by Staff Reporter | Nov 15, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) indicated that top Democratic leaders were to blame for their party’s massive election losses at the state and federal levels.
In a statement from Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (ADLCC) reposted by ADP, executive director Elsa O’Callaghan said that “down-the-ballot Democrats” in Arizona and across the nation were unable to overcome “top-of-the-ticket” troubles. O’Callaghan didn’t specify what those troubles were or who was behind them.
“We are deeply grateful for the candidates who put their lives on hold and stepped up to run, the staff who gave it their all, and the supporters who donated their time and money to protect Arizona’s future. Final results are now tallied and Arizona’s legislative chambers will remain in Republican control. Across the country, down-ballot Democrats worked tirelessly to combat top-of-the-ticket trends. It is now clear that those trends proved to be insurmountable. Too much is at stake to abandon our mission — especially with an extreme presidential administration coming into power. The work continues.”
Donald Trump won Arizona by over 52 percent of the vote (1.7 million votes), where Kamala Harris gained over 46 percent of the vote (1.5 million votes) — a difference of nearly 187,000 votes among 3.2 million voters. Comparatively, Joe Biden won by .3 percent of the vote back in 2020, a difference of just over 10,400 votes among 3.3 million voters.
Arizona Republicans flipped a net total of three seats in the state legislature: one in the senate and three in the house (and the loss of one other seat). That grew the Republican majority to 17 in the Senate and 33 in the House.
In the Senate, Republicans flipped one seat: LD4, with Republican challenger Carine Werner ousting incumbent Democrat Christine Marsh by 52 percent of the vote (over 5,400 votes).
In the House, Republicans flipped three seats: LD4, with Republicans Pamela Carter and Matt Gress securing both seats; LD13, with Republicans Jeff Weninger and Julie Willoughby securing both seats; LD16, with Republicans Teresa Martinez and Chris Lopez securing both seats.
Democrats flipped one seat in the House: LD17, ousting Republican Cory McGarr for Democrat Kevin Volk while Rachel Jones retained her seat.
Arizona Democrats failed to flip any congressional seats. They also failed to win the hotly-contested District 6 seat held by incumbent Juan Ciscomani.
Democrats did successfully win the open Senate seat left by independent Kyrsten Sinema. Democrat Ruben Gallego emerged victorious over Republican Kari Lake, winning 50 percent of the vote over Lake’s 47 percent.
Although Democrats fell short of securing the Arizona legislature, they did see a certain win with a significant ballot reform.
Arizonans approved a constitutional right to abortion up to birth: 62 percent were in favor (1.9 million voters) versus 38 percent against (1.2 million voters).
However, Arizonans also approved a ballot measure to allow police to arrest illegal immigrants entering the U.S — 63 percent (1.9 million) were in favor, while 37 percent (1.1 million) were against.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 9, 2023 | Economy, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A state representative is expressing disgust with the rising gas prices in Arizona.
Last week, Arizona State Representative Teresa Martinez posted a picture of the price of gas at a pump, showing the cost to be $4.899 per gallon. The total cost for whomever was filling up a tank (almost 13 gallons) was just under $64.00.
Martinez posted, “This is not Build Back Better! It’s more like BAD, BUSTED AND BROKE!”
The Republican lawmaker isn’t alone with her observation or feelings about the increasing costs at the pump. Heritage Action shared that gas prices have skyrocketed 59% since President Joe Biden took office on January 20, 2021.
And the financial sticker shock hasn’t just hit conservative politicians or organizations – let alone everyday Americans. Jimmy Butler, a professional basketball superstar, filmed a short video, where he reacts to the final cost of filling up his vehicle. Butler exclaimed, “This is highway…robbery! This is crazy. I’m going electric.”
As of October 5, AAA reports that the national average for gas is $3.768, but the Arizona average is almost a dollar more expensive at $4.594. One year ago, the average price per gallon of regular gas in Arizona was $4.512, meaning that while costs have fluctuated throughout the year, consumers haven’t received many – if any – breaks when filling up their tanks. According to AAA, the highest recorded average price of regular gasoline in the Grand Canyon State was $5.388 on June 17, 2022.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 16, 2023 | Education, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Over the past three years, many parents in a number of school districts across the nation have demanded more transparency and involvement with their children’s education. The Republican-led Arizona Legislature has been working on solutions, and Members have introduced new bills this session to give parents the access and information that they have been requesting.
Representative Justin Heap has introduced one of those bills, HB 2786, which deals with requirements for parental notification for teacher training. The bill “mandates a school district governing board develop parental notification and access procedures if the school district is involved with a training for teachers or administrators,” according to the bill overview provided by the Arizona House of Representatives. If passed by the Legislature and signed into law, the bill would “require a school governing board to notify parents of these trainings and give parents access to any printed or digital materials used for the training.” It also stipulates that the governing boards adopt “a policy to provide parents the information contained in its parental involvement policy in an electronic format.”
In an exclusive interview with AZ Free News on why he introduced this legislation, Representative Heap stated, “Transparency will have the added benefit of bringing school district and school boards back into alignment with the values of the parents of the students they serve. The knowledge that their training materials must be made public will discourage school districts from implementing policies that are hateful to the parents of students in their districts. If any school district official, any school board member, principal, or teacher believes that what is going on in their schools should be hidden from the parents in their district, then they have no business being involved in education.”
The legislation currently has ten co-sponsors: Representatives Neal Carter, Lupe Diaz, Liz Harris, Rachel Jones, Teresa Martinez, Cory McGarr, Barbara Parker, Jacqueline Parker, Michele Peña, and Beverly Pingerelli.
On Tuesday, February 14, HB 2786 cleared the House Education Committee with a 6-4 party-line vote. Republican Representatives David Cook, Liz Harris, Lupe Diaz, Michele Peña, David Marshall, Sr (Vice Chairman), and Beverly Pingerelli (Chairman) voted in favor; while Democrat Representatives Jennifer Pawlik, Laura Terech, Judy Schwiebert, and Nancy Gutierrez voted against passage.
Representative Pingerelli gave the following statement to AZ Free News on why she decided to hold a hearing on this bill in her committee: “Parents should have information readily available about what teachers are learning as part of their professional development programs. Are they receiving instruction about better ways to teach reading, math, or science? Or, as was pointed out during the February 14 hearing and testimony, are the topics covered controversial, ideological or morally objectionable to parents? As I’ve always stated, the focus in K-12 education should be academics. Since it is a reasonable assumption that the training teachers receive is translated into classroom instruction, parents should have the right to be informed. That’s why I decided to hear House Bill 2786 in my committee.”
HB 2786 generated much opposition leading up to and during the hearing in the Education Committee, starting with the Arizona House Democrats. They posted that Representative Heap’s bill demands that “parents get to review every type of training teacher gets (including copyrighted materials),” adding that “he was upset when he learned teachers can get training about equity, inclusion and cultural sensitivity. The Arizona Education Association tweeted that “teachers need to focus on students’ learning – not spend all their time trying to satisfy the demands of people who see our classrooms as a way to score political points.”
Representative Heap disagrees with these analyses of the bill, saying, “I believe that sunlight is the best disinfectant. My bill does not ban this teacher training, or any training, which a school district wishes to implement. It simply requires that if a school district requires, endorses, recommends, funds, or facilitates teacher training programs then they must make all those materials used (Digital or Physical) in that training available for parents to review.”
Due to the partisan breakdown of HB 2786s support and opposition in the early stages at the Arizona Legislature, it is highly likely that Democrat Katie Hobbs would veto this bill should it pass through both chambers and reach the Ninth Floor later this session.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Corinne Murdock | Jun 19, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Arizona House Republicans took a novel approach to informing constituents with a new short video series, “Under the Copper Dome,” delivering information in an entertaining fashion.
The GOP caucus’ debut two-minute clip followed Majority Whip Leo Biasiucci (R-Lake Havasu City) as he reenacted discussions of HB2696, a bill increasing prison time for those who sexually abuse, smuggle, or traffic children.
The video depicted Biasiucci explaining his bill to several state representatives, including John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills), who gave enthusiastic support. A group of GOP legislators walked together with Biasiucci into the Arizona State Capitol, with upbeat music playing in the background. The video concluded with Biasiucci addressing the viewers directly to discuss HB2696. He thanked Arizona law enforcement for working to end crimes against children.
“[My bill] will bring the hammer down on these heinous crimes and ensure a safe Arizona for everyone,” said Biasiucci. “With this law, and another I sponsored last year toughening punishments for child sex traffickers, Arizona is leading the fight against trafficking and smuggling.”
The caucus’ efforts earned the approval of Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04). Gosar’s social media team puts out information with an entertainment edge, sometimes perceived by political opponents as controversial. Gosar was punished for a meme video parodying several Democratic members of Congress as villains in the intro from the cult classic anime “Attack on Titan,” with him parodied as the hero.
The caucus drew from Gosar’s short video series, the Gosar Minute, as inspiration. One of the principal creators behind the video series, State Representative Teresa Martinez (R-Oro Valley), has served as Gosar’s Hispanic Outreach and Coalitions Director.
Twitter shadowbanned the Gosar Minute hashtag for those with the “hide sensitive content” search filter turned on.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
