The Arizona Court of Appeals agreed to consider the case for unsealing the divorce records of Ruben and Kate Gallego on an expedited basis. After The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news site, filed to unseal the divorce docket in Yavapai County Superior Court, a judge partially granted the site’s request to render the prospective U.S. Senator and the Phoenix Mayor’s divorce records accessible and allowed for some, but not all, of the redactions requested by the Gallegos. The two appealed and requested a stay on the order to make the records public, which the Arizona Court of Appeals granted. The Washington Free Beacon then made a motion to expedite the briefing and hearing schedule given the coming 2024 election, but again met opposition from the Gallegos, who claimed the publication could have filed as early as Gallego’s Senate campaign announcement in January 2023 and arguing “nothing factually or legally new has occurred.” In an order, the Appellate Court granted the request to expedite the case in part and ordered the parties to submit briefings on whether the Court of Appeals has jurisdiction and the merits of the case. An opening brief from the Gallegos is due September 13, and a response from The Washington Free Beach is due September 20.
The headline to this story has been revised. The original headline erroneously implied hat the Treasurer’s Office gave money to the Prescott rodeo.
New evidence revealing an attempt to create “legal cover” by the Treasurer’s Office in the fight over whether a $15.3 million appropriation to the Prescott Frontier Days Rodeo in the FY2024 violates the Arizona Constitution’s Gift Clause prompted a judge to vacate a hearing on the merits Monday and instead hear argument on whether to allow the additional emails into record. In a motion to supplement the record, Nicholas Ansel, attorney for plaintiffs Howard Mechanic and Ralph Hess, claimed the Treasurer’s Office developed a request for information process as “legal cover” in response to the lawsuit, as revealed by internal emails from that office provided to the plaintiffs by a third party. Jeffrey Kros, assistant deputy treasurer, submitted a declaration attesting that the Treasurer’s Office intended to comply with the Arizona Constitution’s Gift Clause by issuing requests for information to recipients of budget allocations similar to the rodeo’s. In declarations, Kros claimed the Treasurer’s Office issued said-RFI’s in August. But emails between the Treasurer’s Office and the International Dark Sky Discovery Center, another benefactor of lawmakers individual allocations in the FY2024 budget, showed Kros had submitted a request for a lump sum payment from the Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting to the discovery center in July, months before issuing the claimed RFI. In another email chain, Mark Swenson, a deputy treasurer at the time, emailed Kros and Jackie Harding, deputy state treasurer, and wrote, “The law requires us to distribute. How we distribute is a different thing. I do think Snell may advise we do a mini RFI or RFP for the two distributions to be safe … Notwithstanding what the Legislature thinks or past practice of ADOA.” Kros responded, “I just want to have as much legal cover as possible.” According to Ansel, Kros “confirmed ASTO ‘simply distributes state funds to the respective entities as directed by legislative appropriation,’ and agreed that he was uncomfortable with the idea of ‘administering” the use of funds’ as [ASTO] was just tasked with distributing.’” Ansel told the court the new evidence “flatly contradicts many of the statements in Mr. Kros’s Declaration and undermines the factual bases of the State’s and PFD’s defense.” The treasurer’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Ansel said the judge will weigh the admissibility of the evidence on Monday and noted plans to work with opposing counsel to authenticate the emails given they were provided by a third party via a records request to the treasurer’s office. But Ansel believes the emails should be admitted and considered by the court given the fact they are public record. He said the evidence plays into their argument that the treasurer’s office is only tasked with distributing the money, and the RFI and grant process goes beyond its authority. He said the treasurer’s office “can’t, on its own, find a solution to the gift clause.” The parties are due for argument on the matter at 10 a.m. August 26.
Lake and Gallego are set to go head to head on Oct. 9 as part of the Arizona Clean Elections debate slate. Lake agreed to the debate Thursday, a week after Gallego had committed to the debate himself. “I look forward to participating in the Clean Elections Debate on October 9th, in keeping with Arizona tradition. I believe Arizonans deserve to hear firsthand about the choice in this election between a Marine combat veteran with a lifetime of service and someone who is only in this race for herself,” Gallego said in a statement on August 16. The original deadline to RSVP was August 16, but because Clean Elections was still working on its moderator selection, the deadline was extended to August 23. Neither campaign requested an extension. But Lake’s delayed agreement to the debate prompted some eyebrow raises, given Lake’s own lambasting of Hobbs in 2022 for refusing to debate. In a statement provided to our reporter, Lake said, “After 3 months of Gallego dodging my debate challenge, I’m glad that we finally have our first debate scheduled. I look forward to debating Ruben as many times as possible — anywhere and anytime.” The debate is scheduled for Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. and is expected to be moderated by veteran journalists Steve Goldstein and Nohelani Graf.
Arizona’s MAGA lawmakers and candidates will stump for Trump in Glendale today at a rally that organizers say will be “unlike any other.” Attendees can expect two hours of speeches from local Republicans, including state lawmakers Heap and Hoffman, U.S. Reps. Crane, Biggs and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb before they hear from the former president. Candidates Lake and Hamadeh are also scheduled to speak. The Trump campaign has teased surprises and a “special guest” that many speculated will be Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dropped out of the presidential race Friday morning and endorsed Trump. Kennedy qualified for the ballot in Arizona last week but is now removing his name to avoid being a “spoiler” in the battleground state. Trump’s rally comes exactly two weeks after Harris and Walz held a campaign rally at the same stadium in Glendale.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name will remain on Indiana’s presidential ballot despite his announcement Friday that he has suspended his independent campaign and endorsed Donald Trump.
Candidates faced a July 15 deadline to remove their names from the Indiana ballot — and a noon Friday deadline passed without any voters filing a challenge to Kennedy making the ballot by meeting the state’s petition signature requirement, according to the State Election Division.
Kennedy’s name will be on the Indiana ballot along with those of Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, Republican former President Donald Trump and Libertarian Chase Oliver.
Indiana election officials last month certified that Kennedy qualified for the state ballot after his campaign submitted more than 46,000 certified signatures from registered voters.
Atlanta city officials need to give the Atlanta Detention Center to Fulton County to ease overcrowding in the county’s violence-prone jail, a bipartisan panel of state lawmakers said in its final report, released Friday.
“A big part of the solution is that the City of Atlanta needs to turn over the Atlanta Detention Center to Fulton County in its entirety,” Sen. John Albers, a member of the Fulton County Jail Subcommittee, told State Affairs. “Fulton County taxpayers paid for that. It was a jail. Then Atlanta decided they wanted to get out of the jail business, and basically, all those inmates ended up in the Fulton County Jail. They are part of the cause of the overcrowding. So they [Atlanta officials] need to now do the right thing.”
Albers is chair of the Senate Committee on Public Safety, which created the Fulton jail subcommittee.
The 35-year-old Rice Street jail complex in downtown Atlanta has drawn national attention, local outcry and a federal probe due to overcrowding, drugs and violence. Built to house 1,125 inmates, its capacity has often exceeded 3,000.
The subcommittee was created in October to investigate conditions at the crisis-prone Fulton jail complex where over 10 inmates have died in the past year.
Rep. Marvin Robinson, D-Kansas City, died Thursday at age 67.
His sister, DeLisa Fowler, confirmed his death, but not the cause, just after midnight Friday in a Facebook post.
“It is with great sadness that I share the news of my Brother Marvin S. Robinson II’s passing,” the post read, “but I am also filled with joy knowing that he has entered the realm of the ancestors, where he will be embraced by our mommy and all those who have gone before us. May his memory inspire us to live with love and purpose. Marvin S. Robinson II….. Rest well, we got it from here!!”
Gov. Laura Kelly made a statement on X about Robinson’s death.
“Representative Robinson showed a commitment to public service throughout his time in the Navy and the Kansas Legislature,” she said. “My thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.”
During his tenure, Robinson, who recently lost a primary election, was known for breaking with the Democratic Party to vote with Republicans on a variety of party-line issues.
But in his community for many years prior to that, he was known for his dedication to preserving the Quindaro Ruins, an Underground Railroad site, as a historic site.
Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Tyrone Garner reflected on Robinson’s passion for the area in a Facebook post.
“Representative Robinson will be remembered by many for his strong support for the preservation and national recognition of the Quindaro Ruins in Kansas City, Kansas,” he said. “Representative Robinson will definitely be missed by all those that loved him and valued his tireless work. His community activism and commitment to Northeast Kansas City, Kansas will continue to be both valued and appreciated.”
Fellow lawmakers and Statehouse regulars posted on social media about Robinson’s death.
House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita (on Facebook): “It is with great sadness that we share our colleague, Rep. Marvin Robinson II passed away yesterday. Marvin was a beloved member of the House of Representatives and served his district with grace and integrity. He also served our nation as a member of the U.S. Navy. We are deeply saddened by this great loss. Please join me in prayer for his family, friends, and colleagues. Rest in peace, friend.”
Rep. Nick Hoheisel, R-Wichita (on X): “Rep. Marvin Robinson dedicated his life to service—whether to his country, his state, or his community, he always answered the call. It was an honor to serve with him and to learn his story. … Rest easy, my friend.”
Michael Austin,Americans for Prosperity-Kansas legislative director (on X): “He was my friend, and he’s gone.”
Stacey Knoell, Kansas African American Affairs Commission executive director (on Facebook): “I have heard of the passing of Rep. Marvin Robinson. It saddens me as we share Wyandotte County roots. My mother was his middle school music teacher. My thoughts are with his family and I know there is a hole in the community with his passing.”
The Kansas Chamber Political Action Committee is backing 117 “pro-jobs” candidates — all Republicans — for the Kansas Legislature. The group comprises 31 Senate candidates and 86 House candidates.
“Kansans feel the crunch from staggering costs of inflation, interest rates, and economic uncertainty. Strong business conditions for our state are more important than ever,” Christie Kriegshauser, chamber vice president of political affairs, said in a news release. “Kansas Chamber PAC endorsed candidates are dedicated to keeping Kansas competitive so companies have more capital to invest in operations, employees, and communities.”
The committee didn’t weigh in on nine Senate races and 39 House races. Most of those races involve Republican candidates facing popular Democratic incumbents or Democrats in uncontested races.
The only current Republican lawmakers the PAC didn’t back are Reps. Samantha Poetter Parshall, Paola; Bill Rhiley, Wellington; and Mark Schreiber, Emporia, as well as Rep. Michael Murphy, Sylvia, who is running for a Senate seat.
Rhiley is the only one of the four without an opponent.
The PAC also didn’t step into two House races involving legislative newcomers on both sides: Republican Megan Steele, Manhattan,andDemocrat Linda Morse, Manhattan, in District 51, and Democrat Alexis Simmons, Topeka,and Republican Michael Mathewson, Topeka,in District 58.
The PAC said in the release that it based endorsements on a variety of factors, including candidate surveys, in-person interviews and scorecards based on voting record on policies and issues important to the Kansas business community.
Kelly appoints 28 to state boards
Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday announced 10 appointments and 18 reappointments to various state boards.
Kansas Board of Healing Arts
Stephanie Kuhlmann, Wichita
Kansas Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, Wichita
Chrishayla Adams, Topeka (reappointment)
Marquetta Atkins, Wichita (reappointment)
Carole Cadue-Blackwood, Lawrence (reappointment)
Traci Dotson, Lawrence (reappointment)
Bruce Johnson, Concordia (reappointment)
Angela McHardie, Tecumseh (reappointment)
Beryl New, Topeka (reappointment)
Melody Pappan, Winfield (reappointment)
Peggy Pratt, Norton (reappointment)
Tyler Williams, Wichita (reappointment)
Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission
After a head-spinning month and a day that dramatically transformed the presidential race, Democrat Kamala Harris on Thursday night became just the second offspring of American immigrants to claim a major party nomination.
“I see an America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation and inspired the world,” Harris said at the United Center less than five weeks after President Joe Biden folded his reelection bid and subsequently gave her his explicit imprimatur. That move allowed Democratic National Convention delegates to unite behind the vice president instead of engaging in a chaotic multi-ballot nomination floor fight.
“That here, in this country, anything is possible,” Harris continued. “That nothing is out of reach. An America where we care for one another, look out for one another and recognize that we have so much more in common than what separates us. That none of us — none of us — has to fail for all of us to succeed.”
Democrats spent four days co-opting the concepts of “freedom” and “democracy.” They presented themselves as defenders of the military and cops. They made overt appeals to independents, moderates and even Republicans.
Donald Trump reacted to Harris’ final DNC speech, posting on Truth Social: “No specific programs. ALL TALK, NO ACTION – Why didn’t she do it three and a half years ago?”
Harris presented herself to a majority of American voters who knew little about her. She used her biography to accentuate the American experience. She grew up in the middle class in Oakland, California. She worked at McDonald’s. She paid homage to her immigrant parents from India and Jamaica, saying her mother, Shyamala Harris, “never did anything half-assed.”
“My mother was a brilliant, 5-foot-tall brown woman with an accent,” Harris said. “And as the eldest child, I saw how the world would sometimes treat her. But my mother never lost her cool. She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for women’s health, and she taught [my sister] Maya and me a lesson that Michelle [Obama] mentioned the other night. She taught us to never complain about injustice, but do something about it.”
She pivoted to her career as a prosecutor, presenting herself as “Kamala Harris: For the people” in a stroke of branding and messaging.
“As a prosecutor, when I had a case, I charged it not in the name of the victim, but in the name of the people, for a simple reason,” she said. “In our system of justice, a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us. And I would often explain this to console survivors of crime, to remind them: No one should be made to fight alone. We are all in this together.
“And every day, in the courtroom, I stood proudly before a judge and I said five words: ‘Kamala Harris, for the people.’ And to be clear — and to be clear, my entire career, I’ve only had one client: the people.”
Then came the take on the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrection that was Trump’s coup d’état mission to snuff out a free and fair election. It came on the same day Trump announced he and Rudy Giuliani would host a Sept. 5 fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago for Jan. 6 insurrectionists.
This was Harris bringing a prosecutorial mode into the race against Trump.
“Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes,” she said. “When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the U.S. Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers. When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite — he fanned the flames.
“And now, for an entirely different set of crimes, he was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans, and separately — and separately found liable for committing sexual abuse,” Harris continued. “And consider what he intends to do if we give him power again. Consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol.”
She also cited Trump’s goals in a second term: “His explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents and anyone he sees as the enemy. His explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens.”
Harris spent the latter part of her 38-minute acceptance speech delving lightly into policy. She said she will “refuse to play politics with our security.” She promised to sign the bipartisan border security bill that Trump scuttled last winter. She said she will “always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself.” She decried the violence aimed at Palestinians in Gaza.
She concluded, saying, “In unity, there is strength. You know, our opponents in this race are out there every day denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is. Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach: Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are. America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities.”
Democrats made a play for independents, moderates and Republicans.
Less than a half-hour before Harris spoke, former Illinois GOP Congressman Adam Kinzinger addressed the DNC, saying Trump “suffocated the soul of the Republican Party.”
“Vote for our bedrock values and vote for Kamala Harris,” Kinzinger said. “Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamentals matters of principle, of decency and of fidelity to this nation.”
The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board reacted to the speech: “Kamala Harris introduced herself to the American public on Thursday, and her presentation was much like this week’s Democratic convention: Well delivered, confident and optimistic, and mostly devoid of policy substance. Whether she can keep this up, unexplained and unexposed, for the next 12 weeks will determine whether she becomes America’s 47th President.”
The Republican Governors Association opined, “After four days of the Democratic National Convention, the question in the minds of voters remains, ‘What are the priorities of the Democratic Party?’ With an outdated platform and zero policies on Harris’ website, you have to take the Democrats at their word. During Kamala Harris’ speech on the final night of the DNC, she mentioned inflation exactly ZERO times, but she mentioned Donald Trump 15 times. Democrats can’t talk about Kamala Harris’ record because it’s dangerously liberal, out of touch, and the American people would reject it outright. This past week proved it.”
A former rural Indiana county Republican chairman who has voted for Trump twice told Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs: “She’s trying to hide she wants to raise taxes to cover $1.2 trillion of new spending. However, I think she will prevail. Trump is off script and kinda flailing around, which is not a good look.”
“Like many Republicans have said, the right policies are not my concern right now. Gotta take down Trump.”
A Hoosier Republican nursing home executive who is now in the “never Trump” camp told Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs: “I don’t like the policies that she has talked about with taxes and price controls. I like many of her cultural approaches. I really don’t like the concept of a very liberal Democrat being president, and there is no way in the past I would have supported her. But like many Republicans have said, the right policies are not my concern right now. Gotta take down Trump.”
Another never-Trump Republican from Indianapolis added, “MAGA has no idea the magnitude of what’s about to happen to them.”
Indiana House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, added, “In 2022, I had the honor of meeting with Kamala Harris on two different occasions. Both times we discussed the issue of reproductive freedom for women. She’s very impressive! I look forward to voting for her. She’ll make a great president!”
Harris is scheduled to debate Trump Sept. 10 on ABC News. It will be the next definitive event in what has already been a historic, eventful presidential showdown.
A shorter schedule didn’t mean fewer people through the gates of this year’s Indiana State Fair.
Officials announced Friday the fair drew 854,236 people over its 15-day run of fried food, farm animals, midway rides and entertainers that ended Sunday.
That attendance mark was up 13,822, or 1.6%, from the 2023 crowds even though the fairgrounds were open three fewer days and the fair stretched over three weekends rather than four.
While last year’s fair was disrupted by several thunderstorms that led to gate closures, this year’s edition mostly had dry weather with high temperatures in the mid-80s or lower.
“This year we had just one hour, I believe, that we had to close the gates,” fair spokesman LeRoy Lewis III told State Affairs. “So I think the weather was really a strong part of helping us reach those numbers.”
The revised schedule for this year had the fairgrounds closed to visitors on Mondays. Under the format used for the previous three years, the fair was open 18 days, including four weekends, with the fairgrounds closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
(Design: Joy Walstrum)
Lewis said fair organizers aimed to include popular musical acts for the free stage, along with adding attractions such as an outdoor basketball court that Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark helped dedicate and a new splash pad for youngsters.
The resumption of Tuesdays for the fair was boosted by a weekly $2 Tuesdays promotion that included $2 gate admission, $2 midway rides and $2 food options, Lewis said.
Attendance has also inched up each year since the fair resumed in 2021 following the 2020 cancellation because of the COVID-19 pandemic — topping 830,000 each of the past four years. In comparison, the fair set its attendance record in 2013 at 978,296.
Lewis said a decision will be made this fall on whether to keep the shorter fair schedule.
“I don’t know that there is right now any desire to really change much just because of the success that we had this year,” Lewis said. “But again, you never know what might come out after surveys and satisfaction numbers from vendors and fairgoers.”
Tom Davies is a Statehouse reporter for State Affairs Pro Indiana. Reach him at[email protected] or on X at @TomDaviesIND.
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