by Ethan Faverino | Jul 22, 2025 | News
By Ethan Faverino |
The Arizona Republican Assembly (AZRA) has released its Final Legislative Scorecard for the 2025 Arizona State Legislative Session.
This scorecard evaluates Arizona State Senate and House of Representatives members based on their voting records and alignment with AZRA’s core principles of limited government, individual liberties, and fiscal responsibility.
As primary elections approach, this scorecard is a critical tool for voters to distinguish authentic conservatives from those who merely claim the label.
The AZRA Legislative Scorecard is the only one, not only in Arizona but in the nation, where a committee of twelve members from across the state invest thousands of hours analyzing over 1,800 bills annually, rating more than 250 bills.
AZRA then publishes these bill ratings before legislative votes, notifying every legislator in advance and inviting feedback to ensure fairness. To maintain integrity, AZRA contracts a national data firm that receives daily voting data from the Arizona Legislative Council, updating results without manipulation or bias.
The scorecard lists 30 State Senators and 60 State Representatives, providing numerical scores out of 100 based on weighted votes on key bills. Scores are presented alphabetically by last name for letter grades, in descending order, along with party affiliation and legislative district.
Among senators, Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14) earned the highest score of 98.5, followed by Senator Wendy Rogers (R-LD7) at 96.9, Senator David Farnsworth (R-LD10) at 95.9, and Senator Timothy Dunn (R-LD25) at 95.5.
The highest-ranking Democrats were Senator Brian Fernandez (D-LD23) at 40.5 and Rosanna Gabaldón (D-LD21), at 34.1. The lowest scoring Democrats were Lauren Kuby (D-LD8) at 25.4 and Priya Sundareshan (D-LD18) at 23.8.
Representative Selina Bliss (R-LD1) led the House with a score of 96.8, followed by a four-way tie at 96.1 among Majority Leader Michael Carbone (R-KD25), John Gillette (R-LD30), Quang Nguyen (R-LD1), and James Taylor (R-LD29).
Rep. Bliss recognized AZRA’s Scorecard saying, “It is an honor to be recognized, along with seatmate Quang Nguyen, by the Arizona Republican Assembly for our work at the Capitol!”
Out of the Democrat Representatives, Alma Hernandez (D-LD20) scored the highest with a 49.4 and Consuelo Hernandez (D-LD21) with a 48.8. The lowest ranked Democrats are Quantá Crews (D-LD26) with a score of 26.6 and Mariana Sandoval (D-LD23) with a 25.5.
The AZRA scorecard reveals a significant divide in voting patterns between Republican and Democratic legislators in the Arizona State Senate and House, with Republicans ranging from 78.7 to 98.5 and Democrats scoring from 23.8 to 49.4.
Correction: This story originally stated that there are 50 State Representatives. The story has been updated to reflect the correct number at 60 State Representatives.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Nov 17, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Days after their caucus decreased in size for the upcoming term in the Arizona Legislature, Senate Democrats chose their leadership team.
On Tuesday, Arizona Senate Democrats finalized their Caucus Leadership Team for the 57th Legislature.
The new Senate Minority Leader will be Priya Sundareshan (LD 18). The Minority Assistant Leader will be Flavio Bravo (LD 26). The Minority Whip will be Rosanna Gabaldón (LD 21), and the Minority Caucus Chair will be Lela Alston (LD 5).
In a statement after her election as Minority Leader for her chamber, Senator Sundareshan said, “It is a great honor that my fellow caucus members have elected me as their Minority Leader for the upcoming legislative session. The fight ahead will be uphill and the work will be hard. I am confident that along with my newly elected leadership team, we will deliver the very best possible for the people of Arizona. Our commitment to ensuring every Arizonan has access to a good paying job, affordable housing, quality education, and secure water for the next 100 years is unwavering.”
Sundareshan added, “While Republicans have expanded their majority, it is paramount that we communicate and provide a better, bipartisan pathway forward. No matter what setback we may face, our priorities will continue to center working class Arizonans, vulnerable populations, and our future generations.”
Gabaldon also acknowledged her election as Minority Whip on a post on her X account, writing, “I am honored that my fellow Democratic Senate Caucus members elected me to serve as Minority Whip. I look forward to working with the Leadership Team and the Democratic Caucus.”
The three Democrats are some of the most liberal in the Arizona Senate. According to the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, Gabaldón has a 3% lifetime score as of 2023, Sundareshan has a 4% lifetime score, and Bravo has a 7% lifetime score.
The returning and incoming class of Senate Democrat legislators have been relegated to bystanders in a divided Arizona government, where Republican leaders have largely run negotiations with Governor Katie Hobbs and her team on key matters over the past two years. In the final two years of Hobbs’ first term, the same arrangement is likely to occur, leaving legislative Democrats out of the loop on many issues.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Sep 10, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Tucson City Council is looking to implement a new transaction privilege tax to pay for a number of social projects.
The transaction privilege tax would be temporary (10 years) and amount to one-half cent (.5 percent). The city projected the tax would generate $80 million annually, or $800 million total.
With the council’s approval during their upcoming regular meeting on Wednesday, the transaction privilege tax under the “Safe and Vibrant Tucson” ballot measure would come before voters in a special election next March. The election wouldn’t be in person, but rather a vote-by-mail election.
The city projected the cost of conducting this special, mail-only election wouldn’t exceed $1.1 million.
The ballot measure was intended to take place last month; however, the city’s intent had the potential of breaking state law requiring local sales tax proposal elections to appear only on November ballots in even-numbered years. Following a request to review the issue by Democratic Senator Rosanna Gabaldon, Attorney General Kris Mayes issued a legal opinion in March defending the city’s desire to hold a tax-related ballot measure on their own terms rather than those permitted by law.
Even with Mayes’ blessing, city leadership opted to forfeit the July date for their special election, instead pushing it back to March of 2025.
Disbursements of the tax revenue would first prioritize capital investment for first responders (30 percent), enhanced emergency response (22 percent), affordable housing and shelter (17 percent), neighborhood and community resilience (16 percent), and then technology investments (12 percent).
Capital investments for first responders (30 percent) would include funding for: more police and fire personal protective equipment; specialized fire apparatus such as fire trucks, fire engines, fire pumpers, ambulances, and support trucks; unmarked police vehicles and speciality units used by SWAT teams; and upgrades and modernization for fire stations, police substations, and major equipment.
Enhanced emergency response (22 percent) would include funding for increased staffing for police, fire departments, 911, and 311. Police staffing funds would specifically include employment of more commissioned officers, community service officers (CSOs), and professional staff investigators (PSIs).
Affordable housing and shelter (17 percent) would include funding for: Tucson’s Housing First program; increased access to emergency shelters and transitional housing; down payment assistance to qualifying residents; a new Mobile Court function and investments in other specialty courts; progressive addiction treatments like harm reduction; physical investments in public, rental, and private houses such as long-term maintenance, weatherization, and climate resilience; large-scale housing projects; development impact fees for qualifying affordable housing projects; and moving current rental properties into the market for local home ownership.
Neighborhood and community resilience (16 percent) would include funding for: Pima Early Education Program Scholarships; youth workforce development programs; expanding the Community Safety, Health, and Wellness programs to teens; opening up VIVA locations; deploying Community Service Officer resources; beautification programs such as Team Up to Clean Up and Somos Uno Master Plan; cleaning up public transit; and expanding workforce training programs.
Technology investments (12 percent) would include funding for: improving 911 and 311 call systems; modernizing air support functions within Community Safety Awareness and Response Center by adding a fixed-wing aircraft, replacing the aging helicopter fleet, and advancing the use of unmanned aircraft; and accessing and managing all video and data collected by police body-worn cameras.
The proposed ballot measure’s primary focus on funding police and public safety was a reflection of results from over 800 respondents to a community budget survey the city issued earlier this year.
In its agenda materials, the city did note that the ballot measure excluded funding for road infrastructure.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Corinne Murdock | Aug 6, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Arizona Democratic lawmakers representing the border issued a public announcement on Tuesday declaring the border to be improved.
Neither of the senators behind the announcement, Brian Fernandez (D-LD23) and Rosanna Gabaldon (D-LD21), acknowledged the state of the border as a crisis.
Gabaldon indicated that ongoing concerns over the border were overblown, likening the border to a “political pawn” used to score points for voting bases. Gabaldon said that the 25 percent decline in border arrests last month and the decline in border encounters indicate an improvement in border security.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) documented about 144,600 encounters last month, a decline from the 206,700 encounters in May. Last month’s encounters were 63,200 less than last June’s total, and 44,400 less than the total for June 2021. However, the total remains four times as many as the total for June 2020 (33,000) and 40,200 more than June 2019.
Under President Joe Biden, there has been an historic total of nearly 5.7 million illegal immigrant encounters at the southwest border.
With one more month in this fiscal year, terrorist illegal immigrant apprehensions by CBP at the southern border have reached 140, already surpassing last year’s total of 98.
Gabaldon did allude that illegal immigrants do continue to suffer in their attempts to evade legal ports of entry on their journey to the U.S., though she didn’t expand on her remark.
“We must begin to recognize the human cost of failing to address the border properly,” said Gabaldon.
Fernandez said that the public’s current understanding of the border as a crisis was due to “misinformation” and “pointing fingers” to assign blame. Fernandez added that reporting over the border crisis is “sensationalized” due to the decline in encounters and arrests.
Fernandez further said that leadership, including Gov. Katie Hobbs, were taking the right actions to mitigate the border crisis. He cited one meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as proof of action.
“Governor Hobbs has already made a concerted effort to address our border needs,” said Fernandez.
Hobbs also held listening sessions in March to better gain a grasp on the state of the border. That same month, Hobbs began the process of ending former Gov. Doug Ducey’s Border Strike Force. Hobbs already removed the shipping containers closing up the border wall installed in the waning weeks of the Ducey administration.
The senators called for increased funding for legal ports of entry, declaring that’s where a majority of illicit trafficking occurs. The pair also called for citizenship opportunities for illegal immigrants.
“It is our responsibility to better protect our communities and those seeking asylum,” said Gabaldon.
“Our policies must offer a pathway to citizenship for those paying into our economy and communities,” said Fernandez. “It’s time we look at our immigration policy and present Arizona with a pathway forward that offers security and opportunity for all.”
The southern border hasn’t been alone in handling the illegal immigrant influx: the northern border has seen a marked increase in attempted illegal entries, especially by those wanted on criminal or terrorist charges. In June, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) began investigating reports of the northern border left unmanned while remaining open for 24 hours.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
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