With the primary election over and the general election drawing near, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is leaning into his image as an independent candidate.
On Tuesday, Kelly republished an edited version of campaign messaging issued from last month announcing a 50-person bipartisan coalition of constituents. The senator shifted his presentation from an official with bipartisan support to an “independent voice” for Arizonans.
I’m in the Senate to be an independent voice for all of Arizona and I’m proud to have the support of nearly 50 Republican and Independent leaders in this election.https://t.co/KgszYN4ZrM
Last week, Kelly aided the passage of President Joe Biden’s controversial Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) without the hesitation initially posed by Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). The senator said that the IRA would lower prescription drug costs, implement funding to combat drought and “climate change,” and reduce the deficit. Kelly promised that the IRA wouldn’t result in increased taxes for small businesses and middle-class Arizonans.
Kelly aligned with the Democratic Party on all fronts concerning the IRA, rejecting across the board amendments that would finish the border wall, approve coal leases, increase domestic oil production, protect those making under $400,000 from additional tax audits, limit price controls for treatments on conditions like cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, require oil and gas lease sales in the outer Continental Shelf, provide discounted insulin for low and middle-income Americans, remove $45 million in climate-related expenditures, retain Title 42, strike a tax increase resulting in higher energy prices for those earning under $400,000, hire more Border Patrol agents, reduce drug prices, invest in violent crime prevention, and prohibit tax credits for electric vehicles built with slave labor.
With Kelly’s support of the IRA expansion of the IRS by 87,000 more agents, it’s likely that most Americans making under $200,000 a year will be audited. 2021 IRS data revealed that over half of their audits focused on individuals making less than $75,000 a year.
Over 75% of IRS audits targeted Americans making under $200,000 per year.
Democrats want to hire 87,000 new IRS enforcers to target the middle class even more. pic.twitter.com/cxmCqE4eBN
Kelly’s campaign tone shift follows that of his Republican opponent, Blake Masters. As AZ Free News reported earlier this week, Masters opted to describe himself as “independent” in his latest campaign video, rather than displaying his endorsement from former President Donald Trump or interviews with popular right-leaning shows.
Media coverage of Masters’ shift may have prompted the candidate to backtrack somewhat. At some point over the last week, Masters rendered the video “unlisted”: meaning, the video doesn’t appear anywhere on his profile, and remains accessible only through a direct link, like the one we’ve provided above. However, the video remains on his Twitter page.
“Other” voters total just over 1.4 million, tens of thousands more than the 1.2 million registered Democrats. Registered Republicans total well over 1.4 million.
Throughout his tenure, Kelly has insisted that the issues he represents are neither Democrat or Republican issues. Often, he characterizes his stances as “Arizona priorities.”
Fortifying our water supply. Investing in small businesses. Protecting communities from wildfires.
These aren’t Democrat or Republican priorities — they’re Arizona priorities.
That’s what I’m focused on.
— Captain Mark Kelly (@CaptMarkKelly) May 12, 2022
Masters predicted in July that Kelly would shift his campaign tone to attract more independents, especially with Biden’s approval ratings at historic lows. The president’s IRA passage offered a slight boost from a historic low of 36 percent to 40 percent — though his inroads with Democratic and Republican approval numbers weren’t reflected among independent voters, who dropped further in their support.
Joe Biden has failed. Senator Mark Kelly has failed. They have nothing to run on. So Kelly will lie and pretend to be independent — it’s not going to work. pic.twitter.com/UsUYcVG8Jx
Gov. Doug Ducey signed an Executive Order on Friday for the immediate fortification of a gap in the U.S. – Mexico border in Yuma, just hours before a U.S. Consulate issued a “shelter in place” advisory for Americans living and working in Tijuana south of the border from San Diego.
“For the last two years, Arizona has made every attempt to work with Washington to address the crisis on our border,” Ducey said. “Time and time again we’ve stepped in to clean up their mess. Arizonans can’t wait any longer for the federal government to deliver on their delayed promises.”
The executive order was issued by Ducey a mere two weeks after the White House announced it would address the unsecured border in Yuma once various reviews and studies were completed. However, there was no estimate provided as to when that may be.
Ducey’s decision to authorize immediate placement of 60 double-stacked, state-owned shipping containers to fill in a 1,000-foot gap long complained about by law enforcement officials will increase national security by ensuring border security, according to Jonathan Lines, Yuma County Supervisor.
“Border communities like Yuma bear the burden of a broken border while narcotics poison our youth, human smuggling rises and mass amounts of migrants wear on our nonprofits,” said Lines, adding that Ducey was coordinating with state and local resources “to do what the federal government won’t: secure the border.”
The project overseen by state contractor Ashbritt will utilize a 25-person team of heavy equipment operators and support personnel to link together and weld shut the containers, each of which weigh more than four tons. When completed on Monday, the new barrier wall will reach about 22 feet and be topped with concertina wire.
HAPPENING NOW: Construction begins on a physical barrier at the Yuma portion of the border 🔸60 double-stacked shipping containers, welded shut 🔸Topped with 4 feet of razor wire 🔸Height: 22 feet 🔸Weight: 8,800 lbs pic.twitter.com/VQmYIynf8U
The move to close the large gap in Yuma also came just days after President Joe Biden lifted the Remain in Mexico immigration policy which has been providing one of the few immigration controls at the border.
The U.S. Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector under the leadership of Chief Patrol Agent Chris Clum experienced more than 235,000 migrant encounters from Oct. 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. The governor’s office called it “an ominous acceleration” for the Yuma Sector, which had the highest annual increase in encounters of all USBP sectors for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2021.
Nonprofits and shelters in Yuma County set up to assist migrants have been operating for months at overcapacity. In addition, law enforcement, first responders, and local medical facilities have been overwhelmed by the influx, which includes extremely high quantities of fentanyl coming across the border Arizona lawmakers made a $335 million investment in the Arizona Border Security Fund to construct and maintain a border fence, of which $6 million will be used put the new barrier in place in Yuma.
“Republicans in the Legislature made border security a priority in this year’s budget, and I’m thankful to Governor Ducey for wasting no time in putting those funds to good use,” said Rep. Ben Toma. “Improvements to the border wall will make our communities safer by combating human trafficking and stemming the flow of fentanyl into the state.”
Just hours after Ducey signed Executive Order 2022-04 on Friday, the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, Mexico warned of cartel violence in several Mexican cities along the border with California, including Tijuana, Mexicali, Tecate, Rosarito, and Ensenada.
The Consulate warning called on U.S. citizens already in those areas to seek secure shelter and remain aware of their surroundings. The warning also advised Americans on the Mexico side of the border to monitor local media for updates and “notify friends and family of your safety.”
1/2 The U.S. Consulate General Tijuana is aware of reports of multiple vehicle fires, roadblocks, and heavy police activity in Tijuana, Mexicali, Rosarito, Ensenada, and Tecate. U.S. government employees have been instructed to shelter in place until further notice. pic.twitter.com/oghBX1P7qX
The violence, which is due to internal strife within the Sinaloa Cartel as well as pressure from other cartels, is not limited to border communities near California.
Last Thursday, several killings occurred in Ciudad Juarez, a city of 1.5 million across the border from El Paso. The violence started with a deadly fight at a Mexican prison between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. Within hours, several fires and frequent gunfire was reported throughout Ciudad Juarez, often targeting non-cartel interests.
A statement by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday confirmed that “innocent civilians were attacked as a kind of retaliation” in connection with the prison fight.
Thursday, the Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) Governing Board delayed its decision on using BLOOM365, a violence prevention program, after parents discovered its CEO mocking them in a private teacher group she administered.
Concerned parents and community members who spoke at the governing board meeting compared BLOOM365 CEO, Donna Bartos, and the private Facebook group she administered, Peoria Drives Change, to “Mean Girls.” A Tolleson Union School District (TUSD) teacher, Melissa Girmscheid, was also one of the administrators. The Facebook group doesn’t appear to exist anymore.
“BLOOM365” is an acronym for their slogan, “Bring Love On Others More 365 Days a Year,” with the main mission of preventing teen dating abuse. If approved, the nonprofit would provide PUSD with staff training as well as curriculum, programs, and resources on healthy friendship and relationships, youth violence prevention, student and school safety, and social, emotional, and behavioral services through this school year and the next. Funding for their outreach education comes from three state agencies: the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS), the Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS), and Governor Doug Ducey’s Office of Youth Faith and Family.
98% of School Shooters are male.* WHY?
The young man’s perspective & drawings shared in the first 1:05 minutes of this video address one risk factor.
Superintendent Jason Reynolds, who didn’t attend the meeting in person, was the one who requested initially that the board delay a decision on the item.
AZ Free News reviewed copies of content from the Peoria Drives Change group. Bartos appears to have allowed and encouraged teachers to use the space to air their grievances against parents and children as well as share the private details of students. Bartos herself derided PUSD parents who disagreed with concepts like white privilege as “off their rockers” and “f*****g nuts.”
Bartos criticized one mother’s advocacy for her child’s education, speculating to group members that the mother’s behaviors were caused by abuse from a parent. Girmscheid mocked the parent’s testimony of abuse as “daddy issues.”
Bartos also criticized vocal parents at governing board meetings as an “angry and obnoxious mob” that spread lies. She shared that she was “quietly” working on a movement to rally voters aged 18 through 24 to reshape Peoria politics.
“We need all Peoria taxpayers who believe religious ideology, radical politics, and exclusionary patriotism have no place on the school board or in our classrooms to band together to shut this s**t show down,” wrote Bartos.
Bartos also advocated for the school district to ignore parents if they conflict with students’ desires.
“PUSD needs to prioritize cultivating a culture of empathy, respect, and acceptance for all students over pleasing parents,” said Bartos.
PUSD governing board candidate Devon Updegraff-Day informed the board that PUSD teachers within the Peoria Drives Change group were attacking a group of 740 parents, West Valley Parents Uniting — a group of which Updegraff-Day is also a member.
One mother, Jodi Brackett, expressed her frustration with the board’s inaction. Brackett served what appeared to be court summons to the board.
Board member Rebecca Hill responded that parents’ complaints gave her “grave reservations.” She acknowledged that few students benefitted from BLOOM365, not enough to warrant the program’s continuation at PUSD.
“They have not proven to me or the public that they are a safe, trustworthy organization,” said Hill. “Either everybody benefits or we’re done with it.”
Board member and State Representative Beverly Pingerelli (R-Peoria) shared that she reviewed some of the Peoria Drives Change content, and that she would vote against approving BLOOM365.
“I don’t believe in condoning bad behavior, so I’ll be voting ‘no.’” said Pingerelli.
Board President David Sandoval, who is also a Democratic state legislature candidate, said that he spent time with site leaders that used BLOOM365 at a “much more frequent level” than them. Sandoval insisted that BLOOM365 does make an impact on students.
Sandoval said that the board needed more time to review the contents of the Facebook group and claims submitted by parents. He defended BLOOM365, saying that the wide range of dynamics among students necessitated the program’s inclusion. Sandoval advised the board members to look beyond the complaints of concerned parents by talking to other districts that use the BLOOM365 program.
Chief Student Services Officer Carter Davidson also defended BLOOM365. Davidson insisted that students did benefit from the curriculum. He said that parents uncomfortable with their child’s exposure to BLOOM365 could opt out, per the state’s codification of HB2161.
One former educator retorted that BLOOM365 included Social Emotional Learning (SEL), which she noted was a subcategory of Critical Race Theory (CRT). She insisted that there were other, better curriculums and training programs available for students and staff.
“If you’re going to use the material that is useful to children who are high-risk, let’s find something that is not written by somebody who is participating in a hate comment as well,” said the educator. “This woman, who is the CEO of this company, participated in hate speech. So, let’s take that in consideration when we review BLOOM365.”
Brent Cobb, the third vice chairman of the LD27 Republican Party, concurred. He advised the board to reconsider BLOOM365 based on Barto’s private Facebook group activity.
“And now we have the CEO of one of these SEL corporations that is participating and allowing hate speech to occur in one of her private online groups,” said Cobb. “If you’re going to allow this type of content in our schools, you need to figure out what the substrate of what that ideology is built upon because the parents are not in the room when these courses are being taught. And us parents need to have enough faith in the integrity of the program that we don’t have to worry about the content that’s being shared with our children when we’re not in the room.”
Community concern over BLOOM365 picked up last summer, after Bartos advocated for SEL to the governing board and community but didn’t disclose her status as a district vendor.
AZ Free News reached out to PUSD for comment. Their spokesperson said that they were informed Monday of the Facebook group, but haven’t been able to access it for review.
“We were informed today that a private Facebook group may be discussing students and staff. Since it is private, we do not have access to log-in and view the comments or discussion,” said the spokesperson. “We did speak with one parent to address concerns she had about the comments and will be having follow-up conversations to ensure that student information remains private. As we prepare to start the new school year, protecting the privacy of our student information remains critically important to us.”
Concerned parents revealed at Thursday’s board meeting that they supplied the PUSD governing board with content from the Peoria Drives Change group.
PUSD teachers are far from the first to create private Facebook groups to air their grievances about parents, children, and community members.
One such group made national headlines for its plans to hack and infiltrate parent and community groups containing ideological opponents. The group, “Anti-Racist Parents of Loudon County,” included teachers and school board members from the controversial district, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), as well as local officials like George Soros-backed commonwealth attorney Steve Descano. Two recall efforts are underway for Descano currently, unrelated to his membership in the Facebook group.
LCPS has been in and out of the public eye since the pandemic began — most notably, for the coverup of a sexual assault in one of their high school’s bathrooms. Media coverage exposing that incident and subsequent issues within LCPS played an integral role in flipping Virginia’s governorship from Democratic to Republican.
Watch PUSD’s full governing board meeting below:
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A lawsuit filed this week by several residents, business owners, and property owners within a multi-block “zone” of downtown Phoenix seeks a court order requiring city officials to do something about the unabating homelessness crisis impacting the 19 plaintiffs.
According to the lawsuit, the largest concentration of homeless persons in Arizona has developed on properties owned by or operated by the City of Phoenix in an area between 7th and 15th Avenues and between Van Buren and Grant Streets.
Many of the persons who have constructed semi-permanent tent dwellings on public sidewalks and rights of way are experiencing mental health problems and / or drug and alcohol addiction, but city officials have enacted policies which essentially ignore those issues to the detriment of the community, the plaintiffs allege.
“Not only is the City of Phoenix failing to provide these individuals with housing and needed services, it refuses to enforce in and around the Zone quality-of-life ordinances prohibiting loitering, disturbing the peace, drunken and disorderly conduct, drug use, domestic violence, and obstructing streets, sidewalks, or other public grounds,” the lawsuit contends. “The City’s policies are not rationally designed to address any of the social ills facing the residents of the Zone and are exacerbating rather than alleviating their problems.”
Those policies not only permit illegal conduct on Phoenix-controlled public lands but city officials further encourage problems by directing homeless persons from around the city to the Zone, according to the lawsuit.
“In the Zone and its environs, laws are violated with impunity; residents are subject to violence, property damage, and other criminal and civil violations of laws designed to protect the quality of life of residents; property values have been erased; trash and human waste litter streets and yards; and most tragically, a great humanitarian crisis unfolds as homeless residents of the Zone die on a daily basis,” the lawsuit notes.
The plaintiffs seeking an order from Judge Alison Bachus of the Maricopa County Superior Court that the public encampments in Zone has created a public nuisance for which plaintiffs have a constitutional right to seek abatement of the nuisance
In addition, the lawsuit seeks an order from Bachus prohibiting city officials from taking any further action that will exacerbate the current nuisance and a separate order requiring the city to immediately abate the nuisance.
The lawsuit even points to several options available to city officials, including removal of the encampments to other public lands where they would not constitute a nuisance. Another option permitted by a 2019 federal ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is to create “structured camping grounds” on city property where cleanliness could be maintained along with compliance of laws and ordinances.
A more traditional option would be the availability of enough shelter space so that public camping could be prohibited. However, the lawsuit concedes the Ninth Circuit ruling currently prohibits enforcement of a public camping ban because City of Phoenix officials have failed to provide sufficient resources to address the homelessness issue.
That 2019 ruling requires municipalities to allow homeless individuals to camp on some public lands if there are not enough shelter beds. But nothing in the ruling, Martin v City of Boise, prohibits officials from enforcing quality of life ordinances and criminal laws, the plaintiffs argue.
Those plaintiffs are represented by Michael Bailey, Stephen Tully, and Ilan Wurman. They contend city officials are using the Ninth Circuit ruling “as an excuse to completely wash its hands of this crisis, leaving the homeless individuals and the surrounding neighborhood in an unimaginably horrific situation.”
The lawsuit adds Phoenix officials are entitled to adopt “irrational policies but if its policies create a nuisance and cause damage to the residents, workers, and property owners in the Zone, as they have, then the City is liable for those damages and the court may enjoin the nuisance.”
On Thursday, Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Tucson and Phoenix, announcing over $75.2 million in grant awards for communities throughout the state.
“[These are] improvements that are going to make for better travel and better safety here in Tucson and in Phoenix,” said Buttigieg.
Good morning, Arizona!
Here to announce new funding awards and to see how Tucson and Phoenix plan to use some of the infrastructure dollars coming their way. pic.twitter.com/sEXNKm3SE8
These Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants were awarded to Navajo County, Phoenix, Tucson, and the Colorado Indian River Tribes.
Over $2.2 billion from 166 RAISE Grants were distributed throughout the country. Arizona communities received five different grants: $261,000 to Navajo County to improve 16 miles of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure; $25 million to Phoenix to construct a bicycle and pedestrian bridge across the Rio Salado River; $25 million to Tucson to renovate an old bridge; and nearly $25 million to the Colorado Indian River Tribes to reconstruct 10 miles of road.
The DOT characterized this latest round of grants as their largest investment in RAISE Program history.
Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-02) explained in a press release that the Tucson grant will update the 22nd Street bridge to accommodate heavy vehicles like trucks, buses, and emergency medical services — something the bridge was unable to do before, which Kirkpatrick said led to traffic congestion and delays.
“Increasing capacity on 22nd street will reconnect our communities and facilitate a necessary east-west economic and transportation corridor between downtown Tucson and disconnected and underserved areas in the city,” said Kirkpatrick. “This project will help close the gaps in our city’s transportation infrastructure, and support equitable access to resources and opportunities for all Tucsonans.”
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego shared that the $25 million for a bridge over the Rio Salado river would connect downtown Phoenix to South Phoenix. Gallego provided a map of the planned bridge location, which revealed that the bridge would span the Rio Salado River and Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, going from Central Avenue to State Route 143.
Whether you walk, run, or roll: a new $25M grant will build a bike/pedestrian bridge across Rio Salado, linking downtown and South Phoenix! Huge thanks to USDOT @SecretaryPete for celebrating with us today. Thanks also to @gregstantonaz and @reprubengallego for their help! pic.twitter.com/SulGmhspVp
The Casa Grande Union High School District (CGUHSD) is facing critical staffing shortages for its Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) curriculum. A total of three JROTC instructors have resigned since the spring semester ended, with the last resignation occurring on Tuesday. Now one instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Jesus Flores, remains.
The last resignation, that of Major Rob Sherwood, was reportedly due to disagreements over new district administration policies. One Casa Grande Union High School JROTC student, commanding officer Blake Snell, explained that Sherwood found the new grading policies, which whistleblower teachers say granted failing students passing grades, to be egregious. Snell said that Sherwood wasn’t the only instructor bothered by the new policies, reporting that over 100 teachers resigned from the district.
“This is essentially rewarding kids for doing absolutely no work,” said Snell.
CGUHSD Superintendent Anna Battle rejected the characterization of the new grading policies.
Several hundred students participate in the district’s JROTC program; CGUHSD has two of the seven high schools with JROTC programs in the state. Concerned community members, which included student cadets and the local VFW 1677 Post, showed up to Tuesday’s governing board meeting for answers.
State Representative Teresa Martinez (R-Oro Valley) and State Senator T.J. Shope (R-Coolidge) also showed up to support the JROTC students’ fight for their program.
Rep. @TMartinez4AZ and I are attending the CGUHSD Gov Board Meeting in Casa Grande with dozens of veterans and some truly inspirational student cadets. You can watch it live here https://t.co/BuLq9uMm9U as CGUHS Admin & school board, including LD16 Dem Sen candidate Taylor Kerby pic.twitter.com/VzgN2xuV6i
Shope asserted that one of the board members — Taylor Kerby, a Democratic candidate for the State Senate — was partly to blame for the program’s jeopardization.
Battle made it clear at the meeting that the district doesn’t plan on ending the JROTC program. The superintendent had nothing but praise for the JROTC program and its students.
“What educator in his or her right mind would not want to support a program that implements and instills the kind of virtues, qualities, and characteristics that we have seen not only in the Casa Grande Union High School District but around the country?” asked Battle.
Battle promised that the district’s search for quality officials to serve the program was ongoing.
Yet, district officials alluded to a disparity between the positive sentiments surrounding the JROTC program and leadership action to sustain the program.
Vista Grande High School Principal Vance Danzy noted during the meeting that the district hasn’t found solutions to maintain the program over the last few months. Danzy shared that district officials’ meetings following the initial two JROTC instructor resignations at the end of June weren’t fruitful.
Danzy explained that several of Battle’s proposed solutions weren’t feasible, such as transporting students between campuses. That would result in students missing classes, argued Danzy.
“We’ve been behind the eight ball, and this is because we were informed about our instructors leaving around June 28,” said Danzy.
Board member Chuck Wright admitted that the district failed to upkeep the JROTC program properly.
“I believe we just dropped the ball, however slightly, and I’d like to apologize,” said Wright.
According to the latest budget reports, JROTC has a $145,000 budget, leaving well over $24,700 after expenditures of $120,000 for employee salaries and benefits.
Watch the full CGUHSD governing board meeting here:
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
