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Katie Hobbs isn’t ‘fit to serve’ as governor after discriminatory firing, staffer says
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs isn’t taking responsibility for her role while she served as Senate Democratic leader in the firing of a policy adviser for what a jury deemed was retaliation for complaining about discriminatory pay, that staffer said. In U.S. District Court last week, a jury found that Talonya Adams was the victim […]
Group hopes to bring ranked choice voting to Arizona cities
Ranked choice voting may be coming to a city near you, and possibly the state as a whole not long after that. Voter Choice Arizona, a nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to bringing ranked choice voting to Arizona, is planning a campaign to put the system before voters next year. The campaign to add several cities […]
Fired Senate Dem staffer awarded $2.75M for race, sex discrimination
A former Black Democratic state legislative staffer was awarded $2.75 million by a federal jury Wednesday, ruling unanimously that she was fired for complaining that she was paid less than her white and male colleagues in the Arizona Senate. The verdict was Talonya Adams’ second courtroom victory over the Senate regarding her discrimination claims. Adams […]
Proposed congressional map could force incumbents to make tough decisions
Several members of Arizona’s congressional delegation may have big decisions to make before next year’s election based on the proposed boundaries of the state’s new political map. The draft congressional map approved last month by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission puts several incumbents into unfavorable districts. Some of those district boundaries will change by the […]
With preclearance gone, redistricting in Arizona enters a new frontier
For the first time in decades, Arizona’s map-drawers are crafting the state’s new congressional and legislative districts without a key provision of the Voting Rights Act guiding their decisions, stoking concerns about representation for Latino and Native American voters. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is the heart of the landmark 1965 law. It […]
Hobbs: Parents should be ‘partners’ in the education system, not adversaries
Katie Hobbs avoided a mistake that contributed to her party’s upset loss in Virginia this week, saying that Arizona parents should have a great deal of input into what their children learn in school. Asked about parental control and the effect the issue had on the Virginia governor’s race, Hobbs, the frontrunner for the Democratic […]
The Supreme Court struck down more than a ban on mask mandates in schools. Here’s everything that’s no longer law.
A ban on face mask mandates and critical race theory in schools were highest-profile laws that were thrown out when the Arizona Supreme Court tossed numerous provisions of the state budget for violating the Arizona Constitution, but the list of new laws that are now off the books is far more extensive than that. Many […]
Supreme Court unanimously strikes down mask mandate, ‘critical race theory’ bans
The Arizona Supreme Court found that several provisions of the 2022 budget, including a controversial ban on face mask mandates in K-12 schools, violate a provision of the state constitution requiring individual bills to encompass a single subject. The ruling will likely bring about a seismic shift in the way lawmakers craft future budgets. Less […]
Some lawmakers are poised to lose out in redistricting draft maps
A number of incumbent lawmakers find themselves facing suddenly unfavorable electoral prospects under the proposed legislative map drawn by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. Some lawmakers who were previously in politically advantageous districts may now have to run in districts controlled by the other political party. Others remain in friendly territory from a partisan standpoint, […]
Karen Fann will retire from the legislature after 2022
On the heels of the so-called “audit” of the 2020 election in Maricopa County that elevated her to a level of prominence rarely seen among state legislators, Senate President Karen Fann will retire after next year rather than seek another term in the legislature. “It has been a privilege to advocate on behalf of Arizona […]
Draft maps approved: 4 competitive congressional seats, 6 legislative districts
Four of Arizona’s congressional districts would be competitive, with two as legitimate toss-up seats, under a new draft map adopted Thursday by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. Republicans would have three safe seats and Democrats would have two. And the commission’s official draft legislative map would give Republicans more safe districts, but give Democrats a […]
Pima GOP official submitted legislative map favored by southern Arizona business group
A set of proposed legislative districts that was attributed to a Tucson business group was actually submitted to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission by the No. 3 official in the Pima County Republican Party. The proposed map, titled SaguaroMaps002 in the AIRC’s mapping submission system, was submitted to the commission by Anna Clark, who is […]