Local Politics · Phoenix, AZ
The Arizona Corporation Commission voted unanimously to retroactively redact references to former policy advisor Laurie Woodall from a public meeting transcript and video, after Executive Director Doug Clark fired her without notifying Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson. General Counsel Tom Van Flein advised the discussion should have occurred in executive session, prompting commissioners to deem mentions of Woodall private content. First Amendment attorney David Bodney called the redaction contrary to Arizona's open meeting laws, noting the agenda also failed to list specific matters discussed. The Attorney General's Office confirmed awareness but had not received an open-meeting-law complaint. The commission approved a motion to seek outside legal counsel on whether the firing was justified.
Crime · Maricopa County
Bernadette Greene-Placentia, a Democratic candidate for Arizona's 8th Congressional District, publicly shared that she was sexually assaulted around 2 a.m. on August 14 while repairing campaign signs to avoid daytime heat and traffic. She reported the alleged assault to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office approximately two weeks later, and the investigation remains ongoing as of publication. Greene-Placentia said it is unclear whether her attackers knew who she was or if the violence was connected to her campaign. Republican incumbent Abe Hamadeh's campaign issued a statement calling for thorough investigation and prosecution.
Local Politics · Phoenix, AZ
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a request by attorney Andrew D. Parker to review a lower-court decision requiring him and other lawyers for former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake to pay $122,000 in legal costs to Maricopa County. The sanctions stemmed from a 2022 lawsuit filed by Lake and state lawmaker Mark Finchem that sought to ban electronic tabulation devices; U.S. District Judge John Tuchi found the claims lacked adequate factual basis and the attorneys acted recklessly. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had previously rejected appeals over both the dismissal and the fee award. The payment obligation applies to the lawyers who pressed the lawsuit, not to Lake or Finchem.
