Apparently, Wendy Rogers *really* hates Katie Hobbs

Election denier State Sen. Wendy Rogers has gone all in on the Big Lie and getting her hate on for Arizona Secretary of State (and gubernatorial candidate).

From Twitter -

At least Rogers puts Hobbs in good company.

From BrainyQuote -

Ummm...so who wants to tell him?

Mark Finchem seems to have a bit of a problem with the truth.  At least, with the telling of it.

First, he lied about his whereabouts at the January 6 insurrection.

From Jerod MacDonald-Evoy at the AZ Mirror -

Mark Finchem was much closer to the Jan. 6 insurrection than he claimed

Newly discovered footage taken during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot shows Arizona GOP legislator Mark Finchem was much closer to the day’s violence than he has previously claimed. 

Finchem has insisted that he never got within 500 yards of the Capitol building, but Getty footage of the failed attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election that was recently discovered by activists on Twitter shows Finchem walking directly in front of the east steps at the Capitol after pro-Trump rioters had already broken through a series of barricades and police lines, and then smashed their way into the Capitol building.

Then, there's this (from Twitter) -

Yes, he seems to believe that the future? Arizona Secretary of State and the current Arizona Secretary of State (and future? Governor of Arizona are more responsible for skyrocketing gasoline prices than the people running Big Oil.

Or maybe he just wants others to believe it.

Arizona Poll Day: Governor's race

Pointed to this by fivethirtyeight.com.

From Data Orbital -

Breaking: Kari Lake besting other Republican challengers in race against Democrat Katie Hobbs

Data Orbital is pleased to announce the results of its latest statewide, live-caller survey of likely general election voters. The survey was conducted from February 11th to February 13th. 

With little data publicly available, the survey focused on the upcoming, hotly contested race for Governor in Arizona. The survey tested all four Republican candidates against likely Democrat nominee Katie Hobbs.

[snip]

From Data Orbital's toplines document -

This is interesting, but that's all.

There are two problems with the poll:

1. They ignored the candidates' respective primaries.  While Hobbs and Lake are the favorites in their primaries, there's no guarantee that they'll win.  Some primary polling would be nice.

2. They oversampled Republican voters and to a lesser extent, Democratic ones, too, and undersampled Independent/Unaffiliated ones.

From the most recent AZ voter registration report -

What's a worse look for a candidate for governor of Arizona? Featuring a pic of Cheeto or featuring an endorsement by the leader of the invertebrate caucus

Who happens to be from Texas?

First from Kari Lake's website -

Then from Matt Salmon's website -

For new readers, Cruz is the one who is the leader of the invertebrate caucus.

It's no secret that I support Katie Hobbs in the Democratic primary for AZ Governor but any of the Democratic candidates would be a better choice for Arizona than these two.

Hell, a cactus would be a better choice.

The fraudit is almost over, but its effects elicit dread

From Politico -

Arizona ‘bracing for impact’ of Trump-driven election report

The controversial Arizona 2020 election review is almost over, but top officials in the state’s largest county and secretary of state's office aren’t waiting for the conclusions, launching a pair of preemptive strikes against a report that could land as soon as next week.

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, released a prebuttal laying out all of her office’s criticisms of the so-called election “audit.” She detailed the pre- and post-election testing election equipment underwent in Maricopa County and called the state Senate-led effort “secretive and disorganized” that routinely discarded best practices of an actual audit.

I just want to point out one thing - if the AZSOS and Maricopa County Recorder took as long to certify an election with dozens, even hundreds, of races as the AZ Senate's "auditors" have taken to look at one race, people would be up in arms.

Legitimately so.

Katie Hobbs talks some smack/truth to Cheeto

 And her ability, and willingness, to do so is among the reasons why I support her in her run for governor of Arizona.

From The Hill -

Arizona secretary of state to Trump before rally: 'Take your loss and accept it and move on'

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) said that her message to former President Trump before his visit on Saturday is to “take your loss and accept it and move on,” referring to the ongoing partisan audit of the 2020 election results.

Trump is heading to Phoenix on Saturday for a “Rally to Save Our Elections!” event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point Action. He is likely to touch on his baseless claims that widespread voter fraud occurred during last year’s election.

She's nicer than I am - I would have added a suggestion that Trump pull his thumb out of his mouth (or other orifice).

Katie Hobbs wants Mark Brnovich to do his job.

 IMO, she shouldn't expect that to happen.

Ever.

Hobbs

From CBSNews -  

Arizona secretary of state asks for investigation into possible election interference by Trump, Giuliani

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs on Wednesday called for the state's attorney general to investigate possible efforts by former President Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and others to pressure Maricopa County election officials during vote-counting in November.

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Citing a report in the Arizona Republic, Hobbs said in a letter to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich that the alleged conduct by Mr. Trump, Giuliani, conservative lawyer Sidney Powell and Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward may have violated a state law that prohibits interfering with election officials. 

"Arizona law protects election officials from those who would seek to interfere with their sacred duties to ascertain and certify the will of the voters," Hobbs said. "At the polling place, this law protects the right to vote. At the counting center, it protects the accuracy of results, free from political interference. But what protection exists for officials who fulfill their duties despite threats of political retribution if the person empowered to enforce the law is unwilling to do the same?"

More here.

Statewide candidate update

Is there a legislator who isn't running for higher offiee?

I know there are, but sometimes, it seems that all of them are.

The one Democrat on this list, Aaron Lieberman, is a sitting legislator (LD28).

Shawnna Bolick, is also a sitting legislator, and unlike Lieberman, but like her Republican colleagues, absolutely hates the voters of Arizona.

Steve Gaynor, a Republican businessman and failed 2018 candidate for Arizona Secretary of State, is, for lack of a better word, "colorful".

Current and former legislators running for higher office:

Katie Hobbs (D), Lieberman (D), Kimberly Yee (R), and Matt Salmon (R) are all running for governor.

Diego Rodriguez (D) is running for attorney general.

Reginald Bolding (D), Bolick (R), Mark Finchem (R), and Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R) are all running for secretary of state.

Walt Blackman (R) is running for Congress.

That's 10 so far, but I'm guessing that won't be the final number.

Handicapping the R primary for governor (early edition)

 

No, she's not running in the R primary, but I thought it would be best to lead off with a pic of the person that I think will be the next governor of Arizona.

Let's be clear - after Cheeto won the R primary in 2016, I am loathe to make predictions in an R primary, so I'm not counting anyone out there.

Having said that. my guess is that the R primary for governor of AZ will come down to state treasurer Kimberly Yee and developer Karrin Taylor Robson.

Former TV news anchor Kari Lake, and the others, have a chance, but most of their support seems to be of the "whistling past the graveyard" variety.

Plus, Fife Symington, convicted and pardoned former governor of AZ, and Joe Arpaio, convicted and pardoned former sheriff of Maricopa County AZ, will make their quadrennial flirtations with a run in efforts to garner some media attention.

Yup, it's going to be a crowded R primary, full of folks looking for a chance to replace Dougie.

While one or two big "names" may jump into the race later, right now, it appears that it will come down to Yee and Robson.

And in a race that close, it may come down to endorsements and support from R legislators and Ducey himself.

It would seem that Yee, a former legislator and current associate of Dougie, would seem to have an edge in that area, but don't underrate Robson's ties in this area.

In addition to being the daughter of Carl Kunasek, a long-time member of the legislature and Arizona Corporation Commission, and sister of Andy Kunasek, a former member and chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, before she was a Robson, she helped funnel money to some of the members of the legislature, building relationships there.

And as Republicans, while they may have friendships with Yee, their first loyalty, once and always, is to money.

Don't discount Ragan's presence as treasurer, both here and on Robson's gubernatorial committee.

She's a former staffer for former US Senator Jon Kyl, who was noted for being all about the money, and has ties to Kirk Adams, a former legislator and former chief of staff for Dougie, also noted for being all about the money.

In short, get your popcorn out.  The R primary is going to be interesting, with a lot of back channel calling in of favors and public contortions as R legislators try to have it both ways.

Disclosure time: I assume that the Democratic primary will come down to Katie Hobbs, current Arizona Secretary of State, and someone else (I don't know who yet, but there always is one).

I used to live in her LD and was impressed by her work as a legislator and have been impressed with her work as AZSOS

I've already decided to support her in the primary and have already given a (small) donation to her campaign.

I recommend that readers do the same.

Committees update

Yes, it's only 2017, but many candidates are already stepping forward for races in 2018.

In some cases, it's out of necessity - the races are so involved that an effective campaign needs time to sufficiently get up to speed (i.e. - fundraise).

In other cases, it about trying to clear the field (i.e. - minimize viable opposition).

In a few cases, it's about getting in some practice early on so that when campaign season gets fully up to speed, they'll be in full throat when they bay at the moon (we *are* talking about AZ, after all :) ).

Things will change before the cycle is over.  Some of the current candidates will discontinue their candidacies, and other people will jump in.

Also, races for seats in the legislature are still in almost complete flux; those will be covered at a later date.  This post will be all about races for statewide offices and seats in Congress.

On to the meat of this post (where a city is included - "Candidate X of city ABC", the city is based on the committee address)...

In CD9, seat currently held by Democrat (in name, anyway) Kyrsten Sinema, Irina Baroness von Behr of Tempe has filed for the race for the Republican nomination.  She was last seen running for a seat on the Tempe City Council, where she finished a distant last.

Talia Fuentes of Tempe has filed for the race for the Democratic nomination in CD9.  Her filing with the FEC specifically states that she the seat in CD9, but her website only discusses CD5.

Dave Giles of Gilbert has filed for another run at the Republican nomination in CD9.

Edna San Miguel of Tucson has filed for a run at the R nomination in CD3 (currently held by *D Raul Grijalva).
*Edited; a reader at Blog for Arizona spotted an error on my part.  Originally, I stated that the seat was held by Republican Paul Gosar.  I regret the error and thank Mr. Cizek for noticing and bringing it to my attention


Brianna Westbrook of Sun City has filed for a run at the D nomination in CD8 (currently held by R Trent Franks).

Noah Dyer of Phoenix has filed IRS paperwork and AZSOS paperwork for a run at the Democratic nomination for governor.

Pat Quinn of Tucson has filed IRS paperwork for an independent run for US Senate.

Stacie Banks of Phoenix has filed for an independent run for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Tom Forese, currently a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, has filed for a run for the R nomination for State Treasurer.

Randy Grivel of Glendale has filed for a run for the R nomination for Arizona Corporation Commission.

Katie Hobbs of Phoenix, currently the Democratic leader in the Arizona State Senate (and my representative there) is running for the D nomination for AZ Secretary of State.

Kathy Hoffman of Glendale has filed for a run at the D nomination for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Tracy Livingston of Peoria, wife of wingnut state legislator David Livingston, has filed for the R nomination for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Greg Stanton, currently the mayor of Phoenix, has filed for a run at the D nomination for AZ Secretary of State.  Caveat:  The committee to do that may just be a "placeholder" committee.

Stu Starky of Phoenix has filed for a run at the Green Party nomination for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Former state senator Kelli Ward is mounting a campaign to oppose Jeff Flake in the R primary for US Senate.


Rumors, or at least stuff that has been said but can't yet be confirmed by agency filings:


Rumors have current AZ Treasurer Jeff Dewit considering a run against Flake for the R nomination for US Senate.  While he has not officially stated his plans for 2018, he has stated that he will not be running for reelection as state treasurer.  If the US Senate thing doesn't work out, he may part of the Trump administration's bench, getting called in to fill a vacancy when turnover there inevitably occurs.

Ballot time in Arizona

...and elsewhere, as well, but since I live in AZ and my ballot covers AZ, that means this post will focus on AZ (or at least my little part of it).

There are races here in Maricopa County and elsewhere in the state that are important and interesting, but this post only covers those that are on my ballot.


President -

This one is easy -

Hillary Clinton is easily one of the two or three most qualified people to ever run for president.

Donald Trump is a buffoon (which is a word I use to describe someone when I don't want to use the more colorful part of my vocabulary).

And I thought this even before Trump's recently unearthed admission of a seduction technique that can best be described as "rape".



US Senate seat representing AZ -

Ann Kirkpatrick is nowhere near liberal enough to suit me, but she genuinely works to represent her constituents.

In addition to supporting Donald Trump until it was no longer "cool" to do so, John McCain has never met a war he didn't monger.

Another easy choice.


US Congressional seat, representing CD9 -

Skipping this race.

There are two Republicans in this race.  Be it in this race or ones where an R is running and is uncontested, I will be skipping the race.  Even in Arizona there are Republicans who are decent human beings and are (or were) honorable public servants.

They can no longer get through primaries here.


LD24 seats in the Arizona Legislature -

They face no challengers, but Sen. Katie Hobbs, Rep. Lela Alston, and Rep. Ken Clark do a great job representing the people of LD24 and merit an expression of our support and thanks.


Arizona Corporation Commission -

This is Arizona's utility regulator, and when the CEO of the largest regulated utility endorses three of the candidates, vote for the other two, and only the other two.

Those are Bill Mundell and Tom Chabin.



Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, District 1 -

Skipping this race.


Maricopa County Assessor -

Skipping this race.


Maricopa County Attorney -

Diego Rodriguez.

County Attorney isn't just a "staff" job, where the person holding the position must have a particular skill set (the lawyer stuff), but must have integrity,

Bill Montgomery is the incumbent.  Ask him on which side of the bars we can find Sean Pearce.


Maricopa County Recorder -

Adrian Fontes.

A county recorder doesn't do much that directly impacts voters, except for RUN ELECTIONS.

The current recorder, Helen Purcell, has held the post for decades (literally!).

It has been decades since an election here went of without a hitch.

It seems that in every cycle, something new goes wrong, but there is one constant - she always blames someone else for the problems.

The height of her chutzpah in this regard may have been when she blamed incredibly long voting lines during the presidential primary on voters actually, you know, "voting".


Maricopa County School Superintendent -

Michelle Robertson.

There are two candidates on the ballot.

Both are teachers.

One hates public education and Common Core (in short, he's Diane Douglas with a Y chromosome...and she is unfit to be state superintendent of public instruction).

The other one is Michelle Robertson.

She's highly intelligent, highly educated, and student-focused, and will make a great leader and advocate for Maricopa County schools.


Maricopa County Sheriff -

Paul Penzone, in another easy choice.

The incumbent, Joe Arpaio, a nationally-renowned nativist and publicity junkie, is facing criminal charges over the way he operates the agency.

Penzone is a decorated career public servant.  Arpaio has been reduced to bald-faced lies.

It should be a walkover for Penzone, but it won't be - too many of Arpaio's supporters know he is a hater, but he hates the same way that they do.


Maricopa County Treasurer -

Joe Downs.

Like Robertson above, he's smart and knows his stuff.

Unlike his opponent, he doesn't believe in using public resources to campaign for public office.



Justice of the Peace, Arcadia Biltmore -

Skipping this race.


Constable, Arcadia Biltmore -

Carolyn Lane.  She's unopposed, but she works her a** off and deserves an expression of thanks and support.


CAWCD (Central Arizona Water Conservation District, aka the governing board of the Central Arizona Project) -

For this race, voters can select five candidates.  However, there are three outstanding ones - Alexandra Arboleda, Ben Graff, and Jim Holway.  Voting for only those three will increase the likelihood of them winning seats.


Maricopa County Community College District governing board, At-Large seat -

Linda Thor.



Scottsdale Unified School District ballot questions -

"Yes" on both.

Just because the legislature hates public education and refuses to adequately fund it, doesn't mean we have go along with them.


Mayor of Scottsdale -

Bob Littlefield.

Bob is a die-hard Republican, and when he's mayor, we will disagree on pretty much everything that Democrats and Republicans disagree on.

But he genuinely cares about the city.

On the other hand, Jim Lane (the incumbent) and his accomplices on the City Council seem to mostly care about money from developers, holders of liquor licenses, and others that come before the council.

I may not agree with Littlefield on much, and reserve the right to not vote for him in a future election, but for this one, he meets the basic criteria necessary for all elected officials should meet (but most in AZ fail to meet) -

He gives a damn about the district/city that he is running to represent.


Scottsdale City Council -

Guy Phillips.

He's a tea party type, and one I wouldn't vote for under most circumstances.

However, Lane and his handlers keep running negative campaigns against him, so he gets my vote - much as I don't like his ideology, anybody that Jim Lane dislikes can't be all bad.



Proposition 490 (Scottsdale-specific ballot question) -

It appears to be a harmless cleanup of language in the city charter, but, while I am not familiar with all of the people who submitted an argument, the ones that I am familiar with have never supported a "good government" measure that doesn't directly benefit them.

Oh, and Jim Lane also endorsed this one.

No.


Back of the ballot:

Judges - AZ Supreme Court, AZ Court of Appeals and Maricopa County Superior Court -

Voting to retain all listed, except for Jo Lynn Gentry.

The Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review does a good job of examining their own, and I am going with that.

Next cycle, I may not - Governor Doug Ducey and the majority in the Arizona Legislature are doing their level best to co-opt/corrupt the judicial branch, and they may make enough inroads toward that goal that next time, the Commission may not merit trust.

For now, however, they do.


Arizona ballot questions -

Proposition 205

Passage of this one would legalize the possession of marijuana for recreational use.

This one is controversial, in that many of the people and corporations that profit from the status quo oppose it.  And have expended thousands (OK, millions) of dollars to defeat it.

Given that the vast majority of Arizonans understand that marijuana is not the "great evil" and opponents that profit from pharmaceuticals that are less effective than marijuana or the police state apparatus that has been constructed to wage the "War on Drugs", well, they've had to resort to misleading and false signs, TV spots, and more.

I am voting Yes.


Proposition 206 -

Passing this one would raise the state's minimum wage, in increments, to $12/hour by 2020.  It would also result in employees being able to accrue paid sick leave.

Yes.

Duh.

A few pictures from the 2012 election cycle

Most of these pics have been shared here or on FB already, but are worth another look...

State Sen. David Schapira addressing a crowd of voters in Tempe in January while he was exploring a run for Congress.  He finished the primary in 2nd place.

From March:  The CD5 delegates to the Democratic National Convention, (L-R) Janie Hydrick, Chase Williams, Laura Copple, Jerry Gettinger, Lauren Kuby, and Randy Keating

Paul Penzone, candidate for Maricopa County Sheriff, speaking at an event in Tempe

At the same April event, the future LD26 legislative team - (L-R, standing) Reps-elect Juan Mendez and Andrew Sherwood and Sen.-elect Ed Ableser

Mark Mitchell in April, the future Mayor of Tempe.  He emerged victorious in Tempe's election in May.

Andrei Cherny, candidate for Congress, addressing a meeting of the LD24 Democrats; he finished third in the primary.

In July, putting up signs

In July, an overflow crowd at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe for a Congressional primary forum

Congressional candidate Kyrsten Sinema at the July forum.  She emerged from the primary as the nominee.

Not political or anything to do with the election cycle; I just like the sign.

In August, Harry Mitchell addressing a crowd at an event in Tempe

September: Future state rep. Juan Mendez speaking at the LD26 campaign office in Tempe

US Senate candidate Rich Carmona speaking to a supporter at the same Tempe event in September

The "crowd" at the Clean Elections debate for LD24 legislative candidates in September

In September, future State Rep. Andrew Sherwood (standing) greeting friends in Tempe in September

Kyrsten Sinema addressing the crowd at the same Tempe event in September
 

Election Day: watching early national returns at the Arizona Democratic Party headquarters in Phoenix

Election Day: The crowd gathering at the Renaissance watching election night coverage on CNN

Election night: Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton speaking to the hundreds gathered at the Renaissance

The jublilant crowd as the election is called for President Obama

All of the above pics were taken by me and represent just the tiniest portion of the effort and energy and dedication of the 2012 election cycle.  Similar scenes and more took place across the state all year, and while a guy with a camera may not have been at each place, they were all a part of the successes of the cycle.