For the average (pardon the pun) Joe, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s a hard guy to get a hold of. As for his opponent in next year’s GOP primary for sheriff, Scottsdale Lieutenant Mike Stauffer: not so much.Stauffer, in our experience, welcomes any question thrown at him. He doesn’t sugarcoat…
Congressman Ben Quayle took a beating from constituents during a town hall meeting in Anthem back in May. Now, the congressman is catching even more heat, this time for not having town hall meetings at all — that constituents don’t have to pay to attend, anyway.Congress is in recess for the…
Phoenix mayoral candidate Wes Gullett, who just today said he’d walk away from his lobbying firm if elected mayor, included this nugget in his press release. “I hope that Mr. Stanton will live by his pledge and not have any community property interests in lobbying firms as well,” Gullett said.”Community…
Phoenix lobbyist Wes Gullett now pledges to walk away from his lobbying firm if elected mayor of Phoenix.”I will divest my entire interest from my company,” he says in a statement released this morning.Gullett has come under fire since he stepped into the 2011 Phoenix mayor’s race for being a…
State Senator Scott Bundgaard pleaded no contest this morning to a misdemeanor endangerment charge stemming from a February scuffle on the side of a Valley freeway with his now ex-girlfriend Aubry BallardInitially, Bundgaard was charged with one count each of reckless assault and endangerment for the freeway fracas that resulted…
At Phoenix’s mayoral debate, candidates offered up many of the same talking points you can find on their websites. A snapshot:Mayoral candidate Wes Gullett swipes at fellow candidate Councilman Claude Mattox, chairman of city’s Public Safety Committee, because Phoenix still hasn’t hired a police chief — four months after Phoenix Police Chief Jack…
Just before candidates introduced themselves, a couple of dozen individuals wearing Jennifer Wright T-shirts walked out of Phoenix Chamber of Commerce-sponsored mayoral debate at Phoenix Symphony Hall.Mayoral candidates Wright and Anna Brennan were not allowed to participate in the debate because they didn’t meet all the criteria set by the sponsors, including raising…
Vice Mayor Thelda Williams and Phoenix City Councilmen Bryan Jeffries and Michael Nowakowski plan to undo a deal that gave a nearly $100 million tax break to Chicago-based developer Thomas J. Klutznick.The trio are having a press conference at 2 p.m. outside of City Hall.Jeffries, recently appointed to the City Council…
We reported yesterday on the questionable ethics demonstrated by Phoenix mayoral candidate Peggy Neely as she helped the Klutznicks, Chicago-based developers who were filling her campaign coffers with political donations.Check out the story, now updated with some links to excerpts from the original court records and exhibits, depositions and e-mails…
After Arizona lawmakers passed SB1070, calls for action by immigration activists were heard loudly in California.San Francisco and Los Angeles announced boycotts against the state — but reality quickly set in when city leaders realized such plans might come back to hurt them. As L.A. Weekly writer Gene Maddaus points…
Phoenix mayoral candidate Peggy Neely pledges to rein in the influence of developers at City Hall to strengthen ethics in government — but certain of her past actions as a public official don’t conform with her new political message. Especially the former councilwoman’s dealings with CityNorth, a $1.8 billion mixed-use community in north Phoenix, and its…
Governor Jan Brewer wants to the U.S. Supreme Court to take a look at Arizona’s contested immigration law, SB1070, following the law’s shoot-downs in lower courts. “I am hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court will choose to take this case and issue much-needed clarity for states, such as Arizona, that…
Art “El Tudy” Olivas hates New Times.He’s picketed in front of our building, scolded us for our coverage of former TV pitchman J.D. Hayworth’s unsuccessful candidacy in last year’s U.S. Senate primary, and called us communists. That said, and despite Art’s inability to successfully spell “communist” on his protest signs,…
We spoke to Scottsdale Lieutenant Mike Stauffer this afternoon about the shooting at Tent City early yesterday morning.In case you missed it, click here to read about a Tent City inmate who was hit with shrapnel after a bullet was fired at the tents from about 120 yards away from…
For months, there’s been a lot of speculation about who will challenge Congressman Jeff Flake in his bid to take over the Senate seat getting vacated by Senator Jon Kyl next year. Finally, someone’s actually pulled the trigger and will challenge the Congressional beefcake.Wil Cardon, a 40-year-old Mesa investment manager…
Mesa Community College grad Olivia Cortes is a candidate in the recall election for the state Senate seat currently held by Senate President Russell Pearce — and nobody seems to know why.She’s sure as shit hesitant to talk about it — our colleague Stephen Lemons has contacted her several times…
Fagala-fearing Congressman Trent Franks was asked by Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. on Monday night to answer questions about a constitutional balanced budget amendment.”I’ll take a shot at that,” Franks responded.Franks’ “shot” was a little off — he responded with a rant about abortion and Nazis. Political Correction snagged the…
Congressional hopeful Matt Salmon didn’t just accept the endorsement of a sheriff he doesn’t like, he doesn’t respect, he doesn’t think is “playing with a full deck,” and he compares to Barney Fife, he actually sought it.That’s what Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio tells New Times, anyway. America’s self-proclaimed “toughest…
Poor Newt Gingrich won’t be sitting in the Oval Office anytime soon.The former Speaker of the House boasted about his 1.3 million followers on twitter, but was quickly exposed by a former staffer for hiring a firm to create fake accounts to make it look like he was far more…
Congressional candidate Matt Salmon picked up the endorsement of South Dakota Senator John Thune yesterday, but he still won’t explain his recent about-face in regards to how he feels about Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.Last month, Arpaio endorsed the former congressman in his bid to become the GOP nominee for…
Voters will begin casting their ballots on August 4 for Phoenix mayor and in five of the city’s eight city council districts.Phoenix election officials will be mailing out about 290,000 early ballots, which is about three times the actual number of ballots cast in the last mayor’s race in September…
The federal government avoided economic catastrophe today after the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill to increase the debt-ceiling yesterday. The bill cleared the Senate this morning, and President Barack Obama signed it into law moments ago.The vast majority of Arizona’s members of Congress, apparently, were no fans of…
