by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 26, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona Republicans highlighted a questionable appearance by a controversial figure on behalf of swing-district legislative Democrats.
Last week, Jane Fonda landed in Phoenix to appear with State Senator Christine Marsh and her other running mates for the critical Legislative District 4.
Karen Gresham, who is running for State House of Representatives, posted, “Climate change is on the ballot and Jane Fonda is in town! Here she is helping Kelli Butler, Christine Marsh and me launch our first canvass of this all-important weekend. Let’s Get Out the Vote.”
Arizona Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope immediately called out the trio of Democrats for this association with Fonda, writing, “I didn’t have Dems campaigning with Hanoi Jane on my bingo card but, here we are. Just another example that AZ Democrats are too extreme and too far left to be given the levers of power in Arizona.”
State Representative Quang Nguyen added, “Jane fonda??? Isn’t she the jerk sitting at the NVA anti-aircraft guns yucking it up about shooting down American aircrafts during the VN War? Now I know where you all stand. Disgusting!!!”
Fonda also appeared at a Legislative District 2 rally, helping other vulnerable Democrats get out the vote. Democrat Judy Schwiebert is running for state Senate in this district. Both Marsh and Schwiebert did not appear to post about Fonda’s appearance on their X accounts.
Republican consultant Constantin Querard opined on Fonda’s assistance for these Democrats. He said, “Pretty much abandoning the moderate label and going full Fonda is interesting. Going hard left at this late stage suggests your effort is more about turning out your base instead of growing it. Imagine building your brand around celebrities famous for being so anti-American?”
Meanwhile, Schwiebert’s Republican opponent for the all-important state Senate seat, incumbent Shawnna Bolick, contrasted her actions and activities with her rival’s. She wrote, “While my leftwing general election opponent was chumming it up with Hanoi Jane – the same Jane Fonda who hung out with North Vietnamese troops atop an anti-aircraft gun being used to target American planes in 1972, I was being recognized by the Arizona Conservative Policy Alliance Action Committee as the 2024 recipient of ‘Advocate for Arizona’s Youth’ for my work protecting our youth. One of the many pieces of legislation signed into law this session was my lemonade stand bill helping to protect youth entrepreneurs. Thank you to ACPA and my fellow award recipients in the West Valley.”
Senator Bolick faces a tough General Election fight in November for her bid to return to the Arizona Legislature for another two years. Arizona Legislative District 2 is one of the most competitive in the state, with a 3.8% vote spread in the past nine statewide elections. It is very winnable for Republicans, however, as the party has emerged victorious in six out of those nine elections.
Legislative District 4 is another competitive seat with a 3.4% vote spread between Republicans and Democrats in the past nine statewide elections, according to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. Republicans have won five of those contests, compared to four for Democrats.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 3, 2024 | Economy, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Last week, Arizona State Senator Shawnna Bolick issued a statement about economic calamities affecting families around her state.
Bolick said, “Since Kamala Harris and Joe Biden entered office, Arizona families have felt the weight of crippling inflation caused by their bad policies. In 2022, inflation hit its highest level in 40 years at 9%, and the price of every basic necessity skyrocketed. While the Federal Reserve reports inflation has since eased to near the target 2% threshold, and despite this month’s interest rate cut of 0.5%, conditions are not improving for hardworking Arizonans. Grocery store prices are 25% higher now than just before the pandemic. Homes are no longer affordable for our working class. Eviction filings have hit record highs in the Valley.”
Bolick added, “Republicans at the Legislature have made it our mission to lessen these burdens. We eliminated the tax renters pay on housing. We passed a ban on grocery taxes that sadly every Democrat voted against and the Governor vetoed. I vow to continue fighting for policies that will allow you to keep more of your money next legislative session.”
Last year, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed SB 1131, which Republicans led through the state legislature. This legislation eliminated the rental tax for Arizona tenants.
According to Arizona Senate Republicans, “There are approximately 70 municipalities within our state charging this tax, while cities and towns continue to collect record revenues. From fiscal years 2019 to 2023, state-shared revenues from both sales and income taxes combined grew $733 million, or 59%. This increase is on top of any sales taxes or property taxes individually levied by each city. Between FY 2024 and FY 2025, those shared revenues are expected to grow by an additional $389 million.”
Senate President Warren Petersen issued the following statement in conjunction with the announcement: “Charging a rental tax is bad tax policy. In fact, Arizona is one of only two states in the nation currently allowing this. While our first attempt at eliminating the tax passed out of the Legislature with solely Republican support and was eventually vetoed by the Governor, we’re grateful our Democrat colleagues came to the table with us and realized the real tangible relief this reform will provide.”
Earlier that session, Hobbs vetoed SB 1063, which would have repealed the food municipal tax across the state.
After the governor’s action against the Republican proposal, Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli said, “This veto is a disgraceful windfall for cities and an absolute gouge for families. We’re not only paying inflated prices to feed our families, but we’re also paying more in taxes as the cost of food rises. Food is not a luxury; it is a necessity. A tax on our groceries is regressive and hurts everyone. Over the next four fiscal years, cities and towns are estimated to receive an average of $2.3 billion per year in state-shared revenues, which is an increase of $844 million more than the average for the last four fiscal years. And yet the governor vetoed this bill, only padding cities’ bloated budgets instead of leaving more money in the wallets of hardworking taxpayers.”
Senator Bolick faces a tough General Election fight in November for her bid to return to the Arizona Legislature for another two years. Arizona Legislative District 2 is one of the most competitive in the state, with a 3.8% vote spread in the past nine statewide elections. It is very winnable for Republicans, however, as the party has emerged victorious in six out of those nine elections.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Aug 24, 2024 | Economy, News
By Staff Reporter |
Another one of Arizona’s middle-of-the-road legislative districts may be represented by a liberal after November’s General Election if enough Democrats and left-leaning independents have their say.
Judy Schwiebert, a Democrat, is running for the Arizona State Senate in Legislative District 2. Schwiebert currently serves as a State Representative for the district. She announced for the seat in June 2023, saying that “we need people who will work together to focus on the toughest challenges facing Arizonans including our teacher, affordable housing, and water shortage crises.”
Schwiebert posted more than 1,600 signatures at the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office earlier this spring to qualify for the ballot.
The Democrat legislator has been endorsed by several left-leaning organizations, including National Organization for Women Arizona PAC, Arizona Education Association, Moms Demand Action, Save Our Schools Arizona, Arizona List, Jane Fonda Climate PAC, the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, Emily’s List, Moms Fed Up, and Human Rights Campaign PAC.
Schwiebert has been a vote for her party’s efforts to stand against border security measures. In 2021, she voted against HCR 2029, which commended the courage of the United States Border Patrol and recognized the role they play in safeguarding Arizona and the U.S. She also co-sponsored HB 2604 in 2023, which would permit the Arizona Department of Transportation to issue a driver’s license or nonoperating ID to a person without legal status in the United States.
This year, she voted against SCR 1042, which proclaimed the legislature’s support for the people and government of Texas in its effort to secure our nation’s southern border.” More recently, Schwiebert refused to support a legislative effort to refer a border security measure to the ballot in this November’s General Election – HCR 2060, voting against the bill when it was considered by her chamber. The proposal, if passed by voters in the fall, would empower local law enforcement to better secure their communities from the increasing calamities from the border crisis.
It’s not just border issues where Schwiebert is showing her true, liberal colors; it’s also the economy where she is demonstrating an inability to moderate to her district’s desires. In 2021, Schwiebert voted no on HB 2113, which would have increased the 25% of allowed charitable deductions in accordance with the average annual change in the metropolitan Phoenix CPI. In 2022, she voted against HCM 2004, which urged Congress to oppose the reporting requirements included in the Biden administration tax increase proposal.
Also in 2022, Schwiebert opposed HB 2389 as one of nine members to vote against changing the time period from one year to six months for an agency that the legislature has granted a one-time rulemaking exemption to review a rule adopted by an agency to determine whether the rule should be amended or repealed. That same year, she voted against creating a TPT exemption for the sale of all machinery and equipment, including off-highway vehicles, utilized for commercial agricultural purposes.
This year, Schwiebert opposed SB 1370, which was coined “the lemonade stand bill.” This legislation exempted a minor or a person who has not graduated from high school from the requirement to obtain a TPT license and pay TPT, use tax, and local excise taxes, if the person’s business gross proceeds of sales or gross income is less than $10,000 per calendar year.
Schwiebert’s leftist leanings didn’t stop with the border and economy. She has a number of votes and bill sponsorships that show her being in lockstep with the Democrats on some of their most radical ideas. In 2023, she co-sponsored HB 2653, which would have established that “restaurants and other food service establishments in the state may only serve water and disposable straws to customers on request.” She also co-sponsored HB 2068, which would have repealed the designation of school sports by biological sex.
Additionally in 2023, Schwiebert voted no on SB 1028, which would have prohibited a person or business from engaging in an adult cabaret performance on public property or in a location where the performance could be viewed by a minor. In this most-recent legislative session (2024), she voted against HB 2591, which would have prohibited a public power entity or public service corporation from entering into contract with a person or company that uses forced labor or oppressive child labor.
Arizona Legislative District 2 is one of the most competitive in the state, with a 3.8% vote spread in the past nine statewide elections. It is very winnable for Republicans, however, as the party has emerged victorious in six out of those nine elections. The district covers a large portion of northcentral Phoenix.
Schwiebert ran unopposed in the July primary election for Democrats. She is facing off against the winner of the district’s Republican primary contest for state senator, incumbent Shawnna Bolick.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Jul 22, 2024 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Another one of Arizona’s middle-of-the-road legislative districts may be represented by a liberal after November’s General Election if enough Democrats and left-leaning independents have their say.
Judy Schwiebert, a Democrat, is running for the Arizona State Senate in Legislative District 2. Schwiebert currently serves as a State Representative for the district. She announced for the seat in June 2023, saying that “we need people who will work together to focus on the toughest challenges facing Arizonans including our teacher, affordable housing, and water shortage crises.”
Schwiebert posted more than 1,600 signatures at the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office earlier this spring to qualify for the ballot.
The Democrat legislator has been endorsed by several left-leaning organizations, including National Organization for Women Arizona PAC, Arizona Education Association, Moms Demand Action, Save Our Schools Arizona, Arizona List, Jane Fonda Climate PAC, the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, Emily’s List, Moms Fed Up, and Human Rights Campaign PAC.
If voters were to select Schwiebert over the Republican favorite in the district’s primary, Shawnna Bolick, they would be sacrificing one of the state’s strongest school choice proponents for one of the top opponents of educational opportunities and freedom for students and families. In a recent interview with a local outlet, Schwiebert set her sights on the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, which has given tens of thousands of Arizona families the opportunity to choose the education that best suits their children, saying, “What we cannot afford is to create an entirely separate private school system – funded by taxpayer money – that siphons almost a billion dollars a year out of the state budget. That’s what the universal ESA voucher program is doing. It is creating huge deficits. It is preventing us from investing in all kinds of things that Arizonans urgently need.”
In June 2022, Representative Schwiebert voted against the bill that expanded the ESA program in the state (HB 2853), which was the first of its kind in the country.
Schwiebert’s endorsements from Arizona Education Association and Save Our Schools Arizona also speak volumes about what she would continue to do in the state senate to undermine school choice opportunities for her constituents. In its 2023 Legislative Policy Priorities, Save Our Schools Arizona wrote that “Diverting public funds away from public schools toward private schools through ESAs and STOs only exacerbates the crisis – especially with universal ESA vouchers directing state tax dollars overwhelmingly to families who never sent their children to public schools in the first place. This negatively affects Arizona students and families, leaving the next generation unprepared for success and risking our state’s future.”
On her “X” account, Schwiebert has posted her participation with Save Our Schools Arizona at different events.
The Arizona Education Association is also an ardent opponent of the state’s many educational freedom opportunities. After Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs signed the state’s budget in 2023, which she negotiated with Republican legislative leadership, the Association wrote, “It’s extremely frustrating that this budget does not address the growth of the state’s out-of-control voucher program. The extremist majority in our state legislature has ignored the will of Arizona voters and pushed through policies that bankroll private schools for the wealthy at the cost of the public schools attended by 90% of Arizona kids…This unchecked spending is completely irresponsible and is on track to bankrupt our state. The fight to repeal vouchers during next year’s legislative session starts today.”
Earlier this year, Schwiebert bemoaned the resistance of Arizona Republican legislators in the House majority “to even consider sensible legislation to raise educator pay…”
However, during the 2023 Arizona Legislative Session, Schwiebert voted against HB 2800 in committee, which would have “mandate[d] each school district and charter school increase the base salary of all eligible teachers” – according to the overview provided by the state House of Representatives. That bill, which was sponsored by Republican State Representative Matt Gress, received a green light from the House Appropriations Committee, but failed to make it out of the full chamber for the Senate’s consideration.
Schwiebert explained her vote at the time, saying, “The bottom line for me is well, this bill is really, I think, well-intentioned, and it’s good that, I’m glad to hear that Mr. Gress is acknowledging that teachers deserve higher pay, they absolutely do. But unfortunately, there are some serious flaws in this bill that I’m concerned could leave public schools in a worse financial position than they are in now.”
Representatives from both the Arizona Education Association and Save Our Schools Arizona registered opposition to the legislation on the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system.
Arizona Legislative District 2 is one of the most competitive in the state, with a 3.8% vote spread in the past nine statewide elections. It is very winnable for Republicans, however, as the party has emerged victorious in six out of those nine elections. The district covers a large portion of northcentral Phoenix.
Schwiebert is running unopposed in the July primary election for Democrats. She will face off against the winner of the district’s Republican primary contest for state senator, which features incumbent, Shawnna Bolick, and Josh Barnett.
Bolick told AZ Free News that her “general election opponent was voted in shortly after she helped collect signatures for a ballot initiative that would have levied a billion dollar tax on small businesses not only hurting these business owners, but our state’s economy.” She added, “[Schwiebert] cares more about protecting special interests than voting for common sense education policies that gives every kid a chance to thrive in the school of their choice.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jul 25, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona’s newest state senator is ready for work.
This past Friday, Shawnna Bolick was sworn into office at the state senate. Bolick received the oath of office from her husband, Arizona State Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick.
After being installed as a state legislator, Bolick tweeted, “What a warm welcome to the State Senate! Thank you to our LD2 GOP PCs and my family who have made it possible to return to the Legislature to represent we the people. As many of my friends and supporters know, returning to politics was not on my dance card. On Thursday evening we returned from a very short trip to Prague, and I am slowly putting jet lag behind me. Thank you for all of the texts, emails, DMs, and phone calls. I am still responding to your thoughtful congratulatory notes and setting up meetings to get to work for Arizona!”
Bolick was also joined by two sitting senators for her swearing-in ceremony: Senate Pro Tempore T.J. Shope and Majority Whip Sine Kerr. Shope tweeted, “It was an honor to have Majority Whip Sine Kerr join me as Senator Shawnna Bolick was sworn into office by her husband, Justice Clint Block! Senator Bolick will undoubtedly serve the people of LD2 with distinction and will be a wonderful additional to our Arizona Senate Republican Caucus!”
Before Justice Bolick administered the oath to his wife, he said, “Sweetheart, you never cease to amaze me, and I am enormously proud of you. As you know, we’re in different branches of government; when you’re a candidate, I can’t campaign for you; I can’t endorse you. In the Legislature, I can’t give you any advice, but there are three things I can do. First of all, is to commend you for being one of the most amazing public servants I’ve ever known, and I mean that in the literal and best sense of the word. The second is I can swear you in, and the third is, after I swear you in, I can kiss you – and I don’t normally do that when I swear people in.”
Republican Representative Justin Wilmeth reacted to the moment of Bolick’s swearing in, writing, “Such an amazing video: I know people don’t wanna admit we’re actual normal people with emotions, but we are. Very touching moment here between one of my favorite couples out there. Damn proud to have Shawnna Bolick as my new state senator.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
