Journalists’ Roundtable: 11-05-21: Supreme Court Ruling, Fann to retire, APS Rate cut

It’s time now for the Journalists’ Roundtable and for a look at some of this week’s top stories, we welcome Mary Jo Pitzl of the Arizona Republic and Jeremy Duda of Arizona Mirror.

This week’s Journalists’ Roundtable covered:

• Supreme Court Decision
• Fann to Retire
• APS Rate Cut
• Redistricting Map

Arizona Supreme Court Decision

Mary Jo Pitzl: “It was a big issue because it dealt with how the state budget is constructed but it was made even bigger because of the fact that it was a 7-0 unanimous opinion saying that the state’s practice is unconstitutional and that it was delivered so quickly. I was still writing my story at the time of the hearing when the order came down saying ‘we strike all this down.'”

Jeremy Duda: “I’m not surprised it happened, maybe that it happened so quickly. We had a signal from the beginning that the state did not view these arguments favorably. And I think it was hard to imagine a scenario where the Supreme Court would have ruled it differently. This is an issue that has been building for years through the legislature.”

Fann to Retire 

Mary Jo Pitzl: “She had already signaled that in many ways. She later said that she had told her colleagues this so the word was leaking out that she might not run again for senate president and whether she would run for her seat again was a little unclear but it’s been a heck of a three years and it’s been difficult dealing with COVID, a split caucus, the audit which she insists that has nothing to do with her decision.

Jeremy Duda: “I mean I can’t imagine that it wasn’t a contributing factor here I mean this has become the dominant focus of Karen Fann’s life over the past year and it’s elevated her to a level of prominence that you rarely see among any legislature.”