sit at his desk every day. pic.twitter.com/ttCjtXKQx4
Mayes’ tease about not being a “landslide” winner refers to her slim victory margin; critics, including her opponent, have argued that this margin is inaccurate due to the myriad problems experienced by voters leading up to and on Election Day. Hamadeh maintains that Mayes’ 280-vote margin with which she claimed victory last November — which was nearly halved following a recount — would disappear following the inclusion of the thousands of allegedly uncounted, valid provisional votes.
Earlier this month, the Arizona Supreme Court rejected Hamadeh’s appeal and ordered him to pay over $40,000 in legal fees to Mayes. Following the ruling, Hamadeh announced his bid to take over for retiring Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08).
Woods served as Arizona’s attorney general from 1991-1999. Although registered as a Republican, Woods stood out for his opposition to virtually all positions taken by the Republican Party. Woods worked against the GOP opposition to the statewide recognition of the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, and support for both the English-only initiative and the Chandler roundup.
Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) honored Woods for his work in 2011. In a video highlighting his work, Woods said he would reach beyond his authority to take political action.
“Even though it wasn’t my jurisdiction, I definitely stuck my nose into that one [the Chandler roundup], and we stopped it,” said Woods.
The Chandler roundup, formally known as “Operation Restoration,” was a mass arrest of hundreds of suspected illegal immigrants from July 27 to 31 of 1997. Patrolling officers would arrest any Hispanic individual they stopped who couldn’t provide proof of citizenship. A total of 432 illegal immigrants were deported.
Woods also fought against the state legislature’s bill enabling law enforcement to ask individuals for proof of citizenship and investigate immigration status if illegal immigration is suspected: SB1070. The Supreme Court upheld the law in 2012 in part, striking down other provisions enabling police to arrest without a warrant on suspicion of illegal immigration, criminal charges for immigrants failing to carry federal registration papers, and criminal charges for immigrants seeking or accepting work without authorization.
“I know from being a native Arizonan that our Mexican heritage is part of what it means to be Arizonan, and somehow that’s been perverted,” said Woods.
Under the first year of the Biden administration, Woods denied the reality of the border crisis — going further than even Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ).
We don’t need our Democratic Senators-either one of them—stoking the fake “crisis” at the border. It’s a cynical Republican ploy trotted out when convenient. Time would be better spent on actually helping solve the problem. Bad take on a great speech. https://t.co/BEDavSDvIj
Woods also supported abortion, decrying former Gov. Doug Ducey for signing onto a 2021 petition to the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“I was elected statewide twice as a pro-choice Republican,” said Woods. “There [are] a lot of Arizonans who don’t want the government interfering in the most personal decisions between a woman and her doctor.”
That’s sad. The fight for choice continues. I was elected statewide twice as a pro-choice Republican. There a lot of Arizonans who don’t want the government interfering in the most personal decisions between a woman and her doctor. https://t.co/Q3WhubJqvl
Prior to serving as attorney general, Woods was late Sen. John McCain’s chief of staff when he was a congressman, and endorsed both Democratic presidential candidates in the last two elections: Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.
@Hillary Clinton is the most qualified nominee ever. Trump's the least qualified. Stakes are too high to be on the sidelines. I'm w/Hillary.
The nation’s second-largest teachers union, American Federation for Teachers (AFT), awarded its Arizona chapter an undisclosed cut of $1 million to end school choice and fight climate change in classrooms last Friday.
The AFT funding was part of its Powerful Partnerships Institute (PPI) initiative Real Solutions for Kids and Communities campaign, which aims to boost grassroots efforts that “rejects the culture wars and the toxic attacks against teachers” while making “real solutions for kids.” AFT PPI issued $1 million total in funds to 38 AFT state and local affiliates.
“The Arizona Federation of Teachers will work with partners in immigrant and Latinx [sic] communities to increase culturally relevant books and curricula in classrooms,” stated the AFT Arizona initiative snapshot. “Together, they will push back against the privatization of public education through vouchers and charters [sic] schools.”
In April, BASIS Tucson North became the first charter school in the state to unionize with AFT. They declared themselves a branch of AFT Arizona: the Arizona Federation of Teachers Arizona Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff (AFT-AZACTS).
In a press release, AFT noted that this year’s funds would also go toward “tackl[ing] climate readiness in school buildings” to make them safer for learning. AFT President Randi Weingarten rejected the notion that student success hinged on prevailing culture war issues, calling proponents “extremists” that haven’t offered solutions.
“It’s these programs—not book bans, censoring history and demonizing teachers—that will help young people succeed. As extremists try to divide Americans, attempting to destroy public schools and the opportunity that brings, we know that public schools unite us—it’s why 90 percent of parents send their children to public school,” said Weingarten. “The ruthless and brutal attacks on teachers and schools are in clear contrast to the reality that educators work every day to help students get and stay on track and thrive. While we are promoting and investing in real solutions, the other side hasn’t offered a single suggestion to meet the needs of kids or families.”
This $1 million made up the second year of the PPI funding initiative.
The AFT Arizona president, Ralph Quintana, has consistently opposed the state’s school choice program over the years. In a 2019 statement expressing dissatisfaction with the state legislature’s funding for public education, Quintana said that low funding to public education was the only reason that the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program was a preferred option for parents.
“We must stop the flow of public tax dollars to the privatization of education around the country,” said Quintana. “Perhaps, if ALL state leaders were actually properly funding our public schools there would be NO NEED for ESA vouchers.”
AFT-AZ Pres. Ralph Quintana said in a statement, “We must stop the flow of public tax dollars to the privatization of education around the country. Perhaps, if ALL state leaders were actually properly funding our public schools there would be NO NEED for ESA vouchers.”
As a pivotal election year approaches, Arizona Republican legislators are still working to strengthen election integrity and security across the state.
Last week, Arizona State Representative Jacqueline Parker and State Senator Wendy Rogers sent a joint press release to “announce their firm commitment to rectify issues arising from conflicting federal and state deadlines in the forthcoming elections.”
The legislators shared that the genesis of their concerns lies with a 2022 law, SB 1008, which “elevated the automatic recount threshold from an arbitrary, below national average margin of 200 votes, to a standard of less than one-half of 1-percent (0.5 percent),” adding that “this change brought Arizona in alignment with several states, including Florida, Colorado, and Pennsylvania.”
SB 1008 may have passed out of both legislative chambers with broad bipartisan support, as Parker and Rogers noted in their release, but it does not appear to be a perfect fix to the issues that lawmakers were attempting to resolve, hence the reason for the push to provide a patch for this bill. In commentary with their release, the two legislators wrote, “As the state approaches the next election cycle, an increased incidence of automatic recounts, expected as a result from the change in law, poses a potential challenge to counties in meeting certain deadlines.”
Both legislators issued statements to accompany their announcement. Parker said, “This challenge presents us with a unique opportunity to correct the underlying problems that have plagued Arizona elections, rather than approach it as a temporary band-aid fix that fails to move us forward.” Rogers said, “A true legislative fix will provide clarity, promote transparency, and will save taxpayer dollars.”
In a follow-up release later that day, Parker revealed that the legislators had met with stakeholders, wasting no time in starting the process of fixing the holes from the bill. Parker stated, “We hosted the first of many stakeholder meetings today to hear from the boots on the ground who are in the thick of administering our elections, as well as legal experts. We want to make sure we have in-depth conversations with these stakeholders, so that we can identify the proper fix needed to strengthen the integrity of our elections and the confidence voters have when they cast their ballots.”
Senator Rogers also weighed in, saying, “In order to remedy the unintended consequences of this law, we must first draft proposed legislation, and that certainly won’t happen overnight. This is a painstaking process that will require feedback from everyone involved with our elections procedures. We plan to resolve this conflict before the 2024 election, but we must first thoroughly and methodically work with all parties involved. This could very well take several months, but as Republicans, we are committed to coming up with a solution that is transparent, organized, accurate, secures our elections, and saves taxpayer dollars.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The term “family friendly” has come to include public displays of genitalia, according to the Phoenix Mayor’s take on the latest city-sponsored Pride Festival over the weekend.
Gays Against Groomers, an activist group against promoting LGBTQ+ ideology in children, posted about the inflatable penis costume’s inclusion in the Pride Festival parade. The organization also reported individuals in the nude and in fetish costumes, along with the public display of “condom bars.”
Yesterday at Phoenix's Pride parade there was a literal penis marching in the festivities. Of course the event was marketed as "family friendly." There were hundreds of children in attendance, as our team on the ground witnessed.
Gallego also issued a proclamation declaring a weekend-long festivity of Pride and urged all to celebrate.
“We want to be a city that supports everyone, and I am so pleased to have a great city council that is right there with me,” said Gallego. “I’m going to ask the entire city of Phoenix to celebrate Pride this weekend.”
Gallego’s proclamation appears to conflict with city policy, which states that mayoral proclamations “must not take sides in matters of political, ideological, or religious controversy, or individual convictions.”
The city also served as the Grand Marshal of the parade. Councilmembers Laura Pastor and Debra Stark represented the city’s Fast-Track Cities initiative, which seeks to eliminate HIV/AIDS and discrimination against the sexually-transmitted disease.
Phoenix, what a way to show your PRIDE! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
I had the honor of attending this year’s Phoenix Pride Parade as a Grand Marshal, representing @cityofphoenixaz Fast-Track Cities with Councilwoman @debrastarkphx.
Also present and supportive of the festival were Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Gov. Katie Hobbs.
“Phoenix Pride is a powerful reminder that love unites us all,” said Hobbs in an X post (formerly known as Twitter).
Phoenix Pride is a powerful reminder that love unites us all. Joining last night’s festivities & celebrating the light of the LGBTQ+ community strengthened my commitment to building an Arizona for everyone. #phxPridepic.twitter.com/PW5u6LAHoI
Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity (SUEI), a coalition of parents and community members, accused educators promoting Pride materials of sexualizing children under the guise of inclusivity.
“Teachers who are pushing sexual content in schools and hanging pride flags in classrooms are not ‘inclusive.’ They are sexualizing children,” stated SUEI.
Teachers who are pushing sexual content in schools and hanging pride flags in classrooms are not "inclusive." They are sexualizing children. https://t.co/4Cdsexv7Uf
— Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity (@ScottsdaleUnite) October 23, 2023
One of the other main festival events was the Erotic World tent; unlike the parade, that event was marketed as closed to adults.
One of the festival sponsors was Castle Megastore, the Tempe-based sex toy store chain.
Other sponsors of the Pride Festival included Albertsons and Safeway, Amazon, APS, The Arizona Republic, the Arizona Lottery, Bank of America, Banner Health, BlueCross BlueShield Arizona, Bud Light, Circle K, Coca-Cola, Corona, Cox, CVS, Discover, DriveTime, Edward Jones, El Jimador Tequila, GoDaddy, Greater Phoenix Equality Chamber of Commerce, Intel, Jack Daniels, Leslie’s pool service, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Nascar, Nationwide, PetSmart, Phoenix New Times, Phoenix Suns, ShakeShack, Snooze, SRP, Starbucks, Target, Univision Arizona, Walmart, and Waymo.
Gilbert’s fire and police departments also made an appearance at this year’s Pride Festival parade, despite controversy last year over whether they misused taxpayer funds to attend last year’s parade.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A former Arizona legislator has found a new professional home.
Late last week, the T.W. Lewis Foundation announced the hiring of Steve Smith, a former state legislature, as its new executive director. The Foundation shared that Smith would be managing “grant distribution, non-profit assessments and activities to enhance the foundation’s overall core program areas.”
“It is an honor to work with Tom Lewis and the great team at the T.W. Lewis Foundation,” said Smith. “I look forward to bringing my experience and dedication to the foundation to build upon the incredible mission Tom and Jan Lewis started in helping children and families in need, impacting youth through Christian education, supporting civic minded causes, strengthening America and building God’s kingdom.”
“Steve is an energetic and entrepreneurial leader with significant experience in the public sector and private philanthropy,” said Tom Lewis, the Foundation’s founder. “We are extremely grateful to have found an executive director with his depth of experience and passion for our mission.”
Smith previously served as the director for the Arizona Chapter of the American Federation for Children. He has been one of the top school choice proponents in the state, helping Arizona to expand and solidify its historic Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) program. Earlier this summer, he published an op-ed in the Arizona Capitol Times on the support for ESAs in the state, writing, “It can be tempting to listen to the Eeyores and their defenders in elected office and believe that Arizona would be better off if it went back to an old model where students would only attend the school to which they were assigned, regardless of its quality or whether it met their unique educational needs. Politicians who pursue such a model, however, do so at their own peril. Arizona families and voters of all affiliations believe that more educational options – not fewer – is what we need.”
On its website, the T.W. Lewis Foundation reveals that it was “formed in 2000” and “has provided college scholarships to over 200 future leaders, made gifts to dozens of non-profits that help children and families in need, and supported youth education organizations that build character and encourage civic engagement.” The purpose of the Foundation is to “help children and families in need, impact youth through Christian education, support civic minded causes in our community, strengthen America, and build God’s kingdom.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has agreed to take up a case that would have an impact on Gov. Katie Hobbs’ past censorship activities.
The case, Murthy v. Missouri, focuses on the alleged coordinated campaign by government officials and social media companies to suppress and censor certain speech on major public issues, specifically the COVID-19 lab leak theory, pandemic lockdowns, vaccine side effects, election fraud, and the Hunter Biden laptop story. Hobbs, while secretary of state and during her gubernatorial campaign, coordinated with social media companies to remove certain speech online.
Hobbs’ then-chief of staff and former assistant secretary of state, Allie Bones, said in a statement prior to Hobbs’ inauguration that it was the job of governments to purge the public square of perceived misinformation and disinformation.
“One of the ways we [make sure that voters are informed] is by working to counter disinformation online that can confuse voters,” stated Bones. “This is yet another example of conspiracy theorists trying to create chaos and confusion by casting doubt on our election system. It’s unfair to Arizona voters and it’s harmful to our democracy.”
Although SCOTUS accepted consideration of Murthy v. Missouri, they didn’t accept a lower court’s injunction preventing government officials from continuing their coordination with social media companies to moderate online speech. Justices John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson together granted the Biden administration’s petition to remove the injunction, effectively permitting the government to engage in censorship online.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the SCOTUS majority’s suspension of the injunction was “disturbing,” and that any censorship of private speech is antithetical to democracy. Alito dismissed the Biden administration’s argument that an injunction against coordinating with social media companies to control citizens’ speech was the same as preventing government officials from speaking on a matter.
“The injunction applies only when the Government crosses the line and begins to coerce or control others’ exercise of their free-speech rights,” said Alito. “Does the Government think that the First Amendment allows Executive Branch officials to engage in such conduct? Does it have plans for this to occur between now and the time when the case is decided?”
Alito further declared that SCOTUS had effectively ruled to allow the Biden administration to continue with its First Amendment violations identified by the lower courts.
“At this time in the history of our country, what the Court has done, I fear, will be seen by some as giving the Government a green light to use heavy-handed tactics to skew the presentation of views on the medium that increasingly dominates the dissemination of news,” said Alito. “That is most unfortunate.”
Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch joined Alito in his dissent.
Gov. Hobbs issued an emergency heat declaration with an expired enforcement date the day after additional emails revealing her coordinated censorship efforts were released. Hobbs dismissed the emails as a “sideshow,” but didn’t deny allegations of maintaining unscrupulous relationships with major social media companies.
Hobbs’ past coordination with social media companies prompted the House to establish an interim ad hoc committee on Oversight, Accountability, and Big Tech. The committee first convened in September and met once more earlier this month.
While SCOTUS contemplates the case, Hobbs already has defense provided by the state’s chief legal officer.
In August, Attorney General Kris Mayes joined a 21-state coalition of Democratic attorneys general opposing the then-active federal injunction. Mayes declared that control over free speech is paramount to public safety, implying that governmental interest in safety outweighs the constitutional right of free speech.
“Social media companies and government officials must have open communication in order to ensure the safety of Americans online,” said Mayes. “A pillar of the U.S. government is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its citizens. The lower court’s decision impedes on this protection and means federal, state and local officials cannot contact social media companies about dangerous online content.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
