Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

A day after being repeatedly told by a judge to avoid long-winded answers and focus his responses to address only the question asked, Rep. Doug Quelland frustrated the court by feigning ignorance when asked basic questions. Of course, that was only when he was being cross-examined by the attorney for the Citizens Clean Elections Commission.

Doug Quelland maintains he didn't break any laws during his successful 2008 campaign for the House of Representatives, claiming he didn't do the things the Citizens Clean Elections Commission had determined earlier this year when it recommended his removal from elected office.

As the leader of a mini-insurrection in the House of Representatives in a tussle early this year over funding for a high-tech economic development program, Sam Crump gained notoriety beyond the boundaries of his north-Phoenix legislative district.

There are 13 legislators in the House of Representatives who can hear the hoof-beats of term limits fast approaching, and their plans after the forced exit from the chamber range from possible runs for higher office to recapturing memories from youth.

Looking for supporters of term limits? Good luck finding any at the Capitol. Many who actively worked to change the state's Constitution nearly two decades ago say the rules harm the political process and need to be scrapped.

Lawmakers may shift the responsibility for education funding to local property owners as a way of coping with staggering budget deficits in the near future, even though it would translate to higher property taxes.

Retired Supreme Court Justice and Arizona icon Sandra Day O'Connor is spearheading an effort to make major structural changes to state government in advance of the 2012 centennial. "We love this state and see the need for a few changes," she said.

Most states are swimming in red ink, but Arizona is on the verge of drowning in it. Federal stimulus dollars intended to prop up government revenues and help states weather the economic storm have been spent, and the Grand Canyon State is facing deficits that could reach $3 billion in each of the next three years.

The governor’s actions on the state budget drew jeers from both Republicans and Democrats, but for wildly different reasons. House Speaker Kirk Adams and Senate President Bob Burns, both Republicans, said Gov. Jan Brewer increased state spending by more than $350 million with her line-item-vetoes of cuts to K-12 education and the Department of Economic Security, which provides benefits for Arizona’s poor.

A Maricopa County Sheriff's deputy avoided a six-figure fine earlier this year for violating state campaign finance law, but he and others involved in the imbroglio may be facing criminal charges for their actions.