AZ Supreme Court: Pals in high places can hinder

Despite objections by Chief Justice Scott Bales, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey used the power of his office to unnecessarily expand the state Supreme Court from five to seven justices in May 2016. The high court’s director of government affairs testified against expansion, saying, “We just do not believe it’s needed. The court is current in its cases. There’s nothing that we are seeing that’s going to lead to a greatly increased caseload.”

One of the newly robed justices — Clint Bolick — former chief litigator at the libertarian Goldwater Institute and open borders advocate who co-authored a book on the topic with Jeb Bush, is a friend of Ducey’s. So close are the two men, they routinely text one another.

People holding top jobs erroneously think they are above scrutiny. The Phoenix New Times, through a Freedom of Information Act request was able to secure the two men’s electronic correspondence.

The justice lobbied the governor providing his opinion regarding the best choice for the vacancy on Arizona’s highest court. Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery was among the 11 applicants for the post which the governor will fill from a vetted and pared down list of applicants sent to him by the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments.  (Two of the original 13 appear to have withdrawn their applications.)

The commission met Friday and forwarded a list of five names to Ducey.  Montgomery, who would have made an excellent justice, was not among them.

Three judges from the Arizona Court of Appeals Division One, James Beene, (Republican); Kent Cattani, (Republican); and Maria Elena Cruz, (unregistered prior to September 24, 2002 when she became a Democrat); along with Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Gordon, (Republican); and private practice attorney Andrew Jacobs, (Democrat); made the cut. On their applications, two of the applicants state they are of mixed ethnicity.

Predictably, the local newspaper’s take is exemplified by this front page headline: “Arizona’s Supreme Court short on diversity — Disparity under scrutiny with justice’s retirement.”

Diversity is never about ideas, only ethnicity. We’ve had female justices for years with several serving as chief justice, so it’s not even about plumbing. This 2012 post provides the stellar history of Arizona’s female justices. The first was Lorna Lockwood — born in 1903 in the Arizona territory. Lockwood is notable for being the first woman in the nation to become Chief Justice of a state Supreme Court. President Ronald Reagan appointed Sandra Day O’Connor as the first woman on U.S. Supreme Court in 1981.

Justice John Pelander’s retirement was effective March 1, 2019.

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Cindy McCain outed as a human trafficking liar & Update

Claim of witnessing human trafficking incident disputed by Phoenix Police

Arizonans, and the nation, were well aware of the duplicity and arrogance of John McCain, a man who was raised in the shadows of brave military men. Both his father and his grandfather were admirals in the U. S. Navy.  As John Sidney McCain, III, he carried their names and had a big legacy to fill. Instead he graduated at the bottom of his Naval Academy class, was a renown womanizer and crashed three jets. When he was shot down, captured and imprisoned during the Vietnam War, his embellished saga was disputed by others on congressional committees along with former POWs. After returning as a hero, he ditched his wife who waited patiently for his return to marry the much younger rodeo queen and Anheuser-Busch beer heiress Cindy Lou Hensley, now morphed into a philanthropist.

Now his widow after McCain’s 2018 death from brain cancer, Cindy, who has also had problems with veracity, is now integral to the grandly named McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University, where Cindy serves on the Human Trafficking Advisory Council and the board of trustees. This scheme has vaulted them both to iconic stature. Cindy made human trafficking her focus. Opiate abuse a topic with which she has personal familiarity would not have served her nearly as well.

During a Monday interview on KTAR‘s ‘Mac & Gaydos’ show, reported by the Washington Post, Cindy recounted an incident which she claimed took place at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport — which, of course, now has a McCain terminal.

“I came in from a trip I’d been on and I spotted…it looked odd….”It was a woman of a different ethnicity than the child, this little toddler she had, and something didn’t click with me. I tell people, trust your gut. I went over to the police and told them what I thought, and they went over and questioned her. And by God, she was trafficking that kid.”

The radio show hosts were aghast.

“No way!” one said.

“And you said a toddler?” the other asked.

“Yes,” McCain said. “A toddler. It was a toddler. She was waiting for the guy who brought the child to get off the airplane.”

Cindy McCain is the co-chair of Gov. Ducey’s Arizona Human Trafficking Council. The Ducey and McCain families have been close since Doug Ducey first arrived in Arizona and was hired at Hensley & Co. while attending ASU. Years later as a businessman, John McCain encouraged him to run for state treasurer and he is now serving his second term as governor.

The McCain worshiping Arizona Republic newspaper has so far been mute on Cindy McCain’s fabricated human trafficking tale, on which she has now backtracked since Phoenix Police refuted her story on Wednesday as reported by KTAR News.

Fri. Feb. 8, 2019:

The Arizona Republic, several days late and a dollar short, as the saying goes, finally addresses Cindy McCain’s fabricated tale of saving a toddler from human trafficking — burying it on page 13.  The banal headline: “Cindy McCain steps back from report of trafficking,” sits atop a brief article tucked in among a full page of ads for discounted zoo tickets, window blinds and resale jewelry. Bringing embarrassment to the widow of the Machiavellian man the newspaper obsessively reveres, would never do, even when Cindy McCain’s acknowledged motive for contacting the airport police was based in racism. Imagine the placement and coverage this preposterous claim would have received if the person making the false allegations was First Lady Melania Trump.

Ed Supe Kathy Hoffman proves too much is never enough

Hoffman’s ‘State of Education’ speech demands additional teacher’s salary increases, as she thumbs her nose at 20% raises

It was easy enough to miss — but Democrat Kathy Hoffman, Arizona’s newly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, delivered her fledgling State of Education speech.

A committed leftist, her campaign of smoke and mirrors promised a sound education benefiting Arizona’s school children, many of whom are in ESL classes and not up to speed in the basics. Yet Hoffman regards sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, including clear policies, support groups, and activities for LGBTQ students on the top of her list.  Her campaign website stated, “Welcoming family diversity promotes exclusivity and must be a priority for our state.”

Hoffman’s intransigent opposition to charter schools is abundantly clear, with these irrational words addressing her fears, “I do not support the expansion of ESA vouchers and will be voting NO on Prop 305 come November. If passed, Prop 305 would further defund our public schools. This is terrifying.”

The proposition was ultimately defeated by the public school teachers’ union activists* who couldn’t compete with the proliferation of excellent Charter Schools and want to deny parents choice in the education of their own children. While public school teachers went out on strike, none of the charter or parochial school teachers joined their Socialist-led parade.

Paid month’s long maternity and paternity leave is another of the policies Hoffman advocates, saying such plans would help retain teachers. Apparently working a part-time job, with lengthy holiday vacation days and summer’s off isn’t enough of an enticement.

Kathy Hoffman notes she “proudly voted to walk out” with her fellow #REDSforEd striking teachers who abandoned a reported 840,000 Arizona students for over a week in violation of their contractual agreements as they followed Socialist Pied Piper Noah Karvelis a 24-year-old hip hop music teacher and avowed Socialist. She says she was “inspired by unity within the movement.”

Lacking any leadership experience, Hoffman has spent more time as a student than as a teacher, having taught preschool for two years and two additional years as a years as a speech therapist.

After initially rejecting the outrageous demands for a 20% pay increase for their part-time jobs, Gov. Doug Ducey caved in to their threats while lying about the lack of a tax increase, using inventive language to deceive Arizona taxpayers.

We’ve been had…by politicians of both parties.

* Center for Responsive Politics

MC Attorney Bill Montgomery yearns to wear black

Who knew of Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery’s sartorial longings? Most thought he was happy in dark blue, but it’s actually basic black he hankers for. First elected in 2010, the top county prosecutor wants to step out in something less confined, a bit airier, but more commanding. A judicial black robe would be just the thing.  Superior Court is not where he’s set his sights, and the Court of Appeals holds no appeal. Montgomery is hoping to gain a seat on the Arizona Supreme Court, where a vacancy was recently announced as Justice John Pelander retires from the high court March 1. 

In the event Montgomery — being pushed by Justice Clint Bolick* — is selected, the five member Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will fill the county attorney’s vacancy until the next election cycle. Montgomery’s current term expires in 2020. This is the same route he took to lead the county attorney’s office after his predecessor Andrew Thomas left not long after being reelected — setting his sights on what turned out to be a failed bid for the governor’s office.  Former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley temporarily replaced Thomas until the next election which Republican Montgomery handily won. 

In 2016 Gov. Doug Ducey expanded the AZ Supreme Court from five to seven justices — including Bolick — pulling off what Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt was unable to do in 1937, as he was accused of “court packing.” In 2018, Montgomery endorsed Bolick’s wife for the state legislature.

When asked in December if he would be vying for the U.S. Senate seat that was eventually filled by Martha McSally, Montgomery unequivocally stated that being county attorney “is where God wants me to be.” Either God had a change of heart in the last couple of months or their communications ceased.

Having run for office, he’s political, but don’t sell him short. Montgomery, a West Point grad and military veteran, ably manages a large office, including over 350 lawyers. He is more than capable of handling the Supreme Court job. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office serves the fourth largest county in the United States, and is responsible for the prosecution of more than 35,000 felony criminal cases each year — taking criminals off the streets and keeping residents safe. 

Check out the list of applicants along with their resumes on the AZ Supreme Court’s website. There are thirteen who submitted applications by Friday’s 5:00 pm deadline. Among them are 9 Republicans, 3 Democrats and 1 who has been registered as both an “Independent” and Libertarian. Another applicant disclosed that she has been a registered Democrat since 2002, but prior to that was not registered to vote — clearly demonstrating how much participation in our enviable elective process mean to her.

* Text messages between Bolick and Ducey made available by the Phoenix New Times through a FOIA request.

McCain’s corruption still haunts AZ GOP in advance of state meeting

National publicity is the mother’s milk of those seeking to make an impact. And what is more important in the political realm than energizing the base as they gear up for the next election cycle?  Dirty laundry, it is said, should be aired in private. But when it is downright filthy, sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Gateway Pundit, a nationally well-respected conservative site provides that sunlight as it exposes the internecine chaos via a shocking, leaked, Arizona Republican Party internal memo which raises serious concerns about unethical use of party resources and systematic failures that Deputy Communications Director Robert Maxwell fears will lead to a loss in 2020. The two-page memo to Executive Director Kyle Pierce can be read here.

Which brings us to the Statutory Meeting of the State Committee of the Arizona Republican Party on Saturday, January 26, 2019.  Elected state committeemen will, in turn, elect party officers and vote on resolutions. The magnitude of these events cannot be overstated as we approach the all important 2020 election cycle.

But all is not copacetic as the meeting date approaches. Current AZ GOP chairman Jonathan Lines, who oversaw unparalleled Republican losses in November, is shamelessly running for reelection. Two other lesser known men have been campaigning. All of them are linked to the establishment syndicate, with longtime ties to John McCain — and now, his surrogates. Lines was put in place by former chairman, Robert Graham, a slickster still pulling Lines’ strings.  Lines lives nearly 200 miles away in Yuma, runs a roofing business, parents his 11 children and seldom shows up at the once vibrant Republican headquarters. The phones are rarely answered and messages are returned with the same infrequency.  Pressure to exit has been applied to candidate Frank Thorwald who works with Graham. He is now dutifully falling in line with Lines.

As pointed out in this post-election report, the red state of Arizona is now veering purple, having lost a U.S. Senate seat, Secretary of State — next in line of ascendancy to the governor, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and one of the two seats on the utility rate-setting Corporation Commission. Greg Stanton, the leftist former mayor of Phoenix won in Congressional District 9. Dems now hold five of Arizona’s nine CD seats.

Republicans Paul Gosar (CD-4), Andy Biggs (CD-5), David Schweikert (CD-6), and Debbie Lesko (CD-8) are currently the minority in the delegation.

Fortunately, there is an outstanding choice to lead the Arizona Republican Party. Dr. Kelli Ward, a physician and constitutional conservative who served two terms in the state senate. She’s rock solid, has no puppet master and needs no learning curve. Arizona’s political future depends on getting this right.

$$ sweetens the pot: Adams returns to Ducey

Kirk Adams, who resigned as Gov. Doug Ducey’s chief of staff last month, has mysteriously returned before Ducey’s sweet tweet welcoming replacement Daniel Scarpinato, the Guv’s former spokesperson, was fully digested.

Daniel @Scarpinato has been a key part of our success since day one. He’s built a reputation as a leader, collaborator and problem solver. I have every confidence in his ability to serve as my new Chief of Staff. 2/3

— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) November 26, 2018

Adams, previously a state legislator earning $24,000, was paid just fifty bucks short of $170,000 a year at the time of his abrupt departure from the ninth floor perch. His latest salary hasn’t been fully disclosed, other than the report from Ducey’s current spokesman Patrick Ptak that Adams will be compensated an additional $1500 a month to “cover expenses.” When he resigned Adams, a failed 2012 congressional candidate, said he was “looking forward to new opportunities outside of state government.”

Obviously those “opportunities” never materialized.

The local newspaper’s none-too-bright Elvia Diaz opined that “it was no coincidence that Gov. Doug Ducey’s loyal chief of staff resigned just after Ducey handily won re-election.” In her convoluted thinking, Ducey would appoint Adams to replace Jon Kyl, who agreed to temporarily fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant after John McCain‘s numerous funerals. Then the dutiful Adams would subserviently act as a placeholder until Ducey completed his final term and compliantly step down.  Diaz actually called Adams “Ducey’s golden ticket.”

She clearly has no sense. No one is that loyal…especially Kirk Adams.

Educrat thugs promise “Armageddon”

AEA Pres. Joe Thomas threatens another strike, as teachers resemble thugs pulling a heist

Emboldened by Gov. Ducey’s capitulation to their 20% salary demands, the #RedsforEd unionist teachers are planning more walkouts.

Even after Ducey caved to their demands after vowing he would not, the unionists still endorsed radical Leftist open border proponent David Garcia for governor.  He was trounced 56% to 41%. And the new money for the teacher’s raises which Ducey said he would not increase taxes to provide? He’s instituted a new “public safety fee” to cover the pay hikes.

During the strike Joe Thomas, president of the Arizona Education Association (AEA) was front and center issuing statements about the need for more money for the teachers —- who care so much for their students that last year they abandoned 800,000 of them for over a week in violation of their contractual agreements.

Paid by the union, Joe Thomas received in excess of $400,000 in compensation each year from 2011 through 2016. That swank sum has no doubt been upgraded in the past three years. Thomas and his teacher wife are Democrats. Following the Nov. General Election, we posted, “If you like AZ’s leftist election results, thank a teacher.”

The striking teachers chose Noah Karvelis as the leader they mindlessly followed. The 23-year-old hip hop music teacher and Socialist Bernie Sander’s AZ campaign coordinator,  urged his colleagues on Twitter to teach political activism to their students and advance the concepts of gun control, white privilege, and anti-capitalism.

Never forget the “underpaid” teachers, who work 81/2 months a year, are able to support the far left teacher’s unions to the tune of $millions a year, earmarked for Democrat candidates and liberal causes.

We are geared to think that teachers care about the students entrusted to them, but walking out on them proves otherwise. So do the words of then-retiring NEA legal counsel Bob Chanin. Listen to his admission carefully.(brief video.) He admits that the unions are about money, power, and a leftist agenda —- clearly stating “It’s not because we care about children.”

Teachers have staged walkouts in West Virginia, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, and now in the Los Angeles School District, where they are  promising “Armageddon.” To most of them, that’s a word with mystic allure.  What it really promises is catastrophic calamity of biblical proportions.

Passage of ballot propositions — 301 in 2000 increasing the state sales tax and 123 in 2016 a grab from the state land trust — guaranteed more money for education, which apparently is never enough. School districts routinely hold budget overrides and bond elections to “get more money into the classroom” —- eduspeak for bolstering teacher’s salaries. A major premise of passing the Arizona Lottery in 1980 was that money from ticket sales would fund schools.

Falling prey to the teacher’s demands was foolishness personified. It’s like attempting to bribe a mobster. No amount will ever be enough.