State Representative Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale) created a stir on the floor of the State House Representatives on Thursday when he accused the Scottsdale Taser company Axon of promising legislators funding for their reelection campaigns if they vote in favor of legislation benefiting the company. Although the City of Scottsdale has seen a large increase in high-density apartment housing due to the previous left-leaning Scottsdale City Council — which resulted in their ouster by angry voters last election — Axon got legislators to run a bill, SB 1543, that would change zoning laws so it could build 1,900 more high-density apartments by its worksite.
Chaplik (pictured above) said during a meeting of the Committee of the Whole discussing the bill, “I’ve been here five years, and I know long before that when we carve out special legislation for one one special interest to profit, that is wrong. When we let them come here and talk to every one of these members, which I will admit, three or four of them have come to me and said they were essentially offered campaign funds if they vote yes for their next election by the company, please step up and come forward if that’s happened to you. I’ve never seen something so scandalous in my five years down here.”
Arizona law states that bribery of elected officials is a class 4 felony for both parties. A.R.S. 13-2602 provides in part, “A person commits bribery of a public servant or party officer if with corrupt intent: 1. Such person offers, confers or agrees to confer any benefit upon a public servant or party officer with the intent to influence the public servant’s or party officer’s vote, opinion, judgment, exercise of discretion or other action in his official capacity as a public servant or party officer; or 2. While a public servant or party officer, such person solicits, accepts or agrees to accept any benefit upon an agreement or understanding that his vote, opinion, judgment, exercise of discretion or other action as a public servant or party officer may thereby be influenced.”
A.R.S. 16-905 sets limits on contributions to candidates. Article 4, Part 2, Section 19 of the Arizona Constitution states, “No local or special laws shall be enacted in any of the following cases … Granting to any corporation, association, or individual, any special or exclusive privileges, immunities, or franchises.”
Chaplik appeared on The Afternoon Addiction with Garret Lewis afterwards and expounded further. “Three or four of them have come to me and said they were essentially offered campaign funds if they vote yes for their next election by the company. Wow. Come forward. If that’s happened to you, I’ve never seen something so scandalous in my five years down here.”
He said he had to call security on Axon CEO Rick Smith. He said Smith told him, “‘I am going to end your political career for opposing my bill.’ I had to call security over because he was getting aggressive with me. It was his verbal attack. Then he berated my core business that I do for a living.”
Chaplik said legislators are terrified of retaliation for voting against the bill. “When it went to a committee very quickly on both sides of the aisle, I had members say I am not going to be the ‘no,’” he said. “There’s fear running through members down there.”
Lewis responded and speculated that it “should trigger an instant investigation.” However, he said Attorney General Kris Mayes is “too busy going after alternate electors and doing whatever Democrat NGOs or nonprofits, what the party wants … we’re going to sue Trump for breathing or something.”
Chaplik explained how the bill came about. “They bought like, 74 acres of property off the 101 in Scottsdale, and it was zoned for commercial [use]. After they bought it, they asked the Scottsdale City Council, ‘Can you rezone this for residential as well?’ And the reason they asked that after they bought it, because if before they would have bought it, they said, ‘We want to turn this into residential as well as commercial,’ they’d have to pay $150 million to the state of Arizona that goes straight to Arizona education, straight to the schools…” He emphasized that the bill gives Axon a break from $150 million that would have gone to the state’s schools.
The previous left-leaning Scottsdale City Council agreed to rezone it for Axon. But the people of Scottsdale didn’t, and 27,000 signed a referendum to get the rezoning on the ballot for a vote.
Chaplik went on, “And they got somebody to write a bill that says Arizona residents would lose the right to challenge any zoning change. … They sculpted [it] down to basically make this just for Axon because, like, OK, maybe we shouldn’t take everybody’s right away.”
Chaplik said Axon’s lobbyists have been at the state capitol every day for the last 40 days. Their security officer stands outside the offices of the legislators when they are meeting with them. He said it will be the largest apartment complex built in state history. He said these decisions should be at the city level, not getting the state to force them through.
He also expressed concern that Axon told legislators they needed 380 apartments for their employees, but the bill is for 1,900 apartments. He said they have rejected sensible amendments, such as excluding short term 6-month rentals. Nor would they accept an amendment that would require them to build the headquarters first. A political insider told The Arizona Sun Times this is likely because Axon — which threatened to move its operations to Florida if the bill doesn’t pass — intends to move the company to Florida anyway, and really only wants the massive apartment complex.
Chaplik explained that the bill was tailored to only benefit Axon such as by having it apply to only cities with 200,000 to 300,000 city residents and international companies with more than 2,000 employees. Additionally, while Axon said it will bring 5,500 jobs, they’re all administrative, accounting, and lawyer jobs, not high tech jobs.
He concluded, “And when we’re talking about a controversial bill like this, it should really be slowed down. Yeah, we should have more public input. We should actually be more transparent, and we should actually honor some of these amendments that are common sense, trying to just hold them compliant to what they’re saying they’re going to do.”
New Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky issued a press release Thursday expressing her opposition to the bill. “This legislation undermines the democratic process by nullifying 26,000-plus signatures of concerned Scottsdale residents, collected by grassroots activists, to refer the matter to the ballot box. Our residents’ voices are being silenced by the legislators who continue to support this bill,” she said. “SB 1543 disregards the rights of Scottsdale residents and sets a troubling precedent depriving citizens of their constitutionally proscribed election based on the demands of a single corporation. This is shocking.”
Scottsdale City Councilman Barry Graham emailed all state senators on Saturday urging them to vote no. “Axon’s request for nearly 2,000 apartments were approved during a lame duck session, and 4 of the 5 supporters were not returned to City Council — meaning they wouldn’t face electoral accountability,” he said. “In response, 27,000 residents rallied — setting a record for exercising their constitutional right to refer the matter to ballot. Since then, Axon turned to the legislature, hiring a legion of lobbyists to craft and push legislation that undermines voting rights to force approval of the largest zoning entitlement in Arizona’s history — all to benefit one corporation.”
Political insiders told The Sun Times that this might be the biggest scandal in the Arizona Legislature since AzSCAM in 1991. Legislators were caught accepting bribes for votes on gaming bills. It forced the resignation of 10 legislators and seven were convicted of crimes.
The bill passed the State House 40-19 on Thursday and is up for consideration in the State Senate.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter / X. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Rep Joe Chaplik” by TurningPointUSA.
