David Lujan

Austin Head: DJ/LGBT Advocate Is Running for City Council

As a deejay, Austin Head knows how to work a crowd. It takes finesse, and it takes being in touch. Those skills are coming in handy for the entertainer/LGBT advocate: He recently announced that he is running for a seat on Phoenix's District 4 city council. It's a very different gig than providing m ... More >>

Local Latino Activists Target Unlikely Politician

Kyrsten Sinema: Being Latina Ain't All It's Cracked Up To Be

See also: Kyrsten Sinema Identified (Wrongly) as Latino by NALEO See also: Can Kyrsten Sinema Win in Congressional District 9? See also: Kyrsten Sinema's Hilary Rosen Moment, and Her Persistent Verbal Flubbery My Monday blog item discussing Ninth Congressional District candidate Kyrsten Sinema and ... More >>

Russell Pearce-Inspired Recall Bill Unconstitutional, Say Experts

A proposed legislative remedy to the successful recall of ex-state Senate President Russell Pearce is unconstitutional, according to experts in election and constitutional law.Senate Bill 1449, sponsored by state Senator Steve Smith, recently moved through the Senate judiciary committee with a do-pa ... More >>

Steve Gallardo Drops Repeal SB 1070 Bill, Nativists Counter-Rally

Down at the state Capitol today, it was like a little bit of 2010, all over again.Grizzled nativists toting "I love SB 1070 signs," with pistols on their hips. Pro-immigration activists in droves denouncing the two-year old breathing-while-brown statute. And Arizona Department of Public Safety offic ... More >>

Steve Gallardo's SB 1070 Repeal: The Dems' New Litmus Test

When I saw the headline in the Arizona Republic, "Democrats plan to introduce legislation to repeal SB 1070," let's just say I smelled a fish, and fresh it was not.The only Democrat I know of down at the state Legislature with the huevos to do something so bold as to seek the repeal of the state's b ... More >>

Kyrsten Sinema's David Lujan Weasels In To Open LD 15 Seat

SB 1070 vote-skipper David Lujan, LD 15's new state Senator This morning, over the complaints of some Democrats and Latinos, former House Democratic Minority Leader David Lujan was appointed unanimously to fill the open state Senate seat in Legislative District 15 by the Maricopa County Board of Sup ... More >>

Kyrsten Sinema's David Lujan, Can Ken Clark Stop Him?

The effort to block former state House Minority Leader David Lujan from sliding into ex-state Senator Kyrsten Sinema's still-warm legislative seat is firing up, with former state House Representative Ken Clark adding his name to the list of wannabes.Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox says s ... More >>

Terry Goddard, Raul Grijalva Call for Compromise, as Rodney Glassman Whips Up Rancor

Compromise? Apparently not, if Glassman gets his way...Fearing an acrimonious showdown this Saturday when Dems are scheduled to meet at the Wyndham Hotel downtown to pick a new Democratic Party chair, former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and Congressman Raul Grijalva are calling for a compr ... More >>

Jon Hulburd's a Turncoat, and Terry Goddard's Weak. So Who Are This Year's Democratic Role Models?

Tom Horne Leads Andrew Thomas by 1,073 Votes in State AG Race, with Only 54K Votes To Go

electtomhorne.com Smilin' Tom -- leading Thomas by 1,073... It's not looking good for former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. As of the end of today's count of the remaining ballots, state Schools Superintendent Tom Horne had expanded his lead of about 400 votes from yesterday to ... More >>

June 25 In Blogs: David Lujan, Mesa Contemporary Arts, Bob Log, Battle to the Bone, and Joe Arpaio

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Andrew Thomas Can't Even Resign Properly, County Claims

Leave it to the guy behind the silliest racketeering lawsuit in the history of racketeering lawsuits to screw up his own resignation.​ Earlier today, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced his resignation, declaring that he'll quit the office to run for Arizona Attorney Genera ... More >>

Return to Sender: The Feds, Fueled by Local Anti-Immigration Hostility, Are Draining Talented Undocumented Youth into Mexico

Michael Manning Won't Run for AZ Attorney General, After All

courtesy of CNN Attorney Michael C. Manning​Michael Manning, the lawyer who's made a mint suing Sheriff Joe Arpaio and other local miscreants, has decided not to run for Arizona Attorney General, after all.Turns out too many people are dependent on Manning's rainmaking skills for him to lea ... More >>

Felecia Rotellini First Candidate to Announce Officially for Attorney General Race

Felecia Rotellini is running for Arizona Attorney General.​Former Assistant Attorney General Felecia Rotellini became the first candidate for Arizona AG to officially throw her hat into the ring today -- announcing that she's converting her "exploratory" committee to a "campaign" committee a ... More >>

Arizona Republic Looks to Legislators for Legitimacy

​ Who reads the AZ Republic? Apparently, the paper isn't so sure anymore. Which is why the Republic invited a group of Arizona lawmakers to a "test group" two weeks ago hoping to learn whether the paper's still relevant. According to one of the participating politicians (who would not go ... More >>

The Bird Marches with Zack de la Rocha and Laughs at the Latest Arpaio "Death Threat"

Arizona Dems in Freefall as Paul Eckerstrom Steps Down as State Party Chair

Eckerstrom, following his upset win against Bivens two weeks ago.To cop a line from that Don McLean song, somewhere Satan is laughing in delight. And Zona Republicans are laughing right along with him. This, at the news that Arizona state Democratic Party Chair Paul Eckerstrom has resigned his post ... More >>

Tolleson Vice Mayor Anna Tovar to Replace Quitter Phoenix Lawmaker Steve Gallardo

Anna Tovar, the 34-year-old vice mayor of Tolleson, was today named to replace former Phoenix legislator Steve Gallardo, who quit his post despite recently winning a fourth term. According to a recent article in Latino Perspectives Magazine, Tovar began lobbying for Gallardo's seat soon after ... More >>

Paul Charlton endorses Gerald Richard over Andrew Thomas for Maricopa County Attorney

James Garcia's Dream Act puts the spotlight on the obstacles immigrant children face in the fight for citizenship

Peaceful rally for Virginia Gutierrez disrupted by bigoted rednecks.

Big Cheese

Valley export Mark Davis plots to kill his lounge-pimp alter ego, Richard Cheese