Voters are sending newly elected Arizona legislators to office with a clear mandate from the people of Arizona: The people must be the chief stakeholder of their representatives.
The days of woke and swampy lobbyists and consultants overriding our voices have come to an end, unless your legislator votes for the swamp grift to continue with their first vote representing you. The SECRET vote for legislative leadership picks happens tomorrow, Tuesday, November 12th at 9 am.
Leadership votes are the most evident indicator of the policy that will lead each chamber. All policy floats downstream from leadership. The leadership of each chamber of the legislature determines whether the grassroots have a seat at the table or if a quid pro quo, pay-to-play agenda will lead their administration.
The leader of the House is called the Speaker. The leader of the Senate is called the Senate President. While the grassroots worked hard to reform both chambers in 2022, only Senate President Warren Petersen performed with a complete turnover of poor-performing staff and additional efficiencies in how government runs. He also led the efforts to stop the run-amok executive authority by appointing Sen. Jake Hoffman to lead the confirmation committee process of Governor Katie Hobbs’ appointees. These efforts have been wildly successful, with Arizona voters confirming their support at the ballot box by expanding Republican majorities in both chambers.
It’s time for the House to follow suit with a Speaker who will put the mandate from the people first and help ensure that President Trump’s America First agenda takes root in Arizona. The candidates running include:
1.Joe Chaplik, a legislator in LD3 who previously ran for Speaker in 2022. Chaplik was spurred on by the grassroots and only missed it by a single vote. He has served his district since 2022. He’s a successful businessman with “25 years of executive leadership experience building and guiding top-tier companies,” according to his AZ Legislature biography. Chaplik is also a founding member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus. He gained wide popularity in leading the effort to relieve children of the abusive mask mandates in schools. Chaplik’s lifetime Arizona Free Enterprise Club scorecard score is 100%.
2.Leo Biasiucci, a legislator in LD30 currently serving as Majority Leader. Biasiucci has no biography on record. He’s served in his district since 2020. Ballotpedia says he has a background in “owning Mohave Traffic Survival School and working as an actor with SAG-AFTRA, a claims analyst with GEICO, and a financial auditor with GE Capital.” He is known to have led the House Victory PAC effort. And he’s also been a friend to both the grassroots and moderate members of the Caucus. Biasiucci’s lifetime Arizona Free Enterprise Club scorecard score is 84%, with a recent session score of 78%.
3. Steve Montenegro, a legislator in LD29 since 2023. Montenegro also doesn’t have a biography on record. He previously served as a legislator from 2008 to 2017. Montenegro previously ran for Congress against Debbie Lesko and lost mainly due to a myriad of reports of an inappropriate relationship with a young staffer while serving in legislative leadership, even though he was married and a pastor. He also previously worked in former Congressman Trent Franks‘ office for a decade. Franks was also plagued by a scandal involving a young female staffer. Montenegro’s Ballotpedia says he previously worked as a principal consultant of Coronam Consulting. He’s also served as an executive with Patrick Byrne’s The America Project. Montenegro has also previously been a big champion of eliminating the Electoral College with a yes vote on the National Popular Vote initiative in 2016 on HB2456—a popular radical left initiative to upend our Constitutional Republic. It died thanks to then-Senate President Andy Biggs, who blocked it from being voted on in the Senate. Montenegro’s lifetime Arizona Free Enterprise Club scorecard score is 91%, with the most recent session clocking in at 81%.
When looking at the most recent legislative track records, the voters get a clearer picture of the leadership each candidate offers. Montenegro ran 29 bills this session, with only two passing or 6.9%. Chaplik ran seven bills, with one passing or 14%. Biasiucci ran 34 bills, with eight passing or 23.5%. Unfortunately, most passed bills were victim to Governor Hobbs’ veto stamp.
Chaplik’s keen understanding of government efficiency stands out most in this record. Chaplik has long been preaching a message that poor management in the House has led to chaos, an all-powerful lobbyist and consultant class overriding the will of the people, and unsupported legislators with few tools to serve the best interests of their constituents and fulfill the people’s mandate. He’s walked the walk by limiting the number of bills he’s personally run, ensuring staff time isn’t wasted on silly messaging bills.
Chaplik also advocates for sessions to return to 100 days as our state Constitution prescribes to prevent swampy budgets and pay-to-play sweetheart deals benefiting the lobbyist and consulting class.
Finally, Chaplik offers a vision where the legislature prioritizes its only constitutional mandate – the budget – and presents that to the Governor early in the session to avoid gridlock and threats of government shutdowns. Senate President Petersen has supported early budget preparation and was successful in this endeavor in 2023. It changed the power dynamic with the radical left executive branch and restored power to the people’s representatives. The people benefit greatly when efficiency is prioritized by leading with the budget first.
These reforms, coupled with cleaning house of staff leadership who have promoted chaos and undermined the body and Speaker historically on many occasions, are a winning combination for the majority party to fulfill the mandate from the voters.
Legislators who genuinely seek to serve the people should make it known now whether they intend to make the people the chief stakeholders of their government or the political lobbyist consultant class.
The voters should demand transparency in their legislators’ first vote, setting the tone for the next two years. Transparency dies in darkness, and no legislator should keep their leadership votes secret from their constituents.
A quick search on X shows the grassroots favors Chaplik to lead the House. Do you know who your legislators will vote for tomorrow in the House Speaker race? Have they asked you who you want to lead the AZ People’s House?
Merissa Hamilton is the founder and chairwoman of the nonpartisan nonprofit organizations Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and Strong Communities Action, also known as EZAZ.org, which are focused on making civic education and action as easy as pie. She’s an elected Member at Large of Congressional District 1 for the Arizona Republican Party and previously ran for Mayor in 2020. Merissa is also the Director of Integration and Policy at The R.O.A.R. PAC, which is on a mission to restore our American Republic.
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.
A number of Arizona Republicans quickly reacted to the unprecedented verdict out of New York City against former President Donald J. Trump, while Democrats across the state largely retweeted sensational headlines.
The Arizona Senate Republicans Caucus “X” account wrote, “This is a dark day in American history. The justice system has been weaponized by the radical left to take out a political opponent. This is something you’d expect from a communist nation, not the greatest country mankind has ever seen.”
This is a dark day in American history.
The justice system has been weaponized by the radical left to take out a political opponent. This is something you’d expect from a communist nation, not the greatest country mankind has ever seen.
State Representative Joseph Chaplik, a Republican, posted, “Rigged Trial. Compromised Judge. The American people won’t put up with this and will re-elect Trump in a landslide.”
Rigged Trial
Compromised Judge
The American people won’t put up with this and will re-elect Trump in a landslide https://t.co/wbTzDk15IP
— Rep. Joseph Chaplik 🇺🇸 (@JosephChaplik) May 30, 2024
State Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope added, “I’ve never financially contributed to a presidential campaign until today. Arizona will be behind President Donald Trump this November and that’s the verdict that matters!”
I’ve never financially contributed to a presidential campaign until today. Arizona will be behind President @realDonaldTrump this November and that’s the verdict that matters! https://t.co/a0vWiwJMwv
Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma, a Republican, commented, “When history is written, this will go down as one of the darkest days in American political history. The political prosecution of a former President for murky charges is a disgrace. Our democracy never contemplated lawfare as a political weapon and we cannot continue down this path.”
When history is written, this will go down as one of the darkest days in American political history. The political prosecution of a former President for murky charges is a disgrace. Our democracy never contemplated lawfare as a political weapon and we cannot continue down this…
State Senator Wendy Rogers said, “Today marks a regrettable event in American history, as Democrats celebrated the conviction of the opposing party’s leader on charges based upon testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon.”
Today marks a regrettable event in American history, as Democrats celebrated the conviction of the opposing party's leader on charges based upon testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon. This highlights the ongoing weaponization of the justice system by the Biden Administration.… pic.twitter.com/4j7LS2QjXg
Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo, a Democrat, shared an infographic of jury’s decision for the former president, noting that “Today was a big win for the rule of law, election transparency, and our constitution.”
— Supervisor Steve Gallardo (@Steve_Gallardo) May 30, 2024
Many Democrats in the Arizona Legislature did not post their own comments and opinions about the verdict on their “X” accounts, though some of those members reposted news stories about the historic outcome from the Manhattan courtroom.
Both Republicans and Democrats in Arizona are closely watching the aftermath of this verdict with how tight the November General Election figures to be in the Grand Canyon State. Not only are Trump and President Joe Biden competing for the state’s eleven critical Electoral College votes, but Arizona showcases significant contests for the U.S. Senate, several ballot initiatives, and the State Legislature.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Arizona Senate Democrats are protesting their Republicans’ efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.
Last week, three Democrats walked out of the Arizona Senate Military Affairs, Public Safety and Border Security Committee, during a hearing on HB 2748. The bill would “make it unlawful for a person who is an alien (unlawful immigrant) to enter the State of Arizona from a foreign nation at any location other than a lawful port of entry,” and it would “outline penalties for violations of illegally entering the state and provide immunity from civil liability and indemnification for state and local government officials, employees and contractors who enforce this prohibition” – according to the purpose from the chamber.
The proposal was sponsored by Republican State Representative Joseph Chaplik.
After three Democrats in committee walked out over discussion of the bill, the Arizona Senate Republicans Caucus “X” account posted, “Senate Democrats are turning their back on Arizona just like Biden has turned his back on America. Today, Democrat Senators walked out of committee in protest of hearing bills aimed at securing our southern border and protecting Arizonans against border-related crimes. As border-related crimes have more than doubled in some areas of our state, Democrats continue to be more concerned about protecting criminals than Arizona citizens.”
Senate Democrats are turning their back on Arizona just like Biden has turned his back on America.
Today, Democrat Senators walked out of committee in protest of hearing bills aimed at securing our southern order and protecting Arizonans against border-related crimes.
After the walkout and vote, Senator David Gowan, the committee’s chair, said, “Senate Democrats are turning their back on Arizona, just like Biden has turned his back on America. This week, the Democrat senators pictured on the right walked out of my committee on Military Affairs, Public Safety & Border Security in protest of hearing bills aimed at securing our southern border and protecting Arizonans against the horrific crimes associated with the invasion. This criminal activity has more than doubled in some areas of our state, including my home of Cochise County.”
Gowan added, “Sadly, Senators Gabaldon, Diaz, and Bravo refuse to even have a conversation on solutions to protect our citizens. They disgracefully chose to pose for photos, rather than listen to powerful testimony and discussion regarding several solutions, including the mirror to my Aggravated Unlawful Flight bill, which would create tougher penalties for drivers who endanger the life of another person while attempting to flee law enforcement. Our law enforcement and the citizens of Arizona deserve more respect.”
The piece of legislation passed out of the committee with a 4-0 vote (with three members not voting).
Last month, the bill was approved by the Arizona House of Representatives with a 31-28 vote (with one vacant seat).
The bill stands a certain chance of a veto from Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs, who has already rejected one other Republican solution to the border crisis.
HB 2748 will now be considered by the full Senate chamber.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A bill to combat the illegal immigration crisis at America’s southern border is one step closer to Arizona Governor Hobbs’ desk.
Last week, the Arizona House of Representatives passed HB 2748, which was sponsored by State Representative Joseph Chaplik. According to the overview provided by the chamber, the legislation “establishes penalties and enforcement against illegal border crossings.”
✅FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE✅ House Republicans Vote to Protect State of Arizona from Democrats’ Historic Open Border Crisis
All 31 Republicans voted in favor of the proposal, while all 28 Democrats voted in opposition. One seat was vacant at the time of the vote.
“The Biden administration’s abject refusal to uphold federal immigration laws is anti-American,” Representative Chaplik said. “It is directly responsible for catapulting our southern border into a state of chaos and facilitating an invasion unprecedented in scale and severity. Democrats at every level are working overtime to keep America’s borders open and unsecure, and Americans should demand to know why.”
Chaplik’s colleague, Representative Rachel Jones added, “Arizonans will come out in droves to vote for elected officials who are listening to them on the #1 issue of concern, THE BORDER CRISIS. To my colleagues on the left, the people don’t believe your gaslighting and rhetoric anymore. Americans want to feel safe in their own country.”
Arizonans will come out in droves to vote for elected officials who are listening to them on the #1 issue of concern, THE BORDER CRISIS. To my colleagues on the left, the people don’t believe your gaslighting and rhetoric anymore. Americans want to feel safe in their own country. https://t.co/3gQiXdIz3Y
According to the press release from the Arizona House Republican Caucus, the “key provisions” of the bill include the following:
Establishing a class 1 misdemeanor (or a class 6 felony for subsequent offenses) for individuals entering Arizona from a foreign country as aliens, except through legal ports of entry
Imposing a class 1 misdemeanor for aliens re-entering the U.S. through Arizona if they were previously deported, excluded, or left while a deportation or exclusion order was pending
Elevating the offense to a class 3 felony if the alien was removed due to multiple drug misdemeanors, federal inadmissibility, terrorism involvement, or removal following a nonviolent crime
Elevating the offense to a class 2 felony if the alien was removed after committing a felony
Providing for an order of return for aliens violating the law, with failure to comply constituting a class 2 felony
Granting immunity from civil liability for local and state government officials, employees, and contractors enforcing the law, with indemnification for civil actions under federal law
Mandating the Arizona Attorney General to pursue all available remedies to recover federal reimbursements for state costs incurred due to illegal immigration.
In pointing to the urgent need for state action to combat the border crisis, Chaplik’s communication also pointed to the following facts on the ground:
Cartels are cutting holes in border fencing and controlling cross-border activity.
169 immigrants on the terrorist watch list tried to cross the southern border in the past year
24,000+ Chinese nationals were apprehended crossing into the U.S. from Mexico
Over 150,000 gang members from Central and South America
Over 7 million illegal crossings in the last 3 years, and more than 1 million in the last 4 months.
HB 2748 will now be considered by the Arizona Senate. If approved by the Senate, the bill stands no chance of being signed into law by Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs, who, although she has recently increased the sharpness of her rhetoric against the federal government’s handling of the border crisis, has not agreed with most – if not all – of Republicans’ solutions to solve the lawlessness from a state level. In fact, legislative Republicans pointed out multiple times that Hobbs vetoed border-related bills in 2023, though she attempted to talk tough about the crisis in her January State of the State address.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
