Note: Please see update below. Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery’s desperate attempt to gin up controversy and milk the just-passed anniversary of 9/11 by employing a controversial ex-FBI agent to teach cops and prosecutors about Muslim extremism has taken a wacky turn. John Guandolo, the ex-FBI agent who reportedly left…
During his regular Wednesday press conference, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery reaffirmed his commitment to bringing a crew of Islamaphobic crackpots to town on the taxpayer’s dime, supposedly to instruct prosecutors and law enforcement on threats presented by Muslim extremists. The training session, titled “Understanding the Threat,” which is to…
Tuning into The Russell Pearce Show on Saturday nights on Phoenix talk-radio station KKNT 960 AM can be illuminating. For example, on one recent episode, the recalled former state Senate president got off on the subject of public assistance in all its various forms. He suggested that if people would…
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is sponsoring a training session for its prosecutors and other law enforcement officials on Muslim extremism, taught by individuals described as having an anti-Muslim agenda by various civil rights organizations. The all-day event, scheduled for September 19 at a hotel in Tempe, is titled “Understanding…
So how does a crazy lady like Sylvia Allen become a member of the Arizona Legislature? Some dude has to fall off a horse. Literally. Back in 2008, it was state Senator Jake Flake, uncle of now-U.S. Senator Jeff Flake and former Speaker of the state House, who got bucked…
Republican congresswoman wannabe Wendy Rogers has drawn first blood in the general election contest for Congressional District 9, represented by Democrat Kyrsten Sinema. This morning, Rogers, who recently whupped ex-ASU quarterback, ex-NFL player Andrew Walter in the GOP primary by an astonishing 21 points, blasted as “sickening” and “exploitative” a…
Of the many joys of primary day 2014, the top of my list and the most satisfying was Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne’s delicious seven-point defeat by former state gaming director and fellow Republican Mark Brnovich. The only thing I’d enjoy more would be watching Horne, outfitted in prison stripes,…
It is a true irony that at a time of historically low violent-crime rates in America, so many Americans are critical of police nationally. According to a recent Pew Research Center/USA Today poll, Americans by a 2-to-1 margin say cops across the country “don’t do a good job in holding…
Primary day 2014 was a beautiful day for moderation in Arizona politics. A perfect day? Hardly, but disappointments in the Republican field offer opportunities for Arizona Democrats in the general election. Former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith’s second-place finish to state Treasurer Doug Ducey was anticipated, though the severity of the…
Phoenix Police Chief Daniel Garcia waxed eloquent during an unusual Saturday press conference, where he announced that the Arizona Department of Public Safety would be tasked with the criminal investigation of the shooting death of Michelle Cusseaux. Four police officers responded to Cusseaux’s West Phoenix apartment on August 14, ostensibly…
Please see updates and Horne’s concession statement at the end of this post. Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne stubbornly refused to concede as his Republican primary foil, former state gaming director Mark Brnovich, did a victory lap Tuesday night at the Hyatt in downtown Phoenix, where GOPers gathered to watch…
It’s “Candidates Day” at North Scottsdale Christian, a conservative, non-denominational place of worship just north of Pima Road and Dynamite Boulevard, where about 60 Democratic, Libertarian, and Republican candidates have assembled on a recent Sunday to introduce themselves. The politicians are allowed to set up tables with campaign literature in…
I’m on deadline at the moment, but I would be remiss if I did not alert New Times’ readers to an e-book by Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s ex-Deputy Chief Brian Sands, titled Arpaio De Facto Lawman. Sands left the MCSO last year after 30 years with the agency, following on the…
Leslie Lara figures Tio Sam Taxes, owned by local Republican bigwig wannabe Erik Ketelaar, owes her about $1,267, the combined amount of her federal tax refunds for 2012 and 2013. The company, which at one time had six locations in Phoenix and Mesa, heavily marketed its services to Hispanics, advertising…
The noose around Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne’s neck just tightened a little. On Monday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Mark Brain rejected Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne’s bid for a temporary restraining order against County Attorney Bill Montgomery, whose office is investigating, among other things, allegations that Horne has…
I have a confession to make: I love “dark money.” When it’s used to blast someone I don’t like, that is. In the hands of Tyler Montague, president of the Arizona Public Integrity Alliance, dark money is truly a beautiful thing. Montague is one of the folks in Mesa instrumental…
Two of recalled former state Senator Russell Pearce’s favorite people are getting skewered in some tasty TV attack ads: Pearce’s revenge candidate for state Senate in Legislative District 25, Ralph Heap, and Pearce’s longtime ally, current state House Representative and wannabe-state Senator John Kavanagh in LD 23. Heap, an orthopedic…
Why is Sheriff Joe Arpaio endorsing Arizona’s sleazy Attorney General Tom Horne in the GOP primary? I’ll tell you why: because Arpaio always likes to have a prosecutor or two in his hip pocket. Should Horne lose the Republican primary to former Arizona gaming director Mark Brnovich, you can bet…
In Arizona, you’ve got to get the justice you can when you can get it. That’s because in this state, particularly when it comes to public corruption or the abuse of power, you might as well wait for Godot if you think the wicked will be punished as part of…
Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne has a fierce following among certain women. In fact, the guy’s got a whole cadre of gals willing to do his bidding, a veritable Praetorian Guard of political hatchet-ladies. Kathleen Winn, Horne’s outreach director and co-defendant in his campaign finance case, comes to mind. A…
Fortunately, I’ve not had to get too close to Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne lately, as the stench of desperation coming off the guy is practically visible, like the cloud of dirt that followed around Charlie Brown’s pal Pig Pen in the old Peanuts comic strip. Horne clearly hopes a…
GOP gubernatorial hopeful Christine Jones held a tele-town hall Monday night to address criticisms being leveled at her campaign from fellow Republicans. She deserves points for the effort, though with National Review Online digging up an old Facebook post of hers from 2012, encouraging people to “get excited” about Obama’s…
