Politics & Government

While former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas would prosecute…well…just about anybody, a little-known candidate in this year’s election for Andy’s old office tells New Times he’d take a slightly different approach.Michael Kielsky, the Libertarian for Maricopa County Attorney, says he wouldn’t prosecute prostitutes, people who hire prostitutes, or people who smoke…

There’s a debate over debates waging in an Arizona Congressional race, and it just got ugly.If you’re unfamiliar with the term, a debate over debates is what happens when an underdog in a political race challenges the front-runner to a series of debates. The front runner doesn’t immediately respond to…

Big ups to Representative Ann Kirkpatrick, who reaffirmed her commitment to a Congressional pay cut today by writing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter demanding a floor vote on a resolution she introduced in March.The United States government is $13.5 trillion in the hole, unemployment looms around 10 percent, and even…

In the past week, two judges have ruled against the Green and Democratic parties’ requests to have several Green Party candidates removed from the November ballot.The two parties feel the candidates are “sham” candidates getting used by Republicans to lure liberal voters away from voting for Democrats.Some of those candidates reportedly…

Earlier this month, New Times ran a story about Jan Brewer’s criminally insane son, questioning why his criminal record was sealed just days before his mother was sworn in as governor.Jan’s opponent in the governor’s race, Attorney General Terry Goddard, pretended he didn’t like it.Within hours of the article’s publication,…

Steve May, a now-former Republican candidate for the Arizona House of Representatives — best known for recruiting homeless people to run as Green Party candidates in several local elections and driving down Interstate17 shitfaced — is calling it quits following the outing of his DUI conviction.May issued a press release…

There is no joy in Mudville — again — for Arizona’s Green and Democratic parties.For the second time in a week, a judge ruled today to allow several Green Party candidates, dubbed by the two parties as “sham” candidates, to remain on the November ballot.This morning, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dean Fink ruled…

It seems some of Arizona’s Democratic members of Congress aren’t as vulnerable in their re-election bids as originally anticipated — at least the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee thinks they’re not.The DCCC reportedly is cutting the advertising budgets of Representatives Harry Mitchell, Ann Kirkpatrick, and Gabrielle Giffords because their opponents aren’t putting up as…

Governor Jan Brewer can rest easy knowing that the video of her epic brain fart during last week’s gubernatorial debate is no longer the most ridiculous video of a political candidate currently making the rounds on Youtube. That honor has been passed on to Phil Davidson, a candidate for county…

www.solarnavigator.com ​Green Party candidates — who the New York Times claims are “homeless” and who were dubbed by Arizona’s Green Party as “sham” candidates — can remain on the November ballot as the party’s nominees for several offices, a federal judge ruled.   This despite complaints that they’re being used by Republicans to lure…

KTAR radio host Larry Gaydos often describes Governor Jan Brewer as being  “intellectually bankrupt.” While we often find Gaydos’ assessment fairly accurate, Brewer reaffirmed today what might be considered the best decision of her political career: no more debates.Rather than allow an opportunity to redeem herself for her ghastly performance in…

John McCain may not be the most popular guy in Arizona, but his Democratic opponent in this year’s Senate race, Rodney Glassman, seems far less popular.Glassman’s campaign has gotten off to a sluggish start — staffers quitting, rumors that Glassman treats campaign workers like crap — and now a New…

Yesterday, conservative pollster Scott Rasmussen released a poll showing that despite Governor Jan Brewer’s brain fart during the gubernatorial debate last week, her poll numbers have somehow gone up.You’ve probably already seen Jan’s infamous moment of silence, but for good measure (and because we just can’t get enough of it),…

  You’ve probably heard the predictions by now: Democrats are going to be scarcer in Congress this November. The number of potential seats lost could be high, but there’s only so much money to go around to help them campaign. The AFL-CIO, typically a stalwart money source for Democrats, announced…

Since our earlier post about the new, morality-based radio ad run on Valley radio stations by Republican Congressional candidate Ben Quayle, his opponent, Democratic candidate Jon Hulburd, has responded.Quayle’s ad is in response to one of Hulburd’s ads, and while we’re not typically in the businesses of running responses to responses…

To quote John McCain’s campaign spokesman, Brian Rogers, “We don’t live and die with every poll.” That said, it should be noted that despite the cat that latched on to Governor Jan Brewer’s tongue during last week’s debate, her poll numbers have actually gone up — if you believe the…

About a week ago, Democratic Congressional candidate Jon Hulburd made listening to Christian radio somewhat tolerable. He began running ads on Christian radio stations bashing his opponent, Republican Ben Quayle, for ties to “The Dirty” — a Web site some argue has less than a Christian message. “I’ve read that congressional candidate…

Alberto grew up in Phoenix, after his illegal-immigrant parents took him here when he was two years old. The young man, now 18, left town this summer for New Mexico to escape Arizona’s oppressive, anti-undocumented fervor.Santa Fe’s New Mexican newspaper details his story in its online edition today, reporting that he’s…

The Arizona Green Party wants a federal judge to block the names of 11 candidates from appearing on the November 2 ballot, saying the candidates are “shams” who don’t represent the party.The lawsuit and request for immediate hearing comes a few days after the state Democratic Party accused former state…

A 27-year-old tarot-card reader, reportedly homeless and with less than a dollar to his name, is among the candidates running to serve as Arizona’s State Treasurer?Thank Steve May.May, a Republican running for a House seat in District 17, once told the nation that he had “chosen to live…life with integrity.”What’s happened…

Rodney Glassman, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, would make the Bush-era tax cuts permanent for the middle class, says his spokesman, Blake Morlock. The candidate’s spokesman, Blake Morlock, called us after reading this morning’s blog post about Glassman’s stance on the tax cuts. Despite Glassman’s earlier position, vis-a-vis a news…

Rodney Glassman, the young, rich, Democrat running for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican John McCain, loves the tax cuts put into place by former President George W. Bush. It’s surprising to hear any Dem praising a move by Bush, who still gets the credit by President Obama for today’s…