Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03) is romantically involved with a 24-year-old Democratic influencer under investigation by her committee.
Ansari is dating Jack Cocchiarella, a progressive political commentator with more than two million followers across YouTube, X, Instagram, and TikTok. Cocchiarella turned 24 last Friday, and Ansari is 34.
TMZ was first to publish their report as an exclusive, reportedly minutes after the deadline given by another reporter, Juliegrace Brufke of Sources Say News.
"Neither Ansari nor her office responded to multiple requests for comment … We sent that request this afternoon with an 8 p.m. deadline. TMZ's story posted at 8:03."https://t.co/72LswHWS6v
According to TMZ, Ansari met Cocchiarella for an interview last spring. Cocchiarella is based in Washington, D.C., and graduated from Columbia University last year.
Ansari told TMZ that her personal relationships have no bearing on her standing as an elected official, and that other political issues are of far greater importance.
“I’m not commenting on my personal life, nor is it anyone’s business,” said Ansari. “Right now, ICE is terrorizing communities across the country with zero accountability, and Trump’s reckless war in Iran continues raging on. I’m focused on helping to flip the House so we can pass meaningful legislation — that’s what we should all be focused on.”
However, Ansari’s relationship with Cocchiarella does have some overlap with congressional affairs.
Last November, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Oversight Committee), on which Ansari sits, opened up an investigation into Chorus, a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund which pays progressive content creators for political posts and on whose council Cocchiarella sat until recently.
Following reports of Cocchiarella’s relationship with Ansari, his profile page and inclusion on the creator council have been removed.
Chorus is alleged to have circumvented federal campaign finance disclosure requirements by paying content creators up to $8,000 per month to further Democratic messaging online in secret.
Chorus was established in the weeks following Kamala Harris’ loss to President Donald Trump in the November 2024 election. The New York Timescited Chorus charter members at length about Democratic efforts to match right-wing content creators that carried Trump to a delayed second-term victory.
Key organizers behind Chorus included Stuart Perelmuter, a Democratic operative paid by the Harris campaign; Josh Cook, former President Barack Obama’s digital strategist; Brian Tyler Cohen, another top YouTube influencer.
Chorus struggled to pull financial backing in its first few months of existence; then a report came out about these struggles last April, and the Sixteen Thirty Fund became the organization’s sponsor that same month.
In March, the Oversight Committee submitted a letter to those behind Chorus to address “a disturbing pattern of activity” to evade transparency about the Chorus project following the committee launching its investigation.
In May, the committee subpoenaed the Sixteen Thirty Fund to compel production of documents concerning Chorus.
So far, the committee’s investigation has found that Chorus-paid influencers created content advocating for candidates, ballot initiatives, and political parties.
Chorus has denied paying creators to support or oppose candidates.
The committee has not held a hearing on the investigation.
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Warren Petersen believes that Arizonans want their next chief law enforcement officer to prevent the extinction of female-only spaces, like girls sports and locker rooms.
Petersen, the Arizona Senate President and Republican nominee for attorney general, released a new, 30-second campaign ad on Tuesday featuring young female athletes declaring that “boys don’t belong in girls’ sports.”
“I work so hard. I practice every day after school. But some grown-ups think boys should be able to play against me, and use our locker rooms. That’s not right. Boys don’t belong in girls’ sports. Thank you, Warren Petersen, for fighting for me, at the capitol and at the Supreme Court, and for every girl in Arizona.”
Attorney General Kris Mayes, the Democratic incumbent, has had a “radical” and “extreme” tenure by refusing to respect the biological differences between genders and protect single-sex spaces, according to Petersen.
“Kris Mayes showed how radical she is by refusing to defend Arizona’s commonsense law to keep guys out of women’s sports and locker rooms,” said Petersen. “As Senate President I fought to protect girls. I will continue protecting girls as Arizona’s next Attorney General.”
🚨 NEW AD: I just launched my latest general election campaign ad, highlighting my proven commitment to protecting girls.
Kris Mayes showed how radical she is by refusing to defend Arizona’s commonsense law to keep guys out of women's sports and locker rooms. As Senate President…
The debate between Mayes and Petersen last month further illustrated the conflict between parties on law enforcement’s duty to define gender and police gender-based activities and spaces.
Petersen attacked Mayes for lacking the “common sense” to understand the biological differences between boys and girls.
“Talk about delusional,” said Petersen. “She thinks men can beat women, and boys are okay in girls’ sports.”
Mayes avoided the nitty-gritty of the more partisan political subjects like gender identity, instead arguing that the attorney general should be concerned with the areas where both parties could find more common middle ground, specifically naming fraud in the consumer, school choice, and Medicaid spaces; antitrust violations; environmental pollution; child support nonpayment; and drug trafficking as her examples of better office priorities.
“The primary objective of this office is to protect the people of Arizona and to make sure that corporations don’t take advantage of our state,” said Mayes.
Mayes declined to defend the Arizona Department of Education against a lawsuit filed in 2023 by the families of two transgender students challenging the state’s “Save Women’s Sports Act,” a state law passed in 2022 requiring students to play on sports teams aligning with their biological sex. That lawsuit was dropped over the summer following the Supreme Court’s June ruling in West Virginia v. B.P.J., affirming that biology, not gender identity, defines sex.
During Pride Month in 2023, several months after the transgender students sued, Mayes issued a press release condemning the Save Women’s Sports Act and all other “anti-LGBTQ bills” passed in Arizona and the nation. Mayes declared gender identity to be a civil right.
“With LGBTQ Americans – and particularly transgender Americans – increasingly targeted by extremist legislation designed to restrict their rights, I am reaffirming my office’s commitment to protecting the civil rights of all Arizonans,” said Mayes. “Federal and state civil rights laws protect the right of LGTBQ Arizonans to live, work, and freely access public accommodations without being subjected to discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or threats of violence because of who they are. My office is fully committed to enforcing these laws.”
Following Mayes’ refusal to join the case, Petersen joined the case alongside Arizona House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-LD29) to defend the state law in the highest court through an amicus brief filed last September.
Petersen has fought in court in defense of the law for years.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Arizona Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) and Kansas Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids introduced bipartisan legislation this week to help tribal communities access unused federal housing vouchers for Native American veterans.
The Tribal Veterans Voucher Flexibility Act would establish a voluntary process for returning and reallocating assistance through the Tribal Housing and Urban Development–Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, known as Tribal HUD-VASH.
According to Crane’s announcement, tribes and tribally designated housing entities could notify HUD of vouchers they expect to leave unused during the following fiscal year. Returning vouchers would not affect their consideration for future allocations. Communities needing additional assistance could request available vouchers.
HUD would have 180 days after enactment to establish the process and submit a congressional report examining unused vouchers, reallocations, shortages, and whether the overall supply should increase. Participants could report unused assistance electronically, by telephone, or through the mail.
As the representative for more than half of the Tribes in Arizona, I’m honored to partner with @RepDavids on legislation to help house more Tribal veterans.
We’ve made real progress together before, and I look forward to building on that success: https://t.co/a05EhhWKRv
“Some Tribes have leftover vouchers they cannot use while others lack the resources to take care of our veterans,” Crane said. “Our legislation aims to resolve this longstanding issue by getting unused vouchers into the hands of Tribes that can put them to use. This is a sensible approach that makes better use of existing support without expanding the size and scope of the federal government.”
The existing program provides rental assistance for eligible Native American veterans experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. HUD’s program guidance explains that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) determines initial veteran eligibility, including requirements involving access to VA health care and a need for case management.
Tribal housing providers determine whether participating households meet income requirements. HUD’s guidance generally sets the income threshold at 80% of the applicable area median income and excludes certain VA disability and survivor benefits from that calculation.
Rental assistance can support several housing arrangements, including single-family homes, apartments, shared housing, and residential treatment housing. Associated medical expenses must be covered through other funding sources.
The proposal follows earlier cooperation between Crane and Davids on tribal economic-development legislation.
Crane has been heavily involved in tribal health care initiatives. In December, Ak-Chin Indian Community leaders credited his support for the tribe’s selection for an Indian Health Service partnership supporting a new health center. In August, Crane joined Rep. Greg Stanton and Gila River Indian Community officials to mark a University of Arizona partnership establishing a medical school branch on tribal land in Sacaton.
In June, the House unanimously passed the Native American Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act, which the lawmakers supported alongside Republican Rep. Jake Ellzey of Texas and Democratic Rep. Kelly Morrison of Minnesota.
That legislation would place the Small Business Administration’s Office of Native American Affairs into statute and define its responsibilities, including outreach involving business development, contracting, and access to capital. An earlier version passed the House during the previous Congress but stalled in the Senate.
Thousands of early ballots for Maricopa County elections were mailed six days prematurely but are still valid to vote.
Runbeck Election Services, the county’s longtime vendor based in Phoenix, mistakenly mailed 3,126 early ballots on October 1, six days before the proper mailing date of October 7.
Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap issued a press release on Sunday advising voters that they may cast their votes using these ballots. Heap disclosed that he received the go-ahead from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
The correct ballots were mailed to the correct voters and are therefore valid, according to Heap — just about a week too early.
“Upon consultation with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, it was determined that the ballots remain valid and do not need to be voided or reissued,” said Heap’s office. “Voters may complete and return them normally. Any ballots received before early voting begins will remain unopened and securely stored until processing begins.”
Runbeck Election Services issued their own statement also advising the public that the ballots were correct and valid to cast a vote, just mailed out too early.
The company said it has already reviewed the release of the affected ballots at their facility and made verification steps for staged mail — presorted and prepared pallets of mail awaiting release to USPS — to prevent premature mailing in the future.
“The early delivery was a matter of timing in the release of staged mail to the USPS and did not involve the validity or production of the [Vote-by-Mail envelope mailers produced for individual voters] packets,” said Runbeck.
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has contracted with Runbeck Election Services for more than 30 years. It was about 20 years ago that the company began processing return envelopes for the county.
Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ-08) questioned Runbeck Election Services’ fitness for the job.
“This isn’t their first ‘mistake.’ One error is incompetence. A pattern is a system,” said Hamadeh. “Runbeck touches tens of millions of ballots, and Maricopa inexplicably keeps handing them the keys.”
Last summer, Hamadeh asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Runbeck Election Services regarding claims that it breached protocols during the 2024 general election.
As of this report, the DOJ is currently investigating those claims.
Maricopa says Runbeck "mistakenly" mailed 3,126 ballots six days early.
This isn't their first "mistake." One error is incompetence. A pattern is a system.
Runbeck touches tens of millions of ballots, and Maricopa inexplicably keeps handing them the keys.…
— Office of Congressman Abe Hamadeh (@RepAbeHamadeh) October 5, 2026
In the post-2020 world of elections, news of the premature mailing of early ballots made it within the day all the way to the highest office in the nation.
President Donald Trump commented on the premature ballot mailing with criticism, claiming county officials weren’t being honest about what occurred and accusing them of conspiracy and fraud.
“Maricopa sent out thousands of ballots illegally and they got caught and now they’re saying it was an error,” said Trump. “Maricopa is a very, very dishonest county.”
President Trump on Maricopa County in Arizona sending thousands of election ballots ahead of schedule in an error: "Maricopa sent out thousands of ballots illegally and they got caught and now they're saying it was an error. Maricopa is a very, very dishonest county." pic.twitter.com/HzDPGavVY0
Kari Lake, senior advisor to the U.S. Agency for Global Media whose nomination for the Jamaica ambassadorship has stalled, also slammed Maricopa County for the premature mailing.
On Runbeck Election Services “mistakenly” sending out thousands of ballots too early—President Trump says this was “no error,” and he calls Maricopa County “very dishonest.”
A major health insurance company behind significant rate hikes has issued more campaign mailers in the Valley, this time targeting Legislative District 4.
Elevance Health financed attack mailers for Democratic State Senate candidate Aaron Lieberman against incumbent Sen. Carine Werner (R-LD4).
The mailers accused Werner of sponsoring a bill to make school board elections into partisan ones, supporting another bill to ban certain books, and bullying school staff.
“Carine Werner brought partisan bickering into our schools — and our kids are paying the price,” stated the mailer.
The first two accusations referenced Senate Bills 1441 and 1435, respectively. The former bill would have required candidates to disclose their political party affiliation on the ballot, but it was vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs. The latter bill would have made it a felony for public library employees or independent contractors to refer unemancipated minors to any sexually explicit materials in any manner. The latter bill failed to advance out of the House.
The third accusation referred to an incident last September when Werner was caught during a meeting on a hot mic criticizing a district employee. Werner observed that Patti Bilbrey, the district’s nutritional services director, was “morbidly obese.”
Along with Elevance Health, top donors behind the attack mailers also included Jackpocket Inc., a lottery courier service and subsidiary of sports betting giant DraftKings.
Campaign finance filings don’t reflect any donations from Jackpocket to Lieberman’s campaign.
State campaign finance records do reflect that Elevance Health donated $25,000 to the Arizona Democratic Party last year. They were not reported to have donated prior to that time. AZ Free News previously reported that Elevance Health was one of the top single donors last year to the heavily indebted Arizona Democratic Party.
Elevance Health has not been reported as a donor to the Arizona Republican Party, but it has been subjected to widespread coverage this past year for raising its rates by double digits.
Elevance Health recently raised premium rates by 24% across its Affordable Healthcare Act and Medicare plans, and requested another 17% increase for 2027. It also exited what it classified as underperformance programs, beginning with Louisiana and then the Washington, D.C. markets.
Elevance Health has appeared as a top funder on campaign mailers for other Democratic candidates, but usually alongside Arizona Public Service. The exception on this mailer may be due to Lieberman’s primary campaign promise to lower utility costs.
Apart from utilities, Lieberman’s primary campaign message has focused on improving the quality of public schools through increases to funding.
Lieberman was a state lawmaker from 2019 until 2021, when he resigned to run for governor. He dropped out of the race ahead of the Democratic primary. Lieberman’s victory would have made him Arizona’s first Jewish governor.
Lieberman is one of the 17 Arizona candidates backed by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which is focused on flipping seats to undo the Arizona Republican Party’s majority in the state legislature.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) found that Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) violated Arizona’s Open Meeting Law, according to a Sept. 22 letter that directly contradicts the district’s subsequent claim that no violation had been found.
“MCAO concluded that an Open Meeting Law violation has occurred,” Deputy County Attorney Caitlyn Mitchell wrote to complainant Michael Bengert in the letter.
The investigation concerned SUSD’s Phase II Design Advisory Team, whose work involved proposals for repurposing, consolidating, or closing district schools. Mitchell said investigators reviewed Governing Board meeting recordings, accompanying agendas, and supplemental information provided by Bengert.
SUSD General Counsel Renee Osipov subsequently disputed statements that MCAO had found a violation.
“Scottsdale Unified School District has received communication and a public comment indicating that the Maricopa County Attorney’s office found the District in violation of the Open Meeting Law (OML) with respect to the operation of the Phase II Design Team. This is inaccurate,” Osipov wrote in a correspondence with Bengert shared with AZ Free News.
“The County Attorney did not issue adverse findings, did not cite the District for an OML violation, and did not initiate any corrective action,” she added.
The district also published that position on its website Oct. 1.
MCAO’s Sept. 22 letter expressly states that the office informed SUSD of its conclusions.
“MCAO has informed SUSD of its findings and conclusions, recommended that SUSD revise its future use of superintendent appointed committees, and requested that the SUSD Governing Board acknowledge the results of this investigation publicly at the open meeting to discuss the Phase II Team’s recommendations,” Mitchell wrote.
The office said the team had completed its work, making it too late to require corrective action concerning future team meetings. The letter stated that the investigation was closed and did not announce a penalty.
An earlier letter to district counsel on Sept. 16 detailed the office’s reasoning.
“Although the creation of SUSD’s Phase II Design Advisory Team (‘Phase II Team’) does not—as a purely technical matter—fall under the statutory definition of an ‘advisory committee or subcommittee,’ the purpose and subsequent operation of the Phase II Team does,” prosecutors wrote.
The disagreement centers on the Governing Board’s involvement in the team’s creation and whether its work served the board or district administrators.
Osipov said the superintendent formed the team to conduct an analysis for the administration. She said it was not charged with making recommendations to the Governing Board regarding repurposing, consolidating, or closing schools.
“The team’s work was intended to inform the administration’s development of options for Governing Board consideration,” she wrote.
MCAO’s Sept. 16 letter said the board discussed creating an advisory body during 2025 and considered the issue Jan. 6, 2026. Although the board declined to amend its policy to establish a standing advisory board, prosecutors said the superintendent subsequently created the Phase II team and tasked it with making recommendations to the board.
“The timing of these events suggests the Governing Board’s implicit direction to the superintendent to create an advisory board for the purpose of advising the Governing Board,” the letter states.
Prosecutors described the team as the board’s “brainchild” and said its recommendations concerned matters the board would vote on.
Osipov challenged MCAO’s interpretation, saying portions of the Sept. 16 letter conflicted with opinions issued by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. She also said SUSD posted materials after each meeting to support transparency.
The amended Attorney General Opinion, issued June 23, 2025, explains that a superintendent-created committee does not automatically become subject to Open Meeting Law because its work leads to recommendations reaching the board.
The opinion says the law typically does not apply when the superintendent develops a proposal without board direction or other close involvement. It also cautions that a governing board cannot evade public meeting requirements by informally establishing a committee or directing a superintendent to establish one. A committee’s subsequent work can become subject to the law when the board tasks it with developing policy recommendations.
MCAO’s Sept. 16 letter relied on its assessment of the board’s involvement and the team’s function. It recommended that SUSD avoid an overly narrow interpretation of the law when determining whether future advisory bodies must hold public meetings.
Prosecutors also cited A.R.S. § 38-431.09, which directs those interpreting Arizona’s Open Meeting Law to favor open and public meetings.
The complaint was initially submitted to Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office, which referred it to MCAO July 17 after citing a conflict of interest. The complaint concerned public access to the advisory team’s meetings.
Bengert has also raised broader concerns about district leadership and public participation, criticizing SUSD’s academic outcomes, enrollment losses, and financial management while questioning whether its governing board provided sufficient scrutiny of Superintendent Scott Menzel’s administration. He argued that parents and residents needed opportunities to hear opposing views on district policies and decisions.
Bengert has asked MCAO to respond publicly to SUSD’s characterization of the investigation. In correspondence shared with AZ Free News, he disputed Osipov’s statements and asked the county attorney’s office to clarify its findings directly to the district.
An MCAO spokesperson said the office was reviewing additional questions and checking whether other correspondence existed.
AZ Free News requested additional comment from Scottsdale Unified School District and General Counsel Renee Osipov regarding the county attorney’s findings and the district’s characterization of the investigation. Neither had responded to those inquiries by the time of publication.
