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.

FLYING SOLO? McSally ONLY Major Senate Candidate With No Employees, Paying No Payroll Taxes; IRS/State Violation?

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Last year, Arizona Rep. Martha McSally (R-CD2) voted against permitting Congress to review the tax returns of President Donald Trump (as part of tax reform legislation). This year – as McSally has become a frequent defender of the President – her Senatorial campaign committee has taken the unusual position that there are NO (taxable) employees working on her campaign.

By classifying 13 apparently-full-time persons as independent contractors, McSally has avoided paying the employer’s share of payroll taxes, Social Security and Medicare withholding, unemployment taxes, benefits, etc.

Arizona’s Politics reviewed the campaign filings of the Republican and Democratic candidates running in the 10 highest-spending Senate campaigns and found that McSally is the only one who decided to classify her top staff as independent contractors.  Democratic Senator Bill Nelson’s (D-FL) campaign previously was set up the same way until the Washington Free Beacon publicized the questionable workaround in July.

(Last week, Arizona’s Politics reported on the FEC’s concern about the McSally For Senate committee not disclosing necessary contributor information, despite previous assurances.)

Based on our review of the most recent, 3rd quarter filing, McSally has 13 people receiving monthly payments ranging from between $1,445 and $7,000, and at least that many receiving smaller bi-weekly payments. All of them list “field

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SHOCKING, UNCOVERED Video Of McSally Calling On Herself/Others To “Look Within Our Hearts…Make Sure We’re Not Facilitators Or Bystanders” Fomenting Political Violence

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Yes, Martha McSally is passionate when she speaks. The Republican Congresswoman’s passion came through in last night’s debate with fellow Rep. Kyrsten Sinema to help voters decide which should be Arizona’s next Senator. In the most memorable exchange – during and after the debate – McSally accused Sinema of committing treason against the United States.

However, it was 16 months ago this week that McSally (R-CD9) was just as passionately imploring herself and fellow elected officials (including the President) to “look within our hearts” to ensure that “we each need to do our part to ratchet this down.”

Arizona’s Politics wrote about her striking comments in the aftermath of the shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise, and posted the video of her dual interviews on

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UPDATE: APS Crosses $150,000 Mark In Donations To Help AG Brnovich

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APS’ (Arizona Public Service’s) contributions to help re-elect Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich have now hit – or, exceeded – $150,000, Arizona’s Politics is reporting. The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) filed its third quarter report with the IRS last night, and indicated that APS parent Pinnacle West contributed another $100,000 on July 10.

Pinnacle West spent $425,000 in 2014 to benefit Brnovich’s first campaign, and the Arizona Republic reported last month about the changes the AG’s office
made to Prop. 127. Arizona Public Service is investing heavily in defeating the measure.

In 2014, APS donated much of its money to RAGA after the final pre-election reporting period. Earlier this year,

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Sharon Girard

LD8 Democratic Legislative Candidates Support Education and Women’s Rights

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Sharon Girard
Sharon Girard supports Medicare for All and retaining the KidsCare Healthcare program.

The Democratic candidates running for the state Legislature put an emphasis on issues that are unique to rural Arizona such as failing schools, lack of access to quality healthcare, water rights, and immigration.

In our Trump nation, local elections matter more than ever. If you care about education, healthcare or equality, it is vital that each of us knows exactly who is running for our local legislative seats.

Legislative District 8 encompasses Eloy, Globe, Gila River Indian Reservation, Mammoth, Coolidge, Florence, Superior, parts of Oracle, and Casa Grande.  

LD 8 can be considered a toss-up district. It is a District where the incumbent Republican state Senator Frank Pratt won less than 55 percent of the vote in 2016! Simply put: 55% is a percentage Democrats can chip away at. So, who are these Democrats on the ballot and what do they care about?

Arizona State Senate

Sharon Girard is running as a Democrat. She is a Physician’s Assistant and comes from a military family. Girard grew up in California but lives and works in Eloy, Arizona. She is a mother, wife and a fierce advocate for women’s reproductive rights and access to affordable healthcare for all. Her impressive medical background informs many of her positions. She is endorsed by Moms Demand Action, Naral Arizona, Teamsters Local 104, the Arizona AFL CIO, and various other organizations. Girard’s social media presence is strategic; she is active on both Facebook and Twitter.

Women’s equality and Reproductive freedom: Girard supports a woman’s right to choose, access to affordable contraception for men and women, equal pay, comprehensive sex education in all schools, and an end to Crisis Pregnancy Centers.

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