Nobody likes a bully, and yet some people relish playing such a role. Here in Arizona, perhaps no person has taken on that persona quite like Kris Mayes. When she began her political career with the Arizona Corporation Commission, Mayes quickly gained a reputation for bullying other people around, but since becoming Arizona’s Attorney General (AG) in January 2023, she has taken it to a whole other level.
Within months of occupying the AG office, Mayes began using her post to target and investigate the very people and entities she is constitutionally obligated to defend. First in her crosshairs was the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), a state agency she is legally obligated to represent and provide legal advice to. But because she wants to score political points with her radical environmental allies, she decided to threaten legal action against ADWR unless they provide her with documentation showing that the agency is in compliance with its water management responsibilities.
Mayes then turned around a few weeks later and went after the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program at the Department of Education. In a public tirade, she falsely claimed that the budget agreement that protected universal school choice would bankrupt the state, despite the expenditure data showing that the ESA program actually saves the state money. When that didn’t stop the Republican budget bill from being signed by Governor Hobbs, Mayes doubled down on her ESA assault by threatening legal action against her own client, the Arizona Department of Education, over the program.
And now that she has had more time to get comfortable in office, Mayes is discovering new and creative ways to abuse her power, including collusion and the usage of dirty tactics to target political opponents…
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich requested Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre to investigate the two-week suspension of the secretary of state’s signature-gathering system for candidates, E-Qual. The March 17 suspension lasted until Wednesday, five days before the April 4 deadline, disabling sections of the system for legislative and congressional candidates to submit their ballot-qualifying signatures.
Yesterday, our office referred a matter to the Cochise County Attorney to investigate and take any appropriate actions (civil and criminal) regarding the Arizona Secretary of State taking down the online E-Qual system. pic.twitter.com/izJsLPYbMf
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs warned candidates in January that she would suspend the system up until the signature-gathering deadline once the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) certified the new district maps. The forewarned shutdown not only caused backlash due to its impact on candidates’ signature-gathering efforts to qualify for the ballot — Attorney General Mark Brnovich warned Hobbs that such a shutdown would be illegal. In a letter, Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright warned Hobbs that she could face a class 3 misdemeanor — up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine — for not fulfilling her lawful duties, or even a felony with up to a year in prison for taking down E-Qual.
Upon receipt of the letter, Hobbs sued to prevent any prosecution. The courts didn’t take her side. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joan Sinclair ruled that Wright’s letter wasn’t legal action, but rather a notification of Hobbs’ legal duties.
“The letter itself notifies the Secretary that in the [attorney general’s] opinion, taking E-Qual offline during the candidate filing period would be ‘contrary to law.’ It further informs the Secretary that when a duty is imposed by Title 16 on a public officer, knowingly failing or refusing to perform that duty can be either a class 6 felony or a class 3 misdemeanor,” wrote Sinclair. “While the Secretary clearly viewed this as a threat, the letter did not promise or guarantee prosecution and thus does not create a controversy properly before the court.”
Despite warnings from the attorney general’s office, the sections of E-Qual for legislative and congressional candidates were suspended on March 17. Two weeks passed. Then on Wednesday, just five days before the signature-gathering deadline, Hobbs announced that the legislative and congressional candidates’ sections of the system were back online. She conceded that the shutdown had to do with necessary redistricting updates.
Thanks to a colossal effort by #SOS staff & county officials, E-Qual is back up ahead of schedule after necessary redistricting updates for Congressional & Legislative candidates. Voters can sign E-qual petitions for Statewide, Legislative, Congressional, & some local candidates. pic.twitter.com/irEOsn1rWq
— Secretary Katie Hobbs (@SecretaryHobbs) March 31, 2022
Just the day before, the entire E-Qual system experienced an outage anticipated to last past the April 4 deadline. Hobbs communicated that the outage was caused by a hardware malfunction. However, that unplanned outage was fixed within several hours.
Secretary of State Alert: the agency is experiencing a system-wide outage. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available. pic.twitter.com/uyUh0NivOv
— Secretary Katie Hobbs (@SecretaryHobbs) March 29, 2022
The anticipated outage would’ve most heavily impacted Maricopa County attorney candidates; the former attorney, Allister Adel, resigned last Friday, giving candidates just two weeks’ notice to gather enough signatures to qualify for the election.
NEW: In an emergency public meeting today, the Board of Supervisors accepted the resignation of County Attorney Allister Adel and called for an election to fill the upcoming vacancy. Read the full statement below: https://t.co/4lroRe7F7rpic.twitter.com/615FjQBOUB
Hobbs didn’t respond on social media to Brnovich’s requested investigation. Instead, the secretary of state opted to post about the International Transgender Day of Visibility.
Today is International Day of Transgender Visibility. Let's stand with the trans community, whose rights are currently under attack. The two bills signed by Gov. Ducey do nothing but limit their ability to live their lives as they so choose. #TransDayofVisibilitypic.twitter.com/ZFpXehnAgU
— Secretary Katie Hobbs (@SecretaryHobbs) March 31, 2022
In a statement to the Arizona Daily Star, Hobbs called Brnovich’s request to investigate her for not doing her job “ridiculous.”
“The attorney general’s continued attacks on election officials across the state for doing our jobs is ridiculous,” said Hobbs.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
