Arizona Morning Briefing, 9-23: Biggs’ “First 100 Days,” ASU Renames Obama Scholars, and More

•ONE HUNDRED DAYS OF ANDY BIGGS–At a wan little Phoenix garden event yesterday, Rep. Andy Biggs, the Republican nominee for governor, announced his “First 100 Days” agenda for his administration, fewer than 40 days before Election Day. In addition to Biggs’ proposal to get rid of Arizona’s individual income tax, which we’ve heard before, he also said he’d eliminate state tax breaks for data centers; alter ESA funding so students in economically disadvantaged, rural and “inner city” areas receive more money; end Hobbs’ West Valley groundwater-related homebuilding moratorium; and pursue a Prop. 123 renewal. Biggs also proposed allowing restaurants to serve raw milk, restricting investor ownership of short-term rentals, and seeking restrictions on using SNAP for soda and “junk food.”

Biggs said that eliminating the income tax, which would shave $5.7 billion, or roughly one-third of state revenue. would require neither higher taxes elsewhere nor service cuts, arguing economic growth plus reductions in waste and fraud would compensate for the difference. He laid out a comprehensive agenda, which we’d take more seriously if the latest FiftyPlusOne’s polling average didn’t have Governor Hobbs leading him by eight and a half points. At this moment, that first 100 days is occurring in an alternate timeline.

•OBAMA SCHOLARS NO MORE–Arizona state has renamed its Obama Scholars Program “ASU Promise Plus.” ASU spokesperson Jerry Gonzalez told Axios that the university periodically reviews program names and that the new title reflects its student-access mission. He didn’t say what prompted this particular change, though we can surmise it was pressure from the Trump Administration, which is trying to erase the memory of Obama from history.  The underlying aid program remains in place. Other options for names included the “America Scholars Program” and “Donald Trump Jr. Promise Plus.”

•HEAP OF TROUBLE–Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap is accusing Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ office of failing to supply current federal felony-conviction records needed for voter-roll maintenance. According to Heap, the newest federal report his office has covers only the second quarter of 2025, earlier batches contain gaps going back to 2022, and the Secretary of State has been sending static PDFs rather than importing usable electronic records into the statewide system. Heap says this forces his staff to process cases manually. What, would he rather AI do it? At least it’s human work!

•THORNY ACACIA ELECTION–The Arizona Republic reports that Emily Saeteurn jumped into the Acacia District council race as a last-minute write-in after questions arose about incumbent Jennifer Crawford’s residency. Crawford had been unopposed. She sold the house listed on her election paperwork July 31; the other homes she owns are outside Acacia. Saeturn is working toward a Ph.D. in social work at ASU and has never sought elected office before “Working in social work, you just learn about people and what shapes them and what impacts their decisions and things that are out of control,” she said, and she appears to have the primary qualification for public service: she seems like a nice person.

•WRONG EMAIL–The City of Flagstaff itself issued a statement yesterday explaining why council candidate Nancy Baca missed her post-primary campaign-finance filing reminders: the email address in the city’s automated notification system was incorrect. Once Baca found out, she filed the report and paid the late fees anyway. The city now says she is fully compliant.  At press time, Baca was asking Alexa to turn off the dining room light and was figuring how how to set the VCR to record Magnum, PI.