Attorney General Kris Mayes accused her predecessor, Mark Brnovich, of election suppression.
In a Sunday interview with MSNBC, Mayes said that Brnovich’s office looked too hard for potential voter fraud. Mayes opined that only taking on five cases would be the norm every couple of years, not hundreds or thousands of cases in any one given year.
“This Election Integrity Unit — which was obviously completely misnamed, it was more like an ‘Election Suppression Unit’ here in Arizona — you know, it spent thousands of man and woman hours investigating conspiracy theories, alleged cases of voter fraud,” said Mayes.
Mayes went on to insinuate that the Election Integrity Unit (EIU) would meet its demise under her administration. The attorney general indicated that the EIU would be replaced with a unit that would challenge election scrutiny.
“We’ve got to put an end to that kind of effort to suppress the vote, we’ve got to change this into a unit that protects voters, protects the right to vote, and most of all, protects our elections officials,” said Mayes.
Mayes said she would prosecute anyone who threatens election officials. She also criticized Republicans for attacking early mail-in voting.
The contempt that Mayes and her office have for the former attorney general has been made obvious in recent weeks. Mayes’ newly appointed chief deputy attorney general, Dan Barr, indicated that physical force was the only means of handling Brnovich effectively.
“The only way to deal with cowardly bullies is to punch them in the nose,” wrote Barr. “That’s what @SecretaryHobbs is doing to @GeneralBrnovich.”
Under the leadership of @AZAGMayes, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office will now work with elections officials across the state and will prosecute the people who threaten them. https://t.co/Yui5nWXtL0
Mayes promised in previous weeks to repurpose EIU resources toward “protecting voting access and combating voter suppression.” Mayes toldThe Guardian earlier this month that she would use her office to protect mail-in voting from efforts to reduce it.
Brnovich established the EIU in 2019 with $500,000 from the governor’s office. He appointed now-former assistant attorney general Jen Wright to head the unit. Wright recently joined the legal team for Mayes’ GOP opponent, Abraham Hamadeh, as he challenges the validity of the 2022 general election.
Wright claimed that recount data revealed some voters recorded by election machines as “undervotes” were incorrect, and that provisional ballot rejections suggested previously invactive voters had their provisional ballots rejected as ineligible.
I’m please to announce I have joined @AbrahamHamadeh’s election contest to ensure that every legal vote was counted in the Arizona Attorney General’s race.
Wright has also initiated legal proceedings against Mayes after her office falsely claimed to The Arizona Republic that they fired Wright, when Wright had resigned before Mayes took office. The outlet hasn’t issued a correction or retraction, since Mayes’ office doubled down on the claim.
Mayes’ office may be in violation of Arizona law limiting agency disclosure of personnel information. Wright further claimed that Mayes’ office discriminated against Wright due to her political affiliation.
💥SERVED💥 “Arizona Administrative Code § R2-5A-105(D) limits the personnel information that an agency may disclose publicly… and your lies to the media fit nowhere within the authorized public disclosures.”
Arizona State University (ASU) professor Neal Lester said that cultural appropriation is equivalent to racism and white supremacy, specifically claiming it lacked humanity.
Lester — an English professor at ASU for 26 years and founder of ASU’s social justice-focused initiative, Project Humanities — made these remarks during a September episode of “Dr. Phil.”
“We can say the same thing about racism, sexism, homophobia. Just because you can’t solve it and don’t see it at every corner doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be aware of it and trying to address it,” said Lester. “I put [cultural appropriation] on the same level as white supremacy, because white supremacy is intersectional.”
Lester added that cultural appropriation was not only inhumane, but disrespectful. “Dr. Phil” host, Phil McGraw, pointed out that not everyone who puts on other cultural items was necessarily doing so in a manner intending comedic effect. Lester responded that even those instances would be reductive, performative, and ultimately disrespectful of those from that culture.
“You’re getting some kind of cultural capital by doing it,” said Lester. “It’s not necessarily who’s hurt by it, it’s who is disrespected by it. A whole culture of people whose identities are wrapped in whatever you’re dressing into and can then take off.”
The focus of the “Dr. Phil” episode, “Appropriation Nation: Has it Gone Too Far?”, concerned in part a 2018 controversy after an 18-year-old Utah teenager, Keziah Daum, posted her wearing a qipao dress to prom. A 20-year-old University of Utah student at the time, Jeremy Lam, quote-tweeted the post with the viral comment, “My culture is NOT your goddamn prom dress.”
Lam later told outlets that Daum’s outfit was a sign of racism. His original caption on Daum’s dress inspired months of memes, where social media users would use the phrase in their own captions when reposting others’ outfits.
Though Lam and a select few social media users at the time claimed Daum’s outfit choice was cultural appropriation, Daum revealed in September’s “Dr. Phil” episode that China invited her to its Qipao Festival to be their guest of honor.
“They loved the fact that someone from America was taking in a part of their culture and showing their appreciation for it,” said Daum. “I wasn’t appropriating it. I wore it because it was a beautiful dress and I appreciated it.”
The episode also addressed content created by former Prager University influencer, Will Witt, in which he wore outfits depicting various cultures on college campuses and then in areas dominated by the culture reflective of that outfit. Witt wore outfits representative of Native American, Mexican, and Chinese cultures. Only those on college campuses expressed negative sentiment toward Witt’s outfits, a majority of whom didn’t hail from the areas dominated by the culture while those in the areas reflective of his outfits expressed positive sentiment.
“The only people who are actually offended by cultural appropriation don’t really have anything else of meaning going on in their lives, it seems,” said Witt. “[Cultural appropriation] is a thing created by elitist white people who don’t really ever talk to these people in these cultures.”
Lester likened cultural appropriation to plagiarism. Witt said Lester’s comments proved him to be one of the “anti-white, ivory tower professors” attempting to domineer cultural norms.
The Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) rejected Gov. Katie Hobbs’ pick to lead the state party on Saturday.
Chairing the party will be Yolanda Bejarano, a longtime union organizer who’d been serving as ADP’s vice chair. Hobbs’ pick was Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo, who also served as a member of her transition team. Bejarano won in a landslide, receiving 70 percent of over 600 state party committee member votes.
AZ Free News reported in December that Hobbs’ endorsement of Gallardo indicated a party divide. The governor issued multiple public endorsements in the weeks leading up to the election.
In 2022 I was elected Arizona’s first Democratic governor in 15 years – and in 2024 we have the once in a lifetime opportunity to flip the legislature blue for the first time in decades.
Altogether, Bejarano boasted a lengthy list of top party leader endorsements, including: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ); Reps. Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-07); Secretary of State Adrian Fontes; Attorney General Kris Mayes; State Reps. Athena Salman (D-LD08), Analise Ortiz (D-LD24), Leezah Sun (D-LD22); State Sens. Anna Hernandez (D-LD24), Juan Mendez (D-LD08); Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cazares-Kelly; Phoenix City Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari and Council Members Betty Guardado and Carlos Garcia; former Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick, Tom O’Halleran, and Gabby Giffords.
By comparison, Gallardo’s endorsements featured a smattering of unions and mostly former leaders from the state legislature and party. Present leadership that endorsed Gallardo included the Arizona Education Association; State Reps. Jennifer Longdon (D-LD05), Consuelo Hernandez (D-LD21), Minority Whip Marcelino Quiñonez (D-LD11), and Amish Shah (D-LD05).
Incredibly proud to have the support of these Arizona Democratic leaders. Together, we’re building a state party that leaves no one behind. I hope you’ll join them in supporting me for #ADPChairpic.twitter.com/ctcZ9Thh7X
However, Hobbs opted to congratulate all elected for the ADP board rather than acknowledging Bejarano’s win individually.
Congrats to the newly elected @azdemparty board – I look forward to partnering with them and @a_dlcc over the next 2 years to win back our US House & Senate seats, deliver our electoral votes for Pres. Biden again, and flip the legislature blue.
Hobbs later issued a tweet thanking former ADP chair, State Senate Minority Leader Raquel Terán (D-LD30), for her past two years of leadership. She credited Terán for helping her secure the governorship, but omitted Bejarano entirely.
“Together, we won the 9th floor for the first time in 15 years and I look forward to all that you will do in Senate leadership fighting alongside me,” said Hobbs.
So grateful for the amazing work and leadership from @RaquelTeran these past 2 years.
Together, we won the 9th floor for the first time in 15 years and I look forward to all that you will do in Senate leadership fighting alongside me. https://t.co/2BggPZngl1
With Bejarano at the helm, the ADP plans on flipping the state legislature next year. Republicans have held a consistently slim majority over the past four years: 16 Republicans to 14 Democrats in the Senate, and 31 Republicans to 29 Democrats in the House, the lowest in decades. The GOP majority began slipping from a recent high point in 2011, when it had 21 members to Democrats’ nine in the Senate and 40 members to Democrats’ 20 in the House.
Other board members are: Rick McGuire, treasurer; Lisa Sanor, secretary; Paul Eckerstrom, first vice chair; Sierra Yamanaka, senior vice chair; vice chairs April Ignacio, Brianna Westbrook, Deydrek Scott, Lupe Conchas, Shanna Leonard, and William Knight.
Congratulations to the new board of the @azdemparty! It’s time to win more elections, serve, and bring our communities together. We look forward to your leadership. pic.twitter.com/QmLhTeXdXo
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is eliminating social-emotional learning and other “woke” initiatives from its administration, with an eye on barring it from schools entirely.
ADE Superintendent Tom Horne explained his vision during an interview with “The Conservative Circus” on Thursday. Horne said that leftist agenda initiatives took away critical funding from teacher salaries.
“The money should be going to teachers’ salaries, and not, as we say, ‘woke’ ideology,” said Horne.
Tom Horne, AZ Superintendent of Public Instruction, discusses the elimination of emotional learning training along https://t.co/ML7GQVsO36
Horne said that social-emotional learning, sexualized curriculum, and critical race theory (CRT) had nothing to do with academics.
“The nonsense is producing the low test scores. If we focus on academics, we can bring the test scores back up,” said Horne.
Arizona students have struggled to perform well in tests over the last few years: a sharp downturn in achievement from forced school closures amid the pandemic following years of general decline.
Last October, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed in a report that students suffered severe learning losses in math and nominal losses in reading due to the COVID-19 shutdowns. In September, ADE revealed that a majority of Arizona students were still failing the statewide assessment.
In response to critics alleging Horne operated out of racial animosity, Horne disavowed claims of racism and noted that he’s been a longtime supporter of Civil Rights. Horne participated in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s March on Washington in 1963.
Horne’s first moves in office included purging ADE of initiatives by former Superintendent Kathy Hoffman: sex chat rooms for minors, such as “Queer Chat”; the division on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI); and references to social-emotional learning.
“The word ‘equity’ in common-use of the English language is a very positive word,” said Horne. “But what they’ve done with Critical Race Theory is they’ve made it into a negative word: it is the desire that we have equal outcomes by racial groups which doesn’t recognize individual merit. I believe in individual merit.”
The Office of EDI contained the Office of Indian Education (OIE), which administered federal and state program resources for Native American students;
As part of ADE’s annual conference that began on Wednesday and concludes Friday, ADE eliminated presentations on social-emotional learning and racial trauma, as well as diversity and equity.
ADE spokesman Doug Nick said that these events didn’t address core academic issues: namely reading, science, and math. Nick said that teachers tell ADE that they oppose prioritizing SEL in the classroom.
“[Teachers] disagree with being compelled to use social-emotional learning curriculum instead of teaching core subjects,” said Nick.
During his campaign, Horne declared “war” on CRT and other “woke” curriculum championed by former Superintendent Kathy Hoffman.
“[CRT is] venal racism, and its war against merit and achievement, which if not stopped, will make us a third world country,” stated Horne.
There are two reasons I want to take office to fight CRT: its venal racism, and its war against merit and achievement, which if not stopped, will make us a third world country.Visit https://t.co/3hsKA2QKwf click donate now in the upper right hand side of web page. Thank you!
The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) is violating state and federal law by making it too difficult for its employees to leave a labor union, according to a Jan. 18 letter sent to district officials by the Goldwater Institute.
Parker Jackson, staff attorney with the Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation at the Goldwater Institute, advised TUSD Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo that a review of five collective bargaining agreements revealed “alarming restrictions” which infringe on the rights of district employees.
“We request that the District immediately act to bring these agreements and policies and practices made pursuant to them into compliance with federal and state law,” Jackson wrote to Trujillo and the district’s governing board.
At issue are memoranda of understanding (MOU) which TUSD has entered into with four labor organizations: the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 449, AFL-CIO (“AFSCME”); the Communications Workers of America (“CWA”); Educational Leaders, Inc. (“ELI”); and the Tucson Education Association (“TEA”) with which there are two agreements.
TUSD employees may freely join a union at any time, but an employee covered by one of the five agreements must receive authorization from union bosses before district officials will process a request to resign from the union. This is unlawful, Jackson wrote, as it restricts when an employee may terminate their union membership and halt union dues deductions from their paychecks.
And then there is the issue of deduction revocation windows and/or deadlines which Jackson’s letter says do not comport with federal or state law. District policies and practices further exacerbate the unconstitutional activity.
For instance, the MOU with AFSCME—which Jackson calls “the worst of the five agreements”—restricts membership cancellation and dues deduction revocations to only two weeks per year, from May 1 to May 15. Similarly, the CWA agreement only permits cancellation of membership and dues deductions in July, while the other MOUs have comparable revocation restrictions.
This often results in an employee revoking their consent to union membership, only to have TUSD continue to deduct dues from each paycheck until the next opt-out period commences or the current membership year ends.
“This is not only unfair and predatory—it is also unconstitutional,” Jackson contends. “An employee revocation is obviously evidence that an employee does not affirmatively consent to pay union dues.”
Jackson’s letter to Trujillo cites Arizona’s Right to Work laws, the U.S. and Arizona constitutions, and various court cases in making its arguments.
“In order to prevent ongoing and future unconstitutional activity, the District must immediately revoke or revise any MOU provision that includes a union dues opt-out period and any requirement that a labor union must approve an employee’s request to stop the deduction of union dues,” Parker wrote. “The District must also revise any policy and procedure that imposes these unconstitutional conditions.”
The Goldwater Institute, which is dedicated to upholding the constitutional rights of all citizens, is a public policy and public interest litigation organization. It frequently initiates lawsuits when government entities do not voluntarily change conduct.
“The Goldwater Institute will always defend the constitutional right of all citizens to associate—or not associate—with whatever private organizations they choose,” Parker said after making the TUSD letter public. “Restrictive dues deduction revocation windows and deadlines, of course, are designed to make it difficult for people to leave powerful labor organizations. Fortunately, the U.S. and Arizona constitutions protect workers and prohibit the school district and the unions’ money grab.”
Terri Jo Neff is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or send her news tips here.
Kris Mayes may have been sworn in as Arizona Attorney General earlier this month, but the legal arguments over whether she received the most lawfully cast votes is still ongoing, with a decision expected in a few weeks on whether Republican candidate Abe Hamadeh should be granted a second trial in his election contest.
Hamadeh’s motion for a new trial has been opposed by Mayes, Maricopa County, and new Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who took over as a defendant when then-Secretary Katie Hobbs was sworn in as Governor. Hamadeh’s reply to the oppositions is due Feb. 6 and is reportedly being written by Jen Wright, the former head of the Election Integrity Unit under Attorney General Mark Brnovich.
After the reply is filed, Judge Lee Jantzen of the Mohave County Superior Court can either rule based on the written pleadings or set a hearing for oral arguments. Any decision Jantzen makes will likely be appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court, which could keep the case in limbo for weeks.
Jantzen dismissed Hamadeh’s election challenge Dec. 23 after a brief trial that featured the results of an expedited and limited inspection of ballots in just a few of Arizona’s 15 counties. The inspections were undertaken in an effort to obtain evidence supporting Hamadeh’s claim that thousands of votes cast for him were not counted during the Nov. 8 General Election.
The evidence presented to Jantzen, however, did not include reports of tabulation problems experienced by Pinal County. Those reports were not made public until Dec. 29 when the statewide recount results were announced, cutting Mayes’ margin from 511 votes to 280 votes out of more than 2.5 million ballots cast.
In a Jan. 3 motion for a new trial, Hamadeh’s legal team points out Hobbs in her then-role as Secretary of State, did not disclose the extensive Pinal County problems to Hamadeh or the judge, even though Hobbs had direct knowledge of the issues prior to the trial. It is enough reason to allow for a more in-depth review of uncounted votes in the attorney general’s race across the state, Hamadeh argues.
Maricopa County has lost the trust of the people.
How can Arizonans have confidence in future elections not knowing if it will be run competently? This only casts doubt into the democratic process that they so loudly claim they’re protecting.
The argument for a new trial recently got a boost from Arizona’s top two lawmakers.
In an Amici Curiae (friends of the court) brief, Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma urge Jantzen to “afford the parties a full and fair opportunity” to determine to answer the pivotal question of which candidate received the highest number of votes for Attorney General in the 2022 General Election.
Petersen and Toma take no position on who is the legitimate winner. Instead, they point to the fact Hamadeh now has “the kind of salient evidence” that Mayes, Hobbs, and Maricopa County argued Hamadeh had to supply to prevail during trail.
The Jan. 25 brief argues those same parties argue it is simply too late for Jantzen to do anything about it on behalf of Arizona voters. But that is not what the Legislature intended when it created state laws which allow voters and candidates to challenge the proclaimed “official” election results, according to the brief.
“The nearly unprecedented circumstances surrounding this proceeding underscore the judiciary’s indispensable role in ensuring that the certified winner of an election did, in fact, receive the highest number of lawful votes,” the brief states, adding Arizona law has “for more than a century afforded contestants a nearly unqualified right to inspect all voted ballots upon a minimal threshold showing of good cause.”
Toma discussed the amici curiae brief shortly after it was filed, pointing to the important role judges like Jantzen play in preserving election integrity.
“Election contests promote transparency, fact-finding, and an independent judicial inquiry when there are credible questions surrounding the accuracy of certified election results,” Toma explained.
In the meantime, Jantzen has another matter he needs to rule on.
Several persons were appointed to serve as ballot inspectors for the various parties during Hamadeh’s trial last month. Compensation for those inspectors is mandated under state law at a rate fixed by the court.
Jantzen, however, did not announce the rate in advance. As a result, those inspectors cannot be paid until an appropriate court order is issued.
Mayes has requested nearly $2,900 for the ballot inspector she chose for review of ballots in Maricopa County, a rate of $445 per hour for 6.5 hours. Meanwhile, Mohave County Attorney Matthew Smith is asking Jantzen to authorize payment to its inspector for 7.5 hours of work on the pay scale similar to an attorney in private practice.
Navajo County also filed a motion to compensate the three inspectors who traveled to Holbrook to inspect ballots in that county. Each of the three traveled at least 100 miles roundtrip and worked between 7 and 9.5 hours.
Unlike the motions by Mayes and Mohave County, the compensation request by Deputy County Attorney Jason Moore of Navajo County took no position on the hourly rate for the inspectors.
Hamadeh’s legal team has until Jan. 31 to respond to the compensation motions. Jantzen can then request additional arguments or issue an order.
Terri Jo Neff is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or send her news tips here.
