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Attorney General Tom Horne announces redistricting commission investigation
Attorney General Tom Horne has announced his office has opened an investigation into the Independent Redistricting Commission in response to an investigation by Arizona Capitol Times and its sister publication, Yellow Sheet Report, that uncovered possible violations of the state’s open meeting and procurement laws.
How to buy the benefit of the doubt, for nothing
Several years ago I attended a government commission meeting where an appointed chairman openly rejected an assistant attorney general’s recommendation to convene an executive session.
“No, I don’t think we need an executive session to talk about this,” the chairman said, to the best of my recollection.
It’s not that every — or even most — public bodies are eage[...]
What we’re not IRC-ing: Map-drawing panel spends half its time meeting behind closed doors
Prior to voting to award a lucrative contract to a mapping consultant on June 29, the Independent Redistricting Commission had spent as much time in closed door executive meetings as it had before the public.
And public records held by the commission itself, as well as statements made by commissioners, indicate the IRC may have violated Arizona’s open meeting laws designed to maintain[...]
Horne asked to probe IRC, Mathis
Brewer's office isn't the only one to receive a landslide of complaints of the IRC's recent hiring of Strategic Telemetry or Mathis, whose vote was critical in securing the services of the firm.
IRC critics giving Brewer an earful
Brewer hasn't committed to helping legislative Republicans oust Mathis, but it isn't for a lack of public input.
Playing catch-up: Despite slow start, IRC targets fall map completion
The Independent Redistricting Commission was crafted to give the power to draw political maps to an appointed panel, free from political shackles. But now months behind the pace set by the previous IRC, there is a very real possibility that the job may fall to a panel of federal judges.
IRC move gets GOP’s war nerves fired up
Republicans remain on high alert after the IRC last week hired a Democrat firm as a mapping consultant, but they are still lacking actionable intelligence that would warrant an attempt to remove IRC Chair Colleen Mathis.
Welcome to my nightmare
Republicans are still reeling from the IRC's selection Wednesday of Strategic Telemetry as its mapping consultant and are starting to talk about the gloom-and-doom scenarios that could result when the panel draws its maps.
IRC lightning strikes GOP twice
Republican voters showed up in droves to today's IRC meeting in Tucson and spoke out, emotionally at times, against yesterday's selection of Strategic Telemetry as its mapping consultant.
Does anyone have MacGyver’s phone number?
Former IRC executive director Adolfo Echeveste didn't mince words today when asked about the progress the current commission has made so far and what they need to do now.
Hauser: Records lawsuit over IRC not likely
State procurement records show attorney Lisa Hauser received an evaluation from one Independent Redistricting Commission member that pushed her overall scores down far enough to place her third in contention for the job of IRC attorney.
Super slow-mo good for sports, not districting
The slow process of using the state procurement process to evaluate and hire IRC staff, attorneys, and, soon, mapping consultants, had Freeman all but openly regretting that the commission didn't go about hiring without the help of the Department of Administration.
