Veteran Republican lawmaker Russell Pearce solidly led his opponent, Democrat Judah Nativio, in the race for Senate District 18 Tuesday night. In unofficial returns, Pearce held nearly 60 percent of the vote in the Mesa district.

Fearing new federal laws and regulations, a state legislator wants to provide legal cover for Arizonans who do not want to obey them -- and penalties for federal officials who try to enforce them.

The East Valley's legislative races include several shoo-ins and an underdog challenge to Sen. Russell Pearce, the Mesa Republican who authored Arizona's polarizing immigration law.

Oct. 24, 2004

A changing of the guard on the Scottsdale City Council is becoming more likely as incumbent Councilwoman Betty Drake is failing to make up the significant ground in late ballots needed to win her second term.

April 28, 2005

An East Valley Republican political operative says he has been vindicated after the Maricopa County party dropped out of a lawsuit connected to his alleged effort last year to use early ballots to help conservative legislative candidates.

PHOENIX - A lawmaker collapsed Monday afternoon on the floor of the Arizona House, prompting colleagues to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation before he was taken away by emergency workers to a hospital.

President Bush’s euphoria on the eve of his inaugural surely deflated slightly when the congressional Republican with final say over Bush’s planned Social Security reform called this centerpiece of his second term a “dead horse.”

October 26, 2004

Bidding for a second term with the Scottsdale Unified School District’s governing board was too hard to pass up for Dr. Eric Meyer.

April 27, 2005

Dennis Kavanaugh, the popular Mesa councilman from the city’s southwest District 3, left office Monday after eight years.

Gov. Janet Napolitano will outline her policy ambitions for the coming year in a brief speech today that promises to be short on details.

Tuesday’s recall of Russell Pearce creates a legislative power vacuum, with three lawmakers already trying to line up votes to become the next Senate president.

It's unclear if outgoing Kyrene Constable Jon Levenson will be prosecuted for alleged ethics violations now that he's lost his bid for re-election, but local Republicans are pushing for criminal charges and are calling on him to resign early.

It's unclear if outgoing Kyrene Constable Jon Levenson will be prosecuted for alleged ethics violations now that he's lost his bid for re-election, but local Republicans are pushing for criminal charges and are calling on him to resign early.

A rematch is set in the legislative District 11 Senate race, while two write-in candidates are hoping Tuesday to qualify for the November ballot.

The three District 8 state legislators are seeking re-election this fall, with only one challenger taking on the incumbents.

The whole notion of county islands is a head-scratcher for me.

President Bush has an ambitious second-term agenda, so he must look with some confidence at the increased Republican majorities — now a 10-seat margin in the Senate and 30 in the House.

Term limits are supposed to give us better government, but we’ve never seen the evidence. Indeed, the evidence continues to pile up that just the opposite occurs when voters’ right to elect the candidates of their choice is restricted.

After 25 years advocating for children and families at the community, state, and national levels, I'm honored to seek my second term in the Arizona legislature. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me!

Now that I am in my last term as the state senator from District 21, I can't help but think back to the beginning of my time in the Legislature.