by Matthew Holloway | Aug 3, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
On Wednesday evening, Senator JD Vance, Vice Presidential nominee of the Republican Party, took to the stage at Arizona Christian University in Glendale, Arizona. While President Donald Trump was rallying the crowds in Pennsylvania for the first time since the attempt on his life in Butler, Vance was showing Arizonans that the Senator from Ohio and author of “Hillbilly Elegy” can play on the same field that once brought Barry Goldwater to national prominence.
Flanked on stage by notable conservative Congressmen Eli Crane, Paul Gosar, and Andy Biggs as well as GOP Senate nominee Kari Lake and Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk, Vance broke down the stakes for Arizona voters, describing the scenario of a Harris presidency.
“Let us count the ways in which Kamala Harris has screwed up this country over the last 3.5 years,“ Vance began according to CSPAN.
“Now, they’ll all lie to you about it, the media, but she was appointed the border czar and then unleashed the worst border crisis in the history of this country. On her watch, more than 10 million illegal aliens have invaded our country, and it wasn’t by accident. It was by design.”
“They said when they took office that they were going to do exactly what they did. They said they wanted to decriminalize illegal immigration and tear down Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Open up the floodgates and give illegal aliens free health care. And she wanted you the American citizens to pay the bill. That’s what she said.”
“And then, on her very first day in office, they went to work, but not for you. For them. They suspended deportations. They stopped building President Trump’s wall. They reinstated catch-and-release. And that’s how every state became a border state because they just released these people into our country. Then they fly in first class, give them first class hotel accommodations. You guys are paying for that too.”
Vance didn’t shy away from taking direct aim at Harris’ recent explosion onto the media scene either, and her stark departure from previous appearances as noted by President Trump when he spoke to the National Association of Black Journalists Conference in Chicago.
“So, you guys want to hear that truth about Kamala Harris? Kamala Harris is a phony who caters to whatever audience is in front of her. I don’t know if you saw this. But earlier this week, look up the clip, she went down to Georgia and started talking with a fake Southern accent. I’m serious. Now, what the hell was that all about? Kamala Harris grew up in Canada. They don’t talk like that in Vancouver or Quebec or wherever she came from.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s the same new liberal policies, but a different accent, whoever she’s talking to. Now on November 5th, she can go back to using her San Francisco accent because we are going to send her packing, and we’re going to elect Donald Trump President of the United States. “
Pointedly, Vance drew attention to Harris’ apparent complicity in deflecting concerns over the capacity of President Joe Biden to serve as well as criticizing the thoroughly non-democratic method of her nomination by DNC leaders without a primary vote.
“Now after they covered up for Joe Biden’s incompetence for 3.5 years. This is a scandal from both the Democrats and the media,” he began. “Now they’re gaslighting us about Kamala Harris’ radical record. The media likes to portray her, all of a sudden, she’s a sensible moderate. That’s what they say. Now, the same media that told us for 3.5 years, Joe Biden who couldn’t finish his sentence was Albert Einstein. Now they tell us Kamala Harris is Abraham Lincoln but anyone who is too blind to see Biden’s incompetence, or more likely too dishonest to admit it, is not fit to serve as our commander in chief.”
Vance added, “The Democrat party bosses have decided to install Kamala Harris as their new nominee, but think about this, she has not received a single vote for President of the United States. Now, the media calls this a coronation. I think we’d call it a coup and in America we don’t crown our leaders. We vote for them.”
Vance also prefaced his planned trip to Arizona’s southern border and called Harris out on her radical leftist record and the failure of the Biden-Harris regime to rein in the out-of-control border with Mexico.
He told rallygoers, “Now I’m going to the border tomorrow and her record of disaster is clear. 500,000 kids have been trafficked by the Mexican drug cartels because of her policies, hundreds of thousands of our citizens are dead from fentanyl overdoses because of her policies, hardworking Americans cannot afford groceries because of her policies. Now, the media wants to call her a moderate. But here’s a fact check for the fake news. Kamala Harris was the most liberal senator in the entire United States Senate. She is a dangerous San Francisco liberal, and thanks to the people in this room, she is never going to be the President of the United States of America.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jun 2, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
In the tumultuous race for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, the incumbent Republican Rachel Mitchell is facing attacks from both sides as fellow Republican Gina Godbehere, a former bureau chief for the MCAO and former prosecutor in Goodyear was first to launch a blistering campaign. However, by comparison the findings of investigative reporters against Godbehere are far more serious than those she’s levied against Mitchell.
The victor in the upcoming July primary will face off against Democrat Tamika Wooten, a judge pro tem, former chief prosecutor in Glendale, and a municipal judge in multiple jurisdictions. But before Wooten has even taken the stage, the GOP primary campaign has already been marked by the weapon of choice for any Attorney’s race: ‘sweetheart’ plea deals. Godbehere fired the first shot, blasting Mitchell for a plea deal with former director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, Charles Ryan in a radio interview with KFNN’s J.D. Hayworth as reported by the Phoenix New Times on April 9th.
Godbehere prefaced the issue telling Hayworth, “The problem with the county attorney is she’s wedged between a Democratic governor and a Democratic attorney general, and she has liberal staff that are running that office.” She later landed the rhetorical blow, “When you allow sweetheart deals, like in the Ryan case or pointing the gun at police, and you’re not holding offenders accountable, this is the problem we’re having.”
As noted by New Times, Wooten also latched onto the plea deal telling the outlet, “As a prosecutor, justice is supposed to be blind, and (Mitchell’s) not making her decisions that way. I think there was definitely some favoritism based on Ryan’s former position.”
It didn’t take long though for the investigative reporters at the Arizona Daily Independent to uncover a troubling unsolicited plea deal issued by Godbehere during her tenure with the MCAO for 52-year-old Laquanza Young, also known as Quan Chaney before changing his name in 2019. As reported by the Independent, Young (then known as Chaney) was arrested in 2009 for attempting to rob his former employer Cricket Wireless, threatening a pregnant former co-worker at gunpoint while doing so. He had been previously terminated by Cricket on suspicion of theft and for weeks ahead of the robbery reportedly sent threatening emails to his ex-employer.
Young was arrested and was looking at 3 counts of aggravated assault, burglary, and armed robbery charges, class three and two felonies respectively, and had a lengthy criminal record. Depending on mitigating facts he should’ve been looking at up to 30 years in prison. Confusingly, Young even expressed in pretrial statement that he had no interest in a plea deal. That was at least until Godbehere took the case.
According to the Independent, “Godbehere promptly gave Young a five-week continuance for his trial date, and then offered him a plea deal. Instead of felony charges for aggravated assault, burglary, and armed robbery, Godbehere offered Young lesser charges of disorderly conduct with a handgun (a class six felony) and burglary in the first degree with a handgun (a class three felony). Minimum sentencing under the revised charges amounted to three years, or a maximum of eight years. Godbehere personally signed off on the plea deal.”
Young (then Chaney) was sentenced to just 10 months in prison, was out in five, and he only paid $400 in restitution to the pregnant mother he threatened.
Already, this would be egregious. But on March 21, 2024, Young now under his new moniker, drew a firearm on Scottsdale Police officers who had pulled him over during a routine traffic stop. The suspect was driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen at the time of the traffic stop according to AZCentral. Near Scottsdale Road and Cactus Young exited the car rapidly, drew his gun and opened fire on two officers who returned fire and struck him fatally. He was declared dead at the scene.
A man who was only on the street due to an unsolicited plea deal from Godbehere, was killed just weeks ago while he attempted to murder two Police officers in the line of duty.
Without expressing an opinion regarding the plea deal that Mitchell offered Ryan, a charge based on an incident in which no one was harmed being reduced in light of a dedicated civil servant’s years of service doesn’t strain imagination. But an unsolicited, astoundingly light plea bargain, putting a known criminal back on the street who would later die attempting to gun down two police officers is quite another matter.
To quote Godbehere’s own words, “When you allow sweetheart deals (…) and you’re not holding offenders accountable, this is the problem we’re having.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 20, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Jamie Aldama, the Democratic Glendale mayoral candidate and former councilman, is now battling a lawsuit accusing his campaign of submitting fraudulent signatures to qualify for the ballot.
The lawsuit filed on Monday by local Republican Party chairman Timothy Schwartz alleged that Aldama submitted at least 670 signatures that were either faked, duplicates, from individuals residing outside of Glendale, or from individuals not registered to vote. The lawsuit further alleged that some voters named on Aldama’s signature sheets reported that they hadn’t signed the sheets.
Aldama submitted nearly 2,400 signatures, more than the nearly 1,900 required to qualify for the ballot. A finding of at least 670 invalid signatures would drop Aldama below the qualifying limit.
Members of the media remarked that the contested signature sheets depicted names spelled in block lettering on lines where a voter’s signature belonged.
Aldama hasn’t issued any public statements addressing the lawsuit or its allegations.
The case is scheduled to go before the Maricopa County Superior Court next Tuesday, with a pretrial hearing scheduled for Friday.
Aldama is vying to oust incumbent Mayor Jerry Weiers, a Republican and the mayor since 2013. The former councilman resigned his seat on April 1, after a decade on the council. That same day, Aldama submitted his nomination for the mayorship.
Longtime resident Leandro Baldenegro took over Aldama’s vacant seat last week; Baldenegro works for the Glendale Elementary School District.
Aldama announced his candidacy last May, and began fundraising and canvassing almost immediately thereafter. In a press conference announcing his run, Aldama emphasized that he would focus on inclusivity if elected.
Aldama also explained that he first ran for office in 2014 because the city council and city hall needed accountability. He said that the leaders, including the mayor, were guilty of “sowing division.” Aldama declared that the mayor’s office needed its public image improved.
Aldama said that his main focus would be on bringing more businesses into the city, and building up the Glendale Chamber of Commerce.
“Unification of our city will be a cornerstone of my candidacy,” said Aldama.
During his time with the council, Aldama focused on issues like securing federal funds for addressing homelessness and housing improvements. The city of Glendale broke ground on its first affordable housing complex last March — over 300 apartments — secured through a state low-income housing tax credit. Those apartments are scheduled to be completed this fall.
As a Democrat, Aldama also supported ideologies such as LGBTQ+ allyship and Pride Month. Aldama serves on the Glendale Chamber of Commerce’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, formed in April 2022. The umbrella entity over the committee, the Diversity Task Force, was formed with the purpose of adopting an LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance. The city passed one in 2021.
Aldama has been present for visits from various Biden administration officials, such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s Phoenix visit in 2021.
Per his latest campaign finance report filed earlier this week, Aldama has raised over $94,700.
Weiers has raised over $212,100.
The only other contender for the mayor’s seat, Republican lawmaker Paul Boyer, dropped out of the race several weeks ago.
The city of Glendale’s primary election is scheduled for July 30.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 7, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
What was supposed to be a three-way challenge for incumbent Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers has turned into a one-on-one contest with recently resigned Councilman Jamie Aldama. The third candidate was failed former state lawmaker Paul Boyer, who had a long and contentious relationship with the Glendale mayor and the city of Glendale. However, Boyer ultimately came up short of the signatures required to file for office and did not meet the April 1st deadline.
That makes the July 30th primary a winner take all event that promises to offer the citizens of Glendale two very different visions for the city. As mayor, Weiers has overseen the resurgence of this West Valley city, and a dramatic improvement in its economy, its bond rating, and its job base. The city regularly reports on companies and developments that have chosen Glendale or existing companies that are expanding.
While Weiers has been mayor, the city has hosted a number of national events, including two Super Bowls, and after this week, its second NCAA Final Four men’s basketball championship.
Aldama’s pitch is more nuanced, because after nearly a decade on the City Council he wants to take credit for the good things in the city, while simultaneously trying to convince voters that the city council is divided and failing in its job. This is a difficult tightrope for him to walk, say consultants, and supporters of the mayor point out that many of the projects and policies that have made Glendale successful are items that Aldama voted against, and those votes that contributed to the success of the city that Aldama voted for and could campaign on, were also championed by the mayor himself.
Aldama supporters believe the city would be better off if it embraced more of the left-leaning policies of cities like Phoenix, which has a Democratic mayor, like Aldama is trying to be. And Aldama himself has been very aggressive in campaigning as a Democrat and soliciting Democrat votes and support, even though city races are nonpartisan and those sorts of partisan appeals are generally frowned upon.
Campaign finance reports will be filed soon and will give more insight into the race and the prospects for the two candidates, but as with mayoral elections every four years, Glendale voters are once again in for a ride.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | Mar 5, 2024 | Economy, News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Four Arizona cities made it onto a list of America’s least financially distressed cities.
Last month, WalletHub released the results of their comparison of the 100 largest cities without data limitations across nine key metrics. The personal-finance website determined cities are the most and least financially distressed in light of inflation making it more difficult for Americans to keep up with payments on their loans and lines of credit.
Glendale was 92nd on the list, followed by Chandler at 97, Gilbert at 98, and Scottsdale at 99.
“Getting out of the downward spiral of financial distress is no easy feat,” WalletHub Analyst Cassandra Happe said in a news release. “You may get temporary relief from your lenders by not having to make payments, but all the while interest will keep building up, making the debt even harder to pay off.”
“People who find themselves in financial distress should budget carefully, cut non-essential expenses, and pursue strategies like debt consolidation or debt management to get their situation under control,” she continued.
Chicago, Illinois was the city with the most financial stress.
“It seems that in the Windy City, people’s financial security is also blowing away,” Happe said. “The share of Chicago residents who are allowed to skip debt payments due to financial difficulties went up by nearly 30% between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023.”
Additionally, Chicago residents had the third-most accounts in distress per person, according to Happe.
“Financial distress may increase further, too, as Chicago has some of the highest Google search interest in the country for terms like ‘debt’ and ‘loans,’ which indicates that people need to borrow even more,” she said.
After Chicago, Houston, Texas had the second most financial stress, followed by New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Atlanta, Riverside, and Jacksonville.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
