Undocumented Arizona State University graduate Erika Andiola won the Freedom from Fear Award this morning, a national prize given to immigration activists by Public Interest Projects. Andiola won for advocacy on behalf of the DREAM Act, as well as for her confrontations with legislators such as Senate President Russell Pearce and U.S…
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 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…
State Senator — and former Senate majority leader — Scott Bundgaard has been charged with a pair of misdemeanors for his February freeway scuffle with his ex-gal-pal “Iron” Aubry Ballard.Bundgaard’s been charged with one count each of reckless assault and endangerment for the freeway fracas that resulted in a night…
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…
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…
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…
President Obama’s hoping to secure votes from illegal immigrants by fighting an Arizona law that requires proof of citizenship at the polls, says Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne. The Obama Administration filed an amicus brief on Friday with the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in preparation for more hearings on a…
Wanna know what happens in Phoenix when people stop being polite, and “start getting real and shit?”A spoof of MTV’s the Real World, set in Phoenix and starring Governor Jan Brewer, is making the rounds on the Internet.It’s pretty funny — frozen toaster strudels are considered “ethnic food” for black…
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has refused to answer any reporters’ questions about a home she was rumored to have recently bought in Scottsdale. But Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren apparently isn’t any reporter.Despite the former vice presidential candidate’s recent media silence, Van Susteren scored 20 minutes with Palin last…
We reached out to the Maricopa Community Colleges Governing Board after last week’s board meeting to ask if they plan on reconsidering their tuition hike targeting undocumented students. We also asked board members to address the criticisms levied against the board last Tuesday night that they were misinterpreting state…
Former TV pitchman J.D. Hayworth claims the effort to recall Senate President Russell Pearce is backed by “socialist thugs who carry swastikas.”It seems the former “free government money” spokesman is confusing some of Pearce’s supporters with those trying to run him out of office — we’ve met several supporters of the recall,…
Trying to deflect the blame for the decisions he made isn’t working out so well for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Our cover story this week, Joe Knew, describes how documents and his own current and former staff members put Arpaio squarely in the loop. His retired chief financial officer says…
In a 5-3 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court has sustained Arizona’s employer sanctions law.The law forces employers to check the immigration status of employees, and allows the state to penalize businesses that hire illegal immigrants…
Connecticut will become the 13th state to charge undocumented students in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. Their senate passed a bill yesterday to that effect, which the governor has said he will sign, in stark contrast to Arizona education policies. Proposition 300, a 2006 law mandating that anyone…
Just in case you read the above headline and nearly had a stroke, relax — 74-year-old Senator John McCain is NOT running for president in the 2012 election.”The Maverick” spoke to a group of Alabama businessmen and government leaders yesterday, where he was probed about whether he had any intentions…
Griselda Nevarez Educators or politicians? It isn’t just undocumented students upset with the Maricopa Community Colleges Governing Board anymore. State politicians and business leaders showed up at last night’s board meeting to condemn MCC’s recent tuition hike targeting undocumented students. Representative Catherine Miranda and her husband, ex-representative Ben Miranda, were…
Ssshhh… Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery seem to be on a secret mission. He’s scheduled to appear at a fundraiser tomorrow for himself hosted by lawyer Mark Goldman and featuring an appearance by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, (whom Montgomery apparently thinks is sort of daffy.) Obviously, this can’t be a simple…
Arizona Congressman Trent Franks wrote a recent article for Roll Call, in which he argues that gender differences between men and women should keep the ladies off the front lines of a combat situation.Franks argues that sexual tension between male and female soldiers “further complicates the situation by providing one…
Arizona Congressman Trent Franks has a message for subscribers of “radical feminism”: you need a penis to serve in military combat roles (cue the feminist outrage).Franks penned an article for Roll Call last week, in which he argues that gender differences between men and women should keep the ladies off…
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 Maricopa County Board of Supervisors announced Pierce’s appointment this morning.Pierce, an employment lawyer with the firm Jackson Lewis, will serve the remainder of Adams’ term,…
