Primary Prepping: LD6 House Democrats

The sister strategy … Things are looking up … And a snow day.

From left to right: Angela Maloney, Rep. Mae Peshlakai, Rep. Myron Tsosie.

Two sisters — one an incumbent and one running her first race — are teaming up in this Democratic primary for two House seats in a Navajo Nation-anchored district that stretches from Four Corners across the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff down to Pinal County. 

And that could spell trouble for Legislative District 6’s other House member, Democratic Rep. Myron Tsosie, who has represented the area since 2019. 

Democratic Rep. Mae Peshlakai was elected in 2022, shortly after her daughter, Jamescita Peshlakai, resigned from the Legislature to take a job in the Department of Interior. Now, the elder Peshlakai is teaming up with her sister, Angela Maloney, to knock out Tsosie. 

The two don’t mention that they’re sisters in their campaign literature,¹ but both hail from the Tangle People Clan, born for Deer Water Clan, with their maternal grandfather from the Salt Clan and maternal grandfather of the Rock Gap Clan, meaning they’re either sisters or cousins. Old news reports indicate they’re sisters, and Jamescita has posted photos with her aunt Angela online. 

Theresa Hatathlie, who was appointed to take over a Senate seat in early 2022, is seeking reelection unopposed. The successors of the primary election for two House seats will face two Republican candidates in November, though the Republicans don’t stand a chance in this Democratic stronghold. 

Registered Democrats more than double the number of registered Republican voters in LD6, and more than 60% of the area’s voters are Native American.

Legislative District 6

Angela Maloney

Maloney is a survivor of several Indian boarding schools and has earned degrees in Environmental Science and Allied Health from Northern Arizona University, and a Masters of Public Health. 

Career experience: She spent her career at the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation. 

Fun fact: She’s also an accomplished rug weaver. 

Rep. Mae Peshlakai

Peshlakai was first elected in 2022, though her family has been involved in Diné politics for decades. 

Career experience: She runs a Navajo handmade jewelry business. 

Fun fact: She has sold jewelry to then-President Gerald Ford, the Beach Boys, John Denver and many others. 

Rep. Myron Tsosie

Tsosie has represented the area since winning his first election in 2018.

Career experience: He’s a member of the Chinle Unified School District Governing Board.

Fun fact: His maternal grandparents are of the Towering House and his paternal grandparents are of the Water Flows Together People, per his legislative bio.

Make your voice heard! Participate in the Arizona State Primary and help shape the future of our community. Contribute to our democracy!

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It’s not so bad: The state ended the fiscal year on a financial high note, thanks to revenue collections in June coming in $248 million above projections, the Arizona Mirror’s Jim Small reports. The final tally was $400 million more than lawmakers expected during budget season in June, but officials won’t know how that affects the budget’s bottom line until they account for June spending.

‘Veepstakes ongoing’: Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly made it on the short list of Democrats who Vice President Kamala Harris is considering to be her running mate, USA Today reports. With an eye on the fast-approaching Democratic National Convention, the Harris campaign asked Kelly and about nine other potential VP candidates for vetting materials. Kelly appears to be near the top of the heap. He came in second place, behind Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, when the New York Times interviewed 250 DNC delegates.

Headbutting politicians: The fallout from a headbutting incident at last week’s meeting of the Legislative District 14 Republican Party just got a little more serious. Gilbert police filed misdemeanor charges against the husband and brother-in-law of Lalani Hunsaker, who is running for a state House seat in LD14, the Daily Independent’s Tom Blodgett reports. Her husband Nathan and his brother Stephen were charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespass, and Nathan got an assault charge on top of that. At the meeting, Nathan appeared to headbutt GOP Chair Andrew Adams after incumbent Rep. Laurin Hendrix insinuated Hunsaker’s son was involved with the Gilbert Goons (there’s no evidence that’s true).

God save Scottsdale: It was a “God help us” moment for Scottsdale Planning Commissioner Diana Kaminski as she joined her colleagues in starting the process to comply with new state housing laws, Scottsdale Progress’ Tom Scanlon reports. City officials expect to see office buildings converted into apartments, countless casitas pop up and turn into short-term rentals, and, in the worst-case scenario, “slums” in some parts of the city.

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Little town, big story: Fans of long-running municipal woes and wins will get a kick out of the Republic’s Alexandra Hardle’s account of the community of Mobile, from Goodyear annexing it in 2007 to the financial crisis nixing a 42,000-home planned community a few years later. Now, the 100 people who live in Mobile, which doesn’t have any paved roads, restaurants, or gas stations, could have a new future if EDF Renewables builds a 2,200-acre solar power generation facility nearby.

Judge stays out of school bathrooms: A Maricopa County judge said disagreements about school policies on transgender students were not the court’s business, 12News’ Kevin Reagan reports. He dismissed a lawsuit against Mesa Public Schools, filed by one of the district’s board members, that claimed the district’s policies were unlawful, saying the plaintiffs didn’t identify any law the district supposedly broke.

Awwwww: Baboons, orangutans, African painted dogs and other animals got a snow day at the Phoenix Zoo when staff brought in 10 tons of ice and turned it into snow to help keep the critters cool, KJZZ’s Christina Estes reports

The Arizona Fraternal Order of Police yanked back its endorsement of Republican Sen. Justine Wadsack after she was pulled over doing 71 mph in a 35 zone.

Well, technically, it was after a later Facebook post in which Wadsack defended invoking legislative privilege to delay the ticket, accused a cop of lying and announced that she’s investigating the Tucson Police Department.

Arizona Fraternal Order of Police President Paul Sheldon called her actions “conduct unbecoming an elected representative.”

“Our endorsement committee reviewed this situation carefully, then voted to retract this endorsement,” he said in a press release. “Like everyone else accused of a traffic violation, Sen. Wadsack is innocent until proven guilty. But attacking police personnel for doing their jobs is simply unacceptable.”

1. And none of the candidates returned our calls.