A close-up photo of a dead man’s battered face flashes on the large screen, his closely shaved head on its side — streaked, dried blood and a blackened, bloated tongue protruding between pale lips. The image lingers for a moment, then comes another. A woman’s hand. Flesh hangs from her…
The Fiesta Bowl fiasco has raised questions about elected officials’ judgement in accepting tickets and travel to football games, especially when the sports organizations inevitably wind up before the same officials asking for financial support. Now, as Arizona prepares its bid to host the Super Bowl in 2015, we asked…
Phoenix Councilman Claude Mattox has shifted his message of support for CityNorth — flip flopping in that he voted for it, said at one debate that he wouldn’t have voted for it given today’s public reaction and later told 12 News that he would vote for it again.Wes Gullett, one…
Greg Stanton, a leading candidate for Phoenix mayor, pulled in more campaign contributions in the past five months than his political challengers.A first glance at campaign finance reports reveals that he raised more than $250,000 between January 1 and May 31. During the same period, former Councilwoman Peggy Neely raised…
A Democrat, Phoenix mayor wanna-be and Republican walk into a campaign fundraiser … Now here’s a trio of politicos you wouldn’t expect to see hanging out together. But political campaigns make for strange bedfellows.Standing on the left is Phoenix Councilman Tom Simplot, an openly gay elected official, a longtime Republican…
A man who walked into a Peoria Dollar Tree on Monday afternoon wasn’t interested in bargain shopping. Instead, police say, he inappropriately touched two young girl in two separate incidents.The girls weren’t at the store together but had apparently drifted away from each of their parents, who were also in the…
Dozens of community organizations have been hosting mayoral forums to hear from the slate of candidates running in the most competitive mayor’s race in recent Phoenix history.Most candidates safely cling to their talking points and offer little more than what voters would find on their campaign website. With cameras rolling…
After going to considerable effort to qualify for the August 30 ballot, a Tea Party candidate in Phoenix City Council’s District 1 abruptly pulled out of the race June 15 after New Times reported that he’d pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his arrest in January for assaulting a man…
The Republicans won’t invite Phoenix Mayoral Candidate Greg Stanton to their candidate forums. And they, along with Phoenix Tea Party-types, are branding him as “the real enemy of the citizens of Phoenix.” Why? It’s because Stanton is “the candidate to beat for Phoenix mayor” and the “front runner” in the…
Phoenix Councilman and mayoral candidate Claude Mattox’s is hosting a mayoral forum for himself on Facebook and Twitter — using social media to connect with his constituents.Mattox’s online mayoral forum, at first glance, seems innovative.Individuals get to pose questions for him for a week on either his Facebook or Twitter…
Gary Whalen, a conservative candidate vying for a District 1 Phoenix City Council seat, withdrew his name from the ballot this morning.He also pulled down his campaign website (electgarywhalen.com) and scrubbed his Facebook page.Whalen is retreating from the race after New Times wrote about his January arrest at his north…
A Grand Jury indicted Mindy Shields, daughter of influential Phoenix lobbyist Billy Shields, for Class 2 felony theft. The charges against Mindy Shields stem from the embezzlement of more than $77,000 from Friends of Greg Stanton, a political campaign belonging to the former councilman and Phoenix mayoral candidate. Shields, a…
A man who says he is not Gary Whalen, a conservative candidate running for a seat on the Phoenix City Council, tells New Times an interesting yarn to explain away his Whalen’s arrest in January for assaulting his boyfriend.We wrote yesterday about Whalen, 42, getting arrested on January 23 after…
Just four days after Gary Whalen signed up to run for the Phoenix City Council in January, police report that they arrested him at his North Phoenix home for getting into a fight with his ex-boyfriend.We left a message for Whalen, who qualified for the ballot on May 27 to run for the…
lively exchange at the Downtown Voices Coalition’s mayoral forum at the Lexington Hotel last night. At most forums, candidates cleave to the their talking points and engage in political niceties, but residents who attended last night’s forum got a few fireworks.Downtown Voices leaders allowed candidates to ask questions of each…
When El Mirage’s current elected officials campaigned for office, they promised residents change and transparency — a politically popular word these days.In some ways, El Mirage Mayor Lana Mook and her cohorts on the City Council have delivered — they increased the water and sewer rates by about 10 percent,…
Phoenix mayoral candidates have shared their views during several forums across the city. And there’s another tonight hosted by Downtown Voices Coalition, but this one is deviating from the standard Q&A-style format where questions come from a moderator.At this downtown-centric mayoral forum, moderated by the Arizona Republic’s Richard Ruelas, candidates will ask…
When El Mirage’s current slate of elected officials campaigned for office, they promised residents change and transparency — a politically popular word these days. In some ways, El Mirage Mayor Lana Mook and her cohorts on the City Council have delivered — they increased the water and sewer rates by…
There are two major endorsements Valley politicians go after with gusto during election season — police and fire. And while one candidate usually grabs both endorsements, unions are divided on who is best qualified to serve as Phoenix mayor.The Arizona Police Association is behind former Phoenix Councilman Greg Stanton and…
Glendale officials are not ready to fold in what has become a high-stakes gamble to prevent the Tohono O’odham Nation from building a resort-style casino in the West Valley.Neither is the Gila River Indian Community.The duo’s Keeping the Promise campaign is drumming up opposition to the West Valley Resort, which…
Phoenix New Times walked away with 14 first-place awards last night at the state Press Club’s 2010 Best Journalism in Arizona contest — including for the paper’s comprehensive national immigration series, “Amongst U.S.”Overall, the newspaper received 40 awards for work during 2010.Sarah Fenske, a former New Times staff writer and columnist who now…
A panel convened to review the kidnapping statistics Phoenix touted in 2008 found that Phoenix police officials did not intentionally inflate the figures.In fact, the panel found there were twice as many cases — 668 instead of 358 — identified that fit the criteria of a border-related kidnapping in that…
