Short Attention Span musing

 ...From the  "who cares": file - Former U.S. Senator (and former Democrat) Kyrsten Sinema is helping R CD1 candidate Jay Feely.

From CNN (emphasis added by me) - 

A growing number of prominent Republicans are endorsing Democrats in 2026

[snip]

Retiring Maine Rep. Jared Golden recently announced he would back New York GOP Rep. Mike Lawler for reelection. Former Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who became an independent before retiring from the Senate, backed GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. And former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who also became an independent, is supporting GOP congressional candidate Jay Feely in her state, Axios reported.

But the GOP crossovers for Democrats are more numerous — and come from more interesting places.

note: Axios' original is behind a paywall, so I won't link to it.  CNN did, though.

...From the "whistling past the graveyard" file - While the official inflation rate has been elevating (the "official" rate is 3.7%, but my unofficial eye says reality is very different and higher...but reality doesn't benefit Cheeto or the other Rs), Cheeto has responded by doing the "bungee campaigning" thing in the lead up to the midterm elections.  

From NPR (emphasis added by me)-

Trump promised a swing district blitz. He's going to a lot of very red states

Early in September, President Trump gathered Republicans running in competitive races for a dinner in the White House Rose Garden. Prime aged beef burgers were on the menu as the president made a pledge to spend the final month before the midterms campaigning for the approximately 30 Republican candidates in attendance.

"I'm going to go to every one of those 35 places and we're going to see if we can get everyone elected," Trump said confidently.

The White House hasn't clarified which 35 places the president was talking about that night. Since then, Trump has campaigned with fewer than a third of those candidates. Rather than focus on swing states and swing districts as the president said he would, his travel schedule has taken him to a lot of Republican territory.

Rest assured though, Cheeto can multitask and help the American people...if he wants to.

Breaking: he has other priorities.

From WRC-TV (the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C.) (emphasis added by me) -

Trump says he will close historic DC golf course for 15 months of renovations

President Donald Trump on Sunday announced plans to close a historic public golf course in the nation's capital for 15 months and redevelop it despite an ongoing court challenge to his long-sought renovation.

Trump posted on social media about his intent to shutter the East Potomac Golf Course, not far from the White House, starting Nov. 15 to make it “one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World.”

A judge last week, however, ordered a halt to his redevelopment plans until at least Oct. 26 after scolding the government for starting a large-scale tree removal at the course over a holiday weekend while providing little notice to the court or the plaintiffs trying to stop the makeover.

Gotta have priorities.  

Evidently, the American people aren't among his or the Rs.

...From the "be careful what you wish for" file - a lot of people expect the Democratic Party to do well in the midterm elections, gaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives, maybe the U.S. Senate,  and maybe even one or both chambers of the AZ legislature (not going to predict that until it actually happens, though).

No matter what happens in November, though, the Ds will face some serious political headwinds going into 2028.

1. Voters may (OK, *will*) expect their lives to be perfect after the election  Will they improve?  Certainly.  But *perfect* isn't going to happen.  In 2028, I expect Rs to make campaign pronouncements like "our reality was bad, but our promises are great, so you vote for us."

2. The Rs will still control the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court and will remain in a position  to block any efforts to benefit the American people.

Q3 reports are in (federal edition)

 This will cover certain federal-level candidates.

Commentary:

This covers the races that I believe are even the least bit competitive.

CD5 (Lamb (R) v. Lee (D) ) shouldn't be on this list as it's an overwhelmingly red district, but he's so morally-challenged that he may be abandoned by LDS voters.

Feely is in trouble in CD1, so now he's taking money from (alleged) crooks

From AZMirror, written by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, dated 9/15 (emphasis added by me) -

Criminal probe targets PAC funded by charter school management company

A political action committee founded by the head of one of Arizona’s largest charter school networks is facing a criminal investigation for allegedly violating campaign finance law by using funds from his company to donate directly to Republican candidates. 

Glenn Way is the CEO of Charter One LLC and the chairman of the Educational Freedom Fund PAC, which contributed $25,500 to Republican candidates for the Arizona House of Representatives and Senate in the 2022 and 2024 elections. 

[snip]

The Attorney General’s Office said its investigation into the Educational Freedom Fund is ongoing and declined to comment. 

Way's largesse doesn't benefit legislative candidates.

From an FEC filing from candidate Feely -

I don't recommend that anyone holds their breath while waiting for Feely and his campaign to return this particular contribution.

Legislative schedule - week starting 10/18/2026

Basically, a duplicate of last week - there's nothing on the schedule.

However, schedules can and do change, especially late in the week.

So pay attention to things.

Q3 reports are in (statewide edition)

This will cover certain state-level candidates

Some commentary:

- R candidate for treasurer Elijah Norton is still trying to buy the office.

In Q3, he reported loaning his own campaign $1.225 million (that was from the report's summary page, but the loans he itemized for the report totaled $1.425 million.)  

His total 3Q contributions are from that summary page, but they may not be accurate, hence the asterisk next to the total (*); the loans total is added up by me.  The loan total that I added up exceeds the total contributions reported.

Norton has other problems, too.  In Q3, he raised less than $30K from individuals while his Democratic opponent, Nick Mansour, raised over $200K from individuals.

In addition, he reports having less than 1/12 of the cash on hand than Mansour has (not a huge problem given Norton's personal deep pockets.

- A significant chunk of R nominee for governor Andy Biggs' money came from the committee of his Lt. Governor pick, Sine Kerr.  I'm not going to speculate on whether that affected the decision to add her to the ticket.

10/15? Campaign Finance reports are due. So on 10/14, the GOP will go all Catholic and chant 'Ave Maria'

For those who don't know any Latin, "chant 'Ave Maria' " is another way of saying "throw a Hail Mary".

Saw an email today from the Arizona Republican Party.

On Wednesday, October 14, Cheeto will visit uber-red Bullhead City, Arizona, which is part of the equally red Mohave County.

From the email:

I do *not* recommend going (actually, I heartily recommend avoiding the area completely - it's not going to safe for normal people there).

If one does go, I recommend blending in - wear a certain red baseball cap indicating both a low IQ and EQ or simply dress up as an empty seat.

Fun with campaign lit... Part 5 - Iron Pyrite edition.

Actually, I'm not sure this should really be considered as campaign lit as it's not pro- or con- a specific candidate.

Found this, from the LD8 Republicans, in my door after I went shopping yesterday.

It was a list of candidates supported, and judges opposed, by them.  They favor all statewide props and opposed the local props that they mentioned. They did not mention the county prop or any school district props.

(Not) Breaking news: all of the candidates they support are Republicans.

There was one surprise, however (OK, it was more surprising for its brazenness than for anything else) -

There three candidates for the seat on the Phoenix City Council representing my district, district 8.

Two of them, the incumbent Hodge Washington, and one of her MAGA challengers, Maupin, are Black.

Her other MAGA challenger, Abasciano, is White.

So, naturally, the LD8 Republicans ignored the Black MAGA candidate and supported the White one -

They *are* Republicans, after all.

And the "iron pyrite" reference in the title?

Iron pyrite is better known as "fool's gold".

10/15 is going to be a big date for campaign finance reporting

While all of the reporting periods end on 9/30, some of the reporting periods start on 7/5 while others start on 7/22.

All of the reports are due on 10/15, it's possible that some will be filed before then.  However, most will be filed on the 15th to minimize the amount of time opponents have to examine

From the website of the Arizona Secretary of State -

Legislative schedule - week starting 10/11/2026

Basically, a duplicate of last week - there's nothing on the schedule.

Fun with campaign lit... Part 4

Note: Both pieces were addressed to people who don't currently live here, though one included "Or Current Resident" on the addressee line.

...The first piece of PAC-sent lit was paid for by "Reproductive Freedom for All Freedom Fund".  It was a pro-Amish Shah piece for the CD1 race in Arizona.

Pluses: 

It actually names Shah's opponent, Jay Feely

It has a pic of Feely with the person who he will actually work for, if elected, Cheeto.

Minuses:

It doesn't have have a pic of Shah on a pro-Shah piece.

...The other one, a pro-Feely piece, was sent by Elon Musk's America PAC -

Pluses:

The pic of Feely is much larger than on previous pieces sent by America PAC.

Minuses:

It's more than a little generic in saying what Feely will do, if elected - stand up, safeguard, balance, and strengthen?  Really? "Walk and chew gum at the same time" wasn't available?

The brazenness of the hypocrisy demonstrated here is stunning.  Rs *hate* voting by mail, but here they're encouraging their supporters to, wait for it, "vote by mail."

Not sure if it's a plus or a minus:

Nowhere does the piece mention Amish Shah, Feely's opponent.

Fun with campaign lit... Part 3

This one is pretty mundane as it sent out by the candidate.  So mundane that I have no snark at the ready.  Candidates are boring; PACs are much more fun.  Trust me. 😀

The next post will be far more interesting.

The lit piece is for the City Council race is Phoenix-

Note: Washington is my representative on the Phoenix City Council

Proposition 320: Vague, part 2

Prop 320 started out as the brainchild of MAGA Sen. and grifter Jake Hoffman, starting life as SCR1032.

A debate on the topic of Prop 320 took place.  I don't know either participant personally.

The ballot language, for all props, from the Arizona Secretary of State, is here.

As written, if approved by the voters, Prop 320 would all school districts in Maricopa and Pima counties, as well as larger districts outside of those counties to spend at least 60% of their budgets on "direct instructional expenses".

The problem is that term is never defined.

The penalties for school districts that don't comply are well-defined, though, 

As is the fact that compliance or noncompliance is determined by the legislatively-controlled Auditor General's office.

I've urged people to vote against *all* of the statewide propositions, but this might be made more palatable with two minor changes -

1. List specific definitions/meanings for "direct instructional expenses".

2. Apply it to *all* schools that receive public funding in any way, shape, or form.

I'd still vote "no", as blanket, "one size fits all" solutions for nonexistent problems never work, but it might be more palatable to voters who are less discerning than me.

Proposition 144: "Vague" is on AZ's ballot this fall

Actually, all of the ballot questions show that vague, stereotypes, and fear are on the ballot.

Prop 144 started out as the MAGA rep and attorney Alexander Kolodin-crafted HCR2001.

Note: AZPM has the video of a debate on Prop 144 here.

Caveat: There were two people speaking at the debate, and I know one of them. Randy Keating, a member of the Tempe City Council, spoke in opposition to the proposition.  I've known Councilman Keating for many years.  However, I thought Prop 144 was a bad idea *long* before I was aware that he was part of the organized opposition to the measure.

Kolodin is running for Secretary of State, a position that he can use to turn his anti-democracy ideas into public policy without the rest of the legislature, the governor, or even the Arizona Bar Association getting in his way.

Note2: There was a debate between incumbent AZ Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes and Kolodin. Two things were obvious from that debate:

1. Kolodin is woefully unqualified for the job.  Watch the debate.

2. Fontes and Kolodin *really* don't like each other. Watch the debate.

Anyway, back to Prop 144.  Not only is it aimed very specifically at people who vote by mail (which includes me, and has for over 20 years), at no point does it explain how voters will comply with its provisions, if it is approved by voters.

Nor does it establish a way for it to pay for the requirements it seeks to impose on county recorders.

Also, I thought constitutions (state and national) were about restricting governments.  Kolodin (et. al.) wishes to use the Arizona Constitution to restrict the people of Arizona.

Edit to add:

Apparently, Cheeto now likes mail-in voting...at least when it's done by his adherents -

end edit

Legislative schedule - week starting 10/4/2026

The coming week will see a return to normal, as in there is nothing on the schedule at the AZ legislature.  And I expect that there won't be until after the election.  Unless a really pressing matter comes up.

Ballot questions: school districts

 At the beginning of September, I wrote a post urging all voters to vote "No" on all statewide ballot questions.

However, the statewide questions won't be the only ones considered by voters.

Many counties and municipalities will also have questions on the ballot; and unless they're related to Flock cameras (and similar technology) and/or data centers, I almost certainly won't cover the ones that aren't on my particular ballot.

Also on the ballot will be many questions from school districts across the state.

Note: I generally support school district ballot questions.  The Republicans in the state legislature are well-known for woefully and maliciously underfunding public education.  It's incumbent on the residents of those districts to adequately fund their schools (and to stop giving the Rs a majority in the lege, but that may be a topic for another post).

Note2: I live in the Balsz school district and will vote "Yes" on my ballot, but not all districts are as well-run.  I recommend that all voters make their own choices.

From the website of the Maricopa County School Superintendent -

There are 27 districts in Maricopa County with questions on the ballot (some districts will have more than one question).

From the website of the Pima County School Superintendent -

From the website of the Yavapai County School Superintendent -

 

From the website of the Pinal County School Superintendent -

The website of the Mohave County School Superintendent doesn't list any school district ballot questions.

The above counties are the five most populous counties in AZ; there are 10 other counties here.  If you live in one of them, or anywhere in the state of Arizona for that matter, do your due diligence on school district elections in your area.