The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast

In the past few weeks, parents of school-aged children have all had the same experience of getting their kids ready for school. You grab their backpack, their lunch, a snack and, for the third year in a row, you grab their mask. The COVID-19 variant omicron is twice as contagious as the delta variant and at least four times as contagious as the first strain we experienced in March 2020. Currently, the omicron variant has resulted in the highest number of COVID-19 cases Arizona has seen in months. This has some parents nervous about their K-12 children returning to class in 2022. But schools that don’t return in person run the risk of losing school funding.In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen talk with Yana Kunichoff. She is the k-12 education reporter at the Arizona Republic.She joins the podcast to dive into what is going on within Arizona’s public school system about the coronavirus, how schools are staying open and what that could mean for parents and students moving forward.Later in the episode, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez talks with Mark Joranstaad, executive director of the Arizona Schools Administration, for a look on in the inside of the operation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Arizona Legislature is in full swing, marked by several notable highlights. There are a large number of new lawmakers, and it is Doug Ducey’s last year in the governor’s office. Politicians are gearing up for the bills they want to pass in the third straight session affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.Lots of questions are circling the copper dome at the Capitol. But one in particular is loitering in the wings: Can Arizona lawmakers come together to make real decisions this year? Or will they get bogged down in political fights?Ray Stern, Arizona state politics reporter, and Mary Jo Pitzl, state government reporter, join The Gaggle today to hash out what the 2022 session holds for Arizona.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Gov. Doug Ducey kicked off the 2022 legislative session by delivering his final State of the State. His eight years as governor of Arizona will come to an end in January 2023, and people are closely watching how his last year will unfold.  Tax cuts, COVID-19 response, school choice and school spending and border security are among topics Ducey mentioned in his speech. The governor also invoked the words of his high school football coach, who told players to play the game to the bitter end. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen talk with Daniel Scarpinato. He served as Ducey’s chief of staff from 2018 to 2021 but has been a part of his team since 2014. He advised Ducey on the Governor's State of the State speech and is now a partner at Ascent Media, a national advertising and political consulting firm.They break down the final State of the State speech, what can be expected from Ducey's last year in office, and the shifting political winds that will affect the 2022 election cycle.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After an eventful 2021, it's shaping up to be another busy year in Arizona politics. The congressional and legislative district maps have been redrawn for the next 10 years, a U.S. Senate seat is up for grabs, and no matter what happens, Arizona will get a new governor.As we look ahead into 2022, the hosts of The Gaggle, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen, cover some of the biggest stories we are prepping for this year. Joined by fellow Arizona Republic reporters, The Gaggle breaks down redistricting, the Senate race and what Gov. Doug Ducey might do next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Gaggle hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen are taking off this week to celebrate Christmas and New Years. Be sure to catch up on our Democracy in Doubt series where we take a deep dive into Arizona's ballot review. All five episodes are available. Happy Holidays! We'll be with you in the new year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2021 will be known as a big year in Arizona politics. An unprecedented investigation into the voting system in Maricopa County made national headlines and the behavior of Arizona politicians made Saturday Night Live punchlines.As the year comes to a close, the hosts of The Gaggle, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen, cover the biggest stories from 2021. Joined by fellow Arizona Republic reporters, The Gaggle breaks down the Jan. 6th Capitol riot, the ballot recount, the rise of GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, the unease of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., within her own party, and how COVID-19 affected universities.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs issued a ‘new’ apology and acknowledged discrimination took place at the legislature related to then Democractic Senate Aide, Talonya Adams. Hobbs, who in 2015 was the Senate Democratic leader, said in an interview with The Arizona Republic that she recognized that her initial response fell short of taking accountability and that it was unnecessarily defensive.Adams said she was discriminated against on the basis of race and sex – that when she repeatedly raised questions about her pay and working conditions with supervisors, she was fired – a maneuver she argued was retaliation for questioning the process.Adams, who is African American, filed a discrimination lawsuit contending she was unfairly being paid less than white, male colleagues. A motion filed by then Senate lawyer Michael Moberly said Adams ‘simply expressed a desire to discuss a potential raise because her workload had increased, and she had not received a raise during the time she had been employed at the Senate.’As it turned out, the legislative policy adviser affirmed Adams did earn less than many white, male colleagues.A federal jury last month awarded Adams $2.75 million, ruling she ‘was’ fired for questioning the pay gap. Because of laws capping damages, she will actually receive no more than $300,000.Hobbs released a three-minute apology video via Twitter earlier this month – a mea culpa that included everything from Talonya Adams to her lack of accountability to her limited experience with racism. But was this apology sincere or a part of a larger strategy to help her become the next governor of Arizona?In this week's Gaggle episode, national politics reporter Ron Hansen examines this question and more of the fallout between Secretary Hobbs and Adams with Stacey Barchenger, the Republic’s state politics reporter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods died of a heart attack on October 23, 2021, at the age of 67. He spent years as a Republican politician in Arizona, often crossing party lines to side with Democratic causes. Woods was known as a fighter who stood up for what was right, even when it wasn’t popular. He will forever be remembered as an authentic Arizonan. The former Republican Arizona Attorney General was celebrated at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix on November 23rd. The memorial brought crowds of family, friends, and those who respected Woods.To remember his life as a politician, a lawyer, and a person, The Gaggle hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen invite EJ Montini to the show. Montini is a columnist for the Arizona Republic who wrote about Woods after his passing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August, when COVID-19 seemed to be receding as a health problem, and as public schools ramped up for in-person education lessons with masking mandates, Gov. Doug Ducey offered parents who didn’t like those rules an alternative. He said the state would provide vouchers worth up to $7,000 per student to those approved for a grant intended to sidestep masking, promote in-person learning and use federal emergency stimulus funds to do so.Stacey Barchenger, who covers the Ducey administration for The Arizona Republic, has gone over the records to see how the early stages of the controversial new program are working out.A closer examination of the program reveals that it’s not just the U.S. Department of Education, public schools across Arizona and public health officials who are unhappy with it so far.In this week's episode of The Gaggle, host Ronald J. Hansen speaks with Barchenger about the demand for vouchers, how the state is doing at approving requests, the allocation of money and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Gaggle hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen are taking off this week to celebrate Thanksgiving. If you didn't catch the series, Democracy in Doubt, last week about Arizona's ballot review, all five episodes are available. Happy Thanksgiving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices