Polling on a measure fit to end-term limits for judges, whittle down judicial retention elections and input legislative oversight into judicial performance review showed little support from the overall electorate, though a large swath remains unsure. According to a survey by Noble Predictive Insights, only 31% of voters surveyed supported the measure, while 38% opposed it and about a quarter are unsure of how they plan to vote. Most Republicans and Independents rejected the measure, while more Democrats supported the measure, but only by a small margin. A survey of 1,0003 voters showed 42% of Republicans opposed the measure, while 30% supported it and 21% were unsure. Among Independents, 37% opposed the measure, 25% supported and 29% were unsure. Democrats supported the measure 38% to 35% opposed, with 21% unsure. Mike Noble, CEO and Founder of NPI, said whether the measure passes will come down to the 24% overall who are unsure of how they will vote come November. So far, the measure has seen little, if any, structural support and some organized opposition. Arizonans for an Independent Judiciary, a bipartisan group of attorneys pushing for the retention of all judges and justices who met JPR review standards, took no position on the resolution. Meanwhile, Progress Arizona PAC is organizing to oppose the measure and previously challenged the “Judicial Accountability Act” in court for bearing an alleged misleading title but lost. Cathy Sigmon, co-founder of Civic Engagement Beyond Voting, the organizationly that created Gavel Watch, a guide to the retention election in 2022, said the group would not be formally running a campaign against the measure but strongly opposed the measure in its ballot measure voting guide. Sigmon noted a need to continue educating voters on the measure itself. “It’s a question of how many people we can reach with education about the issue,” Sigmon said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to reach as many voters as we can before the election … there’s a lot of education yet to do.”
The evidentiary hearing of a complaint filed against LD15 Republican House candidate Michael Way began Tuesday morning in Maricopa County Superior Court. The hearing started with arguments for the motion to dismiss the case filed by Way’s attorney, Andrew Gould. Judge Rodrick Coffey took the motion under advisement but proceeded with the evidentiary hearing. He said he wanted to proceed with the evidentiary hearing before ruling on the motion to dismiss since both parties were ready to present, and the court needed to move quickly since it’s an election challenge. Both Gould and plaintiff Deborah Kirkland’s attorney, Timothy La Sota, discussed Way’s residency in Arizona, which Way testified dates back to 2009 when his family moved to the state from Utah. Way said his multiple absences from the state were temporary stations away from Arizona, including a church mission in Brazil, law school at the University of Wyoming and his most recent stint in North Carolina helping to establish a southeast division in the state for Charter One, an education management organization for charter schools. He testified that he bought a home while he lived in North Carolina and lived in the state with his wife and children. Way said he and his wife also voted in North Carolina’s 2022 election, but always intended to move back to Arizona, which he considered, adding it was common for employees at Charter One to take assignments out of state. “We left pretty much everything (in Arizona) except for what I needed to work and clothes,” Way said. La Sota argued that Way’s registration to vote in North Carolina is an admission that North Carolina was his residence and his new explanation that he intended to return to Arizona is “self-serving” testimony. The hearing was still ongoing Tuesday afternoon at Yellow Sheet Report’s deadline. Gould also questioned the plaintiff, Deborah Kirkland, and she said her lawsuit against Way was “personal.” Kirkland, a precinct committeewoman in LD15, said she supported Way’s opponent, Peter Anello, during the primary race and only planned on voting for Way during the general election because he was a Republican. After The Arizona Republic published an article in August questioning Way’s candidacy, she said she felt Way had lied to her and other members of the precinct committee. Both parties also questioned Way about an opinion article he wrote published by The Carolina Journal describing him as having “deep roots and an appreciation” for his family’s home in the greater Raleigh area. According to Way, he didn’t write that author’s note that describes him and said it was likely written by someone on Charter One’s marketing team. Way said he believes the lawsuit against him is politically motivated, and cited a news release from North Carolina Rep. Keith Kidwell’s office calling for an investigation of Way’s voting record for “possible voter fraud.” Kidwell leads the Freedom Caucus in the North Carolina House of Representatives, and Way said he believes Kidwell was “tipped off” about the complaint filed against him. Anello was endorsed by Freedom Caucus member J. Parker, and he ran on the same slate with Hoffman and Carter. The Washington Post’s Yvonne Wingett Sanchez posted on X a letter written by Cook to Mayes on Tuesday calling for her office to investigate Way for allegedly voting in both Arizona and North Carolina in 2022. “A number of politicians beat the drums regarding election integrity frequently. This seems to be the poster child for laws ensuring election integrity – we cannot have individuals simply picking and choosing which state they want to vote in depending on the election,” Cook wrote. Way testified he only voted in North Carolina in 2022 but was registered to vote in both states.
Debate season is underway for Arizona’s political candidates, but not everyone is agreeing to face off against their opponents. In the race for Maricopa County Recorder, only political newcomer Tim Stringham has agreed to a Sept. 12 debate hosted by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission. Heap has not responded to an invitation, according to the commission’s website. Heap participated in the commission’s primary debate for the race in June, but did not respond to our reporter’s question about whether or not he would participate in next week’s debate. Several other candidates – mainly incumbents – won’t be participating in their debates, including U.S. Representatives Crane, Biggs, Grijalva, Stanton, Gosar and Schweikert. Only a few races will have all candidates present, including the debates for Corporation Commission, U.S. Senate, CD 7, LD 18 and LD 12. Some races may not have Clean Elections debates, including LD 13, as no candidates have agreed to debate. Arizona PBS and some local organizations will also host debates that some candidates have agreed to participate in, but not all of those will be televised to broader audiences. This week, voters can watch Clean Elections debates for Corporation Commission, CD 2, Pima County Sheriff, and LDs 18, 22, 23 and 26.
On the heels of a failed legal challenge to the Secure the Border Act – also known as Prop. 314 or HCR2060 – a new poll found that 63% of Arizona voters plan to vote in favor of the measure in November. The poll, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, reflects responses from 1,003 registered Arizona voters and has a margin of error of 3.09%, according to a news release. While 6% of voters said they will abstain from voting on the measure and another 16% are still unsure, nearly two-thirds of Arizonans support the GOP-backed measure, according to the polling data. 77% of Republican voters said they plan to support the measure while a slim majority — 52% — of Democrat respondents said they support it. Backers of the measure include “traditionally liberal (voting) blocs,” such as 56% of Hispanic voters, the press release said. The popularity of components of the measure does vary, the release noted. Polling found 77% of supporters in favor of holding drug dealers responsible for the death of a person who consumes a drug containing fentanyl and 75% in favor of e-verify, while just 56% of proposition supporters are in favor of reforming the process in which migrants obtain public benefits. “Opponents will have trouble pushing the argument ‘people are only supporting this because of the fentanyl stuff, they don’t care about the immigration’ – that’s what voters like most about Prop 314,” Noble Predictive Insights founder Mike Noble said in a written statement. “Prop 314 is popular across party lines, and that is a difficult trend to disrupt with only a couple of months until Election Day.”
A survey of 945 teachers by the Department of Education found those who left the profession after the 2023 school year cited burnout, a lack of respect, student behavior, discipline problems and a need for a higher salary as factors underlying their departure. Per survey results, 71.2% of teachers agreed or strongly agreed that they felt “burned out,” 69.1% “did not feel respected as a K-12 teacher,” 63.6% cited “student behavior and discipline problems were an issue” and 62.1% “wanted or needed a higher salary.” In releasing the survey data, Horne pointed to failed legislative attempts last session to boost teacher pay, which he said had “been rebuffed because of political disputes that do nothing to help improve the salaries of teachers” and a bill to track administrative support of teachers’ disciplinary actions. Horne pushed for the passage of S1459 (school letter grades; student discipline), a bill sponsored by Kavanagh which would have required schools to annually report student discipline referral data and would reduce a schools’ letter grade if administration did not implement the requested disciplinary action in fewer than 75% of cases. The bill failed in the House, receiving a “no” vote from Kolodin and Cook. In teacher pay, Horne supported the Republican plan for Prop. 123, which stalled after a disagreement among Republicans on the distribution rate from the state land trust fund. Horne called higher pay and “robust support” to teachers from administration on discipline to be “vital” to ensuring teachers remain in the profession. Marisol Garcia, president of the AEA, said the survey results were not surprising. “We’ve been saying this for a decade now.” But Garcia added the solutions proposed by Horne previously via legislation failed to address larger structural issues in working conditions. Garcia noted the lack of input from educators and said the solution lies in tamping down teacher workload, creating smaller class sizes and funding outside support positions, like counselors. “He can try to do all the bureaucracy that he wants to do when it comes to slapping the hands of principals,” Garcia said. “But none of those plans ever came from teachers. None of them. If he would have sat down with me, or members of my union, we would have given him plenty of policy plans that would have helped with behavior issues in my classroom. But he’s not going to like the answers because they’re very expensive.”
Lake announced an endorsement from the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police, per a letter signed by the organization’s president (and Sen. Sinema’s brother) Paul Sheldon. The state F.O.P. gave the endorsement by a vote of the members at each of the state’s 34 lodges, and previously endorsed Lake in the governors’ race. Sheldon said in a statement that Lake, “will continue to be a strong advocate for policies that enhance public safety, provide critical resources to law enforcement, and ensure that the voices of those who risk their lives every day are heard and respected.” In the release, the organization noted they had kept an “open line of communication” with Lake and her campaign. Lake’s latest law enforcement endorsement, from an organization with more than 9,400 members, follows Gallego’s grab of the Arizona Police Association’s endorsement, the largest law enforcement and public safety association in the state. A railbird told our reporter Lake did not meet with the APA prior to losing their endorsement to Gallego. “Perhaps Gov. Lake forgot to ask for a Senate endorsement. Being bonkers is hard work,” the railbird said. Lake’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on her meetings with APA, or lack thereof, but after the initial APA endorsement, a Lake spox said, “Ruben Gallego supported defunding the police and vilified law enforcement while serving in Congress. He supports open borders and is weak on crime. Kari Lake will always back the blue and support law enforcement and safe communities.” In announcing the F.O.P. endorsement today, Lake said, “I am honored to be endorsed by the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police. In the U.S. Senate, I will be their voice in Washington D.C. by working to improve the working conditions and ensuring the safety of our law enforcement officials.”
The Senate is closed until Sept. 9. for power grid renovations and maintenance, according to a Senate Democrat spokeswoman. It is closed to all staff, including lawmakers, until the repairs are completed. An announcement is expected this week confirming the Senate’s reopening date, she said.
While Kansas’ August tax revenue exceeded estimates by nearly $23 million, Gov. Laura Kelly took time Monday to reflect on the future reductions from a recently passed tax cut.
Kansas collected $665.6 million from taxes in August, about $22.8 million, or 3.5%, above estimates, according to a revenue report released Monday. Collections also rose 4% from August 2023.
Receipts from individual income tax collections and combined retail sales and compensating use taxes drove the increase.
Kansas received $329.4 million in individual income tax collections, up $19.4 million, or 6.3%, from estimates, with a 10.1% increase from August 2023.
The state had $294.6 million in sales and compensating use tax receipts, up $12.6 million, or 4.5%, from estimates. The receipts also rose 0.7% from August 2023.
The state reported $20.2 million in corporate income tax collections, $9.8 million, or 32.8%, short of estimates. The collections also declined 19.7% from August 2023.
Kelly in a news release mentioned the future impact of Senate Bill 1, which the Legislature passed in June during the one-day special session.
“While we are seeing collections higher than the estimate, we likely won’t see the impact of the income tax cuts from Senate Bill 1 on monthly collections until the beginning of next year,” she said. “Because of that timing, we must continue to be fiscally responsible for our long-term outlook.”
After tax policy disagreements over the last two sessions, Kelly; Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover; and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, reached an agreement on a plan that is estimated to reduce revenue by nearly $2 billion over the next five fiscal years.
The estimate includes a $471.6 million reduction in fiscal year 2025, according to the bill’s supplemental note.
SB 1 included a transition to a two-tier income system of 5.2% and 5.58% from three brackets of 3.1%, 5.25% and 5.7%, as well as a full repeal of the state’s Social Security tax.
Wanda Brownlee Paige will likely soon be confirmed as the replacement for late Rep. Marvin Robinson II, according to Wyandotte County Democratic Party Chair Jeffrey Hollinshed.
Paige emerged victorious from a crowded primary field en route to running unopposed in the upcoming November general election. Brown, a retired teacher, defeated incumbent Robinson after securing 49% of the vote in a four-way Democratic field.
Hollinshed said the vote to confirm Paige, which consists of Wyandotte County precinct captains, will take place Sept. 10.
“She is the recommendation,” he said of Paige. “But it has to be voted on.”
Kansas Democratic Party Chair Jeanna Repass said she’s hopeful Paige will be confirmed because constituents entrusted her with their vote. Under normal circumstances, Paige would be officially sworn in to the District 35 seat at the beginning of the 2025 legislative session in January.
Paige’s victory is also viewed by Democratic leaders as another step toward breaking Republican supermajorities. Despite Robinson’s affiliation with the Democratic Party, he had a long history of siding with Republicans on key issues.
“The important part is that she got nominated, and basically elected, in August,” House Minority Leader Vic Miller, D-Topeka, said of Paige. “So she will have a head start on serving.”
Miller added that all the interim committee assignments have been filled, so Paige won’t have any legislative duties to fulfill until January.
“Her challenge will be finding something to do,” Miller said.
Paige previously told State Affairs that her top priorities are Medicaid expansion and reducing property taxes.
Matt Resnick is a statehouse reporter at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected]
INDIANAPOLIS — Several hundred friends, family members, colleagues and constituents gathered Tuesday outside Gainbridge Fieldhouse where the Indiana Pacers and the Fever play. It was a gloriously bright late-summer day for the unveiling of the Richard G. Lugar Monument.
On a similar morning in 1995 when Sen. Lugar was kicking off his presidential campaign a few blocks away, a domestic terrorist ignited the worst lethal attack in American history on a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. And on a carbon copy day in 2001, foreign terrorists brought down the World Trade Center towers in New York while crashing an airliner into the Pentagon, killing almost 3,000.
It brought back memories of traveling with Sen. Lugar to Shchuchye in Siberia when an obscure program manager named Paul McNelly walked us through the plan to destroy 2 million 85 mm Soviet-era shells filled with sarin gas, thanks to funding from the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program.
“All it would take is one of these small shells put in a backpack strapped with C4 plastic explosives going into a stadium,” McNelly said. “Depending on which way the plume went, you could kill 10,000 to 20,000 people.”
Sen. Richard Lugar holds a briefcase containing an 85 mm chemical shell during a visit to the chemical weapons depository at Shchuchye, Russia, in December 2000. (Credit: Nunn-Lugar Photo)
He produced a photo of Sen. Lugar posing with one of the sarin shells in a briefcase.
“That was a live round,” McNelly said.
“Now he tells us,” one of Lugar’s aides responded, to great laughter.
But their mission was no laughing matter. The fact that the stadium where the Indiana Pacers and the Fever play — or Wrigley Field or Yankee Stadium or Wembley in London — has not been attacked by terrorists is a testament to the foresight of Sens. Lugar and Sam Nunn for realizing the dangers that came with the aura of victory after the Soviet Union collapsed.
The Richard Lugar Monument was the brainchild of Jim Morris, the former United Nations World Food Programme commissioner who died in July, five years after Sen. Lugar passed away at age 87. The half-million-dollar privately funded project was unveiled outside Gainbridge Fieldhouse and was to be moved to Lugar Plaza at the City-County Building later in the day.
Or, as the keynoter, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said of Lugar: “This humble man … was also an innovator, a creator, a strategist and a problem-solver. I was the young Soviet expert under President George H.W. Bush when the Cold War ended. I can tell you it was a glorious time in one way. That the … ambitions and the expectations of Truman and Kennedy and Reagan had finally been achieved.
“But it was also a dizzyingly scary time,” Rice continued. “Because as the great [Secretary of State] Larry Eagleburger said, ‘We have seen the Soviet Union dismantled before it was disarmed.’ And that was a terrifying prospect, that this great nuclear power covering 11 different time zones had nuclear weapons spread all over that territory. And it was Dick Lugar and his compatriot Sam Nunn who found an answer.”
On that trip to Russia in 2007, Sen. Lugar told Howey Politics Indiana: “I have never considered Nunn-Lugar to be merely a program or a source of funding or a set of agreements. Rather, it is a concept through which we as leaders who are responsible for the welfare of our children take control of a global threat of our own making.”
“The Cooperative Threat Reduction Program is such a bland name for what it really was,” Rice said. “It was to make the world safe at a moment when it was decidedly unsafe.” And it was a bargain, costing $400 million annually from 1994 to 1996 and $1.6 billion since it was passed in 1992 and signed by President George H.W. Bush.
While the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program was responsible for a historic first for mankind — one superpower dismantling the arsenal of another without an act of war — Rice cited Lugar’s “compassion” for the Russians, or as she put it, “to shepherd a dying superpower that was still heavily armed to work with scientists who had been at the top of their game as nuclear scientists for the Soviet Union and now found themselves without housing, without jobs.”
“His compassion, along with Sam Nunn, in understanding the very human reaction might be for those scientists to go elsewhere,” Rice said. “To go to places not in our interest. Also not to work for the dismantling of that apparatus, the weapons themselves, but of the apparatus that had produced them and to take care of the people who had been part of that apparatus.”
Nunn-Lugar would dismantle more than 9,200 Soviet-era warheads, 1,288 intercontinental ballistic missiles and 155 bombers and upgrade the secure storage of more than 65 nuclear and biological weapons sites.
For Americans and Hoosiers, it meant going to watch a pro sports event at an American stadium and worrying about the cost of a hot dog and soda rather than attending a mass casualty event.
