The Breakdown

Has your inbox been flooded with pleas from Dem PACs and fundraising groups? Are you getting a sense of 2018 deja vu? It’s no coincidence — many of the big spenders that came en masse to tight races last cycle have returned, gearing up for a 2020 election that has huge implications for Arizona Democrats. 

The NCSL was here last week to discuss redistricting, which will be a hot button issue come next year.

And we have the latest update on the Paul Petersen saga, his suspension appeal hearing happened last Wednesday and his suspension now remains in limbo.

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Music in this episode included “Creative Minds,” “Funky Element” and “Energy” by Bensound.

Arizona Power Supply (APS) chairman Don Brandt testifies before the Arizona Corporation Commission, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Maricopa County “top cop” Bill Montgomery’s got a new job, and while he’s trying on black robes half the lawyers in Phoenix are gunning for his old one. 

Don Brandt spent a day in a metaphorical hot seat answering questions about the literal hot houses APS created by shutting off customers’ power.

And a month after a former Democratic Senate employee won a lawsuit over poor pay, the Senate handed out five-figure raises to partisan staff.

Don’t forget to subscribe to The Breakdown on iTunes and Stitcher.

Music in this episode included “Creative Minds,” “Funky Element” and “Energy” by Bensound.

Gov. Doug Ducey showed up Thursday for this Independence Day event wearing sneakers made by the company whose conduct he had criticized just the day before. (Twitter/Coconino County Democratic Party)

Arizona kicked off the holiday weekend with a fight with Nike that put the governor in the national spotlight. Was that the intent all along, and what might that signal for Gov. Doug Ducey’s future plans?

The state Department of Education narrowly avoided its own controversy  as it reversed a stance of step-parents of children applying for school vouchers.

And times always seem to be tough for the Corporation Commission. We’ll have an update on the latest from the utility regulators and APS.

Don’t forget to subscribe to The Breakdown on iTunes and Stitcher.

Music in this episode included “Creative Minds,” “Funky Element” and “Energy” by Bensound.

Winged Victory on sine die night 2019. (Photo by Dillon Rosenblatt/Arizona Capitol Times)

Sine die watch is finally over after the Senate approved an $11.8 billion budget on Memorial Day, ending a knockdown drag out 135 day session; Ducey signed a bill designed to protect the legal rights of childhood sex abuse survivors; and don’t throw away those vape pens just yet, because the Arizona Supreme Court just ruled that marijuana resin and extracts are super legal!

Don’t forget to subscribe to The Breakdown on iTunes and Stitcher.

Music in this episode included “Creative Minds,” “Piano Moment” and “Energy” by Bensound.

Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk has been targeting medical marijuana patients using extracts – until recently anyway. We’ll actually have that story for you this week.

One representative wants to make sure legislative candidates are actually residents of the districts they want to serve.

And, of course, we’ll have the latest on the ever-developing saga of former Rep. David Stringer. What did we learn from hundreds of pages of additional documents last week?

Don’t forget to subscribe to The Breakdown on iTunes and Stitcher.

Music in this episode included “Creative Minds” and “Energy” by Bensound.