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One of these 3 Democrats will replace Rep. Athena Salman at the Arizona Legislature

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One of these 3 Democrats will replace Rep. Athena Salman at the Arizona Legislature


Democrats in the Tempe area on Tuesday night chose three possible replacements for former state Rep. Athena Salman.

Jevin Hodge, Deborah Nardozzi and Jacob Raiford were chosen by ranked-choice voting from a field of nine candidates during a virtual meeting of the Legislative District 8 Democrats.

The three names now go to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The board members will appoint one of them to fill out Salman’s term, which ends next January. It’s unclear how long it will take the board to make the appointment.

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Salman resigned to run Arizona Campaigns for Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly known as the National Abortion Rights Action League.

Hodge in 2022 was the Democratic nominee for Congressional District 1. He lost narrowly to incumbent U.S. Rep. David Schweikert. In 2020, Hodge also had a closely contested race for Maricopa County supervisor, but lost to Republican Jack Sellers.

He highlighted his background as the son of a single mother who understands the financial and social strains of everyday Arizonans. Hodge touted his endorsement, which included U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and Phoenix City Councilwoman Kesha Hodge Washington.

Deborah Nardozzi previously served as chair of a legislative district that ran from central Phoenix eastward to the Salt River Pima Indian Community. Parts of that district were fashioned into the current LD 8 when district lines were redrawn in 2021.

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“She wins campaigns,” said LD 8 chairman Steven Jackson, who nominated her. He singled out her work on helping elect Democrats in neighboring LD 9, where Democrats picked up three seats. Those seats are crucial to flipping the Legislature to Democratic control this year, Jackson said.

Nardozzi, citing her campaign and issues involvement, said she is ready to jump into a legislative session that is already underway if selected.

Jacob Raiford is the current first vice chairman of LD 8. He serves as the Arizona representative on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union and, locally, has been active in issues involving police-citizen interactions.

Precinct committee members used ranked-choice voting to narrow the field of nine candidates to three finalists. The process calls for the voters to list the candidates in their order of preference.

District officials did not detail the order in which the three candidates finished, instead displaying them as each having an equal share of the votes cast.

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Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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Arizona

Homebuyers hitting walls in finding fire coverage in northern Arizona

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Homebuyers hitting walls in finding fire coverage in northern Arizona


PRESCOTT, AZ — As more homes get built near wildland, homeowners and prospective homebuyers in fire-prone areas are finding it hard to get insured.

Neighbors in Prescott are asking local and state representatives for more help in navigating insurance changes as people increasingly report being dropped by carriers, denied renewals, or denied altogether while trying to buy.

Realtor Michelle Clustka said she personally knows people who’ve been in this position.

“They have been denied by 45 different insurance companies, yeah, it’s the wildfire insurance,” Clustka said. “Most of them are denying them on a blanket level, it’s the area. They’re not even getting the opportunity to say come look at the property, it’s been Firewised.”

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A “Firewise” community means that neighbors have worked together to minimize fire risks, create defensible spaces around homes and spread education about best practices.

Insurance broker Lori Sell said even with Firewise designations, companies are tightening down their wildfire scoring for properties in areas near forests and other high-risk spots.

“It’s affecting not just real estate, but you think about builders and title companies where properties can’t get closed,” Sell said. “It’s become a really big issue.”

Recently, the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions created the Resiliency and Mitigation Council which meets monthly to investigate the affordability and availability of insurance in forested areas and wildland-urban interface areas.





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Cardinals Must Answer This Offseason Question

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Cardinals Must Answer This Offseason Question


The Arizona Cardinals are at a crossroad in their rebuild process. When stripping a team down to its bones, one can afford a year or two of missed playoffs, some poor performances and general disappointment – but Arizona must face this question going forward.

The Cardinals have yet to make a signing or trade for a genuine, impact player during this regime. That’s understandable, considering the complete and utter teardown that had to occur in year one of the rebuild.

But as Arizona creeps ever closer to playoff contention, they won’t be able to do it without some top-tier talent.

Is Ossenfort (and the rest of the front office) capable of luring top-end talent to the desert?

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It’s not necessarily a question as a result of Arizona missing out on marquee free agents, but rather an uncertainty that derives from a muscle that has yet to be flexed.

It was clear in 2023 that the Cardinals were more inclined to part with talented players than sign them. In 2024, the strategy was all about raising the floor of play, adding depth, and bringing in developmental talent through the draft.

Regardless of whether or not these free agents were successful (and some weren’t), those types of moves are, intentionally or not, a plea for fans to trust the process, rather than giving them something to get riled up over.

Names like Justin Jones, Bilal Nichols, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Mack Wilson Sr. headlined 2024’s free agent acquisitions, to varying levels of success.

Marvin Harrison Jr. and Darius Robinson were added in the first round of the draft to be impact players, though neither truly played up to the expectations laid on them as rookies.

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So now, caught up in the swirling rumors of free agency, Ossenfort has his work cut out for him. Can he bring a top-end talent to the desert? Is there enough in place to lure players looking to compete for playoff victories and Super Bowls to the Cardinals?

Ossenfort has already shown he’s willing to open the checkbook, but there’s a line between overpaying to raise the floor of a group and dumping ill-advised salary into aging stars, a method all too familiar to Cardinals fans from the prior regime.

But so far, Ossenfort hasn’t had to make a huge splash move. That’s not to say he should go all-in on the first star that enters free agency, but Cardinals fans have already ceded two seasons of losing to trust in the process.

Now, the process has to deliver results, and adding a star is the extra mile Arizona needs. While Ossenfort has arguably done enough to justify confidence in the third-year GM, he needs to assert himself as an executive capable of pulling the best of the best.

A trade for Maxx Crosby or Myles Garrett, or even a free agent signing like Josh Sweat or Milton Williams (albeit not superstar-level players) would do wonders to instill faith in this fanbase, while helping prove that this rebuild isn’t a never-ending slate of middling talent and unproven rookies.

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So while there’s plenty of time to make a smart, well-fitting move to raise the level of this team’s play, the patience clock is already ticking down, and Arizona cannot sit and watch elite talent sign elsewhere without putting up a fight.



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Why Arizona and a leading Big 12 analyst thought late foul call for BYU was incorrect

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Why Arizona and a leading Big 12 analyst thought late foul call for BYU was incorrect


Was this BYU basketball’s version of the Utah footbal game?

Not quite.

But another late, controversial foul call allowed these Cougars to pull off a signature win during the stretch run of the season.

This time, it was BYU men’s basketball going into the McKale Center and pulling out a 96-95 win over Arizona. The Cougars were down 95-94 with 13 seconds to play when head coach Kevin Young dialed up a look for his best player, Richie Saunders.

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Saunders originally wanted a three at the top of the key, but it was taken away. He drove it to his right, pivoted a few times and then threw up a shot. Official Tony Padilla called a foul on Arizona that drew skeptics.

Saunders knocked down both free throws to give the Cougars a win.

Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd disagreed with the call.

“It is a bad call. I mean, whatever. What am I going to say? You hate for a game to be decided by that,” he said. “The guy is pivoting, pivoting, pivoting. Threw his shoulder into him, throws up a shot and falls down. A foul with two seconds to go.”

But Llloyd followed up by saying he didn’t think that’s why Arizona lost.

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“I mean it’s the Big 12. That’s what I’m told. The guy who called it is one of the best refs. So we got to live with it,“ he continued. ”But take a step back, they scored 93 points up until that point on our home court. That is the problem. Me, my staff, and my players, that’s the problem. Not the officials. It would have been great to steal a victory if they don’t call that. But don’t put yourself in your position.”

Saunders said he wasn’t necessarily looking for a foul, but didn’t have anywhere to go.

“There is only so much time on the clock and trying to figure out how in the world I’m going to make something happen. Lucky he bit on the shot fake and I was fortunate enough to get to the line,” he said. “I practice that since I was a little kid in the church gym. That is what I practice.”

Young didn’t comment on the foul call, but did say he changed his late-game approach from the last time BYU was in that spot. It was on the road at Utah, where it ultimately lost in part because it didn’t get a clean look on the final possession.

“We were in a similar situation at Utah and I kicked myself for not having the right thing dialed up. So I spent a lot of mental time on that particular situation,” Young said. “The play broke down but we wanted to go to Richie. And he was able to make a play. That is what you have to do in that situation. Plays are great, but players got to make plays.”

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One of the Big 12’s most prominent television voices, Fran Fraschilla, disagreed with the call.

“If that foul call was made during the NCAA Tournament, there would be a national uproar. Let’s put it another way, BYU’s Richie Saunders, who should be First Team All-Big 12, is a very astute player,” he wrote on social media.





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