Author

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 massage board failed to investigate prostitution complaints for more than 2 years
By: Jim Small - August 11, 2022
The state board that regulates massage therapists put the public at risk by failing to investigate complaints, including waiting more than 800 days to take action against three therapists accused of prostitution, according to a new state audit. And the Arizona State Board of Massage Therapy ignored seven prostitution complaints lodged in January 2020 until […]
Karen Fann used Senate resources to campaign for Kari Lake
By: Jim Small - August 5, 2022
Senate President Karen Fann and the Senate GOP spokeswoman violated Arizona laws barring the use of government resources for political activity when they sent a press release calling on voters to “unite behind (Kari) Lake” in the governor’s race. Hours later, in the face of intense criticism that the statement broke state law, the Senate […]
Kari Lake secures GOP nomination, setting stage for a November show down with Katie Hobbs
By: Jim Small - August 4, 2022
After widening her lead in the Republican gubernatorial primary Thursday, Kari Lake is certain to be the GOP nominee in November. Nearly 44,000 Republican ballots were counted Thursday in Maricopa County, and Lake’s lead over Karrin Taylor Robson increased to more than 19,000 votes from about 12,000 the day earlier. In the day’s tally, Lake […]
Corporations that pay little in taxes want Kyrsten Sinema to kill the corporate minimum tax
By: Jim Small - August 4, 2022
Corporations aiming to persuade U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema to push for major changes to tax increase provisions in the $740 billion domestic spending bill would see a hit to their bottom lines if the measure’s corporate minimum tax remains unchanged. The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry this week launched a six-figure ad blitz opposing […]
Rusty Bowers loses as Trump-backed legislative candidates rout their opponents
By: Jim Small - August 2, 2022
Rusty Bowers, the Republican speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, was trounced in Tuesday’s primary election by David Farnsworth, one of several legislative candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump who unseated incumbent Republicans. Bowers, who was censured last month by the Arizona Republican Party, drew the enmity of Trump and his followers in […]
Mark Finchem and Wendy Rogers are ‘honored’ to be endorsed by Gab founder, a prominent antisemite
By: Jim Small - July 28, 2022
Two Arizona Republicans are trumpeting an endorsement from Andrew Torba, the CEO of far-right social media platform Gab, who said earlier this month that Jewish people aren’t welcome on Gab — and should be exiled from the conservative movement altogether. Mark Finchem, who is running for secretary of state, and state Sen. Wendy Rogers, who […]
Arizona’s 1864 law criminalizing abortions doesn’t override 50 years of regulating them, Planned Parenthood says
By: Jim Small - July 20, 2022
Planned Parenthood Arizona says that Arizona’s Civil War-era law banning abortions should go into effect — but that it should apply only to non-doctors because state legislators have spent the past 50 years creating a “complex” system of laws legalizing abortion access and regulating how abortions are performed by doctors. Calling Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s […]
Rusty Bowers: ‘I don’t know’ if I would vote for Trump in 2024
By: Jim Small - July 12, 2022
After winning praise from liberals for telling Congress how former President Donald Trump tried to intimidate him into illegally overturning the 2020 election in Arizona, House Speaker Rusty Bowers earned their derision for saying that he’d still vote for Trump in 2024. But now Bowers is backing down from that stance, telling the Deseret News […]
Backers of proposal to make sweeping changes to Arizona elections file more than double the needed signatures
By: Jim Small - July 7, 2022
Supporters of a sweeping effort to overhaul Arizona’s election and campaign finance laws filed more than 475,000 signatures on Thursday in hopes of qualifying for the November ballot. “This is what democracy looks like!” bellowed Roy Tatem, the political director for Our Voice Our Vote, as he and other volunteers and supporters of the Arizona […]
Brnovich, lagging in the polls, begs Ducey to declare an ‘invasion’ to militarize the border
By: Jim Small - July 7, 2022
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is asking Gov. Doug Ducey to declare an “invasion” at the state’s southern border to invoke war powers and send the state’s National Guard troops to fight cartels and human smugglers, an idea that rests on a legal theory constitutional scholars say is “destructive and radical.” Brnovich’s letter to Ducey […]
Arizona will give up to $125 million a year in tax credits to film and TV productions
By: Jim Small - July 6, 2022
In order to lure television and film producers to the Grand Canyon State, Arizona will give out up to $125 million a year in tax credits under a new program that Gov. Doug Ducey allowed to become law on Wednesday without his signature. The new Arizona Motion Picture Production Program goes into effect in 2023 […]
Dems: Republicans won’t stop at overturning Roe if they win in 2022
By: Jim Small - June 29, 2022
Democrats are launching a digital ad buy in Arizona highlighting newly resurgent efforts to ban abortions nationwide after the U.S. Supreme Court last week overturned the constitutional right for women to seek abortions. “Republican lawmakers are making clear that if they gain power, they’ll try to go even further and work to ban abortion nationally […]