Arizona Morning Briefing, 9-25: Clean Elections Presses, Hobbs Files on Behalf of Tohono O’Odham, Police Charge Sinema’s Ex-Lover With Art Destruction, and More

•SINEMA’S HOME WRECKED–If you think you’re having a bad week, at least you’re not former Senator Krysten Sinema, currently party to a lawsuit in North Carolina under that state’s “homewrecker” law. In legitimate wrecking news, police charged Sinema’s former lover, ex-bodyguard Matthew Ammel, with a felony after he broke into her Cave Creek home in early September while she was out of town, threw 22 pieces of artwork into the pool, smashed up her liquor collection, and shattered a mirror, which will bring him seven years of bad luck. The Republic has the whole sordid update.

•EVERYWHERE A SIGN–The Citizens Clean Elections Commission voted unanimously Thursday that there is “reason to believe” Corporation Commissioners Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers violated Clean Elections rules by reusing 2022 campaign signs without having their current campaigns pay the required value for them. OK, it’s not exactly Teapot Dome. Their lawyer said even he hadn’t known about the reuse rule and indicated they’re willing to pay for roughly 50 old signs. At the same meeting, commissioners rejected Ralph Heap’s latest attempt to resolve his separate sign-spending investigation. Executive director Thomas Collins said that investigation could now continue through the end of the year.

•HOW GREEN WAS MY BALLOT–In other Clean Elections-related news, lawyers for controversial Green Party gubernatorial nominee Risa Lombardo and secretary-of-state nominee Duwayne Collier (accused by opponents of being Republican plants, if not actual plants) argued Thursday that a judge should stop Clean Elections from potentially clawing back public campaign money while its fraud investigation continues. Their attorney Tim La Sota argued the investigation has effectively frozen their campaigns. Commission lawyers said nobody ordered the candidates to stop spending and that the commission has a statutory duty to investigate possible fraud.

•TOHONO O’ODHAM UPDATE–In an ongoing dispute with Homeland Security, Governor Hobbs filed on the Tohono O’odham’s Nation’s side in D.C. Circuit, asking the court to halt construction of a 62-mile border wall (a dispute we covered here) while the appeal proceeds. She’s not asking the court to permanently kill the wall or resolving the disputed land-title question. Her filing argues that consulting the tribe after construction has disturbed sacred sites is meaningless. Republican legislative leaders Warren Petersen and Steve Montenegro are on the opposite side of the case, arguing DHS’s border-security interests outweigh the tribe’s objections.

•SCHOOL FUNDING DEBATE–In a broadcast watched by fewer people than watched Thursday Night Football, supporters and opponents of educational Prop. 320 had a Clean Elections debate last night. Goldwater Institute’s Chris Thomas argued that requiring affected districts to direct at least 60% of operational spending to instruction would move more resources toward teachers and classrooms; Jimmy Arwood of Arizonans for Quality Education argued that because the measure adds no new money, districts could instead wind up cutting counselors, safety, transportation and other support services. It all was very civil, they didn’t wreck artwork or smash a mirror.

•SOUTHERN ARIZONA CHAMBER GOES FIVE-FOR-FIVE–The newly combined Chamber of Southern Arizona endorsed all five major Tucson/Pima bond propositions. The zoos and schools and infrastructure of Southern Arizona hang in the balance. “Southern Arizona is at an inflection point. Our workforce pipeline, our infrastructure and our quality of life are all on the ballot this November,” said Joe Snell, chamber president and CEO.

•A CHALLENGE IN FLAGSTAFF–Yesterday was the municipal write-in deadline, and Flagstaff’s official election page now lists Dennis Givens as a write-in challenger to Mayor Becky Daggett. Givens originally filed for City Council this spring. He’s now taking a shot at mayor instead. At press time, Polymarket hadn’t laid odds on his chances.

•ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, ALSO KNOWN AS $250,000–The Arizona Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that a man bitten by a Payson police dog that attacked him instead of the suspect it was chasing can’t proceed with his lawsuit against the town because his required notice of claim offered to settle for “one hundred thousand dollars ($250,000).” Arizona law requires one specific settlement figure before suing a public entity. The Court said Payson had no obligation to guess which number he meant or ask him to fix it. Whoops!