Tag: Arizona Senate President

Legendary Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce, Sponsor of SB 1070, Dies at 75

Rachel Alexander

Longtime Arizona Legislator Russell Pearce of Mesa, who served as Senate President in 2011, passed away Thursday at age 75. The sponsor of Arizona’s nationally known SB 1070 curbing illegal immigration, which Governor Jan Brewer famously signed into law in 2010, died peacefully at a hospital surrounded by family and friends after becoming sick earlier in the week. 

Pearce was loved on both sides of the aisle, famous for his friendship with Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) going back to when she was in the state legislature and considered the most liberal member — the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers awarded her the Vladimir I. Lenin Award. According to one source, Sinema moved her desk at the legislature to sit next to Pearce. 

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Arizona Grassroots Groups Rally at ‘Redfest’ to Push Conservative Legislators for Leadership Positions in 2023

Rachel Alexander

Freedomworks, one of the nation’s leading conservative grassroots organizations, recently launched a satellite office in Arizona and held a joint “Redfest Rally” with other Arizona conservative organizations Friday night to discuss getting conservative legislators into leadership positions in the Arizona Legislature. State Rep. Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale) is vying for Speaker of the House, likely facing off against House Majority Leader Ben Toma (R-Peoria), and State Sen. Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) is going up against longtime State Sen. David Gowan (R-Sierra Vista). 

Chaplik told the crowd that people don’t trust the “fractured caucus” that exists currently under the leadership of House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R-Mesa), who lost his primary election earlier this month due to defeating numerous conservative bills including many election integrity bills. Chaplik called the legislature a “cesspool” of “sham favoritism,” and said Arizonans can expect a “more conservative caucus” in 2023. 

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