Recent Articles from Evan Wyloge
LD30 Democratic primary sees spate of campaign finance complaints
A west Phoenix Democratic activist has filed a campaign finance complaint with the Secretary of State’s office, claiming Democratic Sen. Robert Meza appears to have used campaign money for personal use and collected illegal campaign contributions.
CD1 candidates put up big numbers, but Kirkpatrick still dominating
In the race to represent Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, former Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick and Republican Jonathan Paton boasted their best, and somewhat comparable, fundraising quarters.
Bill aimed at stopping United Nations takeover of U.S. advances
The Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday gave initial approval to a bill that some proponents say is aimed at stopping a United Nations conspiracy to take away the rights of American citizens. Critics say the bill is not only based on crackpot “one-world-order” theories, but that it would make valuable state programs illegal and take away the state’s authority to manage natural r[...]
Smith vows to push more immigration bills, despite limited success
Sen. Steve Smith said he doesn’t care how Arizona lawmakers try to stop illegal immigration, and that he supports any action taken to stop it. “Any attention to securing our borders and fighting illegal immigration is good,” Smith said. “I’ve introduced bills to do both. I will continue to introduce bills that do both... I’m going to continue on both fronts as long as I’m here.”
Militia bill cruising, but objections are many
Sen. Sylvia Allen says she’s sick and tired of excuses when it comes to solving the illegal immigration problem. “Everybody just wants to sit around and gripe about it, complain about it, blame the federal government for it,” Allen said. “But when it comes to saying, ‘What can we do as a state to really try to solve the problem?’ Now it’s all the reasons why we can’t solve this [...]
Arizona Repackaged
After nearly 18 hours of marathon meetings over two days, the five volunteers tasked with redrawing Arizona’s political boundaries cast their votes on a new legislative map and marked the end of one of the most tumultuous political battles the state has ever seen.
The fight surrounding the Independent Redistricting Commission and its work included allegations of bid-rigging, conspirac[...]
Redistricting commissioners divided over changes; will miss self-imposed deadline on maps
The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission spent roughly nine hours Monday considering changes to proposed legislative maps, but will still have to wait for detailed analysis before adopting anything final.
The long work session took place only days before the now-unlikely target deadline of Christmas for adopting both final legislative and congressional maps.
Federal court battle over medical marijuana to fire back up
It’s been more than a year since Arizona voters narrowly approved a statewide medical marijuana program, but the legal struggle over implementing the new law is only now working its way through federal court. And it doesn’t look like the issue will be settled any time soon.
‘ResistALEC’ protestors pepper-sprayed, arrested
Police used pepper spray on a crowd of protestors, and arrested six of them, outside a a Scottsdale conference center today that was attended by dozens of lawmakers from around the country.
The roughly 150 demonstrators showed up at the American Legislative Exchange Council summit in Phoenix, to protest what they see as undue corporate influence in government.
Commission returns to work on mapping political districts
The stormy legal battle over the removal – then the reinstatement – of Independent Redistricting Commission Chairwoman Colleen Mathis has dominated the coverage of the group over the past month. But the commission is more than just high drama and analysis of the political fallout.
Poll: Voters sour on Brewer’s handling of IRC
Gov. Jan Brewer’s decision to remove the state’s redistricting chairwoman has left a bad impression on voters, according to a poll released Tuesday.
Brewer’s handling of the situation could have some long-term implications for both the governor and the Republican Party in Arizona, the pollster said.
No recalls yet, but Brewer and Arpaio put on notice by anti-Pearce group
Though the historic effort to recall former Sen. Russell Pearce ended with his ouster, those behind the campaign aren’t going to stop there.
The group that spearheaded the recall election of Pearce will be putting pressure on two other eminent Republican politicians: Gov. Jan Brewer and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.