The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast

U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko has had enough of Washington, D.C. Lesko has represented the northwest Valley for six years after winning a special election to fill the spot for Trent Franks, who stepped down after allegations of sexual harassment involving his female staffers. Lesko has been a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump, voting against his impeachment and voting in Congress to overt...

The battle over copper mining at Oak Flat, an area sacred to Native tribes, has been waged for two decades. On March 1, the dispute marked a significant milestone: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals narrowly rejected the argument from the grassroots group Apache Stronghold that mining activity would destroy First Amendment religious rites observed by Native tribes. The court voted 6-5 to uphold...

Suspicions about Arizona's voting returns have been growing for several years. It hit its peak in 2020, in the immediate aftermath of Joe Biden's narrow win over Donald Trump in this swing state. In response, the Arizona state Senate launched what it called an audit of all Maricopa County ballots cast in November 2020. In reality, the organizer couldn't even vouch for the hand count of 1 million b...

Everyone knows 2024 is an election year but amid the chatter of who will be president of the United States is a wide selection of smaller, important local Arizona elections. Residents in the small town of Litchfield Park will have the opportunity to cast their vote to be an official charter city. It's the first city in the Valley to do so in 40 years and will grant them independence from the state...

The clock is ticking for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema to make a decision on running again for her seat. The collapse of her bipartisan border security bill unceremoniously ended her hopes of adding a deal on perhaps the most difficult issue in congressional politics to her legislative scorecard.  Since quitting the Democratic Party in December 2022, Sinema’s fundraising has plummeted and she is about 20 pe...

The U.S. has newly-released an $118 billion national security bill. It includes approximately $20 billion for border provisions, including $650 million for the border wall and funding for asylum judges, expanded detention capacity and other programs. In a interview with CBS' Face the Nation, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema says that the deal will address a multitude of issues including the record surg...

A busy election year is here. It starts with the March 19 presidential preference election, followed by the Aug. 6 primary, and then the Big One: the Nov. 7 presidential election. On that day, voters all over the country will be ponying up to the polls to fill in the bubble of the candidates they want most. This year, the presidency is on the line. But first comes the preference election. This ele...

The "Gilbert Goons" have made headlines here in Arizona and nationwide. Young men from affluent families have been indiscriminately targeting others for violent beatings. One such attack ended in the death of 16-year-old Preston Lord. Amid the many questions swirling around this case is one of particular relevance to you, our Gaggle listeners. What is the political fallout? Producers Kaely Monahan...

2024 is a pivotal year for Arizona. Not only is it a presidential election year, but the state is entering its second year with a divided government. Gov. Katie Hobbs has lined out her agenda for this year in her recent State of the State. Speaker of the House, Ben Toma R-Glendale, has his own thoughts on how Arizona's 2024 should go. He currently presides over a narrowly divided chamber at the Ph...

Gov. Katie Hobbs officially started the new legislative session this week with her second State of the State address. She focused on areas where she's hopeful for bipartisanship: housing, the border and the state's water supply. This year, Republican lawmakers mostly listened in silence. One senator, Anthony Kern, once again turned his back on Hobbs, literally, as he had in 2023. Despite the turbu...

It's the beginning of a big year in Arizona politics. Next week, Gov. Katie Hobbs will give her second "state of the state" address, reviewing her first year in office and her goals for the year ahead. This could set the tone for state politics in 2024. Nationally, Arizona is expected to hold the political spotlight as one of a handful of swing states on the electoral map. President Joe Biden’s na...

Another year in Arizona politics has come and nearly gone. What might be remarkable elsewhere is almost par for the course in the Grand Canyon State. The year started with Arizona's first Democratic governor in more than a decade being sworn in on the ninth floor of the executive tower just before a legislative session with Republican majorities in both houses. Gov. Katie Hobbs went on to veto mor...

The ranch girl from Duncan, Arizona who grew up to be the first woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, passed away on December 1st, 2023. On December 18th, she entered the highest court in the land one last time. Thousands of Americans came to pay their respects.  Today we hear from her younger brother, Alan Day, about what it was like growing up with the ranch girl who would be come a Supreme Co...

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court was laid to rest this week. As the country said its final farewells to Arizona ranch girl, we here on The Gaggle have been honoring her life and legacy through a series of interviews with those who knew her. Welcome to the third episode of The Gaggle’s mini series on Sandra Day O’Connor. Thus far we have heard from O’Con...

This week, the country has said its final goodbyes to the first woman to ever sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.  To mark Sandra Day O'Connor's historical life, The Gaggle is sharing in-depth interviews with those that knew her. Yesterday we heard from her biographer, Evan Thomas. Today, we’ll hear from Linda Hirshman, a lawyer, cultural historian, and author of many books – including the 2016 “Sister...

Sen. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe, spent years as a computer systems analyst before turning to a career in politics. Finding a lack of support and finances for her children's education inspired her to change paths. She now holds a leadership position in the Arizona Senate. Epstein is no stranger to the Arizona Legislature: Although this is her first Senate term, she served three terms in the House of Re...

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has been laid to rest on December 19, 2023. In this special mini series we to bring you the interviews of those who knew her conducted by our host Ron Hansen, as well as former host and Republic reporter Yvonne Wingett Sanchez. We begin with O’Connor’s biographer Evan Thomas. He is a historian and journalist, and penned "First: Sandra Day O'Connor." Speaking from his ho...

Republican Warren Petersen leads an Arizona state Senate that has been aggressive in pursuing its policy goals and, in many cases, defying Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.  A third-generation resident of Gilbert, Arizona, Petersen was first elected to the Legislature in 2012 and has served in both the House, where he was the majority leader, and now in the Senate.  As Senate president, Petersen along...

Americans from President Joe Biden on down have paid tribute to the late Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor since her passing on December 1, 2023.  Most of the tributes and memories have understandably focused on her time on the court. She was historic, after all, as the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court.  But she was fiercely proud of her roots as an Arizona ranch girl. In fact, she...

Sandra Day O’Connor, the Arizona ranch girl who was a fixture in Arizona’s statehouse and judiciary before becoming the first woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, died Friday December 1, 2023 of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness. She was 93. In this bonus episode of The Gaggle, Ron Hansen shares her life story and her impact on Arizona and US politics. He is j...

Mesa is one of the fastest growing cities in Arizona. The East Valley is now just shy of half a million residents and has been a magnet for growth. For the the last decade, this boom has been shepherded by Mayor John Giles. He chalks up Mesa's success to several factors including smart investments in the city's properties. This in turn has paved the way for many of the world's biggest companies –...

When it comes to the holidays, the last thing most people want to think about are politics. The plethora of stories, memes, jokes, and comedy skits about "don't bring up politics at family gatherings" are a testament to the unspoken taboo. But sometimes its easy to forget that our elected officials are people too. And being a politics podcast, we here on The Gaggle wanted to bring you a different...

The podcast team at the Arizona Republic is busy working on season 4 of our investigative show "Rediscovering." In season 1, Richard Ruelas uncovers more to the mystery of murdered journalist Don Bolles. In season 2, Ron Hansen and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez broke down how legendary racist law SB1070 came to be and its impact on Arizona. Last season, Rafael Carranza told the tale of José Antonio, a Me...

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Maricopa County has been one of the fastest-growing counties in America for almost a decade. It has about 4.6 million residents. While downtown Phoenix is rapidly building apartment buildings and Phoenix and its suburbs are adding new subdivisions, the unhoused population also has grown. At the beginning of the year, 9,642 people were experiencing homelessness in the county, according to a yearly...