by Corinne Murdock | May 17, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Republican legislators expressed displeasure with a bill brought forth by State Senator Paul Boyer (R-Glendale) to require county recorders to publicize the total number of early ballots returned to voting locations on election day — 14 of 31 Republicans voting against it. Effectively, House Republicans were divided in half on the issue.
One of the first legislators to express their disapproval of the bill was State Representative John Fillmore (R-Apache Junction). He said that Arizona had passed three historic election integrity bills and failed 14 others, 13 of which he blamed on Boyer. Fillmore said the bill was an insult to Arizona voters.
“This bill doesn’t do a darn thing but insult our caucus, the state of Arizona, and the Republic,” said Fillmore. “This is a bill that should’ve never been brought to the floor.”
The bill, SB1329, passed with some bipartisanship. 15 Republicans joined 22 Democrats to pass the bill. In addition to Fillmore, State Representatives Brenda Barton (R-Payson), Leo Biasiucci (R-Lake Havasu City), Walt Blackman (R-Snowflake), Judy Burges (R-Skull Valley), Neal Carter (R-Queen Creek), Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale), Mark Finchem (R-Oro Valley), Teresa Martinez (R-Oro Valley), Kevin Payne (R-Peoria), Beverly Pingerelli (R-Peoria), and Justin Wilmeth (R-Phoenix) voted against the bill.
Democrats expressed wholehearted support for the bill. State Senator Lorenzo Sierra (D-Avondale) claimed that belief that the 2020 election was rigged in favor of President Joe Biden was the biggest lie of all time. Sierra’s assertion elicited groans from those around him, provoking him to insist that Fillmore instigated him.
“I support this bill because it attacks the greatest lie ever told in the course of human history,” said Sierra. “[Fillmore] started it, it’s going, I vote yes!”
State Senator John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) made light of Fillmore’s ire, remarking that his colleague’s vote against the bill seemed to inspire all Democrats to support it. His comment stoked laughter around the room.
“I wanted to thank Representative Fillmore for discovering a new, secret weapon for the Republicans. Apparently if he votes against an election integrity bill, every Democrat votes for it, which is absolutely amazing,” said Kavanagh with a laugh.
As an explanation of her “no” vote, Martinez simply referenced the recent documentary on widespread mail-in ballot fraud in the 2020 election, “2000 Mules” from conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza.
“2000 Mules. And with that, I vote no,” stated Martinez.
Minority Leader Reginald Bolding (D-Laveen) insisted that the bill was a common-sense policy that offered transparency to voters concerning the number of ballots cast and counted in real time.
“This gives many of the unfounded issues that we saw during the 2020 election when people asserted that there were somehow additional ballots that were out there, floating, that were being added to support candidates or another,” said Bolding.
SB1329 now heads to Governor Doug Ducey for approval.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | May 17, 2022 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
One of the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) high school counselors that organized a drag show featuring students was arrested last week for having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl. Tucson High Magnet School counselor Zobella Brazil Vinik, a 29-year-old woman, was charged with one count of sexual conduct with a minor.
Vinik worked alongside fellow counselor Sunday Hamilton, a transgender man, to create their first annual drag show. That event was supposed to take place on May 7 — two days after TUSD put Vinik on administrative leave and launched an investigation into her, and four days before Vinik turned herself in to police.
As AZ Free News reported, TUSD spokeswoman Karla Escamilla explained that not allowing the drag show to occur would constitute as gender expression discrimination.
Vinik and Hamilton also oversaw the high school’s LGBTQ+ student club, “Q Space.” The club encouraged students to explore their identities as they learned about LGBTQ+ history.
Vinik’s ex-wife initially informed police that she and Vinik allowed the 15-year-old victim to live at their residence. According to the police report obtained by KVOA, the ex-wife discovered Vinik’s underwear under the pillow of where the minor slept. Further police searches of phone records uncovered intimate conversations between Vinik and the minor.
Regarding Vinik’s arrest, Escamilla didn’t respond to specific questions submitted by AZ Free News. Instead, she shared TUSD Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo’s statement on the matter:
On May 4th, 2022, detectives from the Tucson Police Department Sexual Assault Unit informed the administration of Tucson High Magnet School of an ongoing investigation into one of its counselors, Zobella Brazil Vinik. The administration was informed of an alleged inappropriate relationship between the counselor and a 15-year-old student from Tucson High.
Working with the Tucson High administration, the District administration acted swiftly to remove the counselor from campus and place her on administrative leave. Our School Safety Department immediately initiated a comprehensive investigation into this alleged incident, which is currently ongoing.
On Thursday May 5th, 2022, Ms. Vinik resigned her position from the Tucson Unified School District and is no longer an employee of the district. The Tucson Unified School District administration will continue to cooperate with the Tucson Police Department in its ongoing investigation. Our administration will continue to emphasize the health and safety of our students as our highest priority.
The social media account created for the high school’s inaugural drag show, @tucsonhigh_drag, posted an eight-day countdown featuring some of the students that would be participating. The event also featured adults that would be performing alongside students: local performers under the stage names, “Erotica Powers,” “Onika Grande,” and “Sophia G. Lauren.”
The account deleted its initial post on the page announcing the event.
It appears the drag show did occur. The event hashtag, #thmsdragshow22, was used by at least one of the minor participants who posted pictures related to their attendance. According to an email from Vinik, the drag show occurred on school grounds and received help from other teachers and organizations such as the University of Arizona’s (UArizona) Institute for LGBTQ Studies and the Southern Arizona Aids Foundation.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | May 17, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
On Sunday afternoon, the city of Phoenix rolled out its draft roadmap to ready the city for widespread electric vehicle use. The city projected that there would be up to 280,000 electric vehicles in the area by 2030, and noted that total adoption of electric vehicles would align with their climate action plan. In order to accommodate that quantity of electric vehicles, the roadmap cited U.S. Department of Energy projections that the city would require around 3,500 charging ports.
The city presented a five-step plan. First, prioritize equity by maximizing restorative investments in underserved communities, achieving transformational change with bottom-up decision-making, and helping institutionalize equity and justice from the inside. Second, educate and outreach by engaging in qualitative and quantitative information gathering, designing and launching an education and awareness campaign, and monitoring and tracking consumer attitudes and behaviors. Third, leading by example by growing the city’s electric vehicle fleets and installing electric vehicle charging for the city fleet and employees. Fourth, growing public charging by identifying locations for electric vehicle charging networks and installing base amounts of electric vehicle charging annually. Fifth, standardizing electric vehicle charging access by streamlining permits and updating the zoning ordinance and building codes by 2025.
One of the core principles for forming the roadmap was equity — affordability and accessibility for the underserved and disadvantaged communities. One of their first proposed actions for achieving equity was to either hire or assign a current staff member to focus on equity throughout the electric vehicle rollout. Then, the city would adopt an “Environmental Justice” screening tool.
The plan projected that the cost of electric vehicles would reduce at some point in the future.
The city also asked Arizonans to take a survey on electric vehicles. The survey asked individuals about their knowledge, attitude towards, and current use of electric vehicles. It also asked individuals whether they supported new homes and buildings to be required to have electric vehicle charging stations.
The roadmap is the latest effort of the Ad Hoc Committee on Electric Vehicles, formed by Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego last June.
In September, the city hosted a webinar to educate citizens about electric vehicles.
Members of the committee are Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari; Autumn Johnson, Tierra Strategy Public Interest Policy Advocate; Caryn Potter, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project Utility Program Manager; Catherine O’Brien, Salt River Project Electric Vehicle Lead; Clark Miller, Arizona State University (ASU) professor; Court Rich, Rose Law Group Renewable Energy and Regulatory Law Department; Delbert Hawk, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 640 President; Jason Smith, Arizona Public Service (APS) Energy Innovation Program Consultant; Katherine Stainken, Electrification Coalition (EC) Senior Director of Electric Vehicle Policy; Kathy Knoop, General Motors Vehicle Grid Integration Solutions Manager; Lisa Perez, Public Affairs Consultant; Omar Gonzales, Nikola Corporation State and Local Government Affairs Manager; Tim Sprague, Habitat Metro Owner; and Vianey Olivarria, CHISPA Arizona State Co-Director.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | May 16, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
State Senator T.J. Shope (R-Coolidge) announced on Monday that he was filing an ethics complaint against Senator Juan Mendez (D-Tempe) for being absent for almost the entirety of this legislative session. Shope accused Mendez of abandoning his duties in the senate.
“I have informed the chair of the Senate Committee on Ethics that I will be filing an ethics complaint against the member from district 26 for essentially abandoning his position here in this body. I will be doing so over the next few days,” said Shope.
Shope made his announcement during a vote on whether to expel State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) from the Senate. That measure failed along party lines.
Both Mendez and his wife, State Representative Athena Salman (D-Tempe), have stayed away from the State Capitol almost entirely, save for Mendez’s visit in February and Salman’s visit in April. They’ve done so with the blessing of Republican House and Senate leadership, who furnished them with excused absences for the last five months.
House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R-Mesa) explained to The Arizona Republic that he gave Salman excused absences because he was “just trying to be nice.” Senate President Karen Fann (R-Prescott) explained that Mendez had a doctor’s note recommending against the legislator’s return to in-person work.
The couple cited concerns about exposing their daughter to COVID-19, who was born in January. Salman requested to work remotely like the legislature had allowed during the last legislative session, but her request was denied.
Mendez and Salman argued to The Arizona Republic that they haven’t absconded from their responsibilities completely. Though they’re barred from voting remotely, the couple reported that they speak with the press and their constituents regularly as well as engage in the legislature by watching it virtually.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Terri Jo Neff | May 16, 2022 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
May 15 was National Peace Officers Memorial Day, which saw 619 names of officers killed in the line of duty across the country added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. Among the names were 472 officers who died in 2021, including 319 fatalities from COVID-19 which were determined to be related to the performance of duty.
In Arizona, 26 law enforcement officers died last year in the line of duty. On May 2, Gov. Doug Ducey joined with the families, friends, and co-workers of the fallen to pay tribute to the sacrifices of those public safety professionals during a service at the Arizona Peace Officers Memorial located at the State Capitol.
Ducey read the names of the officers during the memorial service:
- Chandler Police Officer Tyler Britt, End of Watch: Jan. 11, 2021
- ASU Officer Joseph Henry Montgomery, EOW: Jan. 14, 2021
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Byron Don Shields, EOW: Jan. 20, 2021
- FBI Special Agent Jimmie John Daniels, EOW: Feb. 1, 2021
- Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Officer John A. Gilbert, EOW: Feb. 21, 2021
- Chandler Police Officer Christopher Farrar, EOW: April 30, 2021
- Nogales Police Officer Jeremy Brinton, EOW: May 21, 2021
- Phoenix Police Officer Ginarro A. New, EOW: May 31, 2021
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Ruben Facio, EOW: July 17, 2021
- U.S. Border Patrol Supervisory Agent Daniel P. Cox, EOW: July 31, 2021
- Phoenix Police Officer Mathew A. Hefter, EOW: August 7, 2021
- Maricopa County Sheriff’s Detention Officer Alicia Dawn Carter, EOW: Aug. 9, 2021
- U.S Border Patrol Agent Chad E. McBroom, EOW: Aug. 29, 2021
- Phoenix Police Sgt. Thomas Crawford Craig, EOW: Sept. 3, 2021
- Maricopa County Sheriff’s Detention Officer Kendall Thomas, EOW: Sept. 10, 2021
- Phoenix Police Officer Phillip Vavrinec, Jr., EOW: Sept. 22, 2021
- U.S. Border Patrol Agent Luis “Louie” Dominguez, EOW: Sept. 23, 2021
- U.S. Border Patrol Agent Alfredo Ibarra, EOW: Sept. 27, 2021
- U.S. DEA Group Supervisor Michael G. Garbo, EOW: Oct. 4, 2021
- Mohave County Sheriff’s Detention Officer Anthony Nicoletti, EOW: Oct. 11, 2021
- La Paz Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael D. Rudd, EOW: Oct. 11, 2021
- Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy Juan Miguel “Johnny” Ruiz, EOW: Oct. 11, 2021
- U.S. Border Patrol Supervisory Agent Anibal Antonio Perez, EOW: Nov. 5, 2021
- Maricopa County Sheriff’s Lieut. Chad Brackman, EOW: Nov. 10, 2021
- U.S. Border Patrol Supervisor Agent Martin Barrios, EOW: Nov. 29, 2021
- Chandler Police Officer Jeremy Wilkins, EOW: Dec. 17, 2021
Each year, the names of officers who have perished while serving in the line of duty are engraved into the Memorial and honored during a service where family, friends, and colleagues of fallen officers gather to pay their respects. Among the 2021 deaths are several caused by COVID-19, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
A total of 388 names are engraved into one of eight double-sided granite panels surrounding the iconic bronze statue, with the earliest known line of duty death in Arizona being Yuma County Sheriff Cornelius “Corney” Sage, who was attacked and killed in May 1865 while traveling to Prescott on county business.
Members of the Arizona Peace Officers Memorial board are John Stevens for Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (chairman); Deston Coleman for Col. Heston Silbert of Arizona Department of Public Safety; Director David Shinn of Arizona Department of Corrections; Andrew T. LeFevre for the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission; John Stair of the Arizona Probation Officer Association (vice-chairman); Jaime Escobedo, Peace Officer Memorial Board Historian; Graham County Sheriff P.J. Allred; Captain Lynn Ideus for the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police; Jeffrey Hawkins for Arizona State Troopers Association; Prescott Police Chief Amy Bonney; Ron Young (Business Community representative); W. Steven Martin (Business Community representative); Rick Davis, Survivor Member; and Jan Blaser-Upchurch, Survivor.
by Corinne Murdock | May 15, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The chairwoman of Planned Parenthood’s activist arm in Arizona bragged about her husband assaulting a supporter of former President Donald Trump.
In a midnight tweet over the weekend, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona (PPAZ) Board of Directors Chairwoman Chris Love tweeted that her husband “body-checked” a man wearing a “Blacks for Trump” t-shirt while at a “Bans Off Our Bodies” pro-abortion rally in Phoenix on Saturday. PPAZ organized and hosted the rally as part of their national organization’s greater protest movement nationwide.
“My husband @MiQL got lost in the crowd and I had to send folks to find him. Instead of hanging in the tented area with the cool kids, he was organizing folks,” wrote Love. “He also body checked some dude in a “Blacks for Trump” shirt. Swoon!”
Love’s husband replied that he was just doing what was best for their movement.
“Doing what I can to support our collective efforts, Bew,” he wrote.
Others disparaged the man in the comments, mocking his hygiene and physical appearance.
This wasn’t the first time Love advocated for violence. In September, Love called for riots after the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) refused to intervene in Texas’ abortion ban. Elected Democratic officials approved of her messaging — both state legislators running for higher offices.
State Representatives Daniel Hernandez (D-Tucson) and Diego Rodriguez (D-Phoenix) retweeted Love’s urge to followers to “break some s**t” in response to Texas’ ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
Hernandez is running for Congress and Rodriguez is running for attorney general.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
