A long-time Arizona Republican elected official is stepping away from public service.
Last week, Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates announced that he will not run for re-election in 2024 and intends to pursue other interests and opportunities.
Gates devoted a good deal of the statement to reminisce on his time of service to the state, writing, “For over thirteen years it has been my honor to serve my home state of Arizona on the Phoenix City Council and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. As this chapter comes to an end, I rest well knowing that I led with integrity, compassion, and dignity. Regardless of personal partisan preferences or external pressure, I remained focused on making our region the best place to live, work, and raise a family. I am proud to be a principled and limited government Republican. At the city of Phoenix, I cut through the bureaucracy and helped shape a more efficient and responsive government operation. At Maricopa County, I kept government lean, taxes low, supported our most vulnerable residents, and told the truth about our elections in the face of false information.”
The Supervisor thanked many people in his statement, including his colleagues, administrative team, Chief of Staff, supporters, residents of his district, and Maricopa County employees. He saved his most endearing comments, though, to show his gratitude to his family, adding, “To my wife and three daughters, thank you for being my rock, my foundation, and my inspiration. The past few years haven’t always been easy; however, I am a better man, colleague, and public servant because of you.”
Many Arizona officials reacted to the surprising news from Gates. Democrat Representative Marcelino Quiñonez tweeted, “Thank you Supervisor Gates for your years of service. You demonstrated courage & leadership under extraordinary & unjust circumstances. And while our politics might differ, your example must be celebrated by all. Best of luck in your future endeavors.”
Thank you Supervisor Gates for your years of service. You demonstrated courage & leadership under extraordinary & unjust circumstances. And while our politics might differ, your example must be celebrated by all. Best of luck in your future endeavors. https://t.co/KzEvbMR6IO
— Rep Marcelino Quiñonez (@Marcelino4AZ) June 2, 2023
Republican Representative Austin Smith used his platform to look ahead at the election to replace Gates on the Board, posting, “I am ready to work and support the most trusted conservative candidate who can win replacing Bill Gates on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.”
I am ready to work and support the most trusted conservative candidate who can win replacing Bill Gates on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
The 2024 election will be a pivotal time for the future of the Board and Maricopa County elections. In addition to Gates’ now-open seat, the other Republicans and lone Democrat on the panel – plus Recorder Stephen Richer – face primary and general elections.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates now claims to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which reportedly flared up recently after a Trump supporter came to do work on his home.
Gates revealed the diagnosis to the Washington Post in an article published over the weekend. After documenting at length Gates’ mental decline from 2020 onward, beginning with stress over the pushback against his decision to enact a mask mandate, the outlet concluded with Gates being triggered by the sight of a supporter of former President Donald Trump.
The offending individual was a worker wearing Trump’s trademark “Make America Great Again” red hat, who’d come over to fix a leaky pipe at Gates’ residence. Gates told the Washington Post that he’d felt “anger swelling in his chest,” and had to leave the room where the worker was to take some “deep breaths” to control his anger.
“It was a trigger to see that hat in my house,” stated Gates.
The Washington Post documented Gates ranting at the funeral last May for former Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel. Gates recounted how an unnamed “prominent” Republican shared that he found election denialism “all very boring,” to which Gates said he “saw red” and thought, “F**k you.”
Gates reportedly began “wildly waving his arms” while ranting, described as “out of control” and disruptive. According to those around him witnessing the behavior, Gates was on “the brink.”
The outburst reportedly caused his wife to confront him. Gates’ wife insisted that he go to therapy, and he said he did.
Gates described Election Day last year as a “war zone,” in reference to the flocks of officials and law enforcement at voting centers following the mass voting machine failures that may have disenfranchised thousands of voters.
Gates told the outlet that, despite feeling relief at giving up his chairmanship in January, he still struggled with the same negative feelings.
This was the second profile piece of Gates in as many months. The Atlantic profiled him in March, though Gates made no mention of his PTSD diagnosis at the time. Gates offered a slightly different version of himself: calmer, less stressed. The words peppered throughout this more recent profile piece — “anxiety,” “anger,” “stress,” “insecurity,” “resentment” — were absent from the one released just several months ago. In that piece, he expressed hopefulness throughout, even in response to uncertain situations he’d faced throughout COVID-19 and the last two elections. The article characterized him as a “leading defender” of elections.
When asked by the outlet whether he felt “threatened” by the demands of former Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward, Gates demurred, saying that “threat” was “too strong a word.”
“I felt pressure. I felt like if I didn’t do what she wanted to do, that there would be political ramifications, certainly,” said Gates.
Gates expressed belief that although he considered himself “politically dead,” he felt he could run for office again at some point beyond 2024.
Near the conclusion of his piece in The Atlantic, Gates said that he believed the current political climate is second only in severity to the Civil War.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Arizona State University (ASU) hosted a panel discussing “election denialism” and President Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” about the 2020 election on Monday.
The event featured faces from the last two contentious election cycles, including Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates. Gates and several other panelists responded to questions from a group of “self-identifying election-deniers” placed in the center of a room as an audience of college students and faculty watched and occasionally posed questions themselves.
Nearly all of the “election-deniers” raised their hands when asked if they thought Trump had won the 2020 election.
Gates assured the crowd that the 2020 election was the “most scrutinized in the world.” Gates reminded them of some of the results of investigations over the years, such as that the election machines weren’t connected to the internet.
“If you don’t believe what happened in 2020, then you don’t believe your neighbors, your family members — they were the ones who ran the election,” said Gates.
Gates then urged those who challenged the results of the 2020 election to sign up as poll workers or volunteers to better understand the process. He expressed that he was upset by those who didn’t have confidence in the election processes.
“I want you to understand, we care about you,” said Gates. “If you guys don’t think it doesn’t hurt my heart to hear this tonight, it does. We want to convince you guys, we want to give you faith in [elections].”
Gates then said that he isn’t a fan of progressive dark money mega-donor George Soros, and urged the crowd to believe him that he’s been a Republican his entire life.
If you care about the future of our country, please watch this focus group led by the legendary Frank Luntz. I am grateful to have participated in this open and honest discussion with Maricopa County voters in a productive and non-confrontational forum. https://t.co/urQkd0JQNV
Other members of the panel were Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, CBS News Washington correspondent Major Garrett, and Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR) Executive Director and Founder David Becker. Longtime political and communications consultant Frank Luntz moderated the event. In addition to ASU’s McCain Institute, support came from CBS, University of Southern California, and Greater Phoenix Leadership.
Although the panel didn’t focus on this most recent election, controversies remain concerning its administration in Arizona. Last month, Maricopa County announced it was investigating the mass failures of its ballot-on-demand (BOD) printers on Election Day. Over 17,000 voters were affected by the incident.
NEW: Former AZ Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor will lead independent investigation into Election Day printer issues. We look forward to her findings. Statement ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/mOhkWideou
Tensions appear to remain between Maricopa County and GOP lawmakers.
The county initially refused to meet former State Sen. Kelly Townsend’s deadline for a subpoena of election records. The county explained it was busy with court proceedings; at the time, they were facing GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s challenge of the election results.
Townsend announced early last month that she did receive the records, though didn’t say when or where they might be publicized. Several weeks later, she said that much of the audit information still needed to be reviewed and scanned.
Yesterday the audit materials were picked up for review. The seals had been broken and the contents reviewed by staff to ensure no sensitive voter info was inside that needed to be redacted. There is a lot of information to be reviewed so it will take time to scan.
Earlier this month in response to a report that State Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-LD07) asked fellow lawmakers not to use the phrase “conspiracy theory” during Senate Elections Committee meetings, the county quipped that some lawmakers based their bills on conspiracy theories.
It's too bad some election legislation is based on blueberry pancakes. It would be beneficial if we kept pancakes out of lawmaking altogether. https://t.co/xrdygTGp9t
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) won’t comply with the Arizona Senate’s subpoena for election records. The Senate has attempted to get these records from the county for a month.
In a response letter issued to State Sen. Kelly Townsend (R-LD16), Government Committee chair, BOS Chair Bill Gates said that their staff and attorneys were too busy to respond by Townsend’s Wednesday deadline. Gates also insisted that Townsend’s subpoena wasn’t necessary.
“As you know, Maricopa County has made itself available to answer questions and provide information as requested, regardless if subpoenaed. It is not necessary for you to hand-deliver a letter or have a Senate President signed subpoena issued,” wrote Gates.
Townsend rejected Gate’s excuse, describing it as a “willful and criminal” obstruction.
“[They] claim [they have] “no time due to court proceedings” [but] that would not be happening if they had followed their own policies,” tweeted Townsend.
Maricopa Co Sups choose to ignore a legal Senate subpoena. Claim “no time due to court proceedings” that would not be happening if they had followed their own policies. This obstruction is willful and criminal. pic.twitter.com/A7lRAyIxK9
Townsend issued the subpoena on Tuesday as part of an ongoing investigation by her committee on potential mismanagement of this most recent election.
Townsend asked Gates to reconcile discrepancies between his Audit Reconciliation report and poll workers’ Precinct Ballot Reports. Gates’ report failed to reflect the poll workers’ disclosure that nearly 17,500 ballots appeared to lack a chain of custody from voting centers.
Townsend also asked Gates to explain why a combined 23,900 ballots were held overnight instead of immediate reception at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC). She also requested delivery of the remaining Incoming Scan Receipts chain of custody documents, and the Goldenrod reports (Voting Location Event Forms) for every voting center.
Further, Townsend requested that Gates reconcile discrepancies between the Election Procedures Manual (EPM) and the county’s procedures pertaining to audit reconciliation and Official Ballot Reports (Precinct Ballot Reports). Gates was to also provide the Goldenrod reports and all communications between the audit manager, the Elections Director, and/or all judges and inspectors regarding the discrepancies.
Townsend also asked Gates to explain why some voting centers calculated Election Day tabulated ballots from memory cards, while others were counted at Central Count.
The senator also requested Gates explain the audit process when a Precinct Ballot Report is missing information like tabulated ballots, door 3 ballots, seals, or inspector and judge signatures; as well as explain how election boards at each voting center account for the provisional and voided ballots on their Official Ballot Report to complete EPM reconciliation requirements, since that wasn’t included in the Precinct Ballot Report fields.
Gates was also requested to explain why the county’s Precinct Ballot Report form wasn’t updated for the voting center model to include a count of control slips as a way to quantify voting center check-ins.
Today I served Chairman Bill Gates with another follow up subpoena in response to the material he has (in part) returned to me. Sen. Deputy Chief of Staff doesn’t want to post this on the official website so I will find another host for complete file & will update. pic.twitter.com/pIbCpFgKnd
In response to constituent complaints that Townsend should issue an arrest warrant for the board, Townsend explained repeatedly that committee chairs don’t have the power to issue warrants on their own.
“[A warrant] requires a vote of the body and a majority prevailing,” stated Townsend.
In response to the effort of some who don’t understand AZ law but are trying to play Atty nonetheless, no committee chair has the power to issue a warrant on their own. It requires a vote of the body and a majority prevailing. – Reposted at request of staff with redacted image. pic.twitter.com/iLIDBvNdSy
Townsend has attempted for about a month to receive complete election record data from Maricopa County.
I wish to report that I am in receipt of returns from Maricopa co sups, in part, for the subpoena I issued that was due yesterday. Unfortunately I am unable to make use of the first set of data regarding which locations had issues with their printers due to no addresses attached.
Maricopa County dropped the ball. They botched the election, and there is simply no way for politicians to gaslight their way out of it. After years of fearmongering from the media and the left that election integrity measures would suppress and disenfranchise voters, it turns out no one suppresses and disenfranchises voters quite like politicians and bureaucrats in Maricopa County.
Rather than taking accountability for their failures, they have rubbed their incompetence in the faces of frustrated voters, smugly downplaying their failure and patting themselves on the back, asserting that they made a “remarkable effort.”
All eyes were on this election. Everyone knew it would be contentious, that key races would be close, and that record levels of Republican voters would show up to vote in-person on election day. Given this, one would think election officials would go above and beyond to ensure every minute detail was ironed out so that the election process was beyond reproach.
Instead, within minutes of polls opening at 6 am, reports were coming in that tabulators were not accepting ballots…
