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

There is a rot spreading through the nation’s criminal justice system, and federal investigators and prosecutors in Arizona are showing symptoms of the disease. Prosecutors nationwide are bringing extraordinarily aggressive cases against Americans engaged in the political process, and federal prosecutors in Phoenix have recently concluded — and lost, due to a hung jury followed by a dismissal — a trial in which they accused four American citizens of a conspiracy to bribe a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Since June 2017, 1,233 Arizona residents have died from opioid overdose – the highest reported number of opioid deaths in our state in 11 years. The opioid scourge in Arizona is very real. Data reveal that in one Arizona county, four physicians wrote more than 6 million prescriptions for opioids in a one-year period. That county has a population of 200,000.

Candidates would be wise to listen to Heidi and the other older voters who will turn out, because history has shown they are “The Deciders.”

The investigation to reveal all this looks very different than what is being described in terms of scrutiny of these signatures. It should start with a simple phone call to a sample of the voters to see if they signed the petition and, where were they when they signed, cross referenced against others on the same sheet. They should sample the bottom five signatures on each page separately from the first five signatures, particularly on full pages or perhaps only on full pages.

Arizona needs higher taxes to properly fund education for its current and growing population by adopting a sustainable and reliable taxation policy that is fair and balanced. Many voters favor taxing themselves more to increase funding for education and do not want to receive handouts from the wealthy. It would be a shame if voters reluctantly support #InvestInEd because they weren’t given a choice to vote for my alternative income tax proposal.

The issue of voting is complex, challenging and confounding. But with the report identifying certain gaps in the electorate, it is hoped that opportunities will surface as ways to collectively address Arizona’s voting crisis in a concerted effort to enhance a democracy of the people, by the people and for the people.

Real religious freedom does not force others to adopt one belief or constrict behaviors according to one dogma. Real freedom of speech has to be balanced with other fundamental rights such as equality and fairness and even safety – you can’t yell fire in a crowded theater. Don’t be fooled by false prophets seeking profits.

When you see the stubborn labor force participation rate finally increase, you'd have to have blinders on not to understand these economic benefits. Voters shouldn't take them for granted.

As Americans process the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, one thing is clear: he has the potential to drastically alter American health care for decades to come. Such a drastic change will certainly be destabilizing on two key issues that have been largely unchanged for four decades.

Here in Arizona, we don’t need the federal government to remind us that the Southwest is in an extreme drought.