infected Arizona politics over the last two years, leading to, among other things, the absolute circus that was Arizona’s 2020 election “audit.” Bowers refused to bend to the demands of former President Donald Trump and others in his party to take action to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona. He became a star witness in the federal hearings on the January 6 Capitol riots, testifying to the nightmare that his life became when he resisted the fringe of the Arizona GOP. And it was a real sacrifice: Bowers lost his bid for state Senate — badly — to his Trump-endorsed opponent in August. (He did get a 2022 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his endeavors, though.) Is it depressing that Bowers, once considered something of a hardline reac- tionary, is now the lone voice of reason in the Arizona Republican Party? Yes. But we’ll still thank him for it. Best Democratic Politician RAQUEL TERÁN Less than a week after Raquel Terán was first elected to the Arizona House in 2018, she faced a bogus lawsuit challenging her citizenship. Terán was born and raised in Arizona, and the suit was quickly dismissed by a judge. The longtime community organizer, who once faced off with former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, refused to be silent, telling press that the suit was “designed to exclude people like me.” Years later, undeterred, Terán has now become a state Senator, and last year, was elected as chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. She has brought a powerful voice to a party that, at times, has struggled to find a platform beyond pointing fingers at the extremes of the GOP. She has refused to tolerate frivolous, right-wing attacks. And, perhaps more significantly, Terán is constantly out on the streets, even now that she is in the state House. When residents of the Periwinkle Mobile Home Park, who were being evicted from their longtime homes by Grand Canyon University, went out in the blistering heat to protest, Terán showed up to march beside them. When concession workers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport went on strike, Terán was on the picket line. We’re glad to see her at the helm of the Democratic Party. Best Activist LAILA DALTON When Laila Dalton tried to start a union at the north Phoenix Starbucks on Scottsdale Road and Mayo Boulevard in January, Starbucks fought back. Hard. The coffee giant targeted the then-19-year-old for months, giving her frivolous disciplinary writeups while interrogating other employees at the store about the union drive (all of which the National Labor Relations Board documented in a hefty complaint against Starbucks). Ultimately, within days of the election, Dalton was fired. If Starbucks thought that would make her go away, it was very wrong. Not only was the union election successful at that store (though it’s still being contested by Starbucks), Dalton has since become one of the faces of a young, newly empowered labor movement — in Phoenix and beyond. She was out in the streets protesting against Starbucks this spring, and spoke before massive crowds about the power of young people rising up at the abortion rights protests at the state Capitol this summer. Now, she’s working on union campaigns around Phoenix. We’re rooting for her. Information Officer SCOTT DAVIS Best Public Maricopa County Justice Courts Scott Davis, the public information officer for the Maricopa County Justice Courts, is thoughtful, responsive, and always happy to pick up the phone and chat with reporters about arcane data questions. These are fantastic qualities in a PIO — and we’re always grateful to encounter PIOs who don’t stonewall. But the stakes are particularly high right now in the justice courts. It’s in this court system that most eviction cases across the Valley are handled. Davis’ monthly updates and analysis of eviction data — and constant willingness to work with reporters on stories about evictions and the Valley’s housing crisis — have been essential to helping the public understand evictions through the pandemic. Without Davis’ work to get reporters (and the public) eviction numbers, case information, and other stats, we might have a far less detailed picture of a mounting problem here in Maricopa County. Best Newsletter ARIZONA AGENDA arizonaagenda.substack.com Veteran Phoenix journalists Rachel Leingang and Hank Stephenson launched the Arizona Agenda — a daily political newsletter on Substack — in August 2021. In the year since the Agenda began arriving in subscribers’ inboxes, it’s become a new fixture of political journalism in the state. The newsletter offers a fast-paced but thorough morning read, with a sharp breakdown of the most important stories of the moment. And the Agenda has broken big stories of its own. It’s easy to get lost in the bureaucratic weeds of Arizona politics, but Leingang and Stephenson cut through to the key stories of the day, and keep a close eye on the constant antics down at the state house. Local news in the state is better for it. 40 BEST OF PHOENIX 2022 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX2022.C0M | SEPTEMBER 29, 2022
