The Championship
The madness ends with you … A supreme decision is coming … And they did what in the Senate chambers?
Today’s the big day.
The UConn Huskies won last night’s NCAA championship game in Glendale.
But the winner of Arizona’s most important March Madness bracket — the Arizona Agenda’s March Madness bracket for politicians — is still undecided.
The championship is in your hands!
In case you missed it, Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke and Democratic state Rep. Judy Schwiebert have triumphed through our evaluations for public favor, responsiveness, transparency and accessibility, beating out 62 other Arizona lawmakers, mayors, statewide officials and members of Congress to make it to our championship.
For the champion round of our prestigious games, we asked the final two competitors to sit down for an interview to answer some basic questions about their positions. (Plus, we found out why Schwiebert is booking it to New York after the legislative session ends, and learned about Hartke’s secret past life in northern Minnesota.)
Take a minute to get to know these two Arizona political champs, then cast your vote for who you think should take it all.
Voting closes at 2 p.m., so vote now!
Now that we’re finally over the hangover from drinking with Democratic Rep. Analise Ortiz last week, we’re ready to announce our next political drinking partner.
Republican state Rep. Alex Kolodin was, perhaps, the most surprising politico who offered to film a boozy podcast episode with us.
If you don’t recognize the name, he’s an up-and-coming freshman lawmaker from Scottsdale — and a lawyer who represented Abe Hamadeh1 and the Arizona Republican Party, among others, in bogus election lawsuits.
Not our typical audience… But apparently he’s a fan of the Agenda!
Kolodin is a fascinating character who is sometimes so far right that he aligns with the far left. He’s controversial, but he also has a practical side, passing a hard-fought water bill in his first year that helped turn the taps on for the Rio Verde Foothills after Scottsdale cut off the water.
We should have lots to talk about!
We’ll be filming at Valley Bar in early May.
Stay tuned for details.
The big decision: The Arizona Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling in the long-awaited abortion case this morning, putting an end to the question of which law rules Arizona: the 2022 law, which would limit abortions to 15 weeks, or the 1864 law, which makes abortion of any kind a crime. The Republic’s Ray Stern has the backstory of the suit. Meanwhile, after appointing enough justices to overturn Roe v. Wade, former President Donald Trump declared he thinks abortion law should be an issue for states to decide, implying — but not saying — that he wouldn’t sign an outright federal ban. And the Washington Post has a fun rundown of how Trump’s position on abortion has shifted over the years, from being “very pro-choice” to believing there has to be some kind of punishment for women who seek abortions.
Local race rundowns: Local newspapers are digging into the nomination filings for local candidates now that the ballot is mostly set. The Scottsdale Progress’ Tom Scanlon has a breakdown of the city council and mayoral race. The Nogales International’s Angela Gervasi and Daisy Zavala Magaña run through the Santa Cruz County and Nogales city candidates, respectively. The Daily Courier’s Cindy Barks has the list for Yavapai County. The Herald Review’s Terri Jo Neff explains why David Stevens’ reelection campaign to the Cochise County Recorder’s Office is the hottest race in town. Finally, Jim Nintzel has the list of applicants to replace Steve Kozachik on the Tucson City Council in the Tucson Sentinel.
It takes a lot of reporters to keep an eye on all of Arizona’s politicians. Upgrade to a paid subscription to help us put more boots on the ground this election season.
A phone call would go a long way: Republic columnist Elvia Diaz is very curious about Democratic Rep. Marcelino Quiñonez’s abrupt resignation from the Legislature last week, saying he’s angling for the appointment to the District 7 Phoenix City Council seat — which is seemingly not allowed by the state Constitution. Diaz says nobody will answer her questions about the appointment.
“How are we supposed to trust a process where nobody is speaking publicly and when apparently it is an open-secret that Quiñonez already has the appointment in the bag — even before submitting his name?” she writes.
Still cleaning up that mess: Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill to increase scrutiny and regulation on assisted living homes following the massive sober living home scam that disproportionately targeted Native Americans, per Capitol scribe Howie Fischer. Meanwhile, two Diné families are suing the state, saying their family members are dead because former Attorney General Mark Brnovich knew about the ongoing scam and did nothing to investigate or stop it, per the Navajo Times’ Boderra Joe.
Plumbing problem: When water officials flushed a whole lot of water through Glen Canyon last year, they might have damaged underground tubes that will be critical to keeping Colorado River water flowing downstream should Lake Powell drop to certain levels, the Arizona Daily Star’s Tony Davis reports. Davis notes he’s been asking questions for weeks and getting the runaround from the Bureau of Reclamation, which finally acknowledged the problem.
La radio es poderosa: Latinos are a major target for both political parties, and election fraud conspiracy peddlers, the Associated Press’ Christine Fernando and Anita Snow write. In addition to radio, Latinos often rely more on new media distribution methods, like podcasts, Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube, where misinformation can thrive unchecked.
“We are at the front lines of fighting misinformation in our communities,” said María Barquín, program director for the nonprofit that runs Radio Campesina, which is ramping up its election misinformation coverage.
Try someplace cold: Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega doesn’t want the Arizona Coyotes to build a stadium there2 and is pulling no punches in criticizing the idea, ABC15’s Clayton Klapper notes. After Tempe voters vetoed a plan to move the team there last year, the Coyotes may leave the state altogether if this plan falls through.
The Arizona Senate is a place for serious floor votes, heated debates and impassioned speeches.
Today, before the incoming Supreme Court abortion ruling, it was also used for full-out evangelical prayer grounds by anti-abortion activists, according to Democratic strategist Tony Cani.
We’ve seen a lot of prayers on the Senate floor, but speaking in tongues was a new one.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Kolodin represented Kari Lake in her election lawsuit.
The land the team is eyeing is technically in Phoenix, but it borders Scottsdale.
Wow. You're going to interview the "Blow me" guy? Hard pass for me.
C’mon. Alex Kolodin?!? Why give an election denier any attention or oxygen? Is it because he’s a fan of the Agenda? SMH