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.

UPDATE: Sinema, McSally Both Vote “Aye” To Help Pass Mideast Bill Package

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Arizona’s Senators both voted to help pass the Senate’s Mideast Bill Package this afternoon.  S.1 passed by a 77-23 vote as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) first legislative priority for this session – began while avoiding a vote on the then-shutdown; its future in the Democratic-controlled House is uncertain. While all of the Republican Senators but one … Read more

UPDATE: APS Makes Year End $50,000 Contribution To Republican AGs

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Pinnacle West is no longer limiting its political contributions to obvious campaigns. A new filing reveals a December 31 $50,000 contribution to the association to elect Republican Attorneys General (aka RAGA). During the last campaign cycle, APS’s parent company donated $150,000 to RAGA, which turned around and spent heavily to help re-elect Arizona AG Mark Brnovich. … Read more

Martha McSally

OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN, PART ___: McSally Campaign Accepts Excessive Contributions and Repeats Other Issues

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Arizona Senator Martha McSally may have “built the best compliance team in the country”, but that team continues to struggle properly dealing with the volume of contributions that she received during (and after) her unsuccessful campaign to defeat Kyrsten Sinema for the retired Senator Jeff Flake’s seat.

The day that FEC employees got back from the lengthy government shutdown, they sent out two notices (“RFAIs”) to the campaign. One suggested that the committee was still having problems getting the required occupation and employer information from contributors. Arizona’s Politics reported on that issue in October. The other, more eye-popping notice detailed more than $270,000 in contributions that exceeded the limits that individuals are permitted to donate.

Last week – before the notices were sent out – the McSally committee had filed an amended report correcting – re-attributing, re-designating or refunding – some of the monies. The Year-End report filed last night includes more corrections.

However, that still leaves LOTS of contributions to clear up. Fortunately, she has

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UPDATE: Shutdown Impacted Ongoing NTSB Investigation Into Last Year’s Self-Driving Uber Fatality, 2 Arizona Fatal Air Accidents

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Last year’s Grand Canyon helicopter accident – killing 3 – the self-driving Uber vehicle that killed a pedestrian, and a fatal air accident near Kingman two weeks ago. Investigations into all were delayed or damaged by the now-ending government shutdown.

(from Tempe Police via New Times)

The federal government shutdown is finally ending, but the impacts are still being discovered. The NTSB’s Dolline Hatchett tells Arizona’s Politics that the ongoing investigations into last year’s news-making accidents were halted when 367 of the National Transportation Safety Board’s 397 employees were furloughed. The aircraft accident near Kingman on January 13, in which one person was killed and one seriously injured, has not yet been investigated.

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White House jeopardizes US national security with security clearances

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Earlier this week, Democrats opened an investigation of the White House security clearance process:

House Democrats are opening an investigation of the Trump White House’s security clearance practices and what they are calling “grave breaches” of procedure that allowed potentially compromised people to access the country’s most sensitive secrets.

The investigation, announced Wednesday by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), seeks both to expose why the White House allowed certain people with security clearance issues to continue to access sensitive information and to close those loopholes.

The panel also plans to challenge administration officials on why they have not been more responsive to congressional requests regarding the security clearance process, as required by law.

Among the people whose cases the panel plans to scrutinize are former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn, who recently pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials; Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who did not disclose several contacts with foreign officials on his security clearance forms; and former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who was accused of spousal abuse.

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