The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast

Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods died of a heart attack on October 23, 2021, at the age of 67. He spent years as a Republican politician in Arizona, often crossing party lines to side with Democratic causes. Woods was known as a fighter who stood up for what was right, even when it wasn’t popular. He will forever be remembered as an authentic Arizonan. The former Republican Arizona Attorney General was celebrated at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix on November 23rd. The memorial brought crowds of family, friends, and those who respected Woods. To remember his life as a politician, a lawyer, and a person, The Gaggle hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen invite EJ Montini to the show. Montini is a columnist for the Arizona Republic who wrote about Woods after his passing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August, when COVID-19 seemed to be receding as a health problem, and as public schools ramped up for in-person education lessons with masking mandates, Gov. Doug Ducey offered parents who didn’t like those rules an alternative. He said the state would provide vouchers worth up to $7,000 per student to those approved for a grant intended to sidestep masking, promote in-person learning and use federal emergency stimulus funds to do so. Stacey Barchenger, who covers the Ducey administration for The Arizona Republic, has gone over the records to see how the early stages of the controversial new program are working out. A closer examination of the program reveals that it’s not just the U.S. Department of Education, public schools across Arizona and public health officials who are unhappy with it so far. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, host Ronald J. Hansen speaks with Barchenger about the demand for vouchers, how the state is doing at approving requests, the allocation of money and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Gaggle hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen are taking off this week to celebrate Thanksgiving. If you didn't catch the series, Democracy in Doubt, last week about Arizona's ballot review, all five episodes are available. Happy Thanksgiving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GOP lawmakers from at least 18 states trekked to the desert during triple-digit heat to study the process, pose for pictures, battle members of the mainstream press and help push former President Donald Trump’s baseless concern for a stolen election. The election review was started almost singlehandedly by Senate President Karen Fann at the behest of Trump, his allies and some members of her own caucus, and now it’s coming to an end. In the fifth and final episode of Democracy in Doubt, The Gaggle hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen dive into those who championed the ballot review, like One America News’ Christina Bobb, why Ken Bennett was treated like a pariah, Trumps return to Arizona, who claimed the numbers were ‘made up’ and the fallout of those involved. In a four-month investigation, The Arizona Republic dug into the election review by examining text messages, emails, public records and court records, many made public after the news outlet sued the state for access. Republic reporters spoke to decision-makers, consultants, staff, contractors, campaign aides and others tied to the review of the presidential and U.S. Senate races in Maricopa County. Some talked on the record about their experiences, while others spoke on the condition they not be identified in order to speak candidly about private conversations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Experts dismissed the 'audit' as worthless. But it also helped the GOP and related interests rake in millions and keep the cause of Donald Trump alive. In episode four of a five-episode series, The Gaggle hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen dig deep to find out if the Arizona election review was about election integrity or just Trump – how Arizona State President Karen Fann chose partisans with little experience with ballot reviews, which former GOP chair consulted from the shadows and more. In a four-month investigation, The Arizona Republic examined a trove of text messages, emails and court records, many made public after suing the state for access. Republic reporters spoke to decision-makers, consultants, staff, contractors, campaign aides and others tied to the review of the presidential and U.S. Senate races in Maricopa County. Some talked on the record about their experiences, while others spoke on the condition they not be identified in order to speak candidly about private conversations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The nearly 8-hour insurrection on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol failed to overturn election results. Congress certified Joe Biden’s presidential win after hours of violence and bloodshed. In episode three of a five-episode series, The Gaggle hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen detail the narrative of a stolen election pressed by Trump, Gosar and Biggs. It was echoed by millions of the president’s followers and encouraged state Senate President Karen Fann to push ahead with a partisan ballot review. Once again, Arizona found its way back into the spotlight as a hotbed of partisan extremism and a magnet for those pushing election conspiracies. In a four-month investigation, The Arizona Republic examined a trove of text messages, emails and court records, many made public after suing the state for access. Republic reporters spoke to decision-makers, consultants, staff, contractors, campaign aides and others tied to the review of the presidential and U.S. Senate races in Maricopa County. Some talked on the record about their experiences, while others spoke on the condition they not be identified in order to speak candidly about private conversations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the second of a five-episode series, The Gaggle hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen break down Rudy Giuliani’s audacious pitch in Dec. 2020 to reverse Arizona election results ­– a plan that would involve the help of Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers and Senate President Karen Fann. Trump and his allies, including Giuliani, had for weeks pointed to purported irregularities in Arizona, claiming they contributed to a stolen election. A day earlier, Giuliani headlined a meeting at a Phoenix hotel where he and other Arizona Republicans presented claims of widespread voter fraud. The next 35 days would see divisions within the party, talk of subpoenas, more White House calls and then, Jan. 6. In a four-month investigation, The Arizona Republic interviewed dozens of people who were in and around the effort to alter the election outcome and the ballot review that for months sustained outrage over Trump’s loss. Some talked on the record about their experiences, while others spoke on the condition they not be identified in order to speak candidly about private conversations. The Republic also reviewed thousands of pages of documents obtained through public records requests and in an ongoing lawsuit against the Senate and the company it hired to conduct the ballot review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the course of four months, The Republic examined a trove of text messages, emails and court records, many made public after suing the state for access. Reporters spoke to decision-makers, consultants, staff, contractors, campaign aides and others tied to the review of the presidential and U.S. Senate races. Some talked on the record about their experiences, while others spoke on the condition they not be identified in order to speak candidly about private conversations. The Republic uncovered efforts to circumvent the popular vote to engineer an illegitimate Trump victory. Once the results were certified, Trump and his allies shifted to a campaign to pressure local Republicans to overturn election results from voters using an early ballot system largely shaped over decades by their own party. In this first of a five-episode series, Democracy in Doubt, The Gaggle hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen walk you through the origins of the Arizona election review and how that state plunged into a fog of election conspiracies riven with partisanship and targeted by opportunists from across the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week the U.S. House of Representatives ended months of infighting among Democrats to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema helped broker. The historic legislation, along with a still-unfinished social spending bill, serves as a reminder of the Arizona Democrat's central role in what seems politically possible in Washington. A deal with the liberal wing of House Democrats allowed the physical infrastructure plan to proceed. It will boost spending on the nation's various deteriorating structures such as roads and bridges, water systems and expand broadband internet coverage. Progressive Democrats expect a vote on the $1.75 trillion human "Build Back Better" bill later this month. How will Sinema's moderate policies affect the Biden agenda, Democratic fortunes in the 2022 midterm elections, and her own future in the Senate? In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen speak with Kyle Kondik. Kondik is a political analyst and the managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Oct. 28, 2021, the five-member Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission adopted new lines for political districts in the state. The new legislative and congressional maps had little contention by the bipartisan commission. The general public now has 30 days to look over the proposed maps and share their thoughts before the finalization date of Dec. 22. The final decision will impact Arizona politics for the next decade. The draft maps are online for the public to view on the Independent Redistricting Commission website. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, host Ron Hansen talk with the head of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission Dr. Erika Neuberg about what has been proposed so far. Then, Arizona Republic reporter Ray Stern joins the show to break down what this will mean in upcoming elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arizona's congressional and legislative boundaries are being redrawn as part of a process that may seem tedious, but carries outsize importance to understanding the state's politics for the next decade. Arizona is one of the few states that uses an independent commission, rather than having state lawmakers draw their own maps. The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, as it is known, has two Democrats, two Republicans and one independent member who sits as the chair of the panel. The IRC presented a draft of a new map on Oct. 5, to receive feedback from the public. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen speak with Yurij Rudensky, a redistricting expert for the Brennan Center's Democracy Program. Rudensky breaks down how Arizona's redistricting process compares to other states, and how public input can make a difference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The economics of the proposed spending of two major infrastructure bills along with a debate over raising the debt celling is playing out in Congress. There are three separate but important things happening. The first is the $1.2 trillion physical infrastructure bill that passed the Senate and waits action in the House. The second is the broader $3.5 trillion human infrastructure bill that comprises much of President Joe Biden's political agenda. That measure is being scaled back because of concerns raised by both Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Third, Congress still needs to raise the debt celling to approve borrowing for previous spending. The deadline for that is in early December, and if Congress fails to raise the debt figure, it could create chaos in global financial markets. For now, Senate Republicans want Senate Democrats to pass that provision without their support. How does all the proposed Congress spending impact the nation's and Arizona's economy? In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen speak with Arizona State University economics professor Dennis Hoffman. He breaks down how the long term investments could impact Arizonans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gov. Doug Ducey's time in Arizona's highest office is coming to a close in little over a year, which means that the race to replace him is starting to accelerate. The primary election is on August 2, and eight candidates are looking to take his seat. Former Fox10 television news anchor Kari Lake is running for the Republican Party and was awarded the highly sought-after endorsement by former President Donald Trump at the end of September. Of her four competitors for the GOP spot, other candidates like Matt Salmon are looking for another shot at office. On the Democratic side, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is the party frontrunner. But Marco Lopez has experience in former President Barack Obama’s administration that could make him attractive to some voters. And Aaron Lieberman just announced he was retiring from the state House to focus on his gubernatorial bid. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen talk with Arizona Republic reporter Stacey Barchenger about the upcoming governor's race, including who is running and where they stand on key issues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The liberal wing of the Democratic Party seems to be nearing its breaking point with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Over the weekend, members of the non-profit Living United for Change in Arizona, or LUCHA, followed Sinema, D-Ariz., into a bathroom at Arizona State University. Activists recorded and shouted their grievances at her for not supporting more accommodating immigration reforms. Progressives' frustration with Sinema go beyond Arizona voters. A Saturday Night Live skit portrayed her as the senator derailing legislation central to the Biden administration, including the $3.5 trillion human infrastructure package. Sinema has said that is too expensive for her vote, but hasn’t said what she would support. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen, speak with Emily Kirkland, executive director of Progress Arizona, a progressive community nonprofit. She's breaking down why the left is angry with Sinema and what they're doing about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the last nearly 10 months, ballots from the 2020 election have been counted and recounted to ensure that there was no election fraud and that Arizona really did vote President Joe Biden into office. While the election review is still happening in other ways, the official reports from Cyber Ninjas confirmed that there was no fraud and that Joe Biden did win Arizona's 11 electoral votes. Leading the way through the ballot recount has been Senate President Karen Fann. She signed onto subpoenas to obtain materials from the county, and helped press the county to hand over its ballots and tabulation machines. And she has presided over various public proceedings involving the review. A year ago, most people didn’t know who Fann even was, but now she has international recognition. This week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen are joined by Arizona Republic reporter Mary Jo Pitzl. Mary Jo has covered the state legislature on and off for a long time and has watched Fann navigate the Capitol for more than a decade. She recently sat down with Fann to find out how she became synonymous with Maricopa County's ballot review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ten months ago, President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election and Arizona’s 11 electoral votes. But a review of Maricopa County's 2.1 million ballots ordered by the Republican-controlled state Senate only ended last week. Cyber Ninjas, the Florida company that oversaw the review for the Senate, found President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump by a slightly margin than the certified results showed, and raised questions about thousands of ballots cast in the election. Arizona Republic reporters spent the weekend absorbing the ballot review results and tracking reaction from across the political spectrum. In this bonus episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen, speak with Jen Fifield, Mary Jo Pitzl and Ryan Randazzo to break down the results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. Senate passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package on Aug.10, a win for President Joe Biden and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., who co-negotiated the bipartisan legislation. But what is infrastructure? And could a massive investment like this make a meaningful impact on your life? Projects could be underway as soon as next year if the legislation passes the House of Representatives and is signed into law by Biden. Those projects include broadband expansion, water projects, funding for tribal communities, public transportation, airport updates and more. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen spoke with various Arizonans to learn how this bill could impact their daily lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Benny White, a prominent Pima County Republican data analyst and Larry Moore, the founder of Clear Ballot, one of the largest vote-tabulation companies in the nation, have analyzed voting patterns using public records. Over the summer, White and Moore independently offered their expertise multiple times to the Arizona state Senate’s review of Maricopa County’s ballots. Clear Ballot had no formal role in the analysis. Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, rejected their offer. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen speak with White and Moore who give us a sense of what they’ll be on the lookout for once the ballot-review report is released. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week 22,000 documents related to the ballot recount of the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County were released to the public. Those include thousands of text messages and emails that shed light on key players and their involvement in the months long election audit. Still to be released are nearly 2,900 more documents that the Senate has kept hidden because they don't believe it's required under the state's Public Records Law. In those documents are conversations between contractor Cyber Ninjas and the lawmakers who ordered the ballot review. This week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, host Yvonne Wingett Sanchez is joined by two Arizona Republic reporters: Jen Fifield and Ryan Randazzo. They provide insight on how the documents were obtained, what they discovered, and what it says about the election audit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's bonus episode, we're talking about some of the 22,000 records released by the republican-controlled senate. These records are related to the review of the 2.1 million ballots in Maricopa county from the 2020 election. On Tuesday night, Ryan Randazzo, Jen Fifield and Robert Anglen began poring through those records. They include emails, text messages and videos. We'll go over some of the early highlights and how the ballot review began, who's paying for it and other tidbits we think are worth watching. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canvassing efforts to examine the legitimacy of voter ballots for the 2020 presidential election could be illegal, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a New York-based policy institute, but that hasn’t stopped Liz Harris. Harris, who lost a race for the state Legislature in November, is the mastermind behind the “Voter Integrity Project,” an ongoing canvassing effort that began in December. Last weekend a couple dozen volunteers out to prove former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election gathered in Queen Creek. Using a mobile app that provides names, addresses and publicly available voting information of registered voters, volunteers set out to ask voters questions such as, “Can you verify the voters registered to this address?” and “Did you vote by mail or in person?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As debates about mask mandates in schools rage on in Arizona, pediatric cases of COVID-19 are on par to surpass the cases from the winter surge. Vaccines have proven to be beneficial to people who are contracting the coronavirus, but currently children under the age of 12 years-old are too young to be vaccinated. Away from the discourse on what schools should and should not enforce, doctors are treating young kids who are being affected physically and mentally. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, co-hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen are joined by Valleywise Health Center pediatrician Dr. Salil Pradhan and Pediatric Infectious Disease specialist Dr. Angela Veesenmeyer. They take The Gaggle inside what they are seeing day to day and what they think Arizonans can expect in the new few months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan has upended the lives of Afghans as the Taliban takes power. Many are fearful of Taliban rule because of their barbaric behavior and disregard for women and children. Afghans and civilians who helped the United States during its invasion of the country after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as interpreters, drivers and in other capacities are fearful they will be viewed as traitors. They worry the Taliban will kill them and their families. The images streaming out of Kabul depict desperation, with civilians begging to flee their country. Some scaled the sides of one American airplane preparing to take off. They fell to their deaths. Others ran alongside the plane, screaming as it gained speed. Evacuation flights for U.S. citizens and Afghan refugees are underway. Many worry not all of their family and friends will be able to escape — particularly those who have cooperated with the U.S. President Joe Biden meanwhile, is facing intense criticism from both sides of the aisle for the withdrawal. He stands by his decision to exit war-torn nation. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, host Yvonne Wingett Sanchez speaks with Aaron Marquez, a U.S. Army veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan. She also speaks to an Afghan refugee who served as Aaron’s interpreter, whose real name is not used in this episode for safety concerns. He is instead referred to as Alex. Years ago, Marquez and Alex spent time traversing Afghanistan in their official capacities, helping to rebuild parts of the nation and strengthening relationships with local officials. Aaron then helped Alex build a life in Arizona, and go to college here. Now, the two are fighting a different battle: they fighting to evacuate Alex’s family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ballot review of Maricopa County’s 2.1 million ballots from the 2020 election has gone on for 16 weeks. The recounting and scanning has come to an end though. The pallets of ballots have left the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and are back at the county’s Elections Department. It also has become clear who is paying for the review: Pro-Trump, conservative groups aligned with the "Stop the Steal" effort that preceded the Jan. 6 march on the U.S. Capitol that led to a deadly riot. A final report of what Cyber Ninjas found during the audit is expected to come in the next few weeks. Arizona Senate President Karen Fann has said the review has never been about overturning the results of the election. Instead, she has said it’s about examining election procedures and to help ensure the election was conducted fairly and with integrity. She and other lawmakers have indicated they intend to use the results of the review to help pass election-related laws. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, co-hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen are joined by two Arizona Republic reporters: Jen Fifield and Mary Jo Pitzl to help dissect the state of the ballot recount. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As parents prepare to send their kids back to in-person classes, the state is experiencing a rise in cases of COVID-19. This is in large part because of the delta variant of COVID-19, which is now the dominate strain in the state. Some health experts say Arizona is experiencing another COVID-19 surge, and the return to in-person learning has many parents and school administrators questioning how the school year will look. Why the uncertainty and how did we get here again? In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen speak with Republic reporter Alison Steinbach for a COVID-19 update, and education reporter Yana Kunichoff about what parents can expect this school year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Ducey's time as Governor is set to end in 2023, his eyes are on a more national position. An investigation by the Arizona Republic discovered that the governor was involved in a complex network of interests. A network that includes himself, a Texas millionaire, a Flagstaff gas station, the Arizona Department of Revenue, Ducey's staffers, and potentially $100 million in tax refunds. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen are joined by USA Today investigative business reporter Craig Harris. Harris' investigation resulted in a five-part series about how Gov. Ducey governs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Critical race theory has become a rallying cry for both Republican politicians and conservative parents alike. The COVID-19 pandemic forced parents to become more aware of their children’s curriculum as they attended school virtually. While school officials maintain educators are not teaching students that racism is systemic, some parents — and Arizona lawmakers — want to make sure it isn't allowed to happen. As in-person school board meetings returned, parents packed local school board meetings denouncing critical race theory during public comment. Conservative media and Republican politicians have taken cue from former President Donald Trump as he continues to criticize the study. But what is critical race theory? When did it begin? In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen break down the rhetoric surrounding critical race theory. Joining the show are Jamal K. Donnor, an associate professor at William and Mary School of Education, and Arizona Republic city reporters Joshua Bowling and Renata Cló. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In mid-January this year, Arizona residents over the age of 21 legally were allowed to buy recreational marijuana. Passing Proposition 207, known as the Smart and Safe Arizona Act, came with the promise of increased economic revenue and new business opportunities. Since then, new promises have been made. People with pending marijuana charges in most Arizona counties were able to have them dismissed. And those with charges, convictions and arrests on their record can try to get their record expunged. Arizona has had its recreational marijuana program for about six months. Are those promises being met? In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen are joined by business reporter Ryan Randazzo to take a closer look. Randazzo covers everything from solar energy to sports betting for The Republic. He has covered marijuana news since 2018. He discusses what promises have come to fruition, how much money legal recreational marijuana has made for Arizona, and where that money is going. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Arizona Republic reported that former President Donald Trump and his allies sought to speak directly to members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors after the Nov. 2020 election. The Republic obtained voicemail recordings from Maricopa County through a request under the Arizona Public Records Law, which allows anyone to seek public records from local, county, and state governments. Listen now to hear these voicemails left by Republican party chair Kelli Ward and Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani seeking to speak directly with Republican supervisors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., is a staunch supporter of passing congressional legislation by bringing both Republicans and Democrats on board, an approach that has taken on increased urgency in the 50-50 split U.S. Senate. Sinema's first high-profile demonstration of her approach is the framework for the $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal she recently co-negotiated, and President Joe Biden endorsed. Twenty-one senators, 10 Democrats and 11 Republicans, have also signed on to the tentative framework, which could start soon start making its way through the legislative process. Sinema has other bipartisan legislative plans in the works. She is working closely with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on a plan to increase the federal minimum wage and separately with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, that seeks to address the ongoing waves of asylum seekers arriving at the southern border, which have strained the Border Patrol and local communities. But can Sinema's approach to bipartisanship in an era marked by extreme partisanship help deliver legislation beyond spending money on the nation's roads, bridges and water systems? In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen are joined by Sarah Binder, a professor of political science at George Washington University. Binder breaks down Sinema's position in the U.S. Senate to lead negotiations on infrastructure and how she compares to other centrist Democrats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week is the constitutional deadline to pass the Arizona state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. $2-4 million in surplus and the plan being rejected by 2 Republican members lead to the state budget being decided on at the eleventh-hour. This week on The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett-Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen are joined by reporter Mary Jo Pitzl to break down the details of the budget and dissect who it helps most. Later in the episode, The Gaggle is joined by reporter Rob O'Dell to discuss the failed school vouchers program and deliberate if it could come back again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., has helped clinch a long-elusive deal on infrastructure. President Joe Biden has endorsed the plan, which was cobbled together over the past weeks behind closed doors by Sinema, and nine other more moderate senators from both parties. The framework was rolled out Thursday. It calls for massive investments into the nation’s roads and bridges, water systems, internet connectivity, cybersecurity, the buses we use to get across town and get our kids to school. It would clean up lead-filled pipes, upgrade power grids and clean up drinking water for ten million Americans and more than 400,000 schools and child care facilities. It’s important to note that this framework is not finished legislation. It’s a deal among a segment of the Senate. Sinema talked with members of Arizona’s press corps after a deal was announced. She maintained on Thursday that the deal she helped broker is evidence that bipartisanship is not dead. Listen to this bonus episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast for a quick breakdown of what this infrastructure plan would mean for Arizona. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Arizona cliché "it's a dry heat" resonates for a reason. The temperature has been in triple digits for weeks, there are wildfires raging all over the state, the lakes are too low to utilize for the fires, and there's no rain in sight. It's always hot and dry with little rain in Arizona, but the water crisis is reaching a dire point. Since the turn of the century, Arizona and the West have been in one of the biggest "megadroughts" of the last 1200 years. And it’s being revved up by human caused heating. This week on The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett-Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen talk with Kathy Jacobs to get a sense of what can be done and how bad the situation is really. Kathy is the director of the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on water policy, climate change adaptation and drought planning among others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daniel McCarthy, a successful businessman, made a name for himself in Arizona politics after mounting an unsuccessful U.S. Senate primary run against former Sen. Martha McSally in 2020. While he lost that race, McCarthy established himself as a voice of a faction of Arizona conservatives who see both major political parties as failing them. McCarthy viewed his loss to McSally as an early sign of a rigged election, a baseless claim that has wider support after former President Trump has pushed the same narrative following his defeat. McCarthy is trying to form another political option in Arizona, the Patriot Party, and that has caught the eye of Republicans trying to reshape that party. During the annual Arizona GOP meeting to elect party leadership he was booed off stage by attendees. Is McCarthy still a Republican? What does he want for Arizona policy? How will he influence the 2022 elections? Listen to this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen to hear an unfiltered conversation with McCarthy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether you turn on CNN or Comedy Central, the chances of hearing something about Arizona news on television is high. National news and comedy shows alike are covering the ongoing Maricopa County election audit, political moves from Arizona's senators and more. This week on The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen talk with Arizona Republic media critic Bill Goodykoontz about what this attention means for the state's national image. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Feb. 24 to hear arguments from federal judges across the country about the need to expand the bench including Diane Humetewa, a federal judge in Arizona and the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. She testified about the longstanding, unmet need for more federal judges in her state. Arizona is one of the nation’s fastest-growing states, but the number of judges has been stagnant for most of the past three decades. This has caused a legal backlog. It's been more than 30 years since Congress passed a broad expansion of the judiciary. In that time, the nation’s population has grown, technology has raised an array of previously unimaginable legal concerns and globalization has upended the economy. Democrats and Republicans agreed at the February hearing that the nation is overdue for more judges. In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen break down why and how this legal bottleneck affects Arizonans. Joining the show are Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, and Rep. Greg Staton, D-Ariz., a judiciary committee member. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A spending plan of over $12 billion for fiscal 2022 was introduced to the Arizona House on Monday. The plan calls for some pay raises, some money for education and calls for a controversial flat tax. Governor Doug Ducey’s proposed state flat tax of 2.5%, phased in over two years, is expected to cut state revenue by an estimated $1.9 billion each year. Taxpayers would start seeing lower tax rates as soon as next year. It’s being sold as “a tax cut for every Arizonan” but not everyone in the legislature sees it that way. This week on The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen, reporter Mary Jo Pitzl shares who the biggest winners and losers would be if this deal passes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arizona is joining 20 other states and Washington, D.C., allowing legal sports betting after Gov. Doug Ducey signed Senate Bill 1797 on April 15, expanding gaming in the state. The law also allows tribes to operate more slot machines, new tables and more casinos in the state. When will you be able to place bets on your favorite sports teams? How will this impact Arizona’s economy? And who benefits from this new law? In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen chat with business reporter Ryan Randazzo. He'll break down all there is to know about sports betting in Arizona. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It has been nearly three weeks since Maricopa County started the ballot audit on April 23, 2021. Nearly 2.1 million ballots are being hand-counted more than six months after the election in 2020. The unprecedented political spectacle is drawing attention from national media, from CNN to Comedy Central. Trevor Noah, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver commented on the audit on their shows and national news organizations such as the Guardian and the Washington Post have touched down in Phoenix to cover what’s going on in the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The Gaggle talked with Arizona Republic reporter Jen Fifield when the recount got started, but in this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen, and national elections law expert Rick Hasen will give a sense of what all of this means. This interview took place before Gov. Doug Ducey signed new legislation that would remove certain voters from the permanent early voting list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., is a central figure in a 50-50 split Senate. Democrats hold control but only with Vice President Kamala Harris acting as a tiebreaker. Sinema, a centrist Democrat, holds outsize political power and has the ability to make or break President Joe Biden's legislative agenda. She ran in 2018 on the promise to work in a bipartisan manner. How is she doing that? What do we know about her long-term legislative goals? In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen have a one-on-one conversation with Sinema. The Democratic senator, who rarely speaks with reporters at length, outlined her legislative goals on the minimum wage and border security as well as responded to criticisms of her refusal to get rid of the legislative filibuster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Arizona Senate's audit began nearly six months after the 2020 election at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Friday April 26. Cyber Ninjas, a Florida-based company, was contracted by the state Senate to conduct the audit. Journalists had little to no access to observe the audit apart from the right-wing news outlet One America News Network. In order to observe the audit, journalists had to sign up for a six-hour volunteer shift. Arizona Republic reporter Jen Fifield was there Friday morning to work as a volunteer. She was the only journalist that day observing the election audit. She was unable to take notes while on the floor observing, but was able to do so on her phone when she stepped off the floor into a locker area. She questioned organizers about audit guidelines when she observed an issue. In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, Fifield joins hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen to breakdown her experience inside the coliseum and what to expect in the coming weeks. Cyber Ninjas is expected to file its report with the Senate in 60 days. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first Federal Election Campaign finance reports of the year came out last week. These documents can show how candidates raise and spend money in federal elections and provide insight on who might be running for what offices in the 2022 and 2024 elections. With time on the clock still, the first quarter report shows how the fundraising efforts of key players in the next two elections, including Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz. are starting off right out of the gate. In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen highlight some of the standout fundraising and analyze why some candidates are already falling behind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Now that Congress has passed the American Rescue Plan of 2021, which will help sustain people and cities financially, Congress is turning its priorities elsewhere, including to issues at the border. In February, U.S. Customs and Border Protection processed 28,328 migrants. That number more than doubled to over 68,000 in March, most of them families and children. The surge of migrants who are processed and the insufficient space to hold them in Arizona led CBP to release migrants into small communities in southern Arizona. The Biden administration has received pushback from Republicans on the rollback of former President Donald Trump's immigration policies and the handling of the current migrant situation. They are calling the issue a crisis and inhumane. How many of those statements are realist or alarmist? What does the situation look like in these camps? How have the conditions along the border changed under President Biden? In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen are joined by immigration reporter Rafael Carranza to break down the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Georgia became one of the first states to pass a voting restriction law after the 2020 election on March 25. The bill includes new changes like shortening the window to request an absentee ballot, requiring more than a signature on mail-in ballots and making it illegal to hand out water to voters in line. Arizona is considered one of the next states to possibly follow and implement similar laws. Senate Bill 1485 proposes getting rid of the permanent early voting list which is used by most voters. Senate Bill 1713 adds an identification card requirement along with a signature to verify a ballot. Both of these have the broader electorate asking if Arizona could be the next Georgia. The Arizona GOP pushed back on voting fairness after President Joe Biden won the state by the narrowest margin in the country, but now one of the state's most influential business groups, Greater Phoenix Leadership, is urging the GOP to resist changes to the election process. In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen talk with Sonja Diaz, the Founding Director of the Latino Policy & Politics Initiative at UCLA. She is a civil rights attorney and testified before the House of Representatives on voting in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From 1945 to 1962, the United States conducted nuclear mining in Northern Arizona and nuclear testing in Southern Nevada. Yet the government failed to warn people in the area of the radiation risks posed by that work and the health hazards associated with it, including various forms of cancer. Then in 1990, Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. It established a lump sum compensation for individuals who contracted illnesses in the aftermath of the testing. The program was later expanded in 2000 and is set to close its eligibility to individuals in 2022. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., is sponsoring a bill to extend the eligibility to include Mohave County and Nevada's Clark County in the federal fund. Last week, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing to listen to testimony from people in the affected areas. That included Mohave County Supervisor Jean Bishop, who grew up in the affected area and developed cancer due to the nuclear testing. In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen are joined by Bishop as she recounts her childhood in the impacted area. You'll also hear from Stanton on his outlook of the bill and why he took up the issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The divide between Arizona's congressional Democrats and its House Republicans is wider than ever in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Arizona Democrats said the fallout from the insurrection is testing their will to work together. “If I’m going to advocate to the federal government, to the (President Joe) Biden people, I’m not going to jump on with people that just tried to invalidate his election,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. Republicans, such as Rep. David Schweikert, also acknowledged the deeper rift and said it has been moving in that direction for years. In today's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen discuss the evolving dynamics of Arizona's congressional delegation and what that means for their ability to represent and advocate for Arizonans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick has been representing Arizonans since 2005 and announced Friday that she will not be running for re-election at the end of her term. In her career, Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz, has used her history in rural Arizona to bring more representation to smaller cities and has been a key member of the House Appropriations Committee. In January of 2020, she took some time off to treat alcoholism after a fall and returned in late February of that year. In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen talk with Kirkpatrick to discuss her career and what her absence will look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four months have passed since Arizona certified its election results. In the subsequent months, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and the Arizona Senate have been in an ongoing legal battle over an audit of 2020 election ballots. The Arizona Senate subpoenaed the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors for access to the paper ballots and voting machines to conduct their own audit of the 2020 election results. The county argued that they legally could not handover the ballots. On Feb. 26, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy Thomason ruled the Arizona Senate's subpoenas were valid. In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen are joined by Phoenix City Hall reporter Jen Fifield to breakdown the legal battle and what potential precedent this could set moving forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a year of taking heat from the political left and right, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is answering his critics. Democrats such as Sen. Kyrsten Sinema criticized Ducey for being slow to protect Arizonans during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans criticized him for certifying President Joe Biden's narrow victory in Arizona during the 2020 election. On Monday, Ducey sat down with national political reporters Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen for this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast. The interview covered everything from managing COVID-19 to expanding school choice to Ducey's political plans after serving as governor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two years ago, Arizona voters rejected a GOP law to expand the state’s school voucher-style program. Despite that rejection, and against the backdrop of at-home learning in the era of the pandemic, Arizona’s Republicans are once again trying to dramatically expand the program. This year, the Arizona Senate voted not just to expand the voucher system. In fact, SB 1452 is even larger than the expansion that was repealed by voters. Under the proposed legislation, two thirds of Arizona’s 1.1 million public-school students would qualify for the program, which lets parents spend public money on private and religious schooling. The bill comes as many parents are frustrated following months of at-home education or hybrid learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans are leveraging that frustration to advocate for private schools, many of which have re-opened for in-person learning to some degree. In this week’s episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, host Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen talk to education reporter Lily Altavena and data reporter Rob O’Dell about the politics of school re-opening and school vouchers. The team discusses where in-person education stands in Arizona, what Republicans are proposing and how that would shape education for students and parents alike. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices