LD3 State Senate Republican primary debate: eye opening, to say the least

On May 14, the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission held a debate for the Republican candidates in LD3.

This post will focus only on the candidates for State Senate there.  However, I recommend watching the entire thing, especially if you live in the district (I don't).  If you don't, I further recommend that anyone living in another district watch the debates for your district, regardless of you partisan affiliation (or non-affiliation).  Some of these people will end up on your ballot.

This "debate" was moderated by Hank Stephenson of the Arizona Agenda.  "Debate" is in quotes because it was done remotely - all three folks (the two candidates and one moderator) were in different places.  Stephenson did a fine job.

No prediction on the outcome of the primary will be forthcoming - I usually apply filters to R races that I apply to D races, and that's the wrong thing to do.

Also, no comments on the staging (the incumbent made sure to wear the Arizona-shaped pin given to legislators to ID them at the Capitol while the challenger was in a room filled with books - pics later).

The incumbent is John Kavanagh while the challenger in Robert Wallace.

While I don't live in the district or am a Republican (shocking, I know 🤯 ), I watched this because I expected there to be some real nuggets here.  I was right.

The debate was recorded and is available on YouTube.  When a time is given, that's based on the video record.

Wallace is challenging Kavanagh, one of the most conservative members of the legislature, from the right.

He's a 9-11 truther.  'Nuff said.

Kavanagh is NOT the lousiest human being in the lege, though, with a membership like that, that's like saying that a burst appendix is better than cancer.  

That may be true, but both are still bad.

First off, Kavanagh heartily believes that he's not there to represent the people of his district.  When he takes a position on an issue that differs from that of the majority, they're just uninformed.

52.35

"First of all, I'm not sure if anybody could ever know how a majority of the voters feel about any issue, there's not really polling like that."

53.04

"Now, there may be some situations where a majority might disagree with my position but sometimes that's because the voters don't have all the facts. Sometimes that's because the news coverage was wrong or slanted or or biased or or incomplete."

He also believes that democratically-elected municipal councils aren't allowed to work to protect the residents of their municipalities from the federal government.

56.25

"The city council has no authority to stop [an ICE] detention facility from occurring.  The federal government is not beholden to local zoning ordinances."

He may want to be careful about that last - if a Democratic administration is elected in 2028 an decides to put a toxic waste dump in his back yard, he may not be able to stop it.

Though he might like it - toxic waste dumps and ICE have one thing in common.

They poison everything around them.

He's also one the legislators who believe that funding for public education should be held hostage for ESAs/school vouchers.

"Open to a clean extension of prop 123, as long as there's no ballot threat to ESAs.. I would be open to that, but only if there was not a threat at the ballot that these groups are doing to ESAs."

"ESAs make education better and greater in Arizona"

1.21.26

"I would consider next year, a straight-up Ducey-style 123 if the initiatives did not go on the ballot that people are proposing to dismantle or weaken ESAs..  If that were to happen, then perhaps the 123 needs to go up with some sort of ESA protections next year."

And the 2020 election?  Wallace thinks it was stolen from Cheeto, and Kavanagh was more circumspect, but...

1.29.10

Stephenson: Do you believe your ballot was accurately and correctly counted in the 2020 election?

1.29.50

"I think there are a tremendous number of irregularities that caused a lot of concern and doubt. As to my ballot, I really have no way of knowing."

1.30.00

Stephenson "Tremendous concern and doubt". Where do you fall on this?  Do you think that the 2020 election was accurately and fairly called for President Joe Biden or do you think that Donald Trump won that one?

"I don't know. I'm not prepared to say that the vote count was accurate but I don't have evidence to prove that it wasn't. But clearly, it was a wake up call for the need for election security.  [Garbled]If not for actual security, to make sure the appearance of impropriety doesn't taint elections, too."

Kavanagh closed by urging people to vote for him.

Don't make Arizona California. I ask that you vote John Kavanagh for State Senate.

Arizona only wishes it was California.

From the Orange County Register, dated May 2nd -

California economy vs. Trump: What GDP tells us

California’s economy, as measured by gross domestic product, did surprisingly well in the first year of the second Trump administration.

My trusty spreadsheet looked at the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ tally of business output growth for the states and found that California’s GDP was up 2.4% for 2025.

That was the 11th-best performance among the states and topped the 2% expansion of the national economy.

From the Public Policy Institute of California -

California is an economic powerhouse, nationally and globally.

• In 2025, California’s GDP was $4.3 trillion, comprising 14% of national GDP ($30.7 trillion). Texas and New York are the next-largest state economies at 9% and 8%, respectively.
• California’s economy ranks fourth internationally as of 2024, behind the US, China, and Germany. On a per capita basis, California’s GDP is greater than all of these countries.
• California’s economy grew relatively fast in the second half of the last decade, but it has slowed since (4.1% annually from 2015–2019; 3.0% from 2020–2025). By comparison, Florida (5.4%) and Texas (5.0%) have grown faster than California since 2020.
• Over the past 25 years, California’s economy has grown faster than the nation overall (90% vs. 69%) but not faster than other large states like Texas (130%) or Florida (101%). However, on a per capita basis, California’s economic growth has outpaced all other large states over the long term.

Oh, and the staging -

Welcome to Arizona, where Republican hypocrisy is a way of life

From Arizona Daily Star, written by Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services (emphasis added by me) -

DES chief: Fraud not fully behind huge SNAP drop in Arizona

At least some people who have lost their food stamps in Arizona probably are eligible, the head of the state Department of Economic Security says.

But Michael Wisehart said Friday that he can't quantify how many of the estimated 400,000 Arizonans who were dropped from the rolls since Congress approved its budget law last summer — including 180,000 children — actually legally qualify for benefits but have, for one reason or another, been turned away.

[snip]

"I think our massive decrease is caused by the fact that we had massive fraud in the system,'' said the Fountain Hills Republican.

[snip]

"But he seems to be staying willfully blind to large amounts of fraud, too,'' the senator said. And Kavanagh said most telling is that Wisehart, in explaining all the reasons for the sharp drop in food stamp recipients, doesn't even discuss fraud.

"Maybe we need a new director if that's the case,'' Kavanagh said.

I will give Kavanagh one thing - he's an expert on "...staying willfully blind to large amounts of fraud..."

Of course, his expertise is on ESAs/school vouchers, which is a program designed to help the wealthy, not on SNAP, which is a program designed help poor people.C

From KPNX, written by Craig Harris, dated 12/29/2025 (emphasis added by me) -

Influential Arizona Republican lawmaker wants to expand ESA vouchers as questions grow over taxpayer spending

For nearly two decades, John Kavanagh has been a constant presence at the Arizona Legislature, helping shape how billions of taxpayer dollars are spent. 

Now, as Senate Majority Leader, the influential Republican lawmaker is pushing to expand one of the state’s most controversial education programs—despite a 12News investigation of mounting questionable spending and growing calls for reform.

[snip]

In thousands of cases, 12News found parents used ESA funds to purchase items with little or no clear educational value—including diamond rings, flat-screen televisions, luxury clothing, appliances, vacations, and even lingerie.

Despite those findings, Kavanagh insists the program is working as intended.

“People who oppose the ESAs are misconstruing what’s happening to make it look like there’s all this fraud,” he said. 

It seems that Kavanagh is fact deficient with him being "..willfully blind to large amounts of fraud" in the ESA program but decrying "fraud" in the SNAP program, while not bothering to present facts to support his position.

He does seem to know the steps to the "hypocritical two step", a dance that may make him one of the leaders of the R caucus going forward.

While I expect that "going forward" will happen for him (until he actually loses an election, I won't predict that he will),  it's not outside the realm of possibility that he won't the state senator from his district.  He's facing challengers in both the primary and general elections.

From the Arizona Secretary of State -

One might think that someone like Kavanagh would garner more negative media coverage, but he's nice to reporters, to the point where they actually *like* him personally.

The aforementioned Harris was on KPNX's Sunday Square Off last week (couldn't locate it online, so I can't link to it).

He used words like "affable" to describe Kavanagh.

Plus, he used another word on his Twitter/X feed -

Given his liking for Kavanagh (and the fact that Kavanagh has an easily used title), it seems likely his use of the word "honorable" is less an honorific more an adjective.

I've got a word for Harris (and all other reporters) -

NEUTRAL.

Like sands through the hourglass, the Arizona State Legislature will return. It's inevitable.

Something else is inevitable, too - They won't do their job, starting on 1/12/2026.

Thus far, they've introduced 182 measures (bills or memorials/resolutions).  Most of those won't be approved by both chambers and of those that do, many won't make it past the governor's veto.

Some fall into the "Culture War" category (aka - "the GOP's War on America") -

Some fall into The "Fear the Other" subcategory (Rep. John Gillette's [R-Shameless Bigot] HCM2001)

Some into the "Anti Early Voting" subcategory (Rep Alexander Kolodin's [R-Running for AZ Secretary of State in order to upend elections] HCR2001)

Some into the "Anti LGBTQ+" subcategory (Rep Selina Bliss' [R- I thought she was less insane than the others. I was wrong) HCR2003)

Some into the "Anti-Vaxxer" subcategory (Rep Nick Kupper's [R-Don't Know Much About Him, But I'll Have to Start Paying More Attention) HB2005)

Some into the "Anti Choice" subcategory (Bliss' HB2043)

Some into the "Anti Public Education" subcategory (Rep. David Livingston's [R-Heavily Armed] HB2075)

Some into the "Anti Poor People" subcategory (Sen. John Kavanagh's [Center for AZ Policy's Water Carrier] SB1002)

Some into the "Anti Fluoride" subcategory (Sen. Janae Shamp's [R-Just Plain Nuts] SB1019]

Some into the "Anti Science" subcategory (Sen. David Farnworth's [R-Foisting His Fundie Religious Dogma of the Rest of Society] SB1025)

Some into the "Trump Worship" subcategory (Shamp's SB1070)

...You get the idea.  Republican legislators will do a LOT of Culture War preening in 2026.  It's an election year, and they want to win any primaries.

GOP state legislators aren't ALL about Culture War issues, though.

Rep. Gail Griffin (R-W2 or 1099?) has already introduced her usual spate of bills to protect and even enhance industry profits, not to help the people of AZ.

Sen. John Kavanagh is a multitasker - he hates pretty much EVERYTHING.  Including public disclosure of misdeeds by scofflaw legislators.  In addition to his various Culture War measures, he's introduced SB1022, intended to stop disclosure of images from "photo enforcement systems."

He *really* doesn't like it when legislators are shown to be hypocrites who believe that laws don't apply to them.

He's also introduced a "protect the wealthy" measure.  His SB1033 seeks to exempt the sales of vacation homes from municipal sales tax.

Of course, some of the proposals seem to be mildly contradictory.  Kupper's HB2059 seeks to remove speed limits, under certain circumstances, while Kavanagh's SB1073 seeks to impose them, under certain circumstances.

To be fair, the bills may not be totally contradictory - their "circumstances" aren't the same.

Lastly, legislators are specifically barred from creating legislation that is targeted at a specific municipality.  One of the ways they get around this requirement is by being hyper-specific, crafting language in a bill that doesn't mention a municipality by name but can only apply to one city.  Bliss' HB2080 seems to be a very example of this.  The language from her bill:  "In a city or town with a population of more than two thousand five hundred persons but less than ten thousand persons, whose population growth rate did not exceed an average of two percent per year for the ten-year period before the most recent United States decennial census and whose current general plan was approved by the voters..."

Hmmm...

Ol' Reliable, State Sen. John Kavanagh (R-LD3), is back for yet another legislative session

Of course, that may not be a good thing, as he's getting his hate on for poor people, elections, and public schools.

His SB1002 is all about adding verification requirements to TANF/SNAP fund disbursements and prosecuting certain recipients.

His SB1003 proposes to add one phrase to election law in many places (re: canvasses of elections) - 

"ACKNOWLEDGE WITHOUT PREJUDICE"

His using the phrase "without prejudice" probably doesn't mean "without regard to a candidate's ethnicity, race, gender, or gender preference."

Nope.  Not from one of the Center for Arizona Policy's (CAP) favorite legislators (he's already stated he wishes to propose sending CAP's anti-LGBTQ bathroom measure directly to the voters and bypass Governor Katie Hobbs' veto pen).

My guess is that the phrase is his way of saying "if voters don't the way we want, we'll just say the results don't count."

His SB1004 proposes to further the ESA (school voucher) budget-busting scam by mandating that students whose parents are recipients of ESAs be allowed to participate in/try out for "interscholastic activities"  (aka - sports) in the school district that covers the area of their residence (with certain exceptions).

While I don't believe that people, in this case, students, should be punished for the actions of others, neither should they be rewarded.

Bottom line: the parents of the students decided to weaken public schools in order to enhance their personal financial positions, and their children should not be rewarded for that.

Not allowing them to participate in public school sports (et. al.) doesn't qualify as "punishment" because it doesn't take away anything from them that they already have.

Kavanagh is consistent - my guess is that he'll propose many anti-poor people, anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-public education bills...as well as one (or more!) bill that's both pro-police and anti society.

In AZ, old politicians don't go away, the just swap seats

From Arizona Agenda, written by Nicole Ludden and Hank Stephenson

Chandler’s Freaky Friday

As we continue to reel from the 2024 elections, Arizona’s politicians are already eyeing their 2026 prospects.

While most of Arizona’s lawmakers are running for reelection, the three spots opening up in one district have turned into a game of musical chairs.

In fact, by the time 2027 rolls around, none of the state legislators representing the Chandler-based Legislative District 13 will hold their current offices.

Instead, Republican Rep. Jeff Weninger is running to be the next Chandler mayor. Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke is running for Weninger's seat at the Capitol. And LD13’s other legislators are leaving the office or switching chambers.

As of this writing, neither Hartke (with the AZSOS) nor Weninger (with the City of Chandler) have formed committees for their run, however, Hartke has filed a Statement of Interest with the AZSOS for a run at LD13 State Representative -

Actually, the only person who has formed a committee for LD13 State Rep is Democratic candidate Raquel Armstrong.

It's still very early, though.

LD13 is considered to be "competitive" but leaning R - the district's current legislative delegation is all R.

The concept of swapping seat is not new, but is usually limited to changing chambers at the lege to avoid running afoul of term limits and to extend their time at the Capitol.

For instance, John Kavanagh, a Republican from Fountain Hills and member of the Arizona State Senate, is on his third district at the lege (LDs 8, 23, and 3), even though he hasn't actually moved.  He's been in both the house and the senate representing north Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, and Rio Verde since 2007.

Legislative schedule - week starting 4/20/2025 UPDATE

There's been an addition to this week's schedule of committee meetings at the state legislature.

Senate Director Nominations meets at 9:30 a.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: no bills; one executive nomination - Kathryn Ptak as Director of the Department of Child Safety.

She seems to well liked by Rs in general...but none of them are on this committee.

One person who is?

State Sen. John Kavanagh, sponsor of SB1734, a bill that infamously reduces benefits/compensation for parents caring for their children with developmental disabilities.

While Ptak's nomination isn't for an agency  that covers that area, it may be close enough for Kavanagh et. al.

I expect some verbal fireworks from the Rs on the committee before they tank her nomination.

However, Ptak is a trained attorney.  Not only does she know how to fence with words, she may use words that are bigger than Kavanagh et. al. have heard.

Legislative schedule - week starting 1/12/2025

Well. the Arizona lege will be back in session...so it will be necessary to hide the children and small animals.

And to protect democracy from their depredations.

While most agendas are just about introducing committee members and staff, some very bad bills will be under consideration.

Note: HHR refers to a hearing room in the House building; SHR refers to one in the Senate building.

Note2: Generally, I'll only specify bills that look to spread propaganda.  Other bills may be more conventionally bad (think: corrupt or other misuses of public monies and/or authority).  My recommendation is that if an agenda covers an area of interest to you, read the entire agenda.

Note3: Each chamber's respective Rules Committee meets on Monday, the House's in HHR4, generally at 1 p.m. and the Senate's in Senate Caucus Room 1, generally also at 1 p.m.  Both committees serve as rubber stamps for bills leadership wants to be advanced and gatekeepers for measures that leadership wants stopped.

Note4: Meeting start times may be listed, but are flexible.  Before journeying to the Capitol or viewing the meeting online, verify the start time.

Note5: Watch for strikers, or strike everything amendments.  Those involve inserting language that replaces the entirety of a bill.  Those can be introduced at any time and can make a previously harmless bill into a very bad one. 

On Monday, 1/13 

-

House Health & Human Service is on the calendar at 2 p.m. in HHR4, but their agenda states the committee won't be meeting.

House Public Safety & Law Enforcement is on the calendar at 2 p.m. in HHR1, but their agenda states the committee won't be meeting.

On Tuesday, 1/14 

-

House Commerce meets at 2 p.m. in HHR5.  On the agenda: no bills; they'll be acting as the Commerce Committee of Reference and conducting a couple of sunset reviews of a couple of executive departments.

House Education meets at 2 p.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: four bills after they act as the Education Committee of Reference and conduct a sunset review and an audit review.  The bills: HB2022. a guns in schools bill; HB2029, requiring schools to teach internet security/safety practices to students; plus a couple of bills related to the reviews that they are conducting.

House Natural Resources, Energy & Water meets at 2 p.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: no bills, just some presentations.

Senate Appropriations meets at 2 p.m. is SHR109.  On the agenda: no bills, just a presentation from JLBC.

Senate Natural Resources meets at 2 p.m. in SHR1. On the agenda: no bills, just multiple presentations, mostly from industry lobbyists.

On Wednesday, 1/15 

-

House Judiciary meets at 9 a.m. in HHR4.  On the agenda: no bills; it's meeting as the Committee of Reference and conducting a couple of sunset reviews.

Senate Government meets at 9 a.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: three bills.  SB1013 would impose a requirement on municipalities and counties that would mandate that the council/board overseeing that entity pass a fee increase by a 2/3 majority.  The bill was proposed by Senate President Warren Petersen, so it'll pass. SB1015, from Wendy Rogers (R-bigot), would bar municipalities and counties from placing a tax or fee on blockchain technology.  SB1039 is John Kavanagh's annual effort to put a minimum time limit bon how long HOA's have to keep a recording of a meeting.

Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency meets at 9 a.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: no bills.

Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency Committee of Reference meets at 9:10 a.m. (or upon the adjournment of the regular committee) in SHR109.  On the agenda:  no bills; a couple of sunset reviews.

House Ad Hoc Committee on Election Integrity and Florida-Style Voting Systems meets at 1 p.m.in HHR4.  On the agenda: no bills, just a discussion of inflicting Florida-style election practices on Arizona.

Senate Education meets at 3 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: Two bills and some presentations about education funding in AZ.  The bills - SB1021, Wendy Rogers' move to have ROTC students classified as "in-state" students and SB1028, John Kavanagh's proposal relating to high scool graduation requirements.

Senate Judiciary and Elections meets at 3 p.m. in SHR2.  On the agenda: one bill, and it's BAD.  SB1011 from Warren Petersen (and co-sponsored by most of the Rs in the state senate) is the latest anti-democracy effort to place restrictions on early voting.  My guess is that Petersen plans to run for Congress as a MAGA candidate or is angling for a spot in the Trump administration.

Senate Public Safety meets at 3 p.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: no bills, just a presentation.

On Thursday, 1/16 

-

House Land, Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee of Reference meets at 11 a.m. in HHR3.  On the agenda: no bills, just a sunset review (interestingly, both this committee and Senate RAGE.COR will be conducting a sunset review of the Arizona Exposition and State Fair Board). 

On Friday, 1/17 

-

Senate Health and Human Services and House Health & Human Services Joint Committee of Reference meets at 9 a.m.in HHR1.  On the agenda: no bills, just five sunset reviews and one special audit.

Apparently, I touched a nerve...

...but while they may have ruffled certain sensibilities, my statements are still true.

A couple of days ago, I wrote a post criticizing the content of a two proposals to be considered by the state legislature.

This roused the ire of the author of the two proposals, State Sen. John Kavanagh.

Actually, the bill's language *does* add more than animal control officers and elected officials to statute -

He still hasn't refuted my actual criticism of his proposal.

Are "poison pill" clauses issued to all AZ legislators, or does John Kavanagh keep some in his desk drawer?

He sure seems to put them into any bill that he proposes that might otherwise be considered decent.

For example, he's proposed SCR1005, which, if approved by the voters, would index compensation for legislators to inflation.  The biggest issue with that?  He specifically exempts other state-level officials from that.

His phasing - "B. The salaries of those holding elective state offices OTHER THAN THE OFFICE OF STATE LEGISLATOR..."

Note - ALL CAPS is his proposed new language.

Still, while bad, that pales next to the depravity of his SB1038.

That includes language that would classify assaults of certain public transit employee, railway workers, airport workers, employees of law enforcement agencies, animal control officers, and all elected officials as aggravated assaults (not the "depraved" part).

Nope.  The depraved parts (and *yes*, I said "parts")  -

"D. IF A PERSON IS CONVICTED OF COMMITTING AGGRAVATED ASSAULT ON A PEACE OFFICER PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION AND THE TRIER OF FACT DETERMINES THAT SECTION 13-701, SUBSECTION D, PARAGRAPH 17 APPLIES, THE PERSON SHALL BE SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS MORE THAN WOULD OTHERWISE BE IMPOSED FOR THE OFFENSE. THE ADDITIONAL SENTENCE IMPOSED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION IS IN ADDITION TO ANY ENHANCED PUNISHMENT THAT MAY BE APPLICABLE UNDER THIS SECTION OR CHAPTER 7 OF THIS TITLE. THE PERSON IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR SUSPENSION OF SENTENCE, COMMUTATION OR RELEASE FROM CONFINEMENT ON ANY BASIS, EXCEPT AS SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED BY SECTION 31-233, SUBSECTION A OR B, UNTIL THE SENTENCE IMPOSED IS SERVED THE PERSON IS ELIGIBLE FOR RELEASE PURSUANT TO SECTION 41-1604.07 OR THE SENTENCE IS COMMUTED."

This seems to be the "all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others" part.

"H. AGGRAVATED ASSAULT PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION A, PARAGRAPH 1 OR 2 OF THIS SECTION COMMITTED ON AN EMPLOYEE OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY IS A CLASS 2 FELONY...."

Class 2 felonies include (but aren't limited to) things like manslaughter, rape, sex trafficking, and child molestation, and Kavanagh wants to equate some assaults of police officers to those acts.

My guess is that if this one is approved by the legislature (possible, given the composition of the state legislature), and makes it past the governor's veto pen (unlikely, but she could have a bad day), this one may run into Constitutional issues.

Something that Kavanagh has run into before with his pro-police/anti-society legislation.

Short Attention Span Musing - Wahhh!!! Edition

I could have named this one the "Snowflake Edition", but individual snowflakes are unique, and there's a certain similarity here.

....Maybe, just maybe, it's not a good thing to lie about others...and dressing up as a mythical character will not change that.

From MSNBC -

Giuliani, who has said he’s broke, dresses as Santa to hawk coffee

Rudy Giuliani, who has said that he cannot afford to pay his bills in protracted court proceedings over his assets handover to two former Georgia election workers, has turned to his self-branded coffee line to make some money during the Christmas season.

This week on X, the former New York City mayor has shared multiple Christmas-themed ads touting Rudy Coffee, some of which feature him dressed in a Santa Claus costume and handing it out.

From CBS News -

Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy following $146 million defamation suit judgment

Former New York City mayor and Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy Thursday, according to a court filing. 

Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy less than a week after a jury ordered him to pay $146 million in damages to Fulton County election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who sued him for defamation. He estimates his liabilities are between about $100 million and $500 million. The damage award was originally set at $148 million, but the federal judge presiding over the case later reduced it to $145,969,000.

"This maneuver is unsurprising, and it will not succeed in discharging Mr. Giuliani's debt to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss," Michael Gottleib, a lawyer for the two women, said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, ordered Giuliani to compensate the pair of election workers immediately, expressing concern that he may have been dishonest about his finances and that he might not comply with the judgment.

...Don't say something negative about the Fuhrer-elect - he might sue you.

From AP -

Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster for ‘election interference’ after pre-election poll

President-elect Donald Trump sued the Des Moines Register and its pollster for “brazen election interference” in publishing a survey the weekend before the election that showed Democrat Kamala Harris with a surprising lead of three percentage points in the state.

The Register’s parent Gannett Co. on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit as meritless and said it would vigorously defend its First Amendment rights.

...The tendency of having easily-ruffled tender sensibilities displayed by certain public figures isn't limited to national ones - there are Arizona politicos with similarly tender sensibilities.

From the Fountain Hills Times Independent, written by Howard Fischer, dated 12/19 -

Fountain Hills legislator holding up funds for UofA over Palestinian painting

The head of the Senate Appropriations Committee is holding up the ability of the University of Arizona to borrow millions of dollars over a painting on display supporting Palestinians that he contends is offensive.

But it may end up being a big fuss over nothing: the University of Arizona Museum of Art where the picture is located will be shutting down anyway at the end of the week.

Maybe Cheeto and his acolytes should eschew a limousine when traveling to his inauguration and just travel by Wahhmbulance.

Maybe they can turn up the radio loud enough so that they aren't bothered by any dissent.

Legislative schedule - week starting 12/15/2024

 Well, the election is over, so activity at the Capitol is picking up.

Admittedly, there's only three meetings scheduled at this point, and they're all scheduled for Wednesday, but that's three more than are on the schedule for Christmas week.

However, that's subject to change.  It's best to keep an eye out for changes.

On Monday 12/16, Tuesday, 12/17, and Thursday, 12/19 - nada.

On Wednesday, 12/18 -

Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) meets at 9:30 a.m. in SHR109. On the agenda: 12 items, eight of will be considered en masse as part of consent agenda item.  The four items that they will actually consider: reviews of items involving the AZ SOS and AZ AG.  As both offices are headed by Democrats and the "reviews" will take place in executive session (fewer witnesses that way), I'm guessing that there will be less considering and more "raking over the coals" going on. The other two item will be public and involve DEQ and AHCCCS/DES.  As John Kavanagh chairs this committee, he will probably focus making sure no trans people are helped by these agencies.

Joint Committee on Capital Review (JCCR) meets at 9:45 a.m. or upon adjournment of the JLBC meeting in SHR109.  On the agenda:  six items, five and half of which will be considered en masse as part of consent agenda item.  What will be considered in public are a couple buildings under construction as U of A.  Kavanagh chairs this one too, so trans people will probably be mentioned here, too.

House Committee on International Trade meets at 10:30 a.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: this looks to be a pro forma meeting.

If it's December, it must be vehicle bill time at the AZ legislature

In lege-speak, a "vehicle bill" that exists basically to serve a shell for a strike-everything amendment ("striker") that's usually far more insidious and detrimental to society than the underlying bill.

Normally, such bills have "technical correction" in the working title, but this year, they've gotten creative.  So far, none have that in the title.

Thus far, 14 actual bills have been introduced; of those, eight look to be vehicles for strikers.

Of the 14, nine were introduced by Ol' Reliable, John Kavanagh (R - CAP's Lapdog) (and he is listed as a co-sponsor of another); seven look to be strikers.

Some of the bills are about things like balloons, fair juries, and eyeglasses; not the sort of things that Republicans are known for giving a damn about.

One prediction: SB1007, working title "public school tax credit; purposes" will be turned into something to expand private school vouchers.

Got a new nickname for State Sen. John Kavanagh: Ol' Reliable

Ol' (bile-filled) Reliable, maybe.

Our John really dislikes trans people.

So when it came time to introduce legislation for the upcoming session, he had two choices - get his hate on or change his character and become ardently pro-public education.

Hint: He hasn't changed.

Instead, he has introduced SB1002 and SB1003.

SB1002 would bar people employed by a school system from using a student's preferred pronoun and SB1003 would bar students from using a restroom or "changing facility" (think: locker room) belonging to their preferred gender.

Not exactly schemes to benefit society, but they may make Kavanagh's handler at the Center for Arizona Policy happy - that person may actually hate trans people as much as our John, and public schools, particularly adequate funds for them, aren't as lucrative as school vouchers that siphon money away from public schools.

Is being utterly venal a prerequisite for being elected to the lege from N. Scottsdale/Fountain Hills?

That legislative district (LD3), like all LDs, elects three people to the state legislature, one state senator and two state representatives.

LD3 has sent Reps. Alexander Kolodin and Joe Chaplik and Sen. John Kavanagh to the state legislature.

Kolodin is an attorney, with an attorney's regard for the truth.

Kavanagh is a retired police officer with a PO's regard for the Constitution.

Chaplik was a rather unremarkable ideologue.  

Until this week.

Not he's catapulted right past Kolodin and into Kavanagh territory.  Kavanagh may still be the most craven member of the lege, but now part of his competition for that title is from his own LD.

From AZMirror, written by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy -

House Ethics Committee drops complaint against GOP Rep accused of signature fraud

An ethics complaint filed against Republican state Rep. Austin Smith, after he was accused of petition signature fraud, was dropped by the House Ethics Committee Friday. 

Smith dropped his reelection bid last month after he was accused of personally forging more than 100 petition signatures to get on the 2024 ballot. Now the lawmaker is facing a possible criminal investigation after state election officials forwarded his petition signatures to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. 

Chaplik is the chair of the House Ethics Committee and while they have dropped consideration of the complaint against Smith for his (alleged) crime, he and they are continuing to look into the complaint lodged against Democratic State  Representatives Analise Ortiz and Oscar De Los Santos, who are accused of, wait for it, making Rs feel bad about themselves for their support of Arizona's pre-statehood near-total ban on abortion.

The House Ethics Committee is known for giving a free pass to Republican members, no matter how heinous their words or (alleged) crimes.

Note: The now-former member of the lege mentioned in the article, David Stringer, is running for County Attorney in Yavapai County.  Apparently, his campaign is utterly self-financed - 

It seems that Chaplik (and the other R members) feel that bringing disrepute to the body is acceptable...if the one behaving badly is a Republican.

He/they also believe that the bad behavior by a Republican shouldn't be criticized...if the one doing the criticizing is a Democrat.

The fix was in...

...to pass something that will just make things worse instead or fixing things.

At the state legislature, the Senate's Elections Committee and the House's Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee held a joint meeting to consider two Republican-proposed bills at 9 a.m.*

* = they have a verrryyyyy flexible concept of time at the legislature

They were meeting to consider SB1733 (introduced by Sen. Wendy Rogers) and HB2785 (Rep. Alexander Kolodin), identical bills that are supposed to address the state's elections calendar, which threatens to disenfranchise Arizona voters,

I spent 2 1/2+ hours watching it online.  I recommend doing so, unless you have something better to do.  Like taking out the trash.  Or washing your hair.  Or amputating one of your legs.

Primary takeaway: Both bills passed committee on party-line votes.  

Other takes on the meeting:

- The lege does have a rather flexible concept of time - the meeting was slated to start at 9 a.m. but wasn't gaveled in until 9:21 a.m..

Shortly after that,  one of the chairs (Sen. Wendy Rogers) noted that the meeting was going to take an hour.

Rogers observed at 10:17 that her hour had ended 15 minutes before.

Rogers and the other chair, Rep. Jaqueline Parker, recessed the meeting at 10:50, for "five" minutes.

The meeting reconvened 11:03.

It ended at 11:39.

...Apparently, both Rogers and Parker believe that "committee chair" is another way of saying "absolute dictator".

They had a dissenter ejected from the hearing.  He's ruffled tender legislative sensibilities before.

They tried to suppress dissent by limiting public testimony to four speakers.

...Rep Alexander Kolodin, sponsor of HB2785 and an attorney, like to hear himself talk.  One of the things that he said that he wasn't involved with litigation related to signature verification in Yavapai County.  That seemed to be a really specific denial, so I did a little research.  Turns out, that was true in a lawyer's sort of way.  Is there another case he's involved with?  Yup, in Mohave County.

He (and others) stated that they've been working on this for months.  So they sat on this until the situation became urgent and think that they can force their propaganda on the rest of the people of Arizona.

...There was a lot of lying and dissembling going on.  Mostly by the Republican members.  They all thought (and opined) that the extraneous signature verification clauses in the bill(s) were essential to changing election dates.

...Don't hire these folks to do your taxes.  They're without ability to do basic math.  They added two speakers and the Rep. Parker said that meant there were three in favor of the bill and three opposed.

I counted five in favor and one opposed.  They could only get to three and three by counting the last two speakers as "opposed" - they wanted the bill amended to make the signature verification portion harsher.

...Sen. Sonny Borrelli may not be the brightest light in the nighttime sky.  He tried to plant words in the mouth of the one speaker who was actually opposed to the measure(s), and when that speaker didn't go for it, Borrelli tried to do so again.

[Edited on 2/7 to add]:

...Certain members of the state legislature are still ticked off by the Red for Ed movement of a few years ago.  At least, they used the bills to get their "petty and vindictive" on -

[/End edit]

Pics from the video feed -

House members showed up before Senate members.

 

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse confer before the meeting (Center of the pic, L-R) -

Sens Rogers and Bennett, and Reps Parker and Kolodin.

In honor of the upcoming Super Bowl, it might be appropriate to refer to them as the Fearsome Foursome.

But that would be overrating them.

Sen. Sundareshan making a point

Sen. Hernandez making a point

Rep. Terech making a point

Rep. Kolodin with his mouth open.  Not an unusual occurrence

Quick!  Some lobbyist needs to give Sen, Kavanagh a comb!