The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast

Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel ended her three-year tenure as the county's top prosecutor in a hospital amid concerns that she was losing her battle with alcohol abuse and after her top section chiefs noted they didn’t think she was up to the job. Adel's resignation sparked a dash to qualify for the election to replace her and a lightning round of interviews for an interim boss.The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has appointed Republican Rachel Mitchell as the interim county attorney to finish out Adel's term, which ends this fall.Candidates to run for the office in the 2022 election had just two weeks to file paperwork and gather signatures to qualify for the August primaries in their bid to take over one of the largest prosecutorial teams in the country. All this begs the question: What's next for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thousands of refugees are waiting at the U.S.-Mexico border. This might sound like old-news, but these asylum-seekers are getting through the border. What makes them different from the previous waves of migrants is that these people are from Ukraine. More than 2,000 Ukrainian refugees have crossed the border at Tijuana into San Diego. President Biden has ordered border agents to process any Ukrainians seeking sanctuary in the U.S.He says the United States will accept up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine. But why exactly are Ukrainians coming to the U.S. through Mexico from Europe amid the war in their homeland? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2020, Arizonans voted to legalize recreational marijuana, and it opened the door for both local and national marijuana companies to flood the market. But cannabis is not as highly regulated in Arizona as one might expect.We are in the wild west of marijuana production and that means some corners are cut and standards aren’t always consistent. Some cannabis companies have failed to keep their products free of contaminants. Arizona, like most states with legal marijuana and testing rules, requires growers to submit the products to state-licensed labs before marijuana is sold on dispensary shelves. But in unlike other states, regulators here don't do their own testing to ensure the weed is safe.In this bonus episode of The Gaggle, an azcentral.com podcast,  Arizona Republic business reporter, Ryan Randazzo talks about how he got a lab to test products he bought, and how results came back showing some of that cannabis was contaminated with a pesticide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recently, Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill into law that would ban women from getting abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. He also signed a bill targeting transgender youth. The law bans gender affirming surgeries for people under 18 and bans transgender girls from participating on women's athletic teams at public or private schools that compete against public schools, including at the collegiate level.Supporters say the abortion restriction protects women from the emotional and physical trauma of undergoing abortions and saves lives. Supporters of the bill impacting transgender youth say it protects children and women’s sports.One of those proud supporters is Cathi Herrod.Herrod is the president of the Center for Arizona Policy, a socially conservative non-profit advocacy organization. Those who have followed state politics since the center’s start in 1995 probably have heard of her. The center has have been instrumental in helping pass numerous socially conservative laws in its 27 years.The center promotes what it refers to as the foundational principles of life, religious freedoms and family values. Herrod has served as president since 2006.In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, host Yvonne Wingett Sanchez sat down with Herrod to discuss her recent successes and the center's future legislation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Governor Doug Ducey has signed a controversial abortion bill into law. The new law, which won’t take effect until the fall, outlaws abortions after 15 weeks – with no exceptions for rape or incest.Those who oppose abortion rights Pro-life advocates are hailing the new law as a huge success in the fight to protect the unborn. But those who support abortion rights describe it as heavy-handed government intrusion into personal medical decisions … as well as deepening racial disparities in health care access.By enacting one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation, Arizona joins other Republican-led states chipping away at Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion rights, that is currently expected to be reined in by the high court this term.This week on The Gaggle, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen are joined by Arizona Republic politics reporter Stacey Barchenger. Together they break down what Arizona’s upcoming abortion law does and what it does not do, how this plays into the agenda for Ducey and Republicans nationally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two years ago in Arizona, and in most of the world, conditions were starting to feel apocalyptic. After sweeping across China and Europe, the new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, made its way to America. The nation was suddenly locked in quarantine. Grocery store shelves were barren of essentials. Workers were laid off by the millions. Life as we knew it was upended and no one how bad it would get or how long it would last.Around this time, Gov. Doug Ducey took some of his first executive actions on COVID-19. All elective surgeries were halted to make room in hospitals for coronavirus patients. Restaurants were closing but were allowed to start serving alcohol to go.Two very strange years later, it seems that the worst of the pandemic is behind us. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, host Yvonne Wingett Sanchez is joined by two Arizona Republic reporters to help take stock of it all. Stephanie Innes covers health and walks through the timeline from March 2020 to March 2022. Russ Wiles is a business reporter and he shares how Arizona is surviving financially and economically compared with the rest of the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel announced she will resign from her position on Friday, March 25. This comes after months of dismay regarding how she is leading one of the nation’s largest prosecutorial teams.Her time as County Attorney comes to an end amidst scrutiny that she is not fit for office after her staff raised concern regarding her battle with alcohol abuse. Arizona Republic investigative reporter Robert Anglen recently noted that 180 cases fell apart because of her procedural failures. Her impending departure means there will be a special election to replace her, and not a lot of time to qualify to run. As of yesterday, Julie Gunnigle, who ran against Adel in 2020, collected enough signatures to run.In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, host Ron Hansen talk with Robert Anglen about Adel's resignation and what will happen next to replace her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republican state lawmakers are scrambling to undo parts of a law they fast-tracked to change the way party activists become party officials. Precinct committee members, or PCs, are not people the casual voters will know, but they play a key role in shaping party politics and who runs for political office.Republicans quickly pushed through election changes that reflect the state's new political boundaries after last year's redistricting process. The governor signed the bill the same day.To the surprise of the grassroots and lawmakers themselves, the law also eliminated elections for PCs. Changing the law it requires a legislative super-majority, and the Democrats aren't eager to help Republicans fix their mistake. Sparks are flying on both sides of the aisle.  In this episode of The Gaggle, The Republic's state government reporter, Mary Jo Pitzl, joins hosts Ron Hansen and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez to discuss the unexpected drama. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney labeled U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar a moron over the Arizona Republican's association with a political conference organized by a white nationalist.Another participant, Republican state Sen. Wendy Rogers of Flagstaff, was censured by the Arizona state Senate for threatening comments she made to her colleagues. It was the first time in three decades a senator was publicly censured by her own party. It was a move applauded by Gov. Doug Ducey, who had been slow to condemn her remarks.The rise of extremism in the Arizona GOP has grown over the past few years, with concerns also raised over the actions of Kelli Ward, chair of the Republican Party of Arizona. Recently, the U.S. House Committee that is investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol issued subpoenas to her.In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen talk with political historian Matthew Dallek. They discuss how these fringe views became more mainstream and what it means for the future of politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conservatives from Arizona and elsewhere took aim at President Joe Biden while outlining their preferred policy agenda during annual gatherings in Orlando last week.Among those on hand were several notable Arizonans, including U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, a former Fox 10 anchor.Also last weekend, far-right extremists heard from U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., and state Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff.The Conservative Political Action Conference and America First Political Action Conference drummed up grievances against Biden and promoted former President Donald Trump.In today's episode, The Republic's Stacey Barchenger joins Gaggle hosts Ron Hansen and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez to dissect the what happened and what it means in Arizona. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices