Michael Bryan

Michael founded BlogForArizona.net as the Howard Dean presidential campaign blog for Arizona in 2003, and has been blogging ever since. The Blog is now coming up on 20 years of continuous publication, a major achievement for any political blog, which usually have the life-spans of mayflies. Michael is an attorney living in Tucson with his wife Lauren. In 2008, Michael remade BlogForArizona into a collaborative project. Michael is now but one of the contributors to the blog and provides editorial and publishing direction in consultation with the Board of Directors and the other authors. If you want to keep up with the latest Arizona and National political news in an entertaining quick hit of news and opinion, check out the BlogForArizona twitter feed, which Mike largely curates and writes. Michael is also an AAPC member who occassionally consults on political campaigns, strategy and communications.

10 Great Reasons to Support Mark Kelly’s Run for AZ Senate

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Let’s face it, there is no such thing as a “good” politician. But those who come to the dark art of politics later in life – those who are forced into the immoral world of politics out of a genuine, and often desperate necessity for change – are our best hope. Those who spend most … Read more

AZ in Top Third with National Board Certified Teachers

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Let me be clear. I’ve never worn blackface and can’t for the life of me understand why someone would think it is okay. But, I’ve been guilty (when much younger), of making the insensitive and derogatory comment that, “those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach.” I was referring to military trainers, not K–12 teachers, but I am still mortified and profusely sorry for ever thinking, let alone saying that, about any educator.

I was ignorant and didn’t know what I didn’t know. I now know that good teachers are highly skilled professionals who have honed their art. I know that the overwhelming majority of K–12 teachers have chosen their profession because they have a passion for helping children grow and thrive. I also know that teachers are the number one in-school factor to student success. I fervently believe, that if we are to truly unleash our students’ and our state’s potential, we must focus on preparing, hiring, supporting, and trusting, high-quality, professional educators.

I was surrounded by several hundred such professionals at this year’s Arizona K12 Center’s 10th Celebration of Accomplished Teaching. It was a wonderful gala to celebrate the 136 Arizona teachers who achieved or renewed National Board Certification (NBC) in 2018.

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Listen, Download, Support: “Border Cowboys” Investigative Report On Buffett’s Adventures/Spending On Arizona/Mexico Border

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Sun Sounds of Arizona is a nonprofit reading service for people who have difficulty holding and/or reading print material because of a disability. It broadcasts statewide and has volunteer readers in Tucson, Flagstaff and Phoenix. BFA contributor Paul Weich (Arizona’s Politics) regularly records the Phoenix New Times.

Most of the articles would not be appropriate to post here, but some of the award-winning reporting is a perfect fit for BFA.

The two-part series published last month is among the latter, and inaugurates this new feature. “Border Cowboys” delves into what is going on down on the Cochise County portion of the U.S./Mexico border, and how the heck billionaire Howard G. Buffett (the Warren Buffett’s son) fits into the vigilante history there. Throw in the Sheriff’s Offices in Cochise County and a couple of Illinois operations and conservation districts, and you have an article that must be heard (or, read) to be believed.

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The Fund for Investigative Journalism, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, and the Center for Media and Democracy contributed financial support to this reporting. And, those

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The Right to Vote: Use It or Lose It?

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The 2018 election was almost three months ago now, but Arizona Republicans, coming off a string of embarrassing losses, are still acting like sore losers and trying to take their ball and go home. As I wrote about before this legislative session started, we can expect AZ Republicans to respond to their electoral losses by … Read more

So, how’s that teacher shortage?

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Anyone wondering where we stand with Arizona’s teacher shortage? After all, last year was probably the most significant year ever for Arizona public school teachers. Some 75,000 of them marched on the state Capitol demanding better pay for themselves and support staff, lower class sizes and more. The result was an additional 9% salary increase added to the 1% Governor Ducey had originally offered for the year. Surely this must have helped us retain quality teachers, right?

Well, not so fast. As the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association (ASPAA) learned in their annual statewide survey of districts, we are a long way from “out of the woods” and aren’t even headed in the right direction.

The 211 districts and charters that responded last year reported that 7,453 teacher openings needed to be filled during the school year. As of December 12, 2018, there were still 1,693 vacancies and 3,908 individuals not meeting standard teacher requirements, for a total of 75% of teacher positions vacant or filled by less than fully qualified people.

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