40 noise about uncomfortable truths, protesting the civilian atrocities of Israel’s brutal assault on the people of Palestine to a largely apathetic, detached and complicit Arizona public. Of the 250 or so protesters who formed an encampment on ASU’s lawn outside Old Main, 72 protesters were arrested on April 26 and 27. At some point during the protest, they came to know that their peaceful but unlawful trespassing on ASU property (a state-funded institution) would not be tolerated. An odd and vicious response by ASU police resulted in chief of police Michael Thompson getting the boot as he immediately went on leave and later resigned. The hammer was laid down: Kids got kicked out of the dorms immediately and were suspended, most of them until August. Their protests challenged the American concept of free speech in contemporary times and highlighted the hypocrisy of the government’s response to speech it does not like. The students and other community members involved — who risked their own arrest and livelihood to some extent — were compelled by an understanding of history and colonial cruelty to speak up. 22222 B EST FA I L E D G I R L BO S S S E L LO U T Kyrsten Sinema What started with a historic 2018 election to the U.S. Senate for an Arizona Democrat ended in opulent ignominy. In her single term, Kyrsten Sinema tried to craft an image as a hard-nosed centrist, unafraid to buck her party like John McCain. But Sinema worked herself into a corner with a series of stubborn, questionable moves, making her look like a sociopath and evaporating support from just about anyone who voted for her. Sinema earned “Best Dumbass Political Move” in 2021 for doing a cute curtsy while voting against an increase in the minimum wage and hurting working people. She raked in millions from Wall Street, then helped Republicans kill corporate taxes. She used taxpayer dollars and campaign funds to take private jets, stay in expensive boutique hotels and buy outrageously priced wine. After all this, she had no electoral support and announced she would not seek reelection. We can only assume that upon leaving the Senate in January, Sinema will be awaited by a cushy job on Wall Street where she can live the rest of her lonely, sad life in extreme luxury with very nice material goods. Bye now, Senator Sinema. We hardly knew ye. 22222 B E ST P O L I T I CA L FA I L Jevin Hodge After being active in Phoenix politics for over a decade, it seemed like it was finally time for young Democrat Jevin Hodge to catch a break. Hodge narrowly lost the general election for a seat on the powerful Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in 2020 by a mere 403 votes — about 0.1%. He turned around and ran against embattled GOP Rep. David Schweikert in 2022 for a seat in U.S. Congress representing Scotts- dale, but lost in another close call by fewer than 3,200 votes. Then, after state Rep. Athena Salman resigned in January 2024, Tempe Democrats appointed Hodge to fill her seat for the remainder of the session. But only 46 days into taking office, Hodge resigned after allegations of sexual abuse during his college days at George Wash- ington University surfaced. Though he denied the allegations, Hodge was toast. It’s hard to imagine a bigger fail than the parable of Jevin Hodge. 22222 B E ST R E S I G N AT I O N Roger Smith Activists and victims of police brutality in Phoenix have been trying to bring oversight to the city’s notorious force for years. The Office of Accountability and Transparency, created by Phoenix City Council in 2021, was supposed to be a tool to do that. But over time, the office was weakened and couldn’t even conduct its own investigations. Roger Smith was the first director of the agency. After the city manager’s sketchy, panicked, last-minute effort to stop Smith from hiring a second-in-command with extensive legal experience on policing issues, city officials formally criticized his behavior in a perfor- mance improvement plan despite giving him top marks in an annual review three months earlier. Smith resigned in defiance. In a letter, he said the agency he led “does not have the independence required to effectively perform its responsibilities.” As Phoenix started up its fight against possible indepen- dent oversight in anticipation of a damning report from the U.S. Department of Justice, Smith’s resignation highlighted the city’s lie that the watchdog agency provides “robust, independent, civilian review of the PPD.” 22222 B E ST D U M P ST E R F I R E Kari Lake Newscaster-turned-MAGA-fanatic Kari Lake just cannot stop being a mess. The defining feature of her campaign for a U.S. Senate seat has been marked by turbulence, inconsistency, unforced errors and lies. After handily losing the 2022 election for governor to Katie Hobbs, Lake was claiming she won and suing as late as July 2024, even though the courts have consistently rejected her outrageous, evidence-free claims. She kept changing her public stance on abortion, which led to questions from the conservative base on the campaign trail. She spoke in front of a Confederate flag at an event and attended a fundraiser at the house of a wealthy conspiracy theorist couple. Lake was loudly booed at an annual meeting of the
