You won’t catch Attorney General Mark Brnovich on the wrong side of President Trump or his fervent supporters.

Brnovich is a leading potential candidate for the GOP nomination for governor in 2022.

That could help explain why he extended a streak of voluntarily inserting himself into national political issues on Trump’s side this week.

On Wednesday night, he filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the controversial suit by Texas’ attorney general attempting to throw out votes in four other states, thereby handing the presidential election to Trump.

Brnovich didn’t attempt to join the long-shot suit as a plaintiff, but he requested the right to file a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to stress the importance of election integrity and to request that the court move speedily.

Coincidentally (or not) Brnovich filed the request on the eve of a lunch in Washington, D.C., with Trump and other Republican attorneys general, including Ken Paxton of Texas, who filed the original request with the U.S. Supreme Court.

It’s just the latest example in a pattern of Brnovich inserting himself β€” and therefore the people of Arizona β€” on Trump’s good side:

  • In 2018, he voluntarily made Arizona a plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking to end the Affordable Care Act. The case will be decided next year and would harm Arizona’s Medicaid program, which was expanded under the act.
  • In 2019, Brnovich filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit seeking to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program. He didn’t add Arizona as a plaintiff in that case, but he did insert his view supporting Trump’s posture as that of the state.
  • On Jan. 22, with the Senate about to take up Trump’s impeachment, Brnovich sent a letter to then-Sens. Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema, asking them to vote against convicting Trump. He dressed his opinion up in the idea that to convict would be to β€œdesecrate the Constitution’s separation of governmental powers.”
  • On Nov. 4, he embraced β€œSharpiegate” by publicly announcing he’d sent a letter to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office inquiring about the use of Sharpie markers at Maricopa County polling locations. The next day he updated β€œwe are now confident that the use of Sharpie markers did not result in disenfranchisement for Arizona voters.”

Through Wednesday’s filing, Brnovich found a way to insert himself into Paxton’s lawsuit, which would effectively disenfranchise millions of voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia, in a way that could be appreciated by Trump without committing Arizona too deeply. Sixteen Republican attorneys general joined Paxton’s suit, but neither Brnovich nor the attorney general of the other battleground state Trump lost, Georgia, joined the suit.

Arizona officials have certified Joe Biden’s narrow victory over President Donald Trump in the state. Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Republican Gov. Doug Ducey stood up for the integrity of the election even as lawyers for Trump were across town Monday arguing without evidence to nine Republican lawmakers that the election was marred by fraud.

Council selects alternative redistricting plan

After receiving several complaints from west-side residents, the Tucson City Council voted Tuesday to reverse a decision that would redistrict a historic Hispanic neighborhood.

At a meeting three weeks ago, the council approved a redistricting plan that would move Precinct 37, El Rio Acres, from Ward 1 to Ward 3, saying it would create more equity, representation and balance in the ward populations.

Since then, however, several residents of the neighborhood voiced their discontent with the plan, expressing concerns that it would separate neighborhoods with historical ties to one another.

A petition was created and garnered nearly 400 signatures ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, which said the city’s initial redistricting plan β€œwould effectively render these historic neighborhoods voiceless and diminish their ability to advocate for their residents.”

Completed in the city every four years, the redistricting process analyzes the current boundaries of each ward and attempts to equalize the population.

After hearing the concerns of residents, several council members, including Ward 1’s Lane Santa Cruz, defended the initial decision and said it was made with historic areas in mind.

Ultimately, however, the council decided to move forward with an alternative redistricting plan, acknowledging the need for more community input in the future.

The second option will move 4,960 residents in Precinct 98, which is currently split between Wards 5 and 6. The proposal would move the precinct into a single ward to avoid voter and administrative confusion.

AZ Dem senators vote for UAE arms deal

Arizona’s two Democratic senators joined Republicans on Wednesday to endorse the Trump administration’s controversial plan to sell advanced weaponry to the United Arab Emirates.

By breaking ranks with their party, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly thwarted a Democrat-led effort to block the $13 billion arms deal over concerns about the UAE’s trustworthiness and its likely involvement in war crimes in Yemen and Libya.

The Trump administration is rushing to supply the UAE with F-35 fighter jets and Reaper attack drones after the Emiratis signed a U.S.-brokered peace deal with Israel.

Sinema voted against blocking both deals, while Kelly voted against blocking the drone deal and voted to block the F-35 sale.

One of the leaders of the effort to stop the sale, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said the arms deal β€œjust makes defense companies richer and international security poorer.”

Defense contractor Raytheon, Southern Arizona’s largest private employer, is one of the biggest arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The company, which in February announced Tucson as the headquarters of its new Missiles & Defense business, won a $59 million contract last year to provide sensor packages for Reaper drones.

Wednesday’s vote was among the first for Kelly, who was sworn into office on Dec. 2 after defeating Republican Sen. Martha McSally.

During the campaign, McSally criticized Kelly for a paid lecture he gave in the UAE in 2018. After announcing his candidacy last year, Kelly returned the $55,000 he earned for the speech.

New Pima recorder hires old Maricopa recorder

Incoming Pima County Recorder Gabriela CΓ‘zares-Kelly announced Thursday she has hired the outgoing Maricopa County recorder, Adrian Fontes, as her interim deputy.

Fontes, who narrowly lost reelection in November, will replace longtime deputy recorder Chris Roads, who announced his retirement last week, CΓ‘zares-Kelly said in a news release.

Fontes committed to spending at least three months as the chief deputy for the new recorder, who is new to the recorder’s office.

Among Fontes’ top duties will be to help CΓ‘zares-Kelly hire a permanent deputy.

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Tim Steller

Jasmine Demers

Henry Brean

Tim Steller