Author

Jim Small

Jim Small

Jim Small is a native Arizonan and has covered state government, policy and politics since 2004, with a focus on investigative and in-depth policy reporting, first as a reporter for the Arizona Capitol Times, then as editor of the paper and its prestigious sister publications. He has also served as the editor and executive director of the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.

AZ a case-study in billionaire ballot spending

By: - October 18, 2018

The Arizona efforts of California billionaire Tom Steyer to bankroll an Arizona ballot measure to increase the renewable energy requirements on utilities was highlighted today in a report by the Center for Public Integrity on out-of-state billionaires influencing ballot measure elections across the country.

Arizona ACT scores dip, state ranks near bottom

By: - October 17, 2018

Arizona high school students graduating in 2018 placed 45th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in performance on the ACT college-entrance exam.

Most expensive legislative races in LD28, LD18

By: - October 17, 2018

Sen. Kate Brophy McGee’s reelection bid is on pace to be one of the most expensive legislative campaigns in Arizona history. As of Sept. 30, the Phoenix Republican had raised nearly $370,000 and spent more than $245,000 to retain her seat in the state Senate.

Garcia posts best fundraising report yet, still lags behind Ducey

By: and - October 16, 2018

Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Garcia brought in $779,000 during the last campaign finance reporting period, by far the strongest showing yet by a campaign that has been plagued by poor fundraising since its beginning. But Garcia still trailed Gov. Doug Ducey for the reporting period, which ran from Aug. 12 to Sept. 30. Ducey reported […]

COMMENTARY

Do Latinos make Arizona worse? Conservatives, Republicans think so

By: - October 15, 2018

When Rep. David Stringer made national news in June for saying “there aren’t enough white kids to go around” in public schools and that immigration is “an existential threat” to the United States, prominent Republicans distanced themselves from him. Some, like Gov. Doug Ducey and Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jonathan Lines, went so far as to call on him to resign for the nakedly racist comments.

Trump and McSally in 2018

Trump coming to Mesa to rally for McSally

By: - October 13, 2018

President Donald Trump is coming to Mesa Oct. 19 for a rally to support U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, the Repbulican nominee for Arizona’s U.S. Senate seat. Most polling of the race shows McSally slightly trailing U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, the Democratic nominee, in the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake. Though McSally has […]

Dissecting the differences between the Democrats

By: - September 25, 2018

The latest poll of Arizona’s two most high-profile races by NBC News and the Marist Institute for Public Polling at Marist College follows the recent trend of polling in the contests for U.S. Senate and governor: Democrat Kyrsten Sinema holds a small lead over Republican Martha McSally for the former, while Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has a comfortable lead over Democrat David Garcia.

COMMENTARY
The Arizona Mirror

Meet the Arizona Mirror

By: - September 25, 2018

At no point in our nation’s history has an independent and free press been unimportant, but the necessity of the Fourth Estate has perhaps never been more starkly apparent at any point in the post-Nixon world. In this critical time brimming with fake news and alternative facts, where the truth is seemingly up for debate and in which the most powerful man in the world attacks the free press as “the enemy of the people,”  journalistic pursuits are essential.