Author

Caitlin joined the Arizona Mirror in 2022 with almost 10 years of experience as a reporter and editor, holding local government leaders accountable from newsrooms across the West and Midwest. She's won statewide awards in Nebraska, Indiana and Wisconsin for reporting, photography and commentary.
Senate panel endorses Jeffrey Glover to run DPS
By: Caitlin Sievers - March 20, 2023
Former Tempe Police Chief Jeffrey Glover on Monday did what few of Gov. Katie Hobbs’ nominees to lead state agencies have done so far: cleared a GOP-controlled Senate panel that was created this year to interrogate the governor’s appointees and has served as a roadblock for many of them. By a vote of 5-0 on […]
Proposed bill would put a ban on banning gun shows
By: Caitlin Sievers - March 16, 2023
A bill that already garnered approval in the state Senate would bar Arizona municipalities from banning gun shows. One of the bill’s proponents warned the legislature could “make lives unpleasant” for municipalities that choose to do so, even if the bill never becomes law. Bob Templeton, owner of the Crossroads of the West Gun Shows, […]
Advocacy groups call on Toma to stop ‘bullying’ of GOP critics at the Capitol
By: Caitlin Sievers - March 16, 2023
A group of advocacy organizations that say they want more respect for their members who speak in front of Arizona legislative committees have asked Republican House Speaker Ben Toma to “address the bullying, angry, and intimidating behavior” of some legislators during committee meetings. The letter from two dozen left-leaning and progressive organizations was sent March […]
Hobbs, Fontes, Maricopa County clap back at Lake’s appeal to the AZ Supreme Court
By: Caitlin Sievers - March 14, 2023
Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and her lawyers “continue to malign and erode the foundations upon which our great state stands” through their court case contesting the November 2022 election results, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told the Arizona Supreme Court this week in a filing asking the court to reject Lake’s legal challenge […]
Sweeping bill to address Arizona’s housing crisis shot down
By: Caitlin Sievers - March 14, 2023
In a rare show of bipartisan agreement, the Arizona state Senate voted down a bill aimed at addressing the housing crisis by a vote of 9-20. Senate Bill 1117 would have slashed city control over housing projects, nixing certain zoning requirements and speeding up building by getting rid of a lengthy review and approval processes. […]
Wadsack throws barbs at Arizona State Bar, refused to offer any proof
By: Caitlin Sievers - March 10, 2023
Republican state Sen. Justine Wadsack has proposed a law based on claims that the State Bar told lawyers they would be disbarred if they took COVID-19 related court cases. But Wadsack wants you to take her word for it, as she refused to provide any evidence of those claims to lawmakers or to the Arizona […]
House Elections Committee: Don’t say ‘conspiracy theory’
By: Caitlin Sievers - March 10, 2023
The leader of the Arizona House of Representatives House Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee doesn’t want speakers in front of the committee to utter the words “conspiracy theory.” This comes just two weeks after a hearing in which that same House committee met jointly with its Senate counterpart and allowed a Gilbert insurance agent to […]
Hobbs vetoes bill that banned ‘critical race theory’ in Arizona schools
By: Caitlin Sievers - March 9, 2023
Gov. Katie Hobbs has issued her 16th veto, nixing a bill that would have banned the teaching of critical race theory in Arizona schools. The measure, Senate Bill 1305, would have prohibited public K-12 schools in Arizona from a wide range of race-related instruction, including that “an individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or […]
School notification bill could mean bullying for sex offender’s children, critics say
By: Caitlin Sievers - March 9, 2023
One proponent of a bill in the Arizona legislature that would require sex offenders to notify their child’s school of their sex offender status says that a parent’s right to know trump’s that child’s right not to be ostracized or bullied. The proposal, which was passed in the Senate 16-13, would require a registered sex […]
Dems call for censure, file ethics complaint against Liz Harris over ‘defamatory’ hearing
By: Caitlin Sievers - March 7, 2023
Democrats and Republicans are striking starkly different tones about a presentation arranged by a first-year GOP lawmaker last month that included wild conspiracy theories about a host of elected officials being bought off by a Mexican drug cartel. On March 6, Democrats called for a censure of Rep. Liz Harris, R-Chandler, and have filed a […]
Senate passes bill to cut unemployment benefits
By: Caitlin Sievers - March 2, 2023
Senate Republicans want to slash the number of weeks an individual can receive unemployment payments and tie the length of benefit availability to the unemployment rate, but critics say that even if jobs are plentiful, it can still be a long process to find a good one. Currently, Arizonans who qualify for unemployment can receive […]
Kari Lake asks Supreme Court to take up her case to overturn the 2022 election
By: Caitlin Sievers - March 1, 2023
Kari Lake, the failed Republican candidate for governor, has asked the Arizona Supreme Court to review the decisions in her election contest case after the case was shot down by both the Maricopa County Superior Court and Arizona Court of Appeals. “The undisputed facts, and the violations of law, show that Maricopa’s 2022 election must […]