Best Smackdown 2014 | Judge G. Murray Snow | People & Places | Phoenix
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Best Smackdown

Judge G. Murray Snow

A clash between the judge who ruled against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Arpaio himself was inevitable. Federal Judge G. Murray Snow decided against Arpaio and his office in 2013, essentially finding the MCSO to be guilty of racial profiling. Later, Snow enumerated a long list of requirements for the Sheriff's Office to meet, and in early 2014, Snow appointed a monitor to oversee the MCSO's compliance. But Arpaio and his command staff were caught telling lies about the judge's decision to their underlings and the public, with Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan infamously calling Snow's ruling "crap." Snow ordered that Arpaio disseminate a "corrective statement" and have the MCSO brass read his decision and attest that they had done so. But the MCSO continued to drag its heels, and only when it seemed that Arpaio might be found in contempt, did the MCSO comply. Forget the carrot, only the stick works with Joe, and Snow was right to use it. Our question is, how long will it take before Joe gets birched again?

Best Self-Inflicted Wound

The Arizona GOP's Censure of U.S. Senator John McCain

Let's be honest, no one really likes U.S. Senator John McCain all that much. (Self-love aside.) So is it any wonder that far-rightists in the Arizona Republican Party would hate the guy, too? GOP hard-liners regard McCain as a RiNO (Republican in Name Only), particularly for his support of comprehensive immigration reform, despite his having taken an anti-immigrant stance when he was running for re-election in 2010. Still, Arizona's senior senator is regarded as a rock-ribbed conservative outside the bubble of state GOP politics. So the successful resolution to censor him, which passed a voice vote of the AZ GOP's mandatory January meeting, showed the nation just how insanely far-far-right Sand Land's ruling party really is. No Reagan-like Big Tent here, just intolerance, hate, and spite, which was on full display, and harmed the Republicans' outreach to younger, less nutty voters. Take gun, aim at foot, pull trigger was the order of the day.

Best Example of Religious Extremism

Cathi Herrod of Center for Arizona Policy

CAP's Cathi Herrod acts like she owns the place, meaning, of course, the Arizona Legislature, where her anti-LGBT initiative, Senate Bill 1062, backfired big-time, with a statewide and nationwide backlash that forced Governor Jan Brewer's hand and resulted in a veto. Herrod was rightly demonized, but we've got some bad news for ya: She ain't goin' anywhere. Sure, her Bible-thumping anti-abortion, anti-gay activities are retrograde, antediluvian, and embarrassing to the state, but she leads a very successful conservative juggernaut, and her failure with 1062 is merely a bump in the proverbial road. True believers are always the hardest to fight. And true believer lobbyists with law degrees and six-figure salaries, even more so. As long as AZ remains a red state, Herrod's influence, as nefarious as it may be, will persist.

Best Unpaid Political Strategist

Tyler Montague, president of the Arizona Public Integrity Alliance

Tyler Montague works from home for a national banking firm. Politics is not a profession for him. It's a hobby, one that he just happens to be very good at. During the recall campaign against former state Senate President Russell Pearce, he was one of the Mesa Republicans who helped recruit and raise money for victorious Pearce rival Jerry Lewis. Montague was hooked, and began the AZPIA as a way to knock some moderate sense into his chosen party. Among his targets has been Attorney General Tom Horne. Montague raised more than $600,000 to run ads statewide against the embattled AG, an impressive amount for someone who only draws a salary on his day job. Montague is also one of the shrewdest analysts not in the business. And his heart is on the side of the angels, which is why we dig him.

Best Public Information Officer

Matt Roberts of the Arizona Secretary of State's Office

Matt Roberts is the hardest-workin' man in state government. The communications director for Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett left his post in June to help his boss run for governor, and he was missed almost immediately by the local Fourth Estate, which had counted on him for years to explain abstruse campaign laws or provide us with public records posthaste. Roberts made it look easy, treating reporters like pals and getting us what we needed, when we needed it. Bennett lost (badly) in the primary, so Roberts is back at his post — for now. Here's hoping that wherever he lands after Bennett leaves office he's appreciated.

Best TV Host

Ted Simons of KAET Channel 8

If you actually want to know what's going on around Arizona, the local PBS station's Arizona Horizon is the only place on TV to find it. Instead of the short mash-up of soundbites that make up so many local TV news programs, Arizona Horizon host Ted Simons brings the sources into the studio for in-depth on-air interviews. In addition, every Friday, the newspaper reporters behind some of the state's biggest stories come on the show for a roundtable discussion with Simons, who's so knowledgeable about the issues at hand that you're actually bound to learn something watching this show. Because Simons has such a good understanding of Arizona's current events, Simons knows what to ask and how to get the answers that people need to get the complete picture of a story, making Simons a very rare breed in the world of local TV news.

Best TV Newscaster

Carey Peña, KTVK Channel 3

Sometimes you have to wonder if the Valley's TV newscasters are robots who just get unplugged at the end of the program every night and stuffed in a storage closet until they get plugged in again at 6 p.m. the next day. Not 3TV's Carey Peña. She's a competent news reader as well as reporter, especially in her role as the co-host of Channel 3's weekly political news program, Politics Unplugged, which included her moderating of debates among political candidates this election year. She's also a good follow on Twitter, @CareyPenaTV. Plus, she's easy on the eyes, which is oh-so-important in the TV news world.

Best YA Author

Tom Leveen

He's thrilled a generation of young adult readers with his smart, bestselling Young Adult novels and made Phoenix proud, besides. Because Tom Leveen, who lives here with his wife and young son, is that rarest of guys: a literary local boy made good. After toiling for more than 20 years in local theater (he co-founded both Chyro Arts, an all-ages performing venue, and Is What It Is Theatre, a popular community playhouse), he settled in to tell stories in print. His second novel, Zero, followed a "loner art chick" named Amanda through the angst of teenaged life in Phoenix and went on to win a 2013 Young Adult Library Service Association "Best Book" award. More novels followed (including Sick, in which high school drama students are trapped at their school, where a plague is turning classmates into marrow-sucking zombies), and so did still more accolades for his storytelling talent. Leveen's newest novel, Random, is a just-published thriller that takes on high school bullying and teen suicide, and is sure to bring the author even more literary acclaim.

Best Poetry Slam

Phoenix Poetry Slam

As poetry slammers go, these folks are the champs. Headed up by Lawn Gnome Publishing, this slam team isn't about rhyming moon and June. These poets not only write, practice, and compete on a national level with other laureates, but also perform at private parties, speak at local schools, and support themselves with fun-infused fundraisers. Performing at Lawn Gnome and in other cafes and galleries around town, PPS continues the slam's tradition of talented hosts, amazing performers and heart-stopping performances. This year, the group is playing host to the 2014 Individual World Poetry Slam, a three-day competition and arts festival co-produced by the Arizona Humanities Council. Why do we have a feeling these guys are going to come out on top?

Best News Radio Station

KJZZ 91.5 FM

Insightful coverage and reporting from nationally syndicated programs like Talk of the Nation and PRI's The World provide excellent national and international coverage, but it's KJZZ's Arizona and Southwestern-centric reporting that sets it apart from other news outlets in Phoenix. Whether it's The Show, covering adaptive reuse of historic properties and gender dynamics at Phoenix Comicon or reporting by Fronteras: The Changing America Desk on border crossings from Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and California, KJZZ's news reporting is second to none.

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