42 MEGALOPOLITAN LIFE SEPTEMBER 25, 2025 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX2025.C0M | BEST OF PHOENIX 2025 not operating in a full-blown election year, the office has still struggled to complete its basic functions. Incorrect mailers that told voters they’d be marked inactive on the rolls went to 83,000 voters and sparked mass confusion and fingerpointing. For the sake of Arizona’s elections, we’d like to think Heap will get his act together. But that’s probably a pipe dream. e e e B E S T J A C K A S S JAKE HOFFMAN No one in the Arizona Legislature has a more atrocious vibe than state Sen. Jake Hoffman, leader of the far-right Freedom Caucus. It seems whatever dark energy that drives him wakes up every morning asking one ques- tion: How can I be a louder, more brutish and bigger asshole? In that regard, it’s been quite a year of achievement for the lawmaker. In January, he was pulled over for driving 24 miles over the speed limit, but avoided getting a speeding ticket because he’s a state lawmaker. That same month, he tried (unsuccessfully) to foment moral panic and pass a law that would throw public school teachers in jail if they had books with “sexu- ally explicit” content, a deliberately vague term. Hoffman also continued to block Gov. Hobbs’ nominees to run key government health-care agencies, undoubtedly weak- ening their service. Even though Democrats’ mascot is a donkey, Hoffman’s antics and aura (just stand near him and you’ll under- stand) earn him this particular moniker. e e e B E S T P O L I T I C A L J E S T E R ALEX KOLODIN Scottsdale’s own state Rep. Alex Kolodin is always going to put on a show. Combining the rhetorical wit of a debate team kid, a penchant for being contrarian and a slender, gangly frame, he’s one the Arizona House of Representatives’ most entertaining and attention-grabbing creatures. When he lies, he does boldly; when he speaks for or against a bill, it’s rarely a mainstream opinion. Guessing what he’ll say next is like shaking a Magic 8-Ball. Most notably, he announced his run for Arizona Secretary of State by citing an endorsement from GOP state Chair Gina Swoboda — though she did not give it. His House floor antics this year have included: claiming that prosecutors “killed Preston Lord,” the teen who was beaten to death by the Gilbert Goons; being the sole vote against a bill making false claims about military service a crime; and pushing to make pipe bombs and machine guns legal in Arizona and to bring back firing squads for state executions. He’s also partnered with Democrats in some instances to push for criminal justice reform. For the entertain- ment and keeping us guessing, Kolodin is unmatched. e e e B E S T C O M M U N I T Y A C T I V I S T S NEW DEAL MEAL When the city of Tempe relentlessly prose- cuted Austin Davis and his organization AZ Hugs for feeding homeless people in Tempe’s parks, the situation looked dire for the many who depended on his service. But the plan backfired on the city. When Davis was banned from Tempe’s parks for a year and a half, an outpouring of support from Tempe’s alarmed residents resulted in a whole coalition of people coming together to help their unhoused neighbors. The strength of New Deal Meal — organized by Ron Tapscott, Dave Wells and religious leaders from around Tempe — is in its numbers. A large group of local folks now volunteer to feed unhoused people, get them clothes, find them shelter, get them off drugs and clean up the parks after the events. While the city at first tried to prosecute Tapscott, it eventually dropped the charges “in the interest of justice.” e e e B E S T R E WA R D F O R K I S S I N G T R U M P ’ S T U C H I S MARK BRNOVICH It’s always sad to watch a RINO go bad. Take, for example, former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a moderate Repub- lican who in November 2020 had the stones to tell the world that Trump lost Arizona not because of election fraud, but because voters “split their ticket.” Afterward, Brno tried to make up for his heresy. The AG’s investiga- tors spent a reported 10,000 hours hunting for election fraud, but found no vast conspiracy. Brnovich sat on the no-fraud findings and instead issued an interim report stating that “serious vulnerabilities” existed in the election system. It was thin gruel for the MAGA-ites, with Trump labeling Brno “a
