Kirk Adams

Update: Kirk Adams is New House Speaker, Replaces Jim Weiers

Sonoran Alliance Political Blog Defends Its Use of Anonymous Writers

The mostly anonymous hacks at the right-wing blog sonoranalliance.com take issue with a recent Valley Fever post about their use of unnamed writers, blabbering in an article yesterday that New Times ought to worry about selling more tattoo parlor ads. Look, it's a fact that we and others who read ... More >>

Bob Burns, New Senate President, Vows No Bills to Committee Before a Balanced Budget

  We were scared even before lunch. The state's economy's in freefall, and, as she heads to Washington, D.C. in hopes of becoming the nation's Homeland Security honcho, Governor Janet Napolitano leaves behind a giant budget deficit. But after attending the annual Legislativ ... More >>

Endorsements Stack Up for Lisa James vs. Randy Pullen as GOP State Chair Race Ignites

  Fresh and forward looking Lisa James (top), or whithered old nativist prune-face Randy Pullen? AZ GOPers will soon get to decide... I'll say one thing for Arizona Republicans, when they want someone gone, they get their long knives sharpened and start digging holes in the desert, Mafia styl ... More >>

Eckerstrom Upsets Bivens for Dem Party Chair; Pullen Beats Back James Challenge for GOP Spot

Don Bivens (left) gives way to the new Chairman of the AZ Dems Paul Eckerstrom (right). Today saw a stunning political upset of an incumbent state party chair. And no it wasn't AZ GOP Chairman Randy Pullen, who handily defeated rival Lisa James, 521 to 474 at the Republican reorganization meeting th ... More >>

Jan Brewer, Joe Arpaio, Dean Martin, Sandra Kennedy and More: Candids from the AZ Dems and GOPers

So I had a load of photos left over from last week's two state party reorganization meetings, and I figured you might want view these as added illustrations for this week's Bird column. Think of it as porn for political junkies, though thankfully everyone has their clothes on. Reminds me of that lin ... More >>

Arizona Capitol Times' "Best Government PR Person" Has Been Kiss of Job Death

Laura Devaney, a spokeswoman for state Senate Republicans, just won the Arizona Capitol Times "Best Government PR Person" award. She'd better sharpen her resume. The last two people picked for the award by Capitol Times readers, also both spokesman for Republican lawmakers, were fired from their pos ... More >>

The Bird Documents Randy Pullen’s Smear of Lisa James and Hobnobs with Democrats and Republicans

Laura Devaney, a spokeswoman for state Senate Republicans, just won the Arizona Capitol Times "Best Government PR Person" award. She'd better sharpen her resume. The last two people picked for the award by Capitol Times readers, also both spokesman for Republican lawmakers, were fired from their pos ... More >>

Gotcha!

Corporations and governments can legally ignore photo tickets in the Valley, while the rest of us are expected to pay up -- or else

Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams Airs Series About Budget Crisis on YouTube

  State House Speaker Kirk Adams, a Mesa Republican, has launched a series of YouTube videos that explain Arizona's budget crisis -- from the point of view of Republican legislators like him, of course. Sonoran Alliance, (where we first read about the videos), calls the seri ... More >>

Jeb Bush Comes to Town, and Now Legislative Leaders Want to Change the Language Used to Rate Schools; This Ought to Fix Everything!

www.thewashingtonnote.com Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and his big brother.​Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush was in town today to speak with legislative leaders about how to improve Arizona's troubled K-12 education system.Wanna know what they came up with? Get ready to laugh, or cry.

Legendary High School Football Coach Jesse Parker Honored at Mesa Get-Together

We spent an abundance of time last week around the local high school football scene. First, of course, was the publication of "Friday Night Frights" (still on the newstands for a few more days, and available here for a lot longer than that), about the trials and tribulations of  ... More >>

A New Law Spawns Fear in the Immigrant Community, and Artists Tackle the Ongoing Repression in Maricopa County

We spent an abundance of time last week around the local high school football scene. First, of course, was the publication of "Friday Night Frights" (still on the newstands for a few more days, and available here for a lot longer than that), about the trials and tribulations of  ... More >>

Twitter Phishing Scam Warning; House Speaker Kirk Adams Doesn't Really Want Your Twitter Login Data

The Twitter direct message from Kirk Adams, Arizona House Speaker,  looked suspicious at first glance: ​ It turns out that someone may have hijacked the Speaker's Twitter account temporarily and used it to spread a phishing scam that began blazing across the Internet this weekend. C ... More >>

Jan Brewer Hides, as Kirk Adams Gets Cornered by Randy Parraz and Jen Allen Over Russell Pearce's Bigoted Bill

During this past Wednesday's rally against state Senator Russell Pearce's new apartheid-like bill SB 1070/HB 2632, I remained with the mass of the protesters, while a small contingent of demonstration leaders went into the Capitol's Executive Tower and up to the 9th Floor to try and meet with Govern ... More >>

Russell Pearce Critic Daniel Patterson Booted from MAPS Committee. Why? Because He Questioned Pearce.

The price for calling Pearce on his bull? Retaliation. Is it a mere coincidence that state Senator Russell Pearce's chief critic on the House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee, Representative Daniel Patterson of Tucson, has been removed from that committee, just as Pearce's police state l ... More >>

Arizona Attorney General Candidate Andrew Thomas Was No-Show as County Attorney, Records Say

Andrew Thomas, work an eight hour day? Not in the office ...​During his last six months as Maricopa County Attorney, Andrew Thomas took on a series of high-profile defendants -- pursuing both criminal cases and civil litigation against a host of other county officials.But even during that frenzied ... More >>

Ben Quayle Gets Political Nod of Approval From Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams

Ben Quayle​Congressional candidate Ben Quayle got a little love today from Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams who announced he'll be endorsing Quayle in the District 3 Congressional race.The political tip-of-the-cap from a high-ranking Republican is good news for Quayle who is currently engaged in o ... More >>

Steve Moak Responds to Criticism of Charity's Connection to His Business; In Response, Ben Quayle Calls for New Legislation

Congressional candidate Steve Moak​Congressional candidate Steve Moak has finally responded to questions posed to him last week by one of his opponents in the crowded District 3 Congressional primary.In short, Moak never disclosed a conflict of interest to the IRS when a not-for-profit anti- ... More >>

State Senator Russell Pearce's Lawsuit to Derail West Valley Casino Tossed By Courts

Russell Pearce ​U.S. District Court Judge David G. Campbell has denied an attempt by Senator Russell Pearce to join a lawsuit filed by the City of Glendale and the Gila River Indian Community against the Department of the Interior.Glendale and the Gila are suing the Interior Department ... More >>

Russell Pearce Wants To Rig Redistricting (Surprise, Surprise)

Pearce wants to meddle with the IRC for his own selfish political endsArizona's Independent Redistricting Commission won't be independent if state Senate President-elect Russell Pearce has anything to do with it.Already, Pearce, with the assistance of state House Speaker Kirk Adams, has effectively ... More >>

Russell Pearce Shot Down on Bid To Rig Redistricting

Pearce is foiled, for now, in his plot to rig redistricting in ArizonaState Senate President-elect Russell Pearce and state House Speaker Kirk Adams were handed a defeat this morning in their efforts to interfere with the nominees to the Independent Redistricting Commission, the powerful committee o ... More >>

Russell Pearce Sues in Bid To Rig Redistricting

Pearce wants to call the shots on the "independent" redistricting panel, and is suing to get his wayWell that didn't take long. As anticipated, state Senate President-elect Russell Pearce and his so-far compliant wingman state House Speaker Kirk Adams, are taking to court their bid to rig Arizona's ... More >>

AZ Lawmakers Expected to Pass a Law Prohibiting Picketing at Funerals; Aim to Halt Protests at Tucson Shooting Victims' Funerals

Senator Kyrsten Sinema​State lawmakers proposed emergency legislation Tuesday to head off picketing by a Topeka, Kansas, church at the funeral service for a 9-year-old girl who was among six people killed during Saturday's shooting in Tucson.The state Senate passed a bill, which is being con ... More >>

Russell Pearce Scores Partial Win in Bid To Rig Redistricting

Pearce wins a Pyrrhic victory, of sorts The Arizona Supreme Court today handed state Senate President Russell Pearce a partial win in his bid to rig the redistricting process that will affect Sand Land politics for the next 10 years.In an order just issued by Vice Chief Justice Andrew Hurwitz, the c ... More >>

Tohono O'odham Nation One Step Closer to West Valley Resort-Style Casino

Artists rendering of the proposed West Valley Resort​United States District Judge David Campbell ruled today that the Tohono O'odham Nation's 54-acre property in the West Valley must be taken into trust.And that means that the Nation is one step close to building the West Valley Resort, a casino t ... More >>

Mark Spencer's PLEA Backstabs Own Members

Mark Spencer, betraying PLEA members one endorsement at a timeWhat would you call law enforcement union leaders who claim to battle for their members' public benefits during tough economic times, while handing out endorsements to lawmakers hell-bent on wiping out those benefits for good?Hypocrites? ... More >>

Russell Pearce's Comeuppance? Don't Count Him Out Just Yet

The Killer Shark of the Senate, always on the attack They're practically singing hosannas in the streets, the pro-immigration folks, or just those who'd like to see an end to Arizona's tsunami of hate. This, over the defeat of five anti-immigrant bills on the state Senate floor yesterday, including ... More >>

Jan Brewer Vetoes Humiliating "Birther Bill." Gov Finds Penis Descriptions Too Get on Ballot Goes to Far

Even Jan Brewer thinks it's nuts to make a candidate provide a description of his penis to run for president in Arizona.​It pains us, but big props must go out to Governor Jan Brewer, who today vetoed one of the most ridiculous, conspiracy-based, purely symbolic pieces of legislative garbage to pa ... More >>

Jan Brewer Defies Russell Pearce, Republinuts, Vetoes Birther Bill, Others

Jan Brewer puts the smack down on Russell Pearce and his wing-nut pals, at least on three bills...Chalk up another embarrassing defeat for state Senate President Russell Pearce and his fellow Republinuts on three bills they desperately wanted: the birther bill, the guns on campus wackiness, and a bi ... More >>

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal Says He's Batty for "Birther Bills," Unlike Arizona Governor Jan Brewer

zimbio.com Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal​Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal apparently is trying to steal some of Arizona's far-right-wing "birther" thunder.   As you've probably heard, the sudden rash of "birther" legislation is a ludicrous response to the repeatedly debunke ... More >>

Kirk Adams Stepping Down as State House Speaker on Thursday; Run for Congress Likely

  ​Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams (left) will step down from his post on Thursday as a likely step toward running for Representative Jeff Flake's seat in Congress. Flake's planning a run for U.S. Senator Jon Kyl's soon-to-be-vacant seat, and Adams has been among the possible candi ... More >>

Under Mark Spencer's Leadership, the Phoenix Police Union Has Become an Anti-Immigrant Juggernaut, to the Detriment of Its Members

  ​Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams (left) will step down from his post on Thursday as a likely step toward running for Representative Jeff Flake's seat in Congress. Flake's planning a run for U.S. Senator Jon Kyl's soon-to-be-vacant seat, and Adams has been among the possible candi ... More >>

Representative Andy Tobin New Speaker of Arizona House of Representatives

Arizona's new Speaker of the House of Representatives Andy Tobin​State Representative Andy Tobin has been pegged to serve as the new speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives following former Speaker Kirk Adams' announcement that he was leaving the Legislature.As New Times pointed out on Tue ... More >>

Attorney Justin Pierce to Fill Kirk Adams Seat in Arizona House

www.jacksonlewis.comAttorney Justin Pierce will serve the remainder of Kirk Adams' term in the Arizona House of Representatives.​There's a new member of the Arizona House of Representatives: attorney Justin Pierce was appointed today to serve the remainder of former Speaker Kirk Adams' term.The Ma ... More >>

Congressional Candidate Kirk Adams: I'm "the Youngest Speaker in Arizona History." Not Quite *UPDATED*

Kirk Adams: not the youngest House speaker in Arizona history.​UPDATE: See Adams' response to House Speaker Age-Gate here.Former Arizona House Speaker and current Congressional candidate Kirk Adams issued a press release recently claiming he was "the youngest speaker in Arizona history."The releas ... More >>

Kirk Adams Responds to House Speaker Age-Gate; Matt Salmon Still Silent on Joe Arpaio Switcheroo

Kirk Adams: "now I feel darn right old."​Since our earlier post about former Arizona House speaker/current Congressional candidate Kirk Adams' debunked claim that he was the "youngest speaker in Arizona history," the candidate's given New Times' his response."I am disappointed that my staff's rese ... More >>

Matt Salmon, Question-Dodging Congressional Candidate, Leads District 6 Race, According to Poll

Matt Salmon's Facebook page Matt Salmon: "I don't think [Joe Arpaio's] playing with a full deck."​We think we've figured out why Congressional candidate Matt Salmon refuses to explain his newfound love for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Salmon's leading the polls -- why bother?Salmon's ... More >>

Kirk Adams Congressional Campaign Now Ben Quayle-Approved. Opponent Matt Salmon Has Nod of Joe Arpaio, Man He Doesn't Respect, Doesn't Like, and Compares to Barney Fife

Kirk Adams' Facebook pageKirk Adams (right) with his honorary campaign chairman, Senator Jon Kyl.​Congressional candidate Kirk Adams got a political tip-of-the-cap from Congressman Ben Quayle yesterday. Meanwhile, his opponent in the GOP primary for the District 6 Congressional seat, former Congre ... More >>

District 6 GOP Congressional Primary: Kirk Adams or Matt Salmon?

​Former United States Congressman Matt Salmon and former Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams are both eying the Congressional seat getting vacated by Congressman Jeff Flake, who is running for the Senate seat getting vacated by Senator Jon Kyl.The two are both Republicans, both Mormon, and both have ... More >>

"Marlboro Macho Man" Matt Salmon's Transformation From Lobbyist to Cowboy in You Write the Caption

Your caption here.​Former Congressman Matt Salmon wants to be a congressman again. He's currently running in District 6 -- and apparently is in the process of transforming from lobbyist to cowboy to appeal to the District's far-right-wing electorate as he fights his way through a GOP primary with ... More >>