Fountain Hills Town Councilman and Republican Mayoral Candidate Gerry Friedel revealed on Tuesday that Democrat incumbent Mayor Ginny Dickey has refused to appoint primary election winner Republican Gayle Earle to the council. Earle was the only candidate to earn enough votes to win the July 30th race outright.
In so refusing, Dickey preserves a 3-3 partisan deadlock until after the November election but is accused of violating state law (A.R.S. 9-235).
According to a press release, State Representatives Alex Kolodin and Joseph Chaplik, who represent Fountain Hills, filed a 1487 complaint with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office on Monday calling upon the Solicitor General’s Office to investigate Dickey’s alleged non-compliance with the statute pertaining to “vacancies in council.”
Friedel’s campaign alleged that state funding for the town could be jeopardized by Dickey’s action writing, “The AG will investigate Mayor Dickey’s unwillingness to agendize filling the vacancy while the State Treasurer will be required to hold back the shared state funds for the town, effectively bankrupting Fountain Hills until the complaint is resolved.”
In a statement Friedel said:
“On September 30, 2024, State Representatives Alexander Kolodin and Joseph Chaplik have formally asked the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to investigate alleged wrongdoing by Fountain Hills Mayor Ginny Dickey during a Town Council Meeting on September 17, 2024. The Mayor and Council were asked to fill a council seat vacancy pursuant to A.R.S. 9-235 which states: ‘The council shall fill a vacancy that may occur.’ Accordingly, the Council has no discretion to wait until the voters fill the vacancy but, rather, is required to fill the vacancy itself pending the voters’ chosen candidate taking office which, in this case, was Councilwoman-Elect, Gayle Earle.
Ms. Earle was the only candidate to win outright during the July 30 primary election, securing 4226 votes. Councilmembers Gerry Friedel, Hannah Toth, and Allen Skillicorn voted to appoint Ms. Earle to fill this vacancy. Mayor Dickey, along with Councilmembers Peg McMahon and Brenda Kalivianakis voted against appointing Ms. Earle to this vacancy, thereby deadlocking with respect to filling the vacancy. It should be noted that not filling this vacancy could jeopardize town business and town finances for the remainder of the year. Mayor Dickey may now have to reconsider filling this vacancy to avoid being reprimanded by the Attorney General.”
In a post to X, Councilwoman Hannah Toth shared video of her making an impassioned argument for the appointment of Earle. She wrote, “Tonight the Democrats on the Fountain Hills Council chose Party over People. The people of Fountain Hills have chosen Gayle Earle, is the bipartisan choice to fill our vacant seat. Council members Dickey, McMahon, Kalivianakis would rather leave this seat vacant. They have assaulted democracy, robbing the people of their voice. But I stood up.”
Tonight the Democrats on the Fountain Hills Council chose Party over People.
The people of Fountain Hills have chosen Gayle Earle, is the bipartisan choice to fill our vacant seat.
Council members Dickey, McMahon, Kalivianakis would rather leave this seat vacant.
In a subsequent reply to a comment, Toth explained how the vacancy has been addressed on the council, “Gayle was elected for a 2025-2029 term, however we have a vacancy due to a council member whose term was expiring moving to CA. Therefore, we need someone to fill the seat for the 3 meetings before Gayle is sworn in. Oddly, Kalivianakis was recruiting replacements, and later the Democrats decided they would rather the seat just remain vacant, rather than install someone who has already been elected, early.”
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Friedel preserved a 3-3 partisan deadlock. Dickey is the current mayor responsible for preserving the 3-3 partisan deadlock. The story has been updated.
UPDATE: The Arizona GOP and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell issued a joint announcement on Friday clarifying that the bipartisan observation program used in this year’s primary will be in place for the general election. State Representative Alexander Kolodin walked back the statements reported criticizing Mitchell’s office.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell has found herself embroiled in the hot-button issue of election integrity.
The attorney’s office declined to back a reform deal led by Republican State Representative Alexander Kolodin between Runbeck — the private election services company for Maricopa and other counties — and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
The deal, as part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) secured earlier this year between the state legislature and Runbeck, would have implemented a bipartisan observation program and enhanced security, legislative audits of Runbeck software, published an election workflow document publicly, and provided access to historical 2022 election data.
#AZLeg & Runbeck negotiated this MOU in good faith for Open & Transparent Elections.
An expanded Observer program, implemented in the 2024 Primary, increased Voter Confidence.
— Maricopa County Republican Committee | MCRC (@MaricopaGOP) September 6, 2024
Sources told the Arizona Daily Independent that Kolodin had asked Mitchell to “talk sense” to the supervisors. When the deal fell through, Kolodin criticized Mitchell’s office publicly.
Kolodin told “The Afternoon Addiction” radio host Garret Lewis on Thursday that, according to Runbeck, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Thomas (Tom) Liddy pulled the county out of the MOU, and implied that the board hadn’t voted on the decision.
“Technically, the board of supervisors has to vote,” said Kolodin. If there’s one thing I understand very well is that when it comes to elections Tom Liddy tells the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors what to do.”
Then, Kolodin advised voters to abstain from voting for Mitchell and implied she was a Democrat rather than a Republican.
“If we’re going to have Democrats running that office we might as well have the ones with the ‘D’ next to their name,” said Kolodin.
Kolodin also claimed that the board declined to approve the MOU because voters had declined to reelect them, the ones who worked well with Liddy.
“This is a big way for Tom Liddy to tell everybody eff you for taking all of his allies and control over the county away,” said Kolodin.
Mitchell disputed Kolodin’s remarks. She said that the board had declined to change the terms of its contract with Runbeck to align with the MOU back in March, and that her office didn’t have the authority to decline contractual changes the way Kolodin effectively claimed it did.
Mitchell said MCAO’s authority only amounted to providing legal advice to the supervisors.
“Here are the facts: The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a contract with Runbeck to print ballots and provide other services. Rep. Kolodin attempted to negotiate a separate contract with Runbeck that would change the terms of the contracts for both the Board of Supervisors and Runbeck. On March 11, 2024, the Board of Supervisors chose not to accept those changes after considering them. Rep. Kolodin has misrepresented the situation by claiming that it was the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) that rejected this change in terms. Quite the contrary: The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has NO authority to accept or reject the terms. MCAO only can advise the Board of Supervisors as to what the law allows the Board to do. Rep. Kolodin’s misinformation campaign is false, irresponsible, and incendiary.”
.@realAlexKolodin is spreading falsehoods about the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO). He is doing so even though I personally called him today to set the record straight.
Despite being told the truth, Rep Kolodin has decided to persist in spreading false information.…
— Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell (@Rachel1Mitchell) September 6, 2024
Mitchell’s statement didn’t sway some local party leaders. Maricopa County Republican Committee (MCRC) blamed Mitchell in a press release for the deal’s failure.
“The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS), acting under the advice of Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell’s Office, just pulled the plug on [the] Election Integrity measures which Runbeck had previously agreed [to] in a Memorandum of Understanding,” stated MCRC.
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The Arizona State Bar Cochise County Attorney declined to punish Brian McIntyre last week for working against his own county supervisors, and the bar ultimately dismissed the complaint against him. However, the state bar did issue a public admonition against him, according to the Arizona Daily Independent.
The state bar dismissed the complaint because, according to their statements, they felt that lawyer discipline was achievable through “instructional comment,” and because McIntyre had completed a client confidentiality course. The bar admonished McIntyre for airing out his concerns and the county supervisors’ confidential information publicly instead of the more appropriate venue of an executive session.
During a 2022 public meeting in which the Cochise County Board of Supervisors was discussing a post-election hand count audit, McIntyre revealed that he’d advised the board against the audit.
After the board was sued over the audit, McIntyre then sent a letter to the plaintiffs’ counsel disclosing a list of laws he believed his clients had potentially violated.
Former Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller and State Representative Alexander Kolodin had filed the complaint against McIntyre late last year for those actions. The pair alleged that McIntyre violated attorney-client privilege with his remarks during that 2022 public meeting, and that McIntyre had worked against his clients with the letter by providing legal analysis and fodder for the media against his clients.
The controversy escalated amid the state bar investigation after an uncovered document revealed that McIntyre had apparently colluded with Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes against his county supervisors.
The document was a letter from McIntyre to Mayes, in which the county attorney had asked the attorney general to retract an opinion set by her predecessor, Mark Brnovich, on expanded hand counts. McIntyre sent the letter amid an active appeal by his clients (the county supervisors) to conduct those hand counts.
“Key to our initial efforts was determining the readily apparent potential conflicts with pursuing a prosecution that might result from that investigation. While I remain satisfied that legally we could move forward if evidence warranted doing so, practically it would create substantial issues for this office’s relationship with the Board moving forward,” wrote McIntyre. “Unfortunately, recent events outside the office may also create the appearance that any prosecution is motivated by less than just concerns.”
After the state bar began investigating McIntyre last December, Mayes brought down indictments reflecting felony-level election interference and conspiracy charges against Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby.
McIntyre would later testify to the grand jury on the controversial 2022 general election audit.
Several months after struggling with his county supervisors over the 2022 audit, McIntyre was arrested and pleaded guilty to an extreme DUI in early 2023. An extreme DUI applies to blood alcohol content (BAC) levels over .15 percent (the Arizona legal limit is .08 percent); McIntyre had a .2 percent BAC.
The arrest video showed McIntyre was refusing to believe law enforcement’s breathalyzer results.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Arizona Republicans are taking credit for a “freer and fairer election” in the just-completed Arizona primaries.
Earlier this week, State Representative Alexander Kolodin issued a press release to share that “Arizonans celebrated rapid results for the 2024 primary election cycle thanks to the historic election reform bill passed by the Arizona State Legislature.”
✅Arizona Celebrates Freer & Fairer Election Thanks to Efforts of State Legislature
Arizonans celebrated rapid results for the 2024 primary election cycle thanks to the historic election reform bill passed by the Arizona State Legislature.
— Arizona House Republicans (@AZHouseGOP) July 31, 2024
Kolodin said, “The House Committee on Municipal Oversight and Elections is thrilled to see our historic elections reform bill is paying off with a better experience for Arizona voters than ever before. I am very grateful to all of my colleagues, especially Speaker Toma, Senator Rogers, Representative Heap, and Representative Terech, for being wonderful partners to help bring about this historic reform.”
The bill Kolodin was referring to was HB 2785, which was passed by the Arizona State Legislature and signed by Governor Katie Hobbs earlier this year. According to Kolodin’s release, the legislation “required elections officials to continue tabulation through the night ‘without delay until complete.’ It also clarified that elections officials may begin tabulating early ballots upon receipt, with robust protections to ensure that vote totals were not prematurely accessed.”
Kolodin’s release added that, “Now, just the day after the election, results are known for most major races, reducing unnecessary delay and limiting the time during which administrative or other errors could occur.”
The first-term state legislator, who advanced from the Republican primary Tuesday night in his bid for a second term in office, also said, “We are grateful to the election workers, who, for the first time, labored through the night to hard count election day drop-offs and tabulate ballots. Voters can see that the good work of the legislature has been paying off in terms of faster results, a smoother process, and a more secure system! Seeing these concrete gains only reinforces our resolve to continue to improve upon the efficiency, security, and integrity of Arizona’s election system.”
After Hobbs signed HB 2785 in February, State Senator Wendy Rogers, the chamber’s Elections Committee Chair, stated, “This legislation is a major win for Arizona voters and important in restoring voter confidence in election integrity. After months of painstaking discussions among lawmakers, election experts, administrators, county officials, and the executive branch, I’m proud we were able to craft a commonsense solution that all 15 Arizona counties support. It will ensure our service members abroad will have their votes counted on election day, and moreover, it will enable us to accurately determine the winner sooner rather than later.”
According to an overview provided by the Arizona House of Representatives, HB 2785 was “an emergency measure that modifies certain procedures and deadlines related to the conduct of elections.” The significant provisions of the legislation, per the press release from the Arizona House, were as follows:
Robust legally binding signature verification standards in law for first time in Arizona.
Puts political parties on an equal playing field when curing ballots.
Promotes greater use of ID when voting early.
Ensures that Arizona’s overseas military will be able to vote, and Arizona’s electors will be delivered on time.
With this bipartisan agreement, Arizona’s primary election date was moved up to July 30.
Hobbs struck a triumphant tone in her statement when she signed the bill, saying, “With this bill, we are making sure every eligible Arizonan can have their voice heard at the ballot box. We protected voters’ rights, we kept the partisan priorities out, and we demonstrated to the country that democracy in our state is strong. Thank you to Republicans and Democrats in the legislature who put partisan politics aside to deliver this important victory for the people of Arizona.”
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, also a Democrat, chimed in with his support of the package. Fontes said, “I am pleased to see Arizona’s bipartisan effort to pass House Bill 2785, keeping on-time ballot delivery for military and overseas voters and securing the state’s electoral votes for the 2024 presidential election. This legislation received overwhelming support across party lines and demonstrates Arizona’s commitment to fair and secure elections.”
The bill passed the state house with a 56-2 vote (with two vacant seats at the time), and the senate with a 24-2 vote (with four members not voting).
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Rep. Alexander Kolodin (R-AZ03) and Republicans for National Renewal issued “America First Platform Planks” on July 5 and put forth a call for them for to be adopted by the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to meet July 15-18, 2024 in Milwaukee, WI. In a post to X, Republicans for National Renewal challenged RNC Chairman Michael Watley and co-chair Lara Trump to support their proposal.
@RNRenewal has been working with RNC delegates to craft strong America First platform planks.
— Republicans for National Renewal (@RNRenewal) July 5, 2024
Rep. Kolodin reposted the statement writing that he, “was proud to help with the drafting of these America-First proposed planks for our party platform!” The RNR document shared via X outlines eight platform planks:
Restricting Mass Immigration
The First Amendment: Freedom of Expression; Defeating the Deep State and its Weaponization of the U.S. Government
Fighting Racism and Defending the Individual Rights of Americans
The U.S. Territories; Our Nation’s Capital
Voting Rights
Against Interventionism and Unconstitutional War in Ukraine
In Support of the “Defend the Guard” Act
Sound Money in the Digital Age
Under the heading “Restricting Mass Immigration,” the proposal explains that, “If a person comes into the country and/or stays in the country in violation of the country’s laws, that person, no matter what their motivations or personal circumstances are, has absolutely no business being in the country, nor does this country have any obligation to show these lawbreakers any leniency.”
The proposal posits that many illegal immigrants who by definition break the laws of our nation merely by being here “continue to break other laws while here. This has led to an explosion in crime, severely underreported by the media, that is felt in border towns and across the country,” and recommends a policy of eliminating welfare benefits to illegal immigrants, and an overall end to mass immigration in the form of a pause or reasonable reduction in immigration overall.
Regarding the Weaponization of Government, the RNR has suggested that the next of President of the United States, “ensure the survival of the First Amendment by prioritizing and aggressively dismantling the deep state and its pervasive weaponization of our government.” They add, “Cutting this weaponization off at the roots is not optional; it must be utterly thwarted, or else our society is not free, our citizens are not free, and our Constitution is just lofty words on paper.”
The proposal addressing racism and individual rights also offers a direct rebuke to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion narratives and Critical Race Theory saying, “Terrifyingly, the Democratic Party is waging war with the egalitarian ideals of the Civil Rights Movement. Pervasive and anachronistic critical race theory (CRT) dogma, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) mandates in the workplace and in government, and the racialization of every facet of daily life have had the effect of undoing the progress achieved by the Civil Rights Movement.” The RNR specifically calls out the simultaneously much maligned and willfully ignored rising specter of “anti-white racism and hatred,” describing it’s insidious rise as, “something that would be considered beyond the pale if it were directed at literally any other community in this country, is becoming increasingly commonplace in every institution.”
In addition, the platform rejects the non-Constitutional notion of statehood for Washington, D.C., and the admission of U.S. territories such as Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico to the union as states. It further recommends aggressive voting security measures, the abolition of mail-in-voting and Ranked-choice voting, and the use of electronic voting machines as well as a requirement of photo ID and proof of citizenship for all voters.
Finally, the recommendations breaks from many establishment voices in Washington, D.C. by arguing strongly against interventionism and American participation in the Russo-Ukrainian War. It also calls upon President Trump to enact his avowed support for market-driven crypto-currency and rejects central bank digital currencies or CDBCs.
