Poison Pills: The Arizona Legislature's parting gift to Arizona voters

It's interesting when elected officials so despise the public who elected them..

"Interesting" = "hypocritical" here.

From KJZZ, dated 6/13, written by Camryn Sanchez and Wayne Schutsky at KJZZ and Howard Fischer at Capitol Media Services -

After deal fails, Republicans send 'poison pill' for Arizona school voucher reform to ballot

Arizona Republican state lawmakers made a last-ditch effort to hijack efforts to rein in private school vouchers on Friday, after a deal with the teacher’s union fell through.

The Arizona Education Association and Save Our Schools Arizona are gathering signatures to put “Protect Education Now” on the November ballot. If they succeed, and the ballot measure gets approved by voters, it would drastically alter the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, the state’s universal voucher system.

The measure to protect ESAs referred to the voters was HCR2048.

The Republicans in the lege like to say that the measure is all about protecting military families (really! it is, just ask them!) but it has an anti-voter clause in it -

That clause is all about trying to deceive the into nullifying the Protect Education Act, assuming the voters approve it.

Oh, while the Rs in the lege don't want severability for things approved by the voters, they want it for themselves.  From 2026's HB2991 (though this clause is in many of the legislature's measures) -

While this may be the most egregious example of their contempt for the voting public, it's far from the only example.

From AZ Mirror, dated 6/18, written by Jim Small (emphasis added by me) -

Arizona voters will decide 10 GOP-backed ballot measures in November on schools, elections, taxes

When Arizona voters go to the polls in November to decide who will be the next governor and hold the other statewide offices, they’ll also get to weigh in directly on some of the policy priorities of the Republicans who currently run the state legislature.

In all, legislators sent 10 measures to this year’s ballot, where voters will get the final say. Half of those proposals seek to amend the Arizona Constitution, which requires voter approval. The other half make changes to state law, but were sent to the ballot to avoid a veto from Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who has shattered the state’s record for vetoes during her four years in office.

[snip]

SCR 1004 (2026) — Photo-enforcement voter approval
Amends state law to require local governments and agencies to win voter approval to keep operating speed- and red-light cameras, unless under contract by Dec. 31, 2026. If voters approve the cameras, that authorization lasts for 10 years, after which voters must once again vote on their use. 

Legislative antipathy toward the will of the voters is longstanding and well-documented.

In 1996, the voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to legalize medical marijuana in AZ.

Then the legislature overturned the will of the voters.

So in 1998, the voters passed the Voter Protection Act, all but barring the lege from tinkering with voter-approved measures.

In the many years since, the Republicans in the state legislature have tried to overturn or at least weaken it; usually their efforts are paid for by corporate interests.  They've always been rebuffed.

In some years, the legislature refers something to the ballot that merits support from voters (it's rare, but it HAS happened).

This isn't one of those years.

Legislative schedule - week starting 6/21/2026

Nada on the schedule for now.

There's a holiday (Independence Day) coming up, and a primary election.

My guess is that as elected officials, the majority of the membership of the lege doesn't care about the holiday, unless they believe that a profession of love for that holiday will net them more primary votes.

R Governor primary debate

The Committee to Re-elect Katie Hobbs met on Wednesday, 6/17.  They tried to be clever about though and called it a debate between the Republican candidates for governor.

Seriously, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission sponsored the debate; all of their debates can be found here.

Other observers termed the debate "tame."

Note: I won't use too many quotes in this; most of the things I found most objectionable were typical R talking points/social positions.  Though there will be exceptions to the "no quotes" things, but only one candidate, Scott Neely, embraced his inner wingnut - he started discoursing on robots taking over the economy.

First up: a pic of the person they all wish to depose as Governor of Arizona, Katie Hobbs:

The candidates in the R primary, from the Arizona Secretary of State -

One thing was clear: they're all Republicans, and agree on a few things -

All want to lower taxes and regulations facing businesses.

All despise any programs that benefit average Arizonans but want to expand welfare for the wealthy in the form of school vouchers/ESAs.

All blame Joe Biden for most of the bad things facing AZ, including inflation (Cheeto was mentioned by name just a couple of times, and then only in laudatory terms - it was as if they knew he'd be a heavy weight around the neck on the nominee in the general election, but in the primary, they're seeking the votes of folks who worship him)

Water in  AZ:: There's no water shortage here, just a perception problem.  Otherwise, everything's fine.

[edit on 6/20 to add]

They're all campaigning on a MAGA platform, where MAGA means "Make Arizona Great Again".

[/end edit]

Candidates Ken Miceli and Scott Neely were unabashed about wanting to be governor to enhance their businesses.

Miceli mumbled a lot and gave off a "just happy to be here" vibe.  My guess is that he'll be fortunate to exceed 1% of the primary vote.

Neely was better and more experienced (he ran for governor in 2022).  He received less than 26K votes in 2022; he may surpass that total in 2026 but will still garner fewer than 50K votes.

Current member of Congress David Schweikert likes to use numbers and figures to justify the same old R talking points, but in a "if you can't dazzle 'em with footwork, baffle 'em with bullshit" way.

At the 16:21 mark of the video, he stated, to rationalize his support of new housing projects, "If an acre of homes, particularly if it's an acre of homes that goes that goes into where agriculture was, you actually end up with excess water supply."

My guess is that he'll come in 2nd in the primary; he may actually be running for the Lieutenant Governor spot on the ticket.

That leaves current member of Congress Andy Biggs.

I believe that he's going to win this particular primary, and it's evident that he does, too.

He tried to present himself as a reasonable person with a history of "working across the aisle."

Of course, being Biggs, it should come as no surprise that a couple of the examples that he cited may qualify as "own goals."

One example he cited was his work with former Senator and Representative Kyrsten Sinema.

Problem: she so despised Democrats (and, to be fair, many Democrats despised her in turn) that she changed her voting registration to nonaffiliated.  Last seen: lobbying (unsuccessfully, as it turned out) for a data center.

Another example he cited was working with the late Senator John McCain.

Problem: while he was a decent human being, he was not a Democrat.

The fact that Biggs thinks of working with a decent human being as "working across the aisle" says much about his personal character.

Republican voters shouldn't be worried though - he is still pandering to them.

At approximately 27:55 of the video, he proposed ending AZ's income tax and paying for it by going after fraud in Medicaid, Indian Health Services, and the Medicaid expansion program and selling off other assets like state trust lands.

He, like the others, glossed over fraud in the ESA program.

At 42:28, he observed "the reason you're hearing about it is that they're catching people that fraudulently use ESAs.

There's also tremendous fraud in {garbled} traditional system that we have to come in and find out and get that and stop that."

Evidently, providing facts is so not necessary in R primaries; only assertions are needed.

The next debates I'll watch are the CD1 debates - I'll watch the Democratic debate because I really don't know who I'm going to vote for, and I'll watch the R debate because I expect it to be entertaining.

As Maricopa County Turns

This latest show is a combo soap opera, crime drama, and reality show (unfortunately).  

I, and others, may make light of the situation, but I haven't forgotten, and others shouldn't forget, that this is about our ballots.

The County Recorder, a Republican (Justin Heap) and the County Board of Supervisors, mostly Republicans (Kate Brophy McGee [R], Debbie Lesko [R], Mark Stewart [R], Thomas Galvin [R], and Steve Gallardo [D]) have been going at it for months, with lawsuits, threats of lawsuits, simple threats, and more, being exchanged, mostly over elections and democracy.

Now, it's progressed (regressed?) to a surveillance video.

From KJZZ, written by Wayne Schutsky -

Security video shows Maricopa County Recorder's Office staff accused of removing voting equipment

An internal investigation by Maricopa County officials substantiated allegations that staffers from Recorder Justin Heap’s office acted inappropriately after they were caught on tape removing equipment from the county’s central tabulation center during a local Tempe election in March.

The security footage, obtained by KJZZ through the state’s Public Records Law, appears to show Bryan Colby — the recorder’s chief information officer — and another unknown staff member removing a “pre-tabulation scanner” from a locked area at the Maricopa County Election & Tabulation Center in the afternoon on March 12, as votes were being counted in Tempe’s election.

The footage then shows Colby and the other person moving the scanner on cart out of the tabulation center and loading it into an unmarked gray truck before driving away at around 1:49 p.m.

[snip]

The whole incident only came to light after Heap filed an emergency motion in Maricopa County Superior Court this week, asking the judge in that case to intervene after an investigator showed up at Colby’s home.

That investigator, an off-duty Pinal County Sheriff deputy, is working for former Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer, Votebeat reported. Volkmer was appointed by Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell to investigate whether the allegations against the recorder’s staff rise to the level of criminality.

Brahm Resnik of Phoenix channel 12 (KPNX) has the video here.

AZFamily has a story, from their staff and Dennis Welch, about Heap ceding control of his office to an election-denying law firm, America First Legal -

[snip]

{County Supervisor Thomas} Galvin said Mitchell is telling the courts that Heap is circumventing her office, using a partisan law firm from out of state to run and control the entire recorder’s office.

“That’s a very damaging and scary allegation,” Galvin said.

Galvin said he has only had interactions with the attorney who works at the recorder’s office. The attorney has written emails to the board saying the board should only go through him. Heap has given up complete control over his office, Galvin said.

My guess (and it's only that) is that Heap doesn't complete the term as County Recorder, which runs through 2028.

It may be through a face-saving resignation or a removal from office that allows him to falsely cloak himself in MAGAmartyrdom; either way, though, he should be gone, if only for the grievous offense of making Helen Purcell look competent.

Legislative schedule - week starting 6/14/2026

Short version: Nada.

The lege has adjourned sine die ("without a date") so they won't meet again until January, unless Governor Hobbs issues a special session proclamation.

There will be meetings of various ad hoc, joint, and other non-standing committees...but not this coming week.  A significant number of R members are going to D.C. in order to receive their marching orders from "confer with" the Trump administration.

Budget dropped...finally

Summary: ESAs/school vouchers - protected; public education - hosed.

For those readers with longer attention spans, the AZMirror has an article here, KJZZ has one here.

Committee consideration tomorrow, with floor votes slated for Thursday.

Committees:

The Appropriations Committees of both chamber are scheduled to hold a joint meeting at 10 a.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: 32 bills.  The 16 House bills are HB4154 thru HB4169; the Senate bills are SB1847 thru SB1862.

It's early, but 2030 is coming

...And for the first time in a long time, Arizona Democrats have a deep bench.

Caveat: No elected officials were talked to about this; I truly have no idea what office any of them may be interested in, or even if any person mentioned here is even interested in continuing their political career.

Also, there is an underlying presumption that those seeking reelection to their current offices will succeed in their efforts.  Reality may disagree and doesn't care about presumptions.

This is just idle speculation on my part.

First up - Governor Katie Hobbs, seeking reelection in 2026, will be termed limited in 2030..

May go federal, either U.S. House or U.S. Senate (the seat currently held by Ruben Gallego will be on 2030's ballot).

Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.  Both seeking reelection in 2026, will be termed limited in 2030..

One or both of them may go for Governor or a federal office.  If they go for the same office, I've already decided which one I'll support in a primary, but won't be angry if the other wins - both have done some very good work for the people of Arizona.

Also, the eventual  2026 nominee for Lieutenant Governor will also be in the mix for Governor in 2030.  As I have no idea who that will be, no picture will be posted.

Wildcard:

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.  Current term ends in 2029.  Term limited.

May go federal or statewide, but I don't expect her to primary her ex - she endorsed him in 2024.

Dark horse wildcards:

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero.  Current term ends in 2028.  NOT term limited.

May go federal or statewide, especially if Juan Ciscomani is still in Congress from Southern Arizona.

Tempe Mayor Corey Woods.  Current term ends in 2028.  Not sure if he's term limited.

May go federal or statewide, but may face headwinds/hard feelings over his support for the idea of having the taxpayers of Tempe pick up the tab for an arena for the billionaire-owned Phoenix Coyotes.

Could upend the political calculus for *everyone*:

If U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly wins reelection in 2028 and is on the Democratic presidential ticket in 2028, and that ticket is successful (lots of "ifs" there), that would leave a vacancy in the Senate.  While the Governor of AZ would make an appointment to fill that vacancy, it would only be valid until the next general election.  The winner of that election would then serve out the balance of the term.

Such an election would be in 2030.

Legislative schedule - week starting 6/7/2026

While, on the surface, the coming week is shaping up to be a quiet one, below the surface, there is a lot of activity budget-wise as legislators (and others) try to finish up a state budget before many members of the R caucus travel to D.C. for a propaganda session White House "conference".

From Arizona Agenda, written by Nicole Ludden -

[snip]

About a dozen Republican senators are taking a three-day trip to D.C. for a “White House State Leadership Conference,” where they’ll hear “about President Trump’s America First Agenda and ways states can partner with the administration on shared policy priorities,” Senate Republican spokesperson Kim Quintero said.

Quintero said the conference itself is a single-afternoon event on June 16, but the trip is still planned over three days. Not to worry, “lawmakers remain committed to completing their work and passing a balanced budget before the June 30 constitutional deadline, as they’ve done every year,” she said.

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 become a very bad one.

On Monday, 6/8 - Nada.

)n Tuesday, 6/9 

-

Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government meets at 9 a.m. in SHR109.  On the agenda: no bills/ consideration of one executive nomination - Susan Wallace to the State Liquor Board.

On Wednesday, 6/10 and Thursday, 6/11 - Nada.

Open letters time...

In Friday's mail, I received the first "hit piece" mailer of the cycle (in CD1); I expect there to be many more.

This one was a classic "hit piece" in that it criticized one candidate without identifying one to support, in this case, by tying that candidate to Cheeto.

While it didn't specify which candidate to support, only one of the other candidates has the support of people with pockets deep enough to pay for this.

Which leads to the first part of this - while I haven't decided will gain my vote, I *have* decided which one I won't vote for.  That candidate was endorsed by one of the corporate wings of the national party.

Then news broke yesterday that inspired the 2nd part.

The candidates in CD1 in AZ, from the website of the Arizona Secretary of State (though this could apply in any district in any state):

First, an open letter to the DCCC and other corporate organizations of the Democratic Party (like the DSCC and even the DNC itself):

Dear DCCC (et. al.),

Unless there is a candidate who is NOT a Democrat, stay out of primaries (caveat: if an individual member of that organization wants to endorse someone, that is, of course, fine).  An organizational endorsement of a candidate doesn't help that candidate.  It does say something about that candidate's personal character and who that person would actually work for if elected to office.

Me

Pro tip for the senders of the hit piece: Don't waste money. The piece might be taken more seriously when sent to one person.  The piece that was sent to me was addressed to me or "current resident."  In contrast, one of the candidates in CD1 sent a mailer that I received in Saturday's mail that was addressed to me specifically.

Then the 2nd part -

Dear Democratic candidates and officeholders,

Candidates: Don't campaign as R-lite in an effort to gain the votes of people who would never vote for you.

Officeholders: Congratulations! You've been elected!  Now, don't behave like collaborators when in office.  A great trust has been placed in you; don't betray that trust.

Me

Legislative schedule - week starting 5/31/2026

Some shameless hypocrisy coming up this week, which, perversely, may indicate a real budget proposal is nigh.

Or certain Rs are just looking to get their hate on for civil society in new and ever more depraved ways.

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 b, ad (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 become a very bad one.

On Monday, 6/1 

-

Joint Legislative Audit Committee meets at 9 a.m. in HHR1.  On the agenda: no bills; six items related to special audits.  Two of those items are about looking at the state's Child Care and Development Fund, which seems to be far more oversight for that than they give to ESAs.

On Tuesday, 6/2 

-

Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Elder Abuse meets at 1 p.m. in SHR1.  On the agenda: no bills, no presentations, just some public testimony at this point..

Mark Lamb had a very bad week

Mark Lamb, the former sheriff of Pinal County and erstwhile candidate for Congress in CD5 had a very bad week last week.

From the website of the Arizona Secretary of State (AZSOS), the list of candidates -

Reporters at the Arizona Republic published a story about his habit of sending nude pictures of himself to women.

From MS Now (the Republic article is behind a paywall) -

Growing list of MAGA sex scandals now includes Arizona congressional hopeful

As sure as the sun rises, the list of sex scandals involving a Trump ally continues to grow.

My colleague Steve Benen has been doing a great job tracking the Jan. 6 rioters who have been charged with sex crimes after receiving pardons from President Donald Trump.

[snip]

This excerpt basically sums up the Republic’s reporting:

Digital evidence reviewed by The Republic found the Arizona lawman invited intimate encounters and indulged a yearslong habit of sexting that he later denied or sought to conceal, sometimes with threats or intimidation.

Interviews and screen captures of photos, chats, social media posts and emails shared with The Republic stand in contrast to the image Lamb has built across a decade in public life.

The report begins with a story of one woman who told the Republic that Lamb threatened to sic the Arizona Department of Public Safety on her to prevent her from posting sexual messages he sent her, including nude pictures:

Lamb, who is now running for Congress, appeared to suggest he could control the Arizona Department of Public Safety and stop any investigation if the woman agreed to stop posting on social media, messages and interviews show.

One Facebook message included a link to the state’s revenge-porn statute and said violations are a “Class 4 felony,” screenshots show.

“Please just no more posting,” read the back-to-back messages, accompanied by Lamb’s profile picture. “I will call DPS.”

And if the woman volunteered to take down the posts?

“I will ask for them not to proceed,” came the reply, which added, “My wife says she is okay with that too.”

[snip]

This clearly isn’t a great look for someone who has made his family life and Mormon faith a major part of his political biography.

Alone, that might damning enough, but there was more.

From KNXV, written by Manuelita Beck, dated 5/21 -

Mark Lamb hits primary opponent Daniel Keenan with 'cease and desist' notice

Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb has sent his Republican primary opponent in the Congressional District 5 race a cease-and-desist letter, telling him to stop talking about how Lamb failed to disclose a bankruptcy on legal documents as required by law.

Daniel Keenan, who is facing Lamb in the Republican primary, has talked on the campaign trail about Lamb’s 2018 failure to disclose a bankruptcy on documents filed with the Arizona Corporation Commission for his now-defunct nonprofit, the American Sheriff Foundation.

While there has been talk about Cheeto pulling his endorsement of Lamb over this stuff, I don't believe that will happen.

With Cheeto, things like sexual misconduct, misuse of office, and bankruptcy fraud only happen on days ending in "y". 😀

The one thing that might get Cheeto to pull his endorsement is if it looks like Lamb is on track to lose the primary.

Right now, there are at least three people who are probably wishing this news broke in February, not in May.

Jay Feely, who jumped from the R primary in CD5 to the one in CD1 at Cheeto's behest.

Gina Swoboda, who jumped from the R primary in CD1 to the one for AZSOS when Feely entered the CD1 race.

Alexander Kolodin, who had been the only the only candidate in the R primary u for AZSOS...until Swoboda jumped into it.

Of course Lamb may (or may not - just ask his campaign and his lawyers) cheat on his wife, abuse the authority of his office, and/or commit perjury, but one thing may impact the voters' loyalty to him - his (apparent) loyalty to the district.

From Bluesky -

His "ranch" (OK - "events venue") is in Tennessee.  The website lists the address as 833 N Prather Rd, Michie, TN 38357 .

It didn't exist until just over a month ago.  From the website of the Tennessee Secretary of State -

However, nothing by that name owns property in McNairy County, which is where the "ranch" is located (caveat: the search function on the Tennessee property assessor's website in McNairy County is profoundly lousy, so I may have missed it) .

From the TN property assessor's website -

"American Sheriff LLC" is interesting.

Nothing by that name is listed on the website of the TNSOS.  However, an organization by that name shows up on the website of the Arizona Corporation Commission (AZCC).

From the website of the AZCC -

CD5 is overwhelmingly R in terms of registration, to the point where it's considered a "safe Republican" district, yet weirdly, the person who may be/should be the most hopeful if Lamb emerges from the R primary as the nominee is the eventual D nominee.

This district covers the same area that, in 2000, ousted Republican Jeff Groscost, then the Speaker of the Arizona House and a rising star in R circles after his involvement in Arizona's infamous "alt fuels" debacle.

A Democratic victory there isn't guaranteed (far from it), but is will be easier if Lamb is on the general election ballot.

Maybe IOKIYAR* is "shameless hypocrisy" by another name

 * = "It's OK If You're A Republican"

I think it is, but rarely are Republicans (quite) so open about embracing it.

From Arizona Capitol Times, written by Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, dated 5/19 (emphasis added by me) -

Senate solidifies National Guard leadership despite concerns 

over combat experience

The state Senate voted Monday to confirm Gov. Katie Hobbs’ appointee to head the Arizona National Guard.

The approval came despite objections from Sen. Wendy Rogers, a veteran, who pointed out that John Conley has no combat experience. In fact, the Flagstaff Republican said, he’s never actually commanded any troops anywhere.

Rogers did not dispute that Kerry Muehlenbeck, Conley’s predecessor, was also a lawyer, just like Conley, and also had never led combat troops.

But she said that might have been fine, not only when Ducey appointed Muehlenbeck in 2021 but last year when Hobbs tapped Conley to replace her. Now, she said, everything has changed.

“We’re at war now,” Rogers said.

Now Rogers wishes to use Cheeto's War to Distract from the Epstein Files to justify her giving a free pass to someone appointed by a Republican?

Evidently, Rogers is a multitasker who not only believes that IOKIYAR justifies holding someone appointed by a Democrat to a different standard than someone appointed by a Republican, it should be used to protect pedophilia and the concealment of the same.

Legislative schedule - week starting 5/24/2026

As of right now, there are no committee meetings on the AZ lege's schedule, and while that *may* change, I don't expect that it will.  Not this week, anyway.

Two reasons:

1. There's a holiday early in the week.

2. One of the chambers is on vacation until next week.

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 b, ad (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 become a very bad one. 

On Monday, 5/25 -Holiday.

On Tuesday, 5/26, Wednesday, 5/27, and Thursday, 5/28 - Nada.

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 -