Kari Lake plans to appeal her lawsuit against governor-elect Katie Hobbs in her capacity as secretary of state and Maricopa County.
Maricopa County Superior Court declared in a ruling issued on Christmas Eve that Hobbs was governor-elect because Lake presented no “clear and convincing evidence” of election misconduct or fraud.
“[Election workers performed] their role with integrity. Not perfectly, as no system on this earth is perfect, but more than sufficient to comply with the law and conduct a valid election,” wrote Thompson.
My Election Case provided the world with evidence that proves our elections are run outside of the law. This Judge did not rule in our favor. However, for the sake of restoring faith and honesty in our elections, I will appeal his ruling.
On Monday, Maricopa County sought sanctions against Lake and her attorneys, Brian Blehm and Kurt Olsen. The trio could owe up to $696,000 to cover attorneys’ fees and costs incurred by the county and secretary of state’s office. The county asserted that Lake kept up a “sustained attack on Arizona’s elections” long before this recent election, and filed her lawsuit in bad faith.
The county cited a since-deleted tweet from Lake, which shared a report compiling claims from “legal experts” that Judge Peter Thompson’s ruling was “ghostwritten” by the likes of top Democratic election attorney and principal Russiagate figure Marc Elias and others.
Lake would be far from the first facing sanctions for disputing an election in recent years. There are at least three other parties with outstanding sanctions.
Prominent among Lake’s claims of election malfeasance were missing chain of custody documentation for Election Day ballots in violation of the Election Procedures Manual (EPM) and inducing Ballot On Demand (BOD) printer issues by using 19” instead of 20” ballots.
We know exactly how it occurred.
Somebody in Maricopa County either let it happen or made it happen.
Hopefully, the appeals court gives this damning admission the attention it deserves. https://t.co/WnAj29mFbL
Thompson preceded his 10-page court ruling by acknowledging voters’ “anger and frustration” over the “inconvenience and confusion” at vote centers, but issued a reminder that his duty was to weigh Lake’s claims and the actions of Maricopa County and the state against the law.
“[T]his Court’s duty is not solely to incline an ear to public outcry,” wrote Thompson.
In order to prevail, Lake needed to prove that alleged misconduct such as EPM violations and BOD irregularities were intentional, conducted by an officer making or participating in a canvass, intended to change the election outcome, and resulted in a change in the election outcome.
The ruling reviewed the testimonies of Lake’s witnesses: Mark Sonnenklar, a Republican National Committee election attorney; Heather Honey, a supply chain auditor and consultant; Clay Parikh, a Northrup Grumman cybersecurity expert; David Betencourt, a temporary technical election support employee (“T-Tech”) with Maricopa County; and Richard Baris, director of Big Data Poll.
With the exception of Honey, Thompson determined that these witnesses completely failed to relay personal knowledge of intentional or unintentional election misconduct. Honey testified that Runbeck Election Services employees introduced about 50 ballots of family members into the stream.
However, Thompson determined that Honey’s claims were insufficient to meet the burden of proof because these ballots weren’t clear and convincing evidence of affecting the election outcome. Thompson noted that Maricopa County in its testimony clarified that it only granted Runbeck permission to submit general public ballots, not those family member ballots.
“Every single witness before the Court disclaimed any personal knowledge of such misconduct. The Court cannot accept speculation or conjecture in place of clear and convincing evidence,” wrote Thompson.
Thompson declared further that Lake didn’t offer sufficient evidence to contradict the testimonies of Election Day director Scott Jarrett or County Recorder Stephen Richer.
In response to the ruling, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chair Bill Gates declared that Lake sought media attention, not a remedy to the election.
“Plaintiff Lake’s lawsuit was never about well-pled facts and evidence. Instead, it was the continuation of a made-for-TV tirade from a candidate who cannot or will not accept the fact that she lost,” said Gates. “Arizona courts have made it clear that frivolous political theater meant to undermine elections will not be tolerated.”
Governor-elect Katie Hobbs’ endorsement for the new Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) chair indicates a deep party divide.
Hobbs endorsed Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo, a member of her transition team — but other top Democratic leaders endorsed the apparent successor, ADP Vice Chair Yolanda Bejarano. The announcement confirmed railbird talk that Hobbs’ transition team had someone in mind other than Bejarano.
As we look to the future, I know @Steve_Gallardo is the leader we need to build on our party’s winning momentum these last 4 years and ensure Arizona continues to elect Democrats who share our values and will turn our priorities into realities.
Hobbs appears to be attempting to gin up greater support for Gallardo. The outgoing secretary of state has issued public endorsements several times over the past few weeks. Additionally, two of her other transition team members — Valleywise Health Board Chairwoman Mary Rose Wilcox and Arizona Education Association (AEA) President Marisol Garcia — endorsed Gallardo.
The current chair, State Sen. Raquel Terán (LD-26), announced earlier this month that she wouldn’t seek re-election due to her appointment as Senate Minority Whip. A day later, Bejarano announced her candidacy in a since-deleted tweet. However, in the remaining tweet thread, Bejarano said that she could end the “dangerous agenda” of Republicans.
“And with Republicans doubling down on their dangerous agenda that has all but ended the right to an abortion, defunded our public schools, villainized immigrants instead of working to fix the system, and denied our fair and free elections, our work has never been more important,” wrote Bejarano.
In 2024, we have to win back the State House and State Senate and elect more Democrats to Congress, in addition to securing our U.S. Senate seat and Arizona’s 11 presidential electoral votes.
The coalition @AZDemParty + @MissionForAZ built in 2020 won races that many National Dems had written off.
As the next AZDems Chair, union organizer and Vice Chair @yolitorosentado will leverage this momentum to deliver even more wins for Dems across AZ. https://t.co/GXueIhz9LB
Bejarano is also the Communication Workers of America (CWA) union’s national legislative and policy field director.
Apart from Hobbs and her transition team, Gallardo’s endorsements came from former Arizona Senate President and Pinal County Supervisor Pete Rios, primaried State Rep. Cesar Chávez, UFCW Local 99 union, and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Arizona chapter.
Over the last few weeks, Gallardo has hit the media trail to inspire more support.
Gallardo is also a board member for the Phoenix Union High School District, and former board member for the Cartwright Elementary School District. Gallardo serves as the second vice chair of the County Supervisors’ Association. He is also on the Ryan White Planning Council and the Valley Metro Regional Transportation Advisory Board.
Prior to serving on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Gallardo served for 10 years in the state legislature, going on to become House Minority Whip and then Senate Minority Whip. Gallardo also served as a campaign finance administrator in the Maricopa County Elections Department for 14 years, engaging in efforts to increase voter turnout.
Gallardo has also served on the Arizona Civil Right Advisory Board and the Maryvale Village Planning Committee, as well as been a member of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), and Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF).
In 2006, Gallardo chaired a ballot initiative that established minimum wage in Arizona. Since then, the state minimum wage has increased from $6.75 to $13.85 (starting Jan. 1). The federal minimum wage is $7.25.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Governor-elect Katie Hobbs’ transition team includes the leader of a nonprofit under investigation for pandemic loan fraud.
Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) President, CEO, and lobbyist David Adame was named to Hobbs’ transition team.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is investigating CPLC for fraudulent pandemic loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The Democrat-led Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis issued a report at the beginning of this month revealing that CPLC’s nonprofit lending subsidiary, Prestamos, received approximately $7.7 billion in loans. That made Prestamos the third-ranked lender for PPP last year, after JP Morgan Chase Bank and Bank of America.
“As of late December 2019, Prestamons had provided ‘more than $50 million in loans supporting more than 400 businesses’ since its formal inception in 2000,” stated the subcommittee report. “In other words, in the two decades prior to the pandemic, Prestamos likely issued less than one percent of the funds that it issued in 2021 as part of the PPP.”
The subcommittee recommended the Department of Justice (DOJ) to act on their findings.
In a statement, Prestamos said that their compliance program resulted in the denials of 57 percent of PPP applications.
“Prestamos supports any effort to identify and correct fraud and to enhance controls, and we have been working with the SBA to strengthen the role of non-profit, community-based lenders in reaching those in need,” stated the lender.
Hobbs named her transition team about a week before the SBA report dropped.
CPLC’s website has a portal for its “Boards,” which currently houses a broken link. However, archived versions of the portal link include the word “Prestamos” in the URL.
In 2020, Adame served on Sen. Mark Kelly’s (D-AZ) transition team. Adame is also a board member of the Arizona-Mexico Commission appointed by outgoing Governor Doug Ducey, a member of the Dean’s Council at Arizona State University (ASU) W.P. Carey School of Business, and a board member of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC).
The GPEC President and CEO, Chris Camacho, has worked closely with CPLC and was also named to Hobbs’ transition team.
The co-chair of GPEC’s International Leadership Council, Sharon Harper, recently issued a $1.5 million grant to CPLC through her trustee role for the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust. Harper also named Adame to a Creighton University board.
Harper, the president, CEO, and co-founder of Plaza Companies, also sits on the boards of the McCain Institute and BioAccel, and serves as a vice chair for the Arizona Community Foundation.
A number of Hobbs’ other transition team members also have ties to CPLC.
Mary Rose Wilcox, former Phoenix City Council member and defeated 2014 congressional candidate, also has ties to CPLC and its loans operations: in 2009, the former Maricopa County Supervisor faced 36 felony counts for failing to disclose her CPLC loans and exercising a conflict of interest when voting on funding related to CPLC. The charges were dropped, ultimately, and Wilcox received about $1 million in settlement.
Mesa Mayor John Giles has worked closely with CPLC over the years. Most recently, the mayor helped establish a new affordable housing development, “Nuevas Vistas.” Giles also supported CPLC’s efforts to pass Proposition 308, granting in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants so long as they graduated from an Arizona high school. Arizona voters approved the measure last month. Leftist dark money heavily backed the proposition.
Bob Worsley, former state senator, and John Graham, chairman & CEO of Sunbelt Holdings, also signed onto Prop 308.
Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo has also partnered with CPLC in the past. Marlene Galan-Woods, a former Fox News and CBS News anchor, serves on the team and is the wife of Grant Woods: a prominent attorney awarded by CPLC for his work and campaign co-chairman for both former Governor Jan Brewer and Sen. John McCain.
CPLC’s political arm, CPLC Action Fund, endorsed Hobbs in October through its initiative “Latino Loud” or “Sí Se Vota.”
Governor-elect Katie Hobbs reaffirmed that she will hold to her campaign promise to abolish Arizona’s universal school choice program.
Arizona's historic school choice program will likely be short-lived. Governor-elect @katiehobbs promised in her education plan to undo universal school choice. pic.twitter.com/20VtV70qv9
Hobbs issued the remarks last week in an interview with Arizona PBS, about two weeks after appointing two longtime teachers’ union lobbyists to her transition team. Marisol Garcia is a longtime lobbyist for and the current president of the Arizona Education Association (AEA); Stephanie Parra was a former lobbyist for the AEA, is a registered lobbyist for her nonprofit “All in Education,” and serves as a Phoenix Union High School District board member.
“I can tell you that the voucher scheme that we have set up is going to end up as an Alt-Fuels 2.0,” stated Hobbs. “It’s going to bust our budget. We can’t afford to do more.”
I’m pleased to announce my full administration transition team made up of public service, business, labor, & advocacy leaders from both sides of the aisle.
I look forward to working with these outstanding local leaders as we build an administration that works for all Arizonans. pic.twitter.com/mfejYSvYpX
In a video shared within an AEA meeting reviewing the upcoming legislative session on Wednesday, Hobbs pledged to be the biggest ally of public schools in the state’s history.
“I’m ready to get to work as the most pro-public education governor in Arizona,” said Hobbs.
Garcia expressed confidence that Hobbs would be an ally to their teachers’ union. She also said that she and the AEA were completely against the state’s school choice program, the Empowerment Savings Account (ESA) Program.
“We have always been against any sort of vouchers, not just expansion but vouchers in essence,” said Garcia.
In September, Garcia stated that it wasn’t possible to support both public schools and private schools when it comes to funding.
“Funding AZ public schools & then being pro private schools vouchers is hypocritical,” wrote Garcia. “Union members have ALWAYS been against vouchers. They hurt our communities & funnel tax payer $ to private companies.”
Such a BAD take Paul. Funding AZ public schools & then being pro private schools vouchers is hypocritical. Public schools take every single student, ALL of them. Union members have ALWAYS been against vouchers. They hurt our communities & funnel tax payer $ to private companies. pic.twitter.com/ALLPI5Rj3Z
Hobbs has been forthright about her opposition to universal school choice. Her education plan published through her campaign revealed that she would scale back the program to bolster public school funding.
Hobbs declared that universal school choice was an “attack” on public schools, reflecting an intent to eventually “do away with” them. Hobbs also claimed that the ESA Program lacked any accountability and oversight.
About 32,000 children applied for the ESA Program, according to the Arizona Department of Education. Students may qualify for up to $6,500 each — totaling about $208 million.
Save Our Schools Arizona (SOSAZ), an activist group opposed to universal ESAs, attempted to reverse the universalization through a ballot measure. In September, SOSAZ overreported its signature count to qualify for the ballot — something hawkeyed pro-school choice parents discovered immediately. However, Hobbs delayed counting the signatures for about five days.
Kari Lake and Katie Hobbs will face off again over election matters next week — this time, over the course of two days in court.
Lake’s lawsuit against Hobbs and Maricopa County kicked off on Tuesday. Judge Peter Thompson scheduled the two-day hearing for Dec. 21 and 22.
Judge in @KariLake v. @katiehobbs election lawsuit: the volume of the evidence presents a problem that needs fleshing out. Hearing set for two days: Dec. 21 & 22. Effectively, a Christmas Eve battle.
Kari Lake’s counsel, Bryan Blehm and Kurt Olsen, filed an ex parte motion to substitute one of the exhibits: “Attachment C.” They reportedly failed to redact voter signatures on their filings. The judge admitted them, however, which will require the clerk’s office to scan thousands of pages containing the redacted filings into the system.
Andy Gaona, on behalf of Hobbs in her capacity as secretary of state, and Tom Liddy, on behalf of Maricopa County, both said they will file to dismiss. Alexis Danneman was present on behalf of Hobbs as governor-elect.
The judge conferred extensively with all counsel on when and for how long hearings should take place, given the transfer of power designating Hobbs as governor fast approaching (Jan. 2). However, Gaona, Danneman, and Liddy expressed confidence that the judge would dismiss the case and insisted that an evidentiary hearing wasn’t necessary.
However, the judge stated that the substantial amount of evidence before him would require a “reasonable amount of time” to review. He noted that a hearing spanning multiple days would take the case right up to Jan. 2.
“Looking at the timing of this, this is a statutory creature,” said Thompson. “This isn’t a ruling that I will be able to do in 15 minutes.”
Blehm asked for a three day “trial” at minimum, but the judge refused. Thompson stated that the case was a “hearing, not a full-blown trial” that would take a few hours for each side to argue, at most.
Gaona warned that a lengthy hearing would threaten an orderly transition of power. He stated that Lake’s case was “non-existent.”
Liddy argued most of Lake’s evidence was duplicative, and some of the remainder was “of dubious probative value.” Liddy also noted that his team received a thumb drive on Tuesday morning containing confidential voter data. AZ Free News reached out for comment on this point. Liddy explained that they, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, received the thumb drive from the clerk of the board after it was served to the county by Lake’s team late Monday. The thumb drive contained about 6,000 pages of documents, many containing voter information such as copies of voters’ signatures.
Blehm took issue with what he claimed was a characterization of their evidence’s procurement by Liddy, but Liddy said he didn’t issue any characterization.
Blehm also asked the judge for permission to inspect the ballots. Thompson appeared confused by this request and denied it.
Technical issues with the conference call derailed the hearing for the better part of the hour, and continued to plague the livestream for the remainder of the hearing.
The cause came from the publication of the conference call access information from those with massive followings such as the Democracy Docket, Wendy Rogers, and Gateway Pundit. Hundreds of members of the public jumped onto the call, leaving some of the litigants out. Initially, Lake and her legal team were unable to access the conference call.
Kari Lake's lawsuit contesting the results of the Arizona gubernatorial election will meet at 11:00 am MT/1:00 pm ET.
Dial-in (917) 781-4590 Conf ID: 105 414 319# in case link doesn’t work for tuning into… Judge Orders Kari Lake and Katie Hobbs to Appear at Emergency Court Hearing Over Election Lawsuit. @KariLake
