Her office says Gov. Katie Hobbs intends to unleash “Arizonan innovation” in order to grow the State’s workforce. This includes the first executive order of Hobbs’ term along with a 100 Day Initiative which was announced Tuesday.
“Right now, Arizona’s working families face ongoing economic uncertainties,” a statement by Hobbs’ office reads. “Governor Hobbs knows what’s possible when leaders work together to improve the lives of those they represent. That’s why she will work with the legislature to put more money in pockets and provide meaningful relief for so many working families in Arizona.”
According to the statement, Hobbs plans to prioritize lowering the costs for families with children through state level child tax credits, sales tax exemptions for diapers, and a sales tax holiday for back to school shopping.
She also intends to push for sales tax exemptions to help working families, and to help Arizonans secure good-paying jobs by creating more career and technical education opportunities and expanding child care assistance.
But how the governor intends to pay for her plan has not yet been announced.
In the meantime, concerns are being raised about Hobbs’ first Executive Order which was promoted by the governor’s office as “protecting employment opportunities” for Arizona’s workers.
As previously reported by AZ Free News, much of the emphasis of Executive Order 2023-01 involves barring gender identity discrimination.
Yet Hobbs appears to be trying to expand discrimination protection by dictating how religious organizations must operate if they want to contract with the State. It is a sort of reverse discrimination which Arizona law actually prohibits, according to critics of the governor’s effort.
EO 2023-01 directs the Arizona Department of Administration to establish procedures for use by all State agencies to ensure that hiring, promotion, recruitment, compensation, and tenure “is on the basis of merit and qualifications” is in accordance with all existing federal, state, and local laws, rules, policies, or executive orders.
It also mandates that “all new state contracts or subcontracts” include the same provisions to prohibit discriminatory practices based on race, color, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, political or religious affiliation or ideas, culture, creed, social origin or condition, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, military service or veteran status, or marital status.
But many state agencies, like the Department of Child Safety and the Department of Health Services, heavily rely on religious organization such as Catholic Charities and other faith-based groups to provide much needed services, particularly for Arizona’s at-risk children.
Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, expressed concern that the anti-discrimination effort of Hobbs’ first executive order might actually violate Arizona law and the rights of non-secular agencies.
“The question is does the state want to continue to have faith-based agencies providing such critical foster care and adoption services?” Herrod says. “Because if they didn’t award the contract because of the religious entity’s beliefs, then they’re violating their constitutional and statutory rights.”
EO 2023-01 does not address how Hobbs will ensure those critical social services remain available nor how competing discrimination arguments would be resolved. But state law generally trumps an individual governor’s wishes.
And while the executive order will apply to thousands of state jobs, all state offices headed by one or more statewide elected officials—such as the Attorney General, Treasurer, and Secretary of State—are exempted from compliance. This likely leaves hundreds of other state jobs outside the scope of Hobbs’ order.
“Although these organizations are not included they are encouraged, along with all private employers operating in Arizona, to adopt similar employment opportunity protections,” Hobbs noted in EO 2023-01.
EO 2023-01 does not confer any legal rights or remedies upon any persons and “shall not be used as a basis for legal challenges to a State Agency’s refusal to consider an applicant for employment, the removal of an applicant from consideration for employment, the denial of an employment application, or any inaction of a State Agency.”
Terri Jo Neff is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or send her news tips here.
New year, new policy: the University of Arizona (UArizona) began paying for gender reassignment surgeries for both employees and their children on Jan. 1.
UArizona will cover up to $10,000 for these procedures through a newly established Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA): an employer-funded, tax-free health benefit that reimburses employees. Both employees and their dependents are eligible for the HRA.
The HRA would also cover fertility treatments, but only up to $2,500.
UArizona announced the reimbursement plan in the week after Thanksgiving. The HRA administrator is Navia Benefit Solutions, and offered through enrollment in the Arizona Department of Administration’s High-Deductible Health Plan or Triple Choice Plan.
The university has supported transgenderism openly over the past few decades. In 2013, UArizona lifted up a transgender former professor, Susan Stryker, who established their Transgender Studies Initiative.
Stryker retired, but is a visiting professor for Yale University, distinguished chair for Mills College, and co-editor for a Duke University Press book series on gender. Buzzfeed named Stryker as one of 24 individuals who radically reformed public perception of transgenderism.
The UA's Susan Stryker has been listed as an American who has changed the way we think about transgender rights: http://t.co/ciVVsElHgw.
UArizona also offers a “Gender Affirming Treatment” through their student health insurance plan, a benefit which is also available at Arizona State University (ASU) and Northern Arizona University (NAU). UArizona offers insurance through UnitedHealthcare.
The university also issues room assignments based on students’ preferred room gender through “open housing rooms” within “Gender Inclusive Housing” groups on certain floors or in certain dorms. Preferred names and pronouns are permitted to be changed for class rosters, emails, and other non-legal uses.
The university allows individuals to use restrooms corresponding with their gender identity, as well as offering restrooms that allow both genders.
UArizona received over $327.6 million from the state general fund in the last fiscal year. Current tuition rates are set at over $13,200 for residents, and over $39,500 for non-residents.
The university has a 50 percent four-year and 68 percent six-year graduation rate.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Gov. Katie Hobbs selected as her spokeswoman a leader of two leftist dark money organizations and supporter of an FBI Most Wanted terrorist.
Hobbs’ spokeswoman, Josselyn Berry, served as leadership in two organizations that managed funds from Democratic dark networks. Berry served as the program manager for Arizona Wins from 2015 to 2016, and executive director for ProgressNow Arizona (now Progress Arizona) from 2016 through 2019.
Progress Arizona’s sponsor, Way to Win, launched in response to former President Donald Trump’s 2016 victory as a national donor network for defeating Republicans. It spent $110 million in key states, including Arizona, to ensure Democratic victories in 2020. Its major funders include 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.
Specifics about Progress Arizona’s financials (filed under “ProgressNow AZ”) aren’t publicly available. IRS public documents for the 501(c)(4) nonprofit only include the organization’s tax-exempt notification letter. ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom site, was only able to obtain the extracted financial data for their fiscal year 2020 filing, but no specific details to reflect the $3.9 million revenue. An initiative of Progress Arizona, ProgressNow AZ Institute, had revenues of over $500,000 in 2020, but source documents weren’t available for that filing, either.
Of note, Hobbs’ campaign shared the same mailing address as ProgressNow and Arizona Wins: a UPS store in Phoenix shared over the years by several other Democratic political action committees (PACs), activist organizations, and even candidates. These groups also have ties to the political operative behind at least 50 political action committees or candidate campaigns over the last five years.
That operative, Dacey Montoya, had the email for her consulting firm, The Money Wheel, listed as a contact for Hobbs’ secretary of state and gubernatorial campaigns, and received about $188,500 over the past four years. Montoya’s PAC received $37 million from fallen crypto giant FTX leader Sam Bankman-Fried, as well as over $1 million from committees for Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Governor Katie Hobbs.
While serving as the communications director for the Arizona State Senate Democratic Caucus, Berry quoted FBI Most Wanted Terrorist Assata Shakur in a tweet following George Floyd’s death. The Senate Democrats also shared the quote on their Twitter feed, but were forced to delete it and issue an apology after it stoked controversy.
The Senate Democrats claimed ignorance of Shakur’s criminal history and terrorist status. Shakur was a Black Liberation Army member sentenced to life in prison for murdering a cop and committing armed robbery, among other crimes. She escaped prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba; the FBI has a $2 million reward for her apprehension.
Berry, who was hired as an Arizona Democratic Party spokeswoman last year, never deleted the tweet.
Berry graduated from Arizona State University (ASU) Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, where she was also in the Barrett Honors College.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A prominent Jewish rights group falsely claimed that the University of Arizona (UArizona) professor shot and killed last October was targeted due to antisemitism. The Simon Wiesenthal Center named the UArizona slaying as one of last year’s top 10 worst antisemitic incidents.
The killer facing charges, 46-year-old Murad Dervish, disclosed that his motive for killing concerned perceived disrespect from the Department of Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences run by the slain professor, Thomas Meixner. The professor had denied Dervish a teaching assistant position for this spring semester.
Belief that Dervish’s motive for killing was antisemitism arose from testimony by another professor. Although Meixner wasn’t Jewish, Dervish reportedly believed he was based on his research using an online background checker.
This detail and speculation of antisemitism was disclosed by another of Dervish’s intended targets that fateful day: Meixner wasn’t Dervish’s first or only target.
Dervish first sought out Eyad Atallah, who Dervish knew wasn’t Jewish. Atallah was aware of Dervish’s animosity toward him, telling the Arizona Daily Star that he bought a bulletproof vest to teach classes. Atallah said that Dervish sent antisemitic messages about Meixner, though both UArizona President Robert Robbins and Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said that filed complaints didn’t meet the threshold for pressing charges.
Here is one of the Simon Weisenthal Center's "Top Ten Worst Global Anti-Semitic Incidents" for 2022. A gunman is said to have killed a professor because he mistakenly thought the professor was Jewish
If these lists are so necessary, you have to wonder why they just make stuff up pic.twitter.com/462QuoNeJI
Dervish’s escalation from menacing language to killing may have also arisen from an eviction notice served the week prior to the killing. His former neighbors told reporters that they felt threatened by Dervish for over a year. Dervish attempted to fight his female neighbors, and would watch them come in and out of their house.
“First thing ever he said to both me and my other roommate, different times, was, ‘You won’t last long here,’” said one of the women.
Neighbors of the man whose accused of killing the University of Arizona professor said they’ve felt threatened by Murad Dervish for more than a year. https://t.co/vDTTLViTpbpic.twitter.com/XkBfcA7an0
Dervish’s father, Dolgun, said that his son struggled due to having Asperger’s Syndrome and later, alcoholism. Dervish went to prison on three separate occasions.
Dervish had attempted to kill in the past, but not because of antisemitic beliefs. He pulled a knife on a pizza man while at Penn State University. He later served a prison sentence for attempting to kill his own mother by strangling her with a scarf.
In 2011, Dervish was arrested and sentenced to prison for some undisclosed crime in California.
Dervish also had a restraining order filed against him in 2020 while he was a teaching assistant at San Diego State University. The complainant was a woman who claimed he harassed and stalked her, and even ignored the order against him. Prior to that, Dervish assaulted his father at his restaurant. Dervish reportedly smashed restaurant equipment with a crowbar, threw a plate at his father, and hit his father’s back.
Prosecutors haven’t characterized Dervish’s killing as a hate crime. He faces seven charges including first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, first-degree burglary, possession of a deadly weapon, and endangerment.
CAMPUS SHOOTING IN TUCSON
Yesterday, on the campus of the University of Arizona, professor Dr. Thomas Meixner was shot and killed.
The suspect, Murad Dervish, 46, one of Meixner’s former students, has been arrested and will be charged.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake must start her election challenge appeal at the Arizona Court of Appeals – Division 1, rejecting Lake’s argument for a transfer of the case in hopes of expedited handling.
The order declining Lake’s request to bypass a three-judge panel at the court of appeals in Phoenix noted “no good cause appears to transfer the matter to this court.” It also noted there had already been a scheduling order issued in case with possible oral argument slated for Jan.24.
It is a decision Lake appears to have accepted.
My court case will be going before the Appeals Court prior to the Arizona Supreme Court because it's already been scheduled for review.
This decision was done without prejudice & I am confident the case will end up in their hands eventually.
The defendants in Lake’s election challenge include the five members of the Maricopa County board of supervisors, the county’s two elections directors, and Recorder Stephen Richer. Katie Hobbs was also a defendant in her official capacity as Arizona Secretary of State at the time of the election.
The courts have now substituted Adrian Fontes as the defendant in his role as the new secretary of state, although Hobbs remains a defendant in her personal capacity as a contestee for governor.
Lake filed on Dec. 30 to have the Arizona Court of Appeals overturn the findings made by Judge Peter Thompson of the Maricopa County Superior Court, who denied Lake’s election challenge on Dec. 24 after a two-day trial.
Then, as reported by AZ Free News, Lake’s attorneys filed a petition the next day to transfer the appeal directly to the Arizona Supreme Court.
The three judges assigned to the panel that will hear Lake’s appeal are Maria Elena Cruz, Angela K. Paton, and Peter B. Swann.
Terri Jo Neff is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or send her news tips here.
Last month, the University of Phoenix hosted a 21-day “equity challenge” for its staff. The challenge was voluntary for faculty and staff, and hosted by the Office of Educational Equity.
Focus areas for the challenge included allyship, disability, education, health care, interpersonal and institutional racism, and understanding privilege. This was the second year that the university hosted the challenge.
The director of student diversity and inclusion, Tondra Richardson, stated that the equity challenge ensured participants developed social justice outlooks for taking up leadership roles.
“This year’s challenge focused on giving participants the practical resources needed to develop inclusive leadership skills,” stated Richardson. “This year we also gave participants the opportunity to earn the Inclusive Leader: Commitment to Equity Badge, which allowed participants to demonstrate a tangible commitment to putting empathy, compassion, and curiosity into action.”
A project marketing manager for the university, Ivy Wong, testified that the challenge reconditioned her thinking on her own cultural awareness deficiencies.
“It is a rare opportunity to take a step back to reflect on my own inherent bias, as well as my social and cultural conditioning,” said Wong. “After these few weeks, I have more self-awareness and know what I need to unlearn and relearn.”
The challenge stemmed from an eponymous organization launched by Eddie Moore, a longtime diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) advocate and founder of another social justice education organization, The Privilege Institute. Moore tailored his organization’s content for the university.
The organization suggests the first day’s challenge to be a study of a “Becoming Anti-Racist” graphic. The organization misattributed the graphic to activist Ibram X. Kendi — a doctor by the name of Andrew Ibrahim created the graphic.
The graphic charts an individual’s progression through three “zones” that one must advance through to become anti-racist: the “fear zone,” in which individuals deny racism is a problem and speak with others that look and think like them; the “learning zone,” in which individuals recognize racism is a present and current problem, understand their privilege in ignoring racism, educate themselves about race and structural racism, and admit vulnerability to biases and knowledge gaps; and the “growth zone,” in which individuals identify that they unknowingly benefit from racism, promote and advocate for anti-racist policies and leaders, dwell in discomfort, speak out against racism, educate peers on racism in their profession, yield positions of power to those otherwise marginalized, and surround themselves with others that look and think differently than them.
Learning a lot and striving to be better. Created this visual mental model as a way to help keep myself accountable (Adapted from one I had seen for #COVID a couple months ago.)
— Andrew M. Ibrahim MD, MSc (He/Him) (@AndrewMIbrahim) June 7, 2020
The University of Phoenix will follow up this 21-day challenge and promote a “National Day of Racial Healing” with an “Inclusive Cafe” next Wednesday. The university will also host a webinar series on Jan. 19 teaching staff and faculty how to continue their commitment to equity in 2023.
Past equity-focused webinar series have discussed how ableism leads to inequality, how others should serve indigenous communities, and what racism is.
In defining racism, the university defined racism as the exploitation, control, and violence directed at non-white people. The focus on defining racism declared that the concept of race was invented with the colonization and founding of the U.S., and that racism is a problem perpetuated by favoritism of whiteness.
The University of Phoenix also has a Center for Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Research, which offers fellowships for faculty, students, and alumni. Fellows research an advanced version of the DEI term: diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB).
The university will also have a second annual Inclusive Leadership Summit from May 2-4.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
