Author: Tom Pappert

Governor Hobbs Says She ‘Absolutely’ Wants Arizona to Charge Trump over 2020 Election Contest; Her Office Later Claimed She ‘Misunderstood’ the Question

Tom Pappert

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs said she “absolutely” hopes former President Donald Trump will be criminally charged for his actions while contesting the 2020 election results in Arizona.

Hobbs said she would “absolutely” like to see Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes bring new charges against Trump that mirror those in Georgia, telling local media that such charges would hold those who contested the election “accountable” for their actions.

Hobbs said she would “absolutely” like to see Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes bring new charges against Trump that mirror those in Georgia, telling local media that such charges would hold those who contested the election “accountable” for their actions.

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AG Kris Mayes Asks Arizona Supreme Court to Reject New Abraham Hamadeh Trial

Tom Pappert

An attorney representing Attorney General Kris Mayes has asked the Arizona Supreme Court to refuse Abe Hamadeh’s request for a new trial for his election lawsuit contesting his purported loss, and asked the court to force Hamadeh to pay Mayes’ legal fees.

Lawyers for Mayes claimed argued that Hamadeh’s team could have worked to expedite his legal cases, has not asked the current judge for a final decision, and once acceded it did not have enough evidence to overthrow the election.

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Arizona House Launches Censorship Probe after Hobbs’ Big Tech Emails Go Public

Tom Pappert

The Arizona House has launched an investigation into the censorship requests by Governor Katie Hobbs, including those revealed by Arizona Capitol Oversight, and those made by other state government officials.

House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) created the panel late last week, enlisting Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) to serve as its chair. In what Kolodin called “an interesting coincidence,” the panel was created the same day Arizona Capitol Oversight released an 8 page report revealing several of Hobbs’ censorship requests to Facebook and Twitter, including one against a member of the Arizona Legislature.

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Arizona Transgender Birth Certificate Lawsuit Given Class Action Status

Tom Pappert

A class action status has now been granted to a lawsuit alleging that Arizona’s laws concerning the alteration of birth certificates discriminate against transgender individuals, especially minors.

The lawsuit was originally filed against Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) on behalf of three Arizona families, and the court’s decision means its eventual ruling will now “apply to all transgender individuals born in Arizona” who wish to change their birth certificate to reflect their chosen gender identity.

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Judge Tosses Arizona Democrats’ Lawsuit Seeking to Revoke No Labels Party’s Ballot Access

Tom Pappert
Woman Voting

A Maricopa County judge dismissed a lawsuit initiated by the Arizona Democratic Party (AZDP) aiming to revoke the ballot access of the nascent No Labels Party in Arizona prior to the 2024 elections.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper threw out the AZDP lawsuit seeking to strike No Labels from the ballot in 2024, declaring Democrats’ claims that No Labels did not gather petitions properly and should be required to publish financial records do not stand up to scrutiny.

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Kari Lake Reportedly Plans Arizona Senate Bid for October as Poll Shows Her Ahead 31 Points

Tom Pappert

Former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is reportedly planning a campaign for U.S. Senate that will launch in October, with the news breaking after a poll showed her with a 31-point lead over Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb among Arizona Republicans if she should enter the race.

Lake is reportedly “staffing up” for a Senate campaign and will spend much of September conducting interviews and making hires for an October launch, according to a report from Axios. The former news anchor seemed to foreshadow the decision during her time in Ohio with Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, saying she “might have to join” Moreno and Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) in the Senate.

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Arizona Republicans Prefer Kari Lake for Senate in Poll Showing Sheriff Lamb Trails Rep. Gallego

Tom Pappert

Kari Lake, the former gubernatorial candidate, has emerged as the preferred choice for U.S. Senate among a plurality of Arizona Republicans, with a 31-point lead over Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in a recent poll. The data also showed Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) winning a three-way contest between Lamb and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ).

Lake was the first choice of 42 percent of Arizona Republicans, according to a recent Emerson College Polling survey. Pollsters found just 11 percent of respondents preferred Lamb. An additional 7 percent of Republicans support former Senate candidate Blake Masters, 2 percent support businessman Jim Lamon, and 2 percent support Brian Wright.

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Gov. Hobbs Unsure About Canceling Saudi Company’s Arizona Alfalfa Farm Despite Ties to Campaign

Tom Pappert

Governor Katie Hobbs said canceling state leases to a Fondomonte, a foreign company that grows water-hungry alfalfa for export to Saudi Arabia to feed cattle, was complex, asserting that some have asked Arizona to “unilaterally yank one lease” while allowing other, similar leases to continue in a recent interview. The governor did not comment on her campaign’s connection to Fondomonte, but gave detailed reasons why terminating the lease would be a complicated issue.

Hobbs stressed that ending the lease to Fondomonte is complicated because, “It would be treating one leaseholder differently than others,” in an interview with The Arizona Republic. Hobbs continued, “We can’t just unilaterally yank one lease because we don’t like that alfalfa’s going to Saudi Arabia.”

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Joe Rogan: ‘Real Fraud’ Happened in Kari Lake’s Election, ‘Some Real Shenanigans’

Tom Pappert

Podcaster Joe Rogan asserted that “real fraud” happened in Arizona’s 2022 elections, calling the breakdown of election equipment on that day “shenanigans” that impacted the outcome of the race.

Rogan made his remarks about the Arizona election during an interview with Valuetainment founder Patrick Bet-David on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” asking the entrepreneur, “How much election fraud do you think is real,” before adding, “because I don’t think it’s zero.”

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Phoenix Crime Down in 2023, but Car Thefts, Rapes, and Officer Involved Shootings Rise

Tom Pappert

The City of Phoenix and Phoenix Police Department released crime statistics for the first six months of 2023, revealing that overall crime is down 2 percent, even as auto thefts, rape, and police shootings rise in the city.

Numbers released by the city show violent crime is down 2 percent in Arizona’s capital, and property crimes are down 19 percent, when the first six months of 2023 are compared with the same period in 2022. Still, the city reported an increase in rapes, increase in auto thefts, and officer-involved shootings.

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State Representative Kolodin Promises House Review After Arizona AG Mayes Joins Coalition for Government Censorship

Tom Pappert

State Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) promised the Arizona House would examine Attorney General Kris Mayes’ decision to join a coalition of attorneys general seeking to restore the government’s ability to communicate censorship requests to social media websites.

“Labeling speech dangerous and calling for it to be suppressed is the first act of tyrants,” Kolodin wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in response to Mayes’ decision to join the coalition. He added that the Arizona House “will be taking a very close look” at the move.

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U.S. Border Patrol Captures 10,000 Migrants Crossing into Arizona in One Week

Tom Pappert

U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents at the Tucson Sector in Arizona apprehended 10,000 individuals attempting to illegally enter the United States in just one week, according to Chief Patrol Agent John Modlin.

In an update issued Monday, Modlin said there were 10,000 apprehensions of illegal border crossers, 430 rescues, 21 human smuggling events, and 11 narcotics seizures recorded at the Tucson sector between July 20 and July 28. In a tweet, Modlin added that USBP agents also seized 6 pounds of fentanyl, six pounds of methamphetamine, and three firearms.

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Gov. Hobbs’ Closed Door Task Force Recommends 20 Changes to Arizona Elections

Tom Pappert

The Elections Task Force (ETF) created via executive order by Governor Katie Hobbs has recommended 20 changes to Arizona elections, including moves to prevent ballot drop boxes from being observed by citizen groups and restore the voting rights of felons.

Hobbs’ ETF agreed to advance 20 of 22 total proposals it generated to consider during a Thursday meeting that was closed to the public, including members of the media. It was the second full meeting of the group, which Hobbs chairs, since she created it via executive order in January.

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Arizona State University Professors Sent ‘Harassing Emails’ Asking to Join TPUSA Professor Watchlist

Tom Pappert

Arizona State University (ASU) professors who signed a letter labeling conservatives Dennis Prager and Charlie Kirk “purveyors of hate” and seeking to cancel their February 2023 appearance at the university’s now-defunct T.W. Lewis Center seemed to relish in their actions, sending emails to the center’s former executive director asking to be publicly named for their participation.

Former T.W. Lewis Center executive director Ann Atkinson provided emails to The Arizona Sun Times sent by two ASU professors who teach at Barrett, the university’s honors College where the center was housed, including two from a professor seeking to join the Professor Watchlist maintained by Turning Point USA (TPUSA).

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‘I Was Overwhelmed’: T.W. Lewis Founder Cites ‘Hostile’ ASU Professors After Pulling Funding

Tom Pappert

Tom Lewis, the founder and primary funder of the now-defunct T.W. Lewis Center at Arizona State University (ASU), revealed that he pulled his annual contribution of $400,000 due to the open hostility showed to conservative speakers by the majority of the institution’s faculty.

Lewis made the remarks during an appearance on The Mike Broomhead Show, describing “a steady beat down of realization” in which he determined universities “want your donations, but they don’t want your input, and they certainly don’t want your influence in the classroom or even selecting speakers.”

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Arizona Gov. Hobbs Calls ESAs ‘Unsustainable’ over $320 Million Shortfall Despite May Warning

Tom Pappert

Governor Katie Hobbs launched new criticisms against the Empowerment Savings Accounts (ESA) program, the school choice initiative allowing all Arizona families to direct education spending to charter or private schools, calling ESAs “unsustainable” and “unaccountable” after reporting the program is estimated to cause a shortfall in the Arizona General Fund.

Total costs for the program are estimated to be $943 million, according to the governor. This will leave the General Fund with a potential shortfall of $319.8 million. Revenues for the General Fund are estimated to be $17.9 billion.

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ASU Theology Professor Warns University Uses ‘DEI Questions’ to ‘Screen’ Professors in Hiring Process

Tom Pappert

Arizona State University (ASU) theology professor Dr. Owen Anderson claimed the university now uses Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) questions to “screen” and exclude job applicants during the hiring process. Dr. Anderson revealed this information to The Arizona Sun Times when reached to discuss a recent hearing in the Arizona Legislature that examined freedom of expression at the taxpayer-funded institution.

Anderson, who is also a pastor at the Historic Christian Church of Phoenix, told The Sun Times ASU uses “DEI questions in hiring to screen candidates,” which Anderson said “means only candidates that agree with their left wing agenda are hired.”

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Arizona Department of Education Cries Foul over Attorney General Mayes’ ESA Warning

Tom Pappert

The head of the Arizona Department of Education pushed back on a press release issued by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who warned that students participating in the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) program, Arizona’s growing school choice initiative, lose some rights and face unscrupulous vendors or scams after leaving the public school system.

A press release issued by Mayes’ office warned Arizonans that students entering the ESA program “give up rights,” especially from bills aimed at protecting children with disabilities and to access to their children’s educational records. Mayes lamented, “Families should not be denied admission or kicked out of private schools because of a child’s disabilities” and said she wants “families to know that if vendors or private schools” are abusing the program, “the Attorney General’s Office will investigate to the fullest extent of our authority.”

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State Senator Justine Wadsack Warns Governor Hobbs ‘Unwilling’ to Address Homeless as ‘The Zone’ Persists

Tom Pappert

State Senator Justine Wadsack (R-Tucson) blamed Arizona Democrats, namely Governor Katie Hobbs, for the continuing Arizona homeless crisis, even as Phoenix’s “The Zone” continues to persist months after court ordered the city to clear the camp.

In a statement to The Arizona Sun Times, Wadsack warned Democrats are “unwilling to work across the aisle” to address the homeless crisis. “I have personally witnessed the human tragedies that occur in ‘The Zone,’ every day when I’m leaving the Capitol. We have the same issues in Southern Arizona.” Wadsack added, “I’ve personally spoken to those affected by homelessness and creating real solutions that start immediately will be a top priority for me in 2024.”

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Phoenix Asks Judge for More Time to Clear ‘The Zone’ as Most Residents Remain

Tom Pappert

City officials asked a Maricopa County judge for more time to finish clearing “The Zone,” and revealed that its plan to clear the homeless camp will conclude in another 9 months, even as the majority of the camp’s residents remain.

Phoenix officials were in court again this week as attorneys representing local business owners and residents claimed the city was taking too long to clear the homeless encampment, which has reportedly decreased in population by about 300 residents since the city was ordered to clear it in March. About 1,000 people were reported to reside in “The Zone” at its peak, and so far about 300 people have been relocated.

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Pima County Republicans Join Parents Protesting Tucson Drag Queen Story Hour

Tom Pappert

Members of the Pima County Republican Party joined a local church’s protest against a drag queen story hour held at a Tucson book store, receiving public support from an Arizona state senator who passed a bill to restrict children’s access to adult entertainment venues only to have it vetoed by Governor Katie Hobbs.

Tucson parents and members of The Bridge Church were joined by members of the Pima County Republican Party on Sunday to protest a drag queen story hour held at Bookmans, who called the event one of its “most popular childhood literacy events” in its promotional materials. This drag queen story hour appears to have been postponed since March, when the store blamed a “harassment campaign” that was “spearheaded by The Bridge Church” and controversial conservative men’s group the Proud Boys for sparking security concerns.

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Arizona U.S. Senator Mark Kelly ‘Concerned’ by No Labels After Party Holds Event With Joe Manchin

Tom Pappert

Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) confirmed he is “concerned” about the No Labels Party (NLP) of Arizona after the group announced an event with Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) when asked whether the nascent party could cost President Joe Biden the 2024 election.

Kelly made the remarks during an appearance on “State of the Nation” with Jake Tapper, who reminded viewers that Biden won Arizona by “less than half of a percentage point” and asked the former astronaut if he thinks “Manchin and No Labels could potentially cost Joe Biden his reelection?”

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Arizona Democrats Attempt to Have No Labels Party Disclose Donors or Lose Ballot Access

Tom Pappert
Woman voting at booth

The Arizona Democratic Party (AZDP) filed a complaint against the No Labels Party (NLP) last week, seeking to force Arizona’s newest third party to disclose its list of donors or lose its status within the state amid potential Democratic concerns that NLP’s presence on the ballot could help former President Donald Trump win Arizona in 2024.

AZDP’s complaint specifically demands Secretary of State Adrian Fontes suspend NLP until the party discloses its donors. NLP told The Arizona Sun Times that the development amounts to “voter suppression.”

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Arizona Reps Pitch Bill to Stop Biden Drilling Ban That ‘Ignored Navajo Nation’

Tom Pappert

Arizona U.S. Representatives Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) introduced a bill recently that would nullify the Biden administration’s block on oil and gas drilling on federal land surrounding New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon National Historical Park near the Navajo Nation. 

Crane and Gosar introduced the bill in response to a new, 20-year ban the Biden administration placed on oil and grass drilling for what PBS reports is “hundreds of square miles” in the area immediately surrounding the Chaco Canyon National Historical Park.

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Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego Raises $3.1 Million in Race for Sinema’s Senate Seat

Tom Pappert

Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) claims to have raised $3.1 million from mostly small-dollar donors funding his campaign for U.S. Senate, where he hopes to overcome Republican opposition and ultimately unseat Senator Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-I).

Gallego’s campaign sent campaign finance data to 12 News on Thursday, revealing a $3.1 million fundraising haul in the second quarter of 2023. Though less than the $3.7 million Gallego raised in the first quarter, immediately after announcing his campaign, the latest reporting means his campaign has raised nearly $7 million this year.

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Arizona House Speaker, Senate President File Brief to Stop Hobbs’ Taxpayer Funded Child Gender Surgeries

Tom Pappert

Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) and Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) filed an amicus brief on Monday, asking a federal court to align Governor Katie Hobbs’ executive order, which forces government agencies to pay for the gender reassignment surgeries of employees, with a state law banning minors from receiving such treatments.

The amicus brief was filed in Toomey v. State of Arizona, a lawsuit launched in 2019 on behalf of Russell Toomey, an associate professor at the University of Arizona who is transgender, by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). It alleged that Arizona violated federal civil rights statutes and the U.S. Constitution because it “unlawfully discriminates against transgender people” by refusing to pay for “gender-affirming surgery”.

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Hobbs Still Silent on Election Questions after Hurling F-Bomb at Reporter

Tom Pappert

Governor Katie Hobbs continues to keep her silence on key questions regarding the 2022 election in Arizona days after hurling an expletive at a reporter.

Hobbs once again ignored questions about her role as Arizona Secretary of State in the 2022 elections when confronted by Jordan Conradson, a reporter for The Gateway Pundit. She ultimately ordered Conradson to “give it a f**king rest” in a now-viral video posted last week.

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State Rep. Gress: Scottsdale Could ‘Export’ Homeless from ‘The Zone’ to Hotel Near School, Neighborhood

Tom Pappert

State Representative Matt Gress (R-Scottsdale) is sounding the alarm over a $940,000 state grant to house homeless in a Scottsdale hotel, including former residents of “The Zone” and foreign nationals.

Just under $1 million from the $60 million Homeless Shelter and Services Fund, created by Gov. Katie Hobbs in the new Arizona budget, will be spent on 10 hotel rooms dedicated to the homeless of Scottsdale.

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Arizona Secretary of State Subpoenaed in Jack Smith’s Trump Probe

Tom Pappert

Special counsel Jack Smith expanded his Trump probe to Arizona by sending two subpoenas to the Arizona Secretary of State requesting information about 2020 election lawsuits filed by Republicans.

Smith, who so far has brought 37 charges against the former president, issued two subpoenas requesting documents from one election lawsuit brought by Trump’s campaign, and a second by former Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward.

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