Arizona’s Latino voters may be more likely to vote Republican in the 2024 presidential election, based on the latest surveys of Latino voters.
This voter shift was noted in a recent focus group conducted in Arizona and Nevada among Latinos that were either fluent in English or Spanish. The research discovered that narratives of President Joe Biden’s economic failures, as pointed out by Republicans, had significant influence on the voters.
“[They were] often feeling as though they were constantly working hard just to make ends meet due to the high cost of living,” read the report.
When asked to rank issues based on importance, Latino voters far outranked the economy, pricing, and jobs above social issues like “protecting democracy,” abortion, climate, immigration, guns, school safety, and public safety.
78 percent of respondents also admitted that they weren’t aware of any specific accomplishments by President Joe Biden or Democrats that directly helped them. That’s compared with 67 percent of Black voters who couldn’t identify specific benefits from Biden or the Democratic majority in Congress.
Specifically, a majority of the Latino respondents said that Biden and his “Bidenomics” had done “nothing” for them — in both languages.
Additionally, the Latino respondents believed that crime and public safety were more important to them than the Democratic Party.
When asked which party they would support for the 2024 elections, more than double the respondents remained undecided. The remainder expressed slightly more support for the Democratic Party over the Republican Party.
However, when pressed to cast their potential vote between Biden and a GOP candidate, more Arizona Latino respondents chose the unnamed GOP candidate over Biden.
The voters also expressed distrust of former President Donald Trump and his supporters, who they blamed for their concerns of discrimination and hate.
The focus group was conducted through Valiente Action Fund, a project of the Democratic action group Way to Win.
Way to Win launched in 2017 following Trump’s victory, with the sole purpose of serving as a national donor network to defeat Republicans. The co-founders are Tory Gavito, Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, and Leah Hunt-Hendrix.
Gavito formerly served in various legal and activist capacities across Austin, Texas and Zacatecas, Mexico: first as a lawyer for the Equal Justice Center in the early 2000s, prior to becoming the legal director of Centro de los Derechos del Migrante in Mexico. Gavito then became an associate attorney at the Glenda Pittman & Associates law firm, before becoming the founding executive director for Texas Future Project.
Fernandez Ancona was a former vice president for the Women Donors Network, communications director for Citizen Engagement Laboratory, and senior advisor to progressive donors Steve Phillips and Susan Sandler, consultant to Democracy Alliance.
Hunt-Hendrix — granddaughter of oil tycoon H.L. Hunt and niece of Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt — also co-founded progressive donor networks Solidaire and the Emergent Fund. Hunt-Hendrix also served as a senior advisor for the American Economic Liberties Project and was involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Hunt-Hendrix is not listed currently on Way to Win’s team page, though she lists herself as a co-chair of the organization on LinkedIn as of this report.
The organization spent $110 million in 2020 on key swing states to successfully deliver Democratic victories. Their targeted funding was especially impactful in Arizona and Georgia.
Way to Win’s primary funders have included George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and family, Stryker Corporation heiress Patricia Stryker, prominent D.C. consulting firm Arabella Advisors’ Sixteen Thirty (1630) Fund, and the Tides Foundation-backed One Arizona.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Arizona Republican legislators are fighting back against the Biden Administration’s environmental schemes.
On Thursday, Republicans in the state legislature publicized the transmission of two letters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma. The submissions were written to oppose the EPA’s proposed regulations on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles-Phase 3 and Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles.
The Arizona Senate Republican Caucus argued that “through these massive EPA regulations, the Biden Administration wants to force a transition from gas-powered vehicles, radically transforming our nation’s entire automotive industry and costing billions of dollars to achieve such lofty standards.” The Caucus added that “if these rules go into effect, two-thirds of all new vehicles sold in the United States are expected to be electric.”
In the letter to the EPA on the rule for Greenhouse Gas Emissions, the legislators asserted that the “EPA’s proposed rule will hurt Arizona families and workers by forcing them to buy vehicles they cannot afford, increasing the cost of goods they need, costing them jobs, decreasing the reliability of the electricity they depend on, and weakening our national security by making us dependent on China.”
While Hobbs uses taxpayer dollars for sex change surgeries and Mayes won't carry out her constitutional duties as AG, the @AZSenateGOP and @AZHouseGOP are stepping in to protect Arizonans from promised economic turmoil caused by the Biden Administration.https://t.co/mvz38bUEBO
And in the letter to the EPA on the regulation for Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards, Petersen and Toma presented ten reasons why the federal agency should reject the rule, making the case that the proposed rule “relies on unlawful and faulty calculations for the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, fails to consider safety issues, makes erroneous estimates about grid reliability, and makes erroneous estimates about energy security and critical mineral availability.”
Two additional legislators also weighed in on the EPA’s pending efforts. Senator Sine Kerr, the Chairman for the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water, said, “Not only does the production of these vehicles contribute to hazardous impacts on the environment, but their power source creates huge health and safety risks to drivers and first responders in the event of a crash or a fire. These radical regulations will have catastrophic impacts on lives and livelihoods, as well as an already strained power grid. We urge the EPA to do the right thing and protect our citizens by rejecting these rules.”
Senator Frank Carroll, the Vice Chairman for the Senate Committee on Transportation and Technology stated, “Forcing a transition to electric cars will make our country more dependent on China, threaten our national security, stretch our electric grid to the breaking point, make traffic crashes more dangerous and more deadly, increase the cost of goods and kill countless American jobs. The federal government’s assumption that the average person can afford a $60,000 electric vehicle is completely out of touch with reality and will greatly jeopardize our economy.”
Petersen and Toma’s actions on this front earned recognition from National Review, which featured the letters in a recent article. The Senate President spoke to the publication, saying that “we are stepping in the gap to hold the line against federal overreach.”
Josh Kredit, Chief of Staff for the Arizona Senate Republicans, shared the National Review letter on his Twitter account, adding, “The Arizona Legislature is working to protect consumers and filling the role of what an AG should be doing.”
Pinal County Elections Director Geraldine (Geri) Roll quit her job, leaving the county once again without a leader on election administration.
Roll alleged that politicization of the office had created a hostile work environment left unchecked and even welcomed by County Manager Leo Lew and the Pinal County Board of Supervisors (BOS).
Roll’s quitting comes six months after she first assumed the position: last December. Less than a week prior to her resignation email, Roll provided updates on the county’s latest election administration efforts during this most recent BOS meeting. This included an upgrade to the ES&S management system for software; the rollout of electronic voter check-in and verification tablets known as Poll Pads; and the pausing of their manual tabulation exercise in order to work with the state on improving it.
On the morning of last week’s BOS meeting, Pinal County GOP Chair Belinda Rodriguez emailed the board with concerns that Roll was undertaking actions independently that she and other county GOP leaders believed would jeopardize the integrity of future elections. Rodriguez cited their exclusion from a hand count exercise in May while Pinal County Democrats were included, as well as Geri’s move to cancel a contract for GPS tracking on ballot transports.
“I’m sure Geri was a great attorney in both Maricopa and Pinal County,” wrote Rodriguez. “However, I have some reservations that her knowledge and skills can lead us to a successful election without its integrity being compromised or challenged. I am concerned that we are heading towards another botched election.”
The BOS heeded Roll’s advice and canceled the GPS tracking contract during last week’s meeting (Item 8H).
The following is Roll’s email to the county manager:
With no regrets, I quit.
When you no longer respect those you work for, it is time to leave. I have watched as you idly stood by when I was attacked. I cannot work for an individual who does not support me. The environment fostered by your team and the Board of Supervisors is toxic.
I believe the Elections Department should not be politicized. You relegate impartiality, common sense and dedicated work to irrational, extremist political party views and rhetoric. It is a far reach to see how you will deliver clean elections when you bend to a faction of the Republican party. Clearly, politics are the value this administration desires in a place where politics have no place: elections administration.
In my career, I have never been subject to the ridicule, disrespect, intimidation and attacks on my reputation and ethics that I have endured in these past months.
Really, Not Respectfully,
Geraldine Roll
Lew responded with thanks to Roll for taking on the position as long as she did.
“I want to thank Geri for her service during very challenging times and for the improvements that she identified and began to implement in the Elections Department,” stated Lew. “Although I disagree with her assessment, she has been an impactful public servant, and I wish her the best and know that she will continue to do great things in her career.”
In a December report, Roll attributed disparities between the official canvass and the recount results to administrative neglect.
“One factor underlying this disparity is that the canvass was filed prior to taking an adequate opportunity to investigate any possible anomalies we could discern from polling place returns,” said Roll.
In a January BOS meeting, Roll again admitted that the canvass was done “prematurely” and that the county “certainly” had time to address pressing questions about elections administration prior to the deadline for certification.
“Again, I believe the canvass was done prematurely[.] I think we had enough to have raised a few questions and we should have taken more steps before we canvassed,” said Roll. “No opportunity was taken to really look at those numbers carefully.”
Prior to serving as the elections director, Roll worked for ten years in the county attorney’s and public fiduciary’s offices. While a civil deputy county attorney, Roll advised the Pinal County recorder and elections offices. Prior to Pinal County, Roll worked as a deputy county attorney for the attorney’s offices in Maricopa and Graham counties, and as an assistant attorney general for the state.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Last week, the city of Tempe approved a $315,000 salary for their new city manager, Rosa Inchausti, a principal figure behind Tempe’s diversity initiatives, police reform, and COVID-19 lockdowns.
The $315,000 salary is just the low end of what Inchausti may make in the near future. Incahusti may receive an annual merit step increase of up to five percent of her salary based on her performance beginning this week, or up to $15,750.
Inchausti is a 30-year veteran of the Tempe government who began as a marriage and family counselor for the city but for the past 20 years has led on progressive reforms for the city.
Inchausti was appointed the director to the city’s first diversity program in 2002, after the city faced a discrimination lawsuit and an investigation from then-Attorney General Janet Napolitano into the town for alleged workplace discrimination. (Ten years later, Napolitano would face a discrimination lawsuit of her own while leading the Department of Homeland Security, ultimately settling on the allegations that she permitted discrimination against male staffers). The diversity program quickly became a model that other cities sought to emulate.
Four years into her tenure as Tempe’s first diversity director, Wrangler News interviewed Inchausti on her claims that her diversity work had improved employee morale. However, a follow-up audit at the time saw an increase in employees who reported witnessing or experiencing inappropriate treatment, and a coalition of residents and former employees were challenging the city council on the city’s work environment.
In 2014, Inchausti concocted Tempe’s Anti-Discrimination Ordinance.
That ordinance prohibits discrimination on sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status, military status, disability, and national origin, in addition to the traditional Civil Rights protections of race, color, religion, gender, and age. Due to Inchausti, the Diversity Office investigates complaints of alleged discrimination concerning employment, public accommodations, and housing.
In November 2021, the city added CROWN Act hairstyle protections to their Anti-Discrimination Ordinance. Meaning: employers, public accommodations, and housing providers may not discriminate against someone based on their hair texture, type, or style if “historically associated” with race.
Following her creation of the Anti-Discrimination Ordinance, the city promoted Inchausti to the Strategic Management and Diversity Director.
While serving in that directorship role, Inchausti convinced the city in March 2020 to engage in wastewater testing for the presence of COVID-19. The idea came from Inchausti’s launch of a similar testing program for opioids that began in 2018. Officials used wastewater testing to track COVID-19 hotspots and issue quarantines.
Although datasets weren’t available until 5 to 7 days after the purported carrier flushes their toilet, Tempe relied on the wastewater data to isolate communities — consequently targeting populations regardless of whether they were symptomatic or not. The city relied on over a million dollars in taxpayer funding to run the program in partnership with Arizona State University (ASU).
Inchausti was responsible for quarantining Tempe residents based on wastewater results despite the city admitting that wastewater doesn’t indicate infection, with some residents moved out of their homes and into local motels to quarantine. In a November 2020 interview with the Washington Examiner, Inchausti said she envisioned wastewater testing as a means of preemptive, forced quarantine for future pandemics.
“I think this is a game changer for public health,” said Inchausti. “I think this is how cities should be managed. The power in this is knowing where the virus is before people are showing symptoms or being tested. So, the asymptomatic is where we need to focus.”
Also in 2020, following the summer of Black Lives Matter riots prompted by the death of George Floyd, Tempe sought to “modernize” its practice of policing. In a webinar event last summer, Inchausti and Wydale Holmes, an interim director of the Innovation and Strategic Management Office, unveiled alternative law enforcement structures.
Tempe proposed an alternative, equity-focused 911 emergency response system to reduce reliance on police. Part of the alternative system includes diverting 911 calls to unarmed social services personnel responsible for mental illness and drug-related calls.
They’ve also begun deploying civilians to respond to scenes concerning vehicle accidents, non-violent animal calls, property crimes where the suspect isn’t present, forgery, theft reports, online reports, parking violations, crime prevention education, community conflict mediations, homeless assistance, drug usage, code enforcement, animal complaints, and city park nuisances.
As part of the police reform, Tempe divested funding from police into social services.
Inchausti’s department also led on the city’s “Right to Breathe” initiative, also prompted by Floyd’s death. The city’s report on the initiative euphemized the riots as “local Tempe events.” Proposals in the report focused on disparate, favorable treatment for minority communities justified as equity work, such as offering those communities exclusive financial benefits, work opportunities, internships, and trainings.
Under Inchausti, the city also achieved recognition and partnership with “What Works Cities” — an initiative funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and led by Results For America. The former organization was created by Democratic billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The latter organization was co-founded by two former Obama administration officials: David Medina, formerly the deputy chief of staff for First Lady Michelle Obama as well as Democratic National Convention Committee deputy CEO, an AFL-CIO union legislative representative, Democratic National Committee policy director; and Michele Jolin, senior fellow for American Progress and formerly the Obama White House’s senior advisor for social innovation, as well as a member of Obama’s presidential transition team where she created the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation and their social innovation policy agenda.
In their hiring of Inchausti, the city of Tempe lauded her as the first female to take over the position of city manager.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Americans celebrating the Fourth of July are paying more than they were two years ago.
According to the 2023 American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) marketbasket survey, American families might expect to pay $67.73 for a cookout on July Fourth. This amount is three percent lower than a year ago, but around fourteen percent higher than 2021 numbers.
AFBF Chief Economist Roger Cryan weighed in on the news, saying, “The slight downward direction in the cost of a cookout doesn’t counter the dramatic increases we’ve seen over the past few years. Families are still feeling the pinch of high inflation along with other factors keeping prices high. Don’t assume farmers come out as winners from higher prices at the grocery store either. They’re price takers, not price makers, whose share of the retail food dollar is just 14%. Farmers have to pay for fuel, fertilizer and other expenses, which have all gone up in cost.”
Zippy Duvall, the President of AFBF, also issued a statement, writing, “While the increased costs are difficult and have made it more challenging for some families to put food on the table, it’s important to remember that America still has one of the most affordable food supplies in the world, which is due in part to strong farm bill programs. As we all celebrate the holiday, we encourage members of Congress to consider the contributions of the farm bill to our security and independence by ensuring a safe and abundant food supply.”
AFBF shared multiple factors that might explain the increased prices for food: “Drought conditions have increased the cost of feed and reduced the number of available cattle for the summer grilling season, driving up beef prices; higher potato prices can be attributed to poor weather leading to a drop in production, and general inflation is driving up the price of processed foods like bread.”
According to the AFBF, data for the survey was collected “from 240 stores in every state and Puerto Rico.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A Republican Senator is working to hold the Governor’s Office accountable to its constitutional constraints in the wake of three controversial Executive Orders.
Senator Jake Hoffman, the Chairman of the Committee on Director Nominations, recently announced, with the support of fellow Republicans on his panel, that outstanding nominations from Democrat Governor Hobbs would be held from consideration, pending a meeting with the Governor’s Office. The Senator sat down with AZ Free News for an exclusive interview to discuss his thoughts and hopes for the path forward.
Hoffman first touched on the importance of all elected officials adhering to the rule of law and separation of powers, saying, “The people of Arizona are best served when our three branches of government follow the law, honor our Constitution, and refrain from partisan game playing. Instead of joining legislative Republicans in solving the real issues that impact the lives of struggling Arizona families like food prices, rent and housing affordability, and protecting the innocence of children, Katie Hobbs has chosen to abandon her oath of office with these politically-charged PR stunts in an attempt to pander to her far-Left base.”
He then moved to the necessity of Arizona Republicans acting to quell the constitutional overreach of the Democrat governor – especially with the three Executive Orders over the past week – stating: “The legislative branch has a constitutional obligation to act as a check and balance on the executive branch, especially when that executive branch grossly oversteps their authority. Hobbs’ reliance on unconstitutional executive dictates is reminiscent of the unconstitutional abuses of power by DC Democrats; however, unlike our establishment counterparts in DC, Arizona Republicans are resolved to exercise the full authority afforded to us by the Constitution in order to hold Hobbs accountable.”
When asked by AZ Free News to predict the future of this political battle, Hoffman responded, “Sadly, given the chaos and instability of Hobbs’ administration it seems unlikely that she’ll take the reasonable approach that we’ve requested. I can only expect that she’ll instead choose to continue her radical virtue signaling regardless of the significant harm it inflicts on the people of this state. No matter what route Katie Hobbs chooses, the majority in the Senate will continue to act as a check and balance to maintain sanity and stability in our state government.”
The east valley lawmaker’s leadership will be pivotal to determining how this unpredictable legislative session will proceed for the Grand Canyon State. After the governor’s Executive Order that centralized “all abortion-related prosecutions under the Attorney General to ensure differences in applications of the law by county attorneys do not restrict access to legal abortions,” Hoffman and his committee took the first real action in pushing back. Hobbs has seemingly been unfazed by the Senator’s response, signing several more Executive Orders, including two that arguably generated more controversy than the abortion document.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
