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The Tap: The most anticipated congressional special election of the season

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April 15, 2017Issue No. 61

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The week in review: April 8 - April 14
What's on Tap next week: April 15 - April 21

Navigate The Tap by clicking the tabs below:

Federal

 

The week in review: April 8 - April 14
What's on tap next week: April 15 - April 21

What's on tap? The most anticipated congressional special election of the season will take place in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. The election will replace Tom Price (R), who was confirmed as U.S. secretary of health and human services earlier in the year. Eighteen candidates will compete in the election: 11 Republicans, five Democrats, and two independents. Among the front-runners in the race are Jon Ossoff (D), Karen Handel (R), Bob Gray (R), Judson Hill (R), and Dan Moody (R). The race will go to a runoff election to be held on June 20 unless a candidate receives over 50 percent of the vote. Ossoff leads the field and is hoping to win outright and avoid the runoff election, while the Republican candidates in the race are competing with each other in an attempt to secure the second slot in the runoff election.

Front-runners in the GA-6 race
    • Polling has shown Ossoff leading the race with around 40 percent, although the most recently released public poll shows him falling slightly, down to 39 percent. Handel has narrowly led the other Republican front-runnners with between 15 and 20 percent. Gray has trailed Handel by a few points, with Hill and Moody polling third and fourth, respectively.
    • Fundraising figures were released by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) earlier in the week. Ossoff raised over $8.3 million, 95 percent of which came from out of state donors. Comparatively, only three U.S. House candidates raised more in the entire 2015-2016 election cycle, Speaker Paul Ryan and two candidates who heavily self-funded. Dan Moody (R) came in second, raising over $2 million, but 95 percent was self-funded. Bob Gray's (R) contributions totaled $717,500; he loaned his campaign $500,000 of that total. Judson Hill (R) raised $523,032 with $50,000 in self-funding, and Karen Handel (R) raised $463,744.
    • Ballotpedia spoke with candidates Karen Handel and Judson Hill about the race as well as former Speaker of the House and 6th District Rep. Newt Gingrich. Gingrich represented Georgia’s 6th Congressional District from 1979 to 1999, and the seat has been held by a Republican since his initial election in 1978. Prior to Gingrich's election in 1978, the district was represented by Democrat John J. Flynt, Jr. for seven consecutive terms (1965-1979).

The Week in Review

Sunday, April 9

Haley predicts regime change in Syria

  • Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that President Donald Trump would take more action against Syria if necessary. “If he needs to do more, he will do more. So, really, now what happens depends on how everyone responds to what happened in Syria, and make sure that we start moving towards a political solution, and we start finding peace in that area.” Haley added that the Trump administration did not see a future for the Assad regime, saying, “Well, regime change is something that we think is going to happen, because all of the parties are going to see that Assad is not the leader that needs to be taking place for Syria.”

Tillerson says defeating ISIS is priority in Syria and criticizes Russia’s oversight

  • Secretary of State Rex Tillerson indicated that defeating the Islamic State was the Trump administration’s top priority over regime change in Syria.
    • “And once the ISIS threat has been reduced or eliminated, I think we can turn our attention directly to stabilizing the situation in Syria. We’re hopeful that we can prevent a continuation of the civil war and that we can bring the parties to the table to begin the process of political discussions,” he said in an interview with CBS’ John Dickerson.
    • Tillerson also criticized Russia’s oversight of the Assad regime. “I think the real failure here has been Russia’s failure to live up to its commitments under the chemical weapons agreements that were entered into in 2013 both by the Syrian Government and by Russia as the guarantor to play the role in Syria of securing chemical weapons, destroying the chemical weapons, and continuing to monitor that situation,” he said. He added that Russia should reconsider its alliance with Assad “because every time one of these horrific attacks occurs, it draws Russia closer in to some level of responsibility.”

McFarland accepts Singapore ambassadorship

  • Deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland was offered and accepted the position of ambassador to Singapore. McFarland will likely leave the National Security Council in the coming months if she is confirmed to the position by the Senate. She is a former national security analyst for Fox News and previously served in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations. As deputy national security advisor, McFarland has been tasked with coordinating the federal government’s foreign policy, intelligence and national security branches.

Monday, April 10

Gorsuch sworn in as U.S. Supreme COurt
  • Neil Gorsuch was sworn in as the 101st associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and the 113th justice in the court’s history. Gorsuch joined the court 422 days after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, which is the eighth-longest vacancy period in the court’s history. Gorsuch joined the court in time to sit for the final two-week argument sitting of the court’s current term, which begins on Monday, April 17.
    • For more on the Gorsuch confirmation process, read our overview.

Club for Growth announces new ad campaign

  • The Club for Growth, a conservative nonprofit organization, announced it would begin a $1 million ad campaign targeting moderate Republicans who do not support the more recent proposals to amend the American Health Care Act. The organization’s ads will initially target Reps. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who have not supported more conservative changes to the bill. These ads will suggest that congressional support for more conservative measures—like allowing states to seek waivers of many Obamacare mandates—would allow for the Affordable Care Act to be repealed.

     

 

Verbatim Fact Check

Karen Handel is one of 11 Republicans running in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District special election. A fundraising flyer from the Value in Electing Women political action committee claimed that the former Georgia secretary of state “reduced the department’s budget by nearly 20% by prioritizing programs, streamlining processes and eliminating waste and duplication.” From fiscal year 2008 to fiscal year 2011, the department’s budget decreased by 24.1 percent. At least 7.3 percent of that reduction is attributable to statewide budget changes. Handel was responsible for implementing those across-the-board cuts as well as initiating other cost-cutting.

 
Did Karen Handel reduce the Georgia secretary of state's budget by 20 percent?
 

Tuesday, April 11

Ron Estes wins in closer-than-expected Kansas special election

  • Ron Estes (R) won the special election in Kansas' 4th Congressional District. He defeated James Thompson (D) and Chris Rockhold (L). Estes won by a margin of roughly seven percent, resulting in a much closer race than initially anticipated. Kansas' 4th District has historically been a deep red district, but Gov. Sam Brownback's (R) unpopularity across the state and an internal Republican poll in the final few days showing Estes ahead by one point signaled to Democrats and Republicans across the country that this race would be closer than expected. The election was held to replace Mike Pompeo (R), who was appointed as the director of the CIA earlier in the year.

Sessions issues guidance to federal prosecutors on criminal immigration enforcement

  • Attorney General Jeff Sessions released a memo calling on federal prosecutors to prioritize the prosecution of individuals who harbor foreign nationals residing in the U.S. illegally. Where resources are limited, Sessions wrote, cases involving the illegal transportation or harboring of three or more foreign nationals in the U.S. or violence and injury should be first addressed. Speaking during a visit with Customs and Border Patrol personnel at the Nogales, Arizona, border point of entry, Sessions said, “For those that continue to seek improper and illegal entry into this country, be forewarned: This is a new era. This is the Trump era. The lawlessness, the abdication of the duty to enforce our immigration laws and the catch and release practices of old are over.” Read more about immigration policy in Trump’s first 100 days in office in the Wednesday edition of You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer criticized for Holocaust reference

  • In his daily press briefing, White House press secretary Sean Spicer referenced Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler when discussing Russia’s future support of the Assad regime. He said, “You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons. So you have to, if you're Russia, ask yourself is this a country that you and a regime that you want to align yourself with?” Asked to clarify his comments given the use of gas chambers in the Holocaust, Spicer said, “I think when you come to sarin gas, there was no—he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing. … There was not—he brought them into the Holocaust center, I understand that. But I’m saying in the way that Assad used them, where he went into towns, dropped them down to innocent—into the middle of towns.”
    • House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for Spicer’s resignation. She said in a statement, “While Jewish families across America celebrate Passover, the chief spokesman of this White House is downplaying the horror of the Holocaust. Sean Spicer must be fired, and the President must immediately disavow his spokesman's statements. Either he is speaking for the President, or the President should have known better than to hire him.”
    • Spicer apologized for his remarks later that afternoon, saying, “I was obviously trying to make a point about the heinous acts that Assad had made against his own people last week, using chemical weapons and gas. Frankly, I mistakenly made an inappropriate and insensitive reference to the Holocaust, for which there is no comparison. And for that I apologize. It was a mistake to do that.”

Government Accountability Office to review Trump transition spending and ethics guidance

  • The Government Accountability Office outlined a review of Donald Trump’s transition team in a letter sent to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who first requested the review. The letter, which was posted to Warren’s website on Tuesday, detailed the review’s priorities. The four priorities were: to look into what ethics provisions apply to a transition team; how the Trump transition used and raised both public and private money; what conflict of interest and financial disclosure information was made available during the transition; and what is known about the transition team’s communication with foreign governments.

Federal appeals court delays lawsuit on 2015 ozone rule

Wednesday, April 12

Tillerson says U.S.-Russia relations at low point
  • Secretary of State Rex Tillersontraveled to Moscow where he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said in remarks following the meetings, “I expressed the view that the current state of U.S.-Russia relations is at a low point and there is a low level of trust between our two countries. The world’s two foremost nuclear powers cannot have this kind of relationship. We further discussed approaches to improving our channels of communication.” He indicated that Russian military intervention in Ukraine was “an obstacle to improvement in relations.”
    • Discussing where the United States and Russia agree on policy, Tillerson said, “We spoke extensively about Syria, and in some areas we share a common view. Specifically, we both believe in a unified and stable Syria, and we agree we want to deny a safe haven for terrorists who want to attack both of our countries. We agree that North Korea has to be de-nuclearized. We agreed there needs to be more senior-level communication between our two countries, both at a diplomatic and military level.”
    • Tillerson was also asked about Russia's possible involvement with the chemical weapons attacks in Syria. Tillerson said, "With respect to Russia’s complicity or knowledge of the chemical weapons attack, we have no firm information to indicate that there was any involvement by Russia, Russian forces, into this attack. What we do know—and we have very firm and high confidence in our conclusion—is that the attack was planned and carried out by the regime forces at the direction of Bashar al-Assad."

Trump shifts position on Chinese currency manipulation and Ex-Im Bank

  • In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, President Donald Trump said that he no longer considered China a currency manipulator. Currency manipulation occurs when a government tries to influence the exchange rate by buying or selling foreign currency. According to the newspaper, "Trump said the reason he has changed his mind on one of his signature campaign promises is that China hasn’t been manipulating its currency for months and because taking the step now could jeopardize his talks with Beijing on confronting the threat of North Korea."
  • Trump also said that he had changed his position on the value of the Export-Import Bank, which he described in 2015 as “a lot of excess baggage.” He said, “I will tell you what, I was very much opposed to Ex-Im Bank, because I said what do we need that for IBM and for General Electric and all these—it turns out that, first of all lots of small companies will really be helped, the vendor companies, but also maybe more importantly, other countries give it. And when other countries give it, we lose a tremendous amount of business. So instinctively you would say it’s a ridiculous thing but actually it’s a very good thing and it actually makes money. You know, it actually could make a lot of money.”

Federal hiring freeze ends

  • In his first week as president, Donald Trump issued a presidential memorandum ordering a freeze on non-military federal hiring. This ban was lifted on Wednesday after it compromised the function of several agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration. “This does not mean that the agencies will be free to hire willy-nilly,” Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said. Agencies are still expected to restructure their operations to reduce the size of their workforce.

ACLU files lawsuits for records related to immigration executive orders

  • Affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Unionfiled13 separate lawsuits under the Freedom of Information Act for access to records related to the implementation of President Donald Trump’s January 27 and March 6 executive orders. The ACLU said it first requested the records on February 2 and filed the lawsuits because “the government has failed to substantively respond.” The January 27 executive order suspended travel into the United States by nationals of seven countries and all refugee admissions. The March 6 order rescinded and replaced that order, suspending travel from six countries and all refugee admissions. The lawsuits primarily seek records related how the January 27 order was implemented by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at international airports and ports of entry, as well as relevant records regarding the March 6 order.

Trump downplays Bannon’s White House role

  • In a series of interviews that culminated on Wednesday, Donald Trump downplayed the role of chief strategist Steve Bannon in the president’s administration. In a Tuesday interview with the New York Post, Trump said, “I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late ... I had already beaten all the senators and all the governors, and I didn't know Steve. I'm my own strategist and it wasn't like I was going to change strategies because I was facing crooked Hillary. ... Steve is a good guy, but I told them to straighten it out or I will.” In a Wednesday interview, he told The Wall Street Journal that Bannon was “a guy who works for me.”
    • Bannon has reportedly clashed with White House staff who are loyal to Jared Kushner, the president’s advisor and son-in-law, and to Trump’s top economic advisor Gary Cohn. Last Friday, at Trump’s order, Bannon and Kushner had a meeting to smooth over tensions between them.

Outside groups increase spending in Montana special election

 

Verbatim Fact Check

Bob Gray is running as a Republican in the primary election to represent Georgia's 6th Congressional District. In a recent op-ed, he wrote, "For decades, the United States has accepted an average of 1 million legal immigrants annually. … Unfortunately, only 1 in every 15 legal immigrants arrives in the United States with a skills-based visa. The majority of the remaining immigrants are either low-skilled or unskilled." One in 15 individuals obtained employment-based lawful permanent resident status in 2015. (That included new arrivals as well as status adjustments for individuals already in the U.S.) However, the government does not track the skill level of immigrants who obtain lawful permanent resident status on non-employment-based visas. The majority of remaining lawful permanent residents cannot be assumed to have been low-skilled or unskilled just because their immigration was authorized under a non-employment category such as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, refugees, or asylees.

 
Is Bob Gray right about immigrant skill levels?
 

Thursday, April 13

Trump signs resolution allowing states to withhold federal funding from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood

  • At the end of March, the Senate voted to advance a measure allowing states to withhold federal funding for health care providers that perform abortions. Under an Obama-era regulation, states could not exclude a healthcare provider from receiving Title X funding for family planning and related services, like cervical cancer screenings, because it also provided abortion services. Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote to revoke the rule. President Donald Trumpsigned the resolution on Thursday.

Trump administration finalizes rule for health plans sold in individual market

  • The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published a final rule changing some regulations for plans sold on the ACA’s health insurance exchanges. Under the new rule, the open enrollment period to sign up for a plan was shortened from three months to six weeks, and individuals who sign up in a special enrollment period must provide documentation proving the triggering life event, such as divorce or job loss. Insurers may also refuse to continue covering individuals who have unpaid premiums. In addition, insurers are no longer required to meet federal standards for ensuring their networks contain an adequate number of providers; only state standards now apply.

DoD drops MOAB on ISIS-K

  • An MC-130 aircraft stationed in Afghanistan dropped a GBU-43 bomb—the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used—on the Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. The GBU-43 bomb, also known as the "mother of all bombs" (MOAB), was used to destroy tunnels and caves used by the branch of the Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan, also known as ISIS-Khorasan or ISIS-K. Gen. John W. Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement, "As ISIS-K's losses have mounted, they are using IEDs, bunkers and tunnels to thicken their defense. This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K." When asked if he authorized the strike, President Donald Trump said, “Everybody knows exactly what happened, and what I do is I authorize my military … we’ve given them total authorization. Frankly, that’s why they’ve been so successful lately.”

CIA director calls WikiLeaks a hostile intelligence service

  • During remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, CIA Director Mike Pompeo called WikiLeaks a hostile intelligence service. He said, "WikiLeaks walks like a hostile intelligence service and talks like a hostile intelligence service. It has encouraged its followers to find jobs at CIA in order to obtain intelligence. It directed Chelsea Manning in her theft of specific secret information. And it overwhelmingly focuses on the United States, while seeking support from anti-democratic countries and organizations. It is time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is—a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia." During the 2016 presidential election, Pompeo directed his Twitter followers to a WikiLeaks release of emails obtained from Democratic National Committee members in July 2016.

Congress is not in session

SCOTUS is in session

Congress is in recess until April 24, 2017.

The U.S. Supreme Court begins its final two-week argument session of the current term, hearing arguments in the remaining 14 cases on its docket beginning Monday, April 17.

What's On Tap Next Week

Saturday, April 15

Federal judge in Tennessee retires from the bench

Monday, April 17

SCOTUS begins final argument session this term

  • The U.S. Supreme Court begins the last two-week argument session of the court’s current term on Monday. The court will hear argument in three cases:
    • In Perry v. Merit Systems Protection Board, the court will consider a challenge to a holding of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Federal employees can appeal adverse employment actions, such as being fired, to the Merit Systems Protection Board. In most instances, appeals of the Board's actions are heard by the Federal Circuit. When an employee’s appeal carries a claim of discrimination under federal law, however, appeals from the Board’s decisions must be heard in a federal district court. Here, a former federal employee claimed discrimination as grounds for his termination and sought to have his appeal of an adverse Board action transferred to a federal district court. The D.C. Circuit disagreed, noting that the Board dismissed Perry's action for lack of jurisdiction and that all jurisdictional challenges from the Board's actions must be appealed the Federal Circuit even if the employee claims discrimination.
    • In Town of Chester v. Laroe Estates, the court will review a Second Circuit action. In law, intervenors are permitted to join ongoing litigation without the permission of the original parties, either as a matter of right or at the discretion of a court. In order to intervene and participate in a lawsuit, the Second Circuit has interpreted federal rules of civil procedure such that an intervenor does not have to establish independent legal standing in a case in order to intervene so long as there is a genuine case or controversy between the original, named parties to a dispute. Six other federal appeals courts have ruled similarly, but three federal appeals courts have held that federal rules of civil procedure require an intervenor to independently establish standing in order to intervene.
    • In CalPERS v. ANZ Securities, the court will review a split between the Second Circuit and the Tenth Circuit over a question of class action litigation. In American Pipe & Construction v. Utah, the U.S. Supreme Court created a rule that suspends the time, under a statute of limitations, for an individual to bring claims in civil litigation. This suspension occurs for an individual who joins a class action lawsuit and then later leaves the class in order to pursue their own claims. Statutes of limitation limit the amount of time an individual has to bring a claim against another party from the time an alleged injury is discovered. Under the American Pipe rule, an individual’s time to file an individual claim within a statute of limitations is suspended, or tolled, for the length of time the individual belongs to the class, meaning the individual will still have the remaining time available under a statute of limitations to bring a claim even if their membership in the class action litigation would otherwise exceed the statute of limitations. The Second Circuit has held that American Pipe rule, however, does not apply to litigation timetables imposed under a statute of repose. A statute of repose limits the amount of time an individual has to bring a claim against another party from the date of a particular event, irrespective of when an alleged injury is discovered or for how long an individual was part of a class action lawsuit. The Tenth Circuit, however, applies the Supreme Court's rule to both statutes of limitation and statutes of repose.

Tuesday, April 18

Special election to be held in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District

SCOTUS continues its April sitting

  • The U.S. Supreme Court continues its April sitting with argument in two cases:
    • In Kokesh v. Securities and Exchange Commission, the court will review a judgment of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. A federal law imposes a five-year statute of limitations on enforcing any civil fine, penalty, or forfeiture. Pursuant to a guilty verdict in federal district court, a judge imposed judgment on Charles Kokesh, including an order for disgorgement. Disgorgement consists both of factfinding by a court to determine an amount of money acquired illegally as well as an order compelling the wrongdoer to pay back that amount plus interest. On appeal, Kokesh argued that the disgorgement order was in violation of federal law because the order was time-barred by the five-year statute of limitations period. Kokesh argued that disgorgement constituted a penalty and a forfeiture. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, holding that disgorgement was merely remedial relief and was neither a penalty nor a forfeiture.
    • In Henson v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc., the court will review how debt buyers are categorized under a federal law. Ricky Henson financed a car loan through CitiFinancial Auto on which he later defaulted. CitiFinancial Auto sold Henson's loan to Santander as part of a bundle of loan receivables Santander purchased. As part of its business, Santander buys such receivables at a discount and subsequently pursues repayment from those with outstanding balances. Henson filed a lawsuit in federal district court alleging that Santander engaged in illegal debt collection practices as a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a federal law that regulates the manner in which debt collectors may seek repayment. Santander, as a debt buyer, argued that the statute categorized Santander as a creditor, and not a debt collector, because Santander wasn't collecting debts on behalf of a third-party creditor but was instead collecting on debts which Santander itself owned. The FDCPA does not apply to creditors seeking repayment. The district court agreed with Santander and dismissed Henson's suit. A three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.

Wednesday, April 19

SCOTUS concludes the first week of its April sitting

  • The U.S. Supreme Court will conclude the first week of a two-week argument sitting hearing arguments in two cases.
    • In Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, the court will review a judgment of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Trinity Lutheran Church operates a licensed preschool and daycare facility called The Learning Center. The Learning Center has an open admissions policy but, as a ministry of the church and as part of its daily programs, provides religious instruction from a Christian worldview. The Learning Center applied for a grant through a solid waste management program operated by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The program offers grants for qualifying organizations to purchase recycled tires in order to resurface playgrounds. The Learning Center's grant application was denied, citing a provision of the Missouri Constitution that prohibits public money to be given in support of a church. Trinity Lutheran claims that denying funds for a neutral, secular purpose on the basis of religion is a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
    • In Weaver v. Massachusetts, the court will review a judgment of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the closure of a public trial under the Sixth Amendment is a structural error– a fundamental error which affects the structure of a trial – and that structural errors are presumed to prejudice a trial outcome. The Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel, on the other hand, requires a criminal defendant to demonstrate both that counsel erred and that the error prejudiced the outcome of the trial. Here, Weaver appealed a murder conviction claiming he did not have the effective assistance of counsel based on his attorney's failure to object to the closure of a courtroom during jury selection. Weaver argued his attorney’s error caused a structural error at his trial. Because his attorney committed a structural error, Weaver maintained that he did not need to demonstrate prejudice, even though this is a requirement to prove deficient counsel under the Sixth Amendment. A Massachusetts lower court and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rejected Weaver's claim, holding that any claim of deficient performance of counsel – even one attending a structural error – required a defendant to demonstrate prejudice.

Where was the president last week?

President Donald Trump held numerous meetings with numerous security and military officials throughout the week, including Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. On Thursday, Trump left D.C. for Easter weekend at Mar-a-Lago.

Federal Judiciary

 

  • 136 total federal judicial vacancies
  • 2 pending nominations
  • 15 future vacancies
 

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Back to top for State and Local updates

State and Local

 
 

The week in review: April 8 - April 14
What's on tap next week: April 15 - April 21

Highlights

State

  • Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) resigned on Monday, April 10, the same day that impeachment proceedings against him began and he was booked in the Montgomery County Jail on two misdemeanor charges of campaign finance violations. He resigned as part of a plea deal. The Alabama State Ethics Commission, the state House Judiciary Committee, and the Alabama attorney general's office began investigating Bentley in 2016 due to allegations that he had misused state funds in order to conduct an affair with one of his top advisors, Rebekah Mason. Recordings of Bentley making sexual comments to Mason during two separate phone conversations emerged on March 23, 2016. Bentley maintained nothing illegal took place and stated he would not step down as governor. On April 6, 2017, the Ethics Commission released a finding of probable cause that Bentley had violated the state's ethics and campaign finance laws. The commission forwarded the finding to the Montgomery County district attorney.
 
Kay Ivey

Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey (R) was sworn in as Bentley’s successor. She is the second woman to hold the position of governor of Alabama. The first was Lurleen Wallace (D), the wife of former Gov. George Wallace (D). She was elected in 1966 but died sixteen months later. Ivey was first elected as lieutenant governor in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. She previously served as state treasurer from 2003 to 2011. The position of lieutenant governor will remain vacant until 2018 when the office is up for election. Alabama is one of 25 Republican state government trifectas.

Local

  • On Tuesday, April 11, the California Fourth District Court of Appealruled unanimously in defense of a 2012 local ballot measure in San Diego. The measure, Proposition B, replaced the city’s guaranteed pension system for new public employees with a 401(k) plan and matching contributions. This change included all new city employees except police officers. It was approved by more than 65 percent of voters. In December 2015, the California Public Employment Relations Board ruled that the measure could not be enforced because the San Diego mayor’s personal involvement in the ballot measure effort was illegal. The labor board ruling was appealed by the San Diego City Council in February 2016, which resulted in the case appearing before the state appeals court. The case may still be appealed to the state supreme court.
  • San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer (R), who was re-elected in 2016, praised the ruling and stated, “This citizens’ initiative gave City Hall new tools to bring stability to San Diego's financial problems, and this ruling means we don't have to turn back the clock on pension reform.” An official with the Municipal Employees Association, which is a plaintiff on the lawsuit, responded to the ruling by stating, "I think the California Supreme Court reviewing this is where it's headed next." San Diego is the second-largest city in California and the eighth-largest city in the U.S. by population.
 
Kevin Faulconer

State Politics: The Week in Review

Ballot Measures Update

2017:

2018:

Saturday, April 8

West Virginia Transportation Bonds Certified For The Ballot

  • The West Virginia State Legislature gave the final approval required to put a $1.6 billion bond issue proposal—Senate Joint Resolution 6—before voters in 2017. The bond revenue would be used to fund highway, road, and bridge construction and improvements. The measure requires the governor to set a special election date in 2017 for a public vote on the constitutional amendment. After the two chambers of the legislature traded amendments to the bill relating to separate transportation tax provisions, concurrence was reached the day before the legislature was set to adjourn, and both chambers passed the resolution by more than the two-thirds supermajority required.

Monday, April 10

Federal judge rules that Texas voter ID law was enacted with racially discriminatory intent

  • Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texasruled that Texas' voter ID law was enacted with racially discriminatory intent, violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. According to The New York Times, "lawyers involved in the case said the ruling effectively strikes down the law, although the judge did not issue a separate order doing so." Marc Rylander, a spokesman for Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, said, "We're disappointed and will seek review of this ruling at the appropriate time." Ramos' ruling came in the wake of a 2016 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which found that Texas' voter ID law had a discriminatory impact on minority voters who sometimes lack the required forms of identification. At that time, the Fifth Circuit remanded the question of discriminatory intent to the federal district court. Texas' voter ID law, also known as SB 14, has been the subject on ongoing litigation since it was adopted in 2011.
    • As of April 10, 2017, 32 states enforced voter ID requirements.
    • In 15 of these states, voters were required to present photo identification. In 17 states, others form of identification were permitted.

New York Raises Age of Criminal Responsibility

  • After passage by the legislature over the weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed legislation raising the age of criminal responsibility in New York from 16 to 18 years old. Under the new law, 16- and 17-year-olds will be tried in Family Court and, beginning on October 1, 2018, held in juvenile detention facilities instead of county jails or Rikers Island. According to The New York Times, New York sees more than 20,000 juvenile chargers per year. Prior to Cuomo’s signing of the law, New York was one of two states that prosecuted and incarcerated 16- and 17-year-olds as adults. The other is North Carolina. The legislation was passed as part of the state budget. New York is one 19 states under divided government.    

Lawsuit Filed Against Missouri Right To Work Veto Referendum Effort

  • The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on a lawsuit filed against the veto referendum effort targeting the right to work legislation approved in February 2017. Senate Bill 19—which goes into effect on August 28, 2017, if opponents do not succeed in their referendum effort—mandated that no person can be required to join a labor union or pay dues to a labor union as a condition of employment. The veto referendum petition was filed by Missouri AFL-CIO president Mike Louis and Missouri NAACP president Rod Chapel and the petition was cleared for circulation on March 28, 2017. The lawsuit contends that the ballot summary provided by Missouri Secretary of State John R. Ashcroft was unfair and could be misleading because of the way it was written. The lawsuit requests that the summary, which would be included on petition sheets during signature gathering, be replaced.
    • Certifying a veto referendum for the ballot requires a number of signatures equivalent to five percent of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election in six of the state’s eight congressional districts. This means that the minimum possible number of valid signatures required is 100,126. Signatures for a veto referendum petition must be turned in within 90 days following the adjournment of the legislative session in which the law was passed. Since the Missouri legislative session is required to end on May 30, 2017, supporters of the initiative have until August 28, 2017, to collect the signatures for the referendum. If enough signatures are collected by August 28, then the law would be suspended until voters decide the issue at the November 2018 election.
    • Veto referendums appeared on the ballot six times between 1924 and 2016, with the most recent one on the ballot in 1982.

Maryland Legislature Passes Drug Pricing Legislation

  • Lawmakers in Maryland passed legislation giving the state attorney general the authority to sue generic drug manufacturing companies that significantly increase the prices of their products. The bill allows the attorney general to request information from manufacturers who increase prices and to seek legal action if deemed necessary. A price increase ruled to be an “unconscionable increase,” according to the bill’s language, could come with fines up to $10,000.  The National Conference of State Legislatures has described the legislation as the first of its kind in the nation. The Senate voted 38-7 in favor of the bill, while the House voted 137-2. The bill heads to the desk of Gov. Larry Hogan (R).  Maryland is one 19 states under divided government.   
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Tuesday, April 11

North Carolina Legislature Seeks to Reduce Size of State Appeals Court

  • Lawmakers in North Carolina sent a bill to the desk of Gov. Roy Cooper (D) proposing to reduce the number of judges on the state Court of Appeals from 15 to 12 and to allow more cases to be appealed to the state Supreme Court. The legislation would require the next three vacancies on the court to go unfilled. Judges on the court are elected to eight-year terms but must retire at the age of 72. Judge Doug McCullough, a registered Republican who was last elected in 2010, plans to retire in May 2017, giving Cooper an opportunity to appoint his successor.  The bill passed along party lines, with Republicans voting in favor of the bill 71-42 in the House and 30-13 in the Senate. Opponents of the legislation argue that the bill seeks to prevent Cooper from filling vacancies on the court. Supporters say that the bill is in response to a decreased workload on the Court of Appeals. If Cooper vetoes the bill, Republicans would need a three-fifths majority in both chambers (72 in the House and 30 in the Senate). Republicans have a 74-46 majority in the House and a 35-15 majority in the Senate. North Carolina is one 19 states under divided government.
    • Last month, North Carolina lawmakers voted to override Cooper’s veto of a bill making Superior Court and District Court judicial elections partisan. The state had been using nonpartisan elections for those positions since 1990s, though judges had previously ran with party labels in partisan primaries.

North Carolina Legislature Changes Procedures For Appointing Election Boards

  • Also on Tuesday, legislators in North Carolina, voting along party lines, passedlegislation changing the appointment procedures for members of the state election board. Under current law, the state election board—which is responsible for settling election-related disputes and enforcing state election law—has five members, all appointed by the governor. Historically, the board’s majority has consisted of three members of the governor’s party. The new legislation proposes to expand the board to eight members—four Democrats and four Republicans—and to allow the governor to make appointments based on lists submitted by Democratic and Republican state party chairs. In addition, the legislation requires that a Republican would chair the board in years with presidential and gubernatorial elections, while a Democrat would hold the chair position during midterm elections. The bill also expands the size of county election boards from three to four, with membership to be split evenly between the two parties. The state board appoints members of the county boards. Gov. Cooper (D) has said he will veto the legislation.
    • Another bill seeking to make changes to appointment procedures for members of the state election board passed the legislature in December 2016. A three-judge panel in North Carolina ruled that the bill was unconstitutional.

Special Primary Elections in the South Carolina Legislature

Wednesday, April 12

New York Becomes First State To Offer Free Four-Year College

  • Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed legislation allowing residents of New York to attend public community and four-year colleges in the state tuition-free. Residents from households with annual incomes up to $100,000 wishing to attend college full-time will be eligible for the program in 2017. The annual household income cap will increase to $125,000 by 2019. Participants in the program will be required to live and work in the state after graduation for as many years as they received aid. Participants who leave the state after graduation will have to pay back their grants. Cuomo’s office has estimated that the program would cost $163 million in its first year.  The states of Tennessee and Oregon and the city of San Francisco have recently begun allowing residents to attend community colleges tuition-free. New York is one 19 states under divided government.

Iowa State Senate Passes Legislation Banning Sanctuary Jurisdictions

  • The Iowa State Senate voted 32-15 to bar local governments from receiving state funds if they pass sanctuary jurisdiction policies. In general, the term sanctuary jurisdiction may refer to a city, county, or state that has enacted policies which limit the involvement of local officials in the enforcement of federal immigration law. The legislation requires Iowa law enforcement agencies to comply with federal immigration law. Supporting the bill were 28 Republicans and four Democrats. As of 2014, an estimated 40,000 immigrants were living in Iowa without legal authorization. Iowa is one of 25 Republican state government trifectas.
    • Similar legislation has been moving through the Texas State Legislature. The Texas bill makes failure to comply with federal immigration policy a Class A misdemeanor for sheriffs, constables, and police chiefs. A house committee approved the bill 7-5 on Wednesday, and the Senate approved the bill 20-11 in February.
    • Last week, the California State Senate approved a bill that would prohibit California law enforcement agencies from using state and local resources for the purposes of reporting, arresting, investigating, or detaining individuals in compliance with federal immigration laws.  
    • On January 25, 2017, President Trump (R) signed an executive order giving the departments of Justice and Homeland Security the authority to withhold federal funds from jurisdictions that enact or enforce policies similar to those proposed under SB 54.
    • See also: Sanctuary jurisdictions

Michigan Senator Indicted

  • A federal grand jury indicted Bert Johnson, a Democrat representing District 2 in the Michigan State Senate, on two counts, including conspiracy to commit theft and committing theft of state money. According to the indictment, Johnson hired a ghost employee, or someone who is hired not to work, to his senate payroll to repay a loan. If convicted, Johnson could serve up to five years on the conspiracy charge and up to 10 years on the theft charge. Republicans have a 27-11 majority in the state senate. Michigan is one of 25 Republican state government trifectas.

Thursday, April 13

Montana Ballot Collection Measure Certified
  • The Montana state House voted 51-49 in favor of putting a statute before voters in November 2018 that would ban the collection of the election ballots of other people, with exceptions for relatives, caregivers, postal service employees, and friends. Violators would face a fine of $500 for each ballot collected. The law was designed to make “unsolicited ballot collection” illegal, according to its sponsor, Sen. Albert Olszewski (R-6). In the House, 50 Republicans voted yes and nine voted no. One Democrat voted yes and the other 40 voted no. In Montana, a simple majority is required in both chambers of the state legislature to place a legislatively referred state statute on the ballot. The state Senate voted 30-19 to approve the statute on March 30, 2017.

Maine Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Ranked-Choice Voting

  • The state’s highest court heard arguments from both supporters and opponents of Question 5, the first-of-its-kind initiative approved in November 2016 to establish a ranked-choice voting (RCV) system to elect U.S. senators, U.S. representatives, the governor, state senators, and state representatives. The case was initiated by the legislature, which asked the court for an advisory ruling on the constitutionality of the initiative before moving forward with implementing it. Specifically, the court considered arguments about whether the initiative violated the state constitution’s provision mandating that elections are won by "a plurality of all votes returned," rather than a simple majority as required by ranked-choice voting, and how exactly the initiative would be implemented with regard to local ballot tabulation. The effect of the measure on the two-party system was also addressed. Although the court has no deadline for this type of advisory ruling, the state legislature is set to adjourn on June 21, so a decision is expected long enough before that date to allow action by the legislature.
    • The initiative was approved by a margin of 2.12 percent.
    • State officials estimated the cost of implementation for the first election cycle at about $1.5 million.
    • Several cities and towns have already adopted RCV for municipal elections in states such as California, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, and New Mexico. Voters in Portland, Maine, approved RCV for mayoral elections in 2011.
    • No state currently uses RCV for statewide elections.

Arizona Lawmakers Approve Another Bill To Restrict Initiatives

  • The Arizona state House approved House Bill 2244 which would require strict compliance with all laws governing initiative petitions. This means that initiatives could fail to qualify for the ballot or be removed from the ballot because of technical errors on the petition sheets. The bill was approved by the state Senate on April 12 and now needs the governor’s signature to be enacted. Both Republican-controlled chambers passed the bill along party lines. Prior to HB 2244, substantial compliance with initiative petition rules was enough to qualify an initiative for the ballot, according to multiple Arizona Supreme Court decisions. Rep. Ken Clark (D-24), an opponent of the bill, said that HB 2244 in combination with the other initiative restrictions passed this year would “effectively shut down the initiative process for all but those, the richest interests, inside and out of the state.” House Speaker J.D. Mesnard (R-17) said the changes are necessary to ensure the integrity of elections and protect against fraud.
    • This bill is one of at least nine different legislative proposals introduced in 2017 to enact restrictions on the initiative process. One—a bill to ban pay-per-signature—already passed and was signed into law. Another—a bill to fine petition sponsors $1,000 for each incident of fraud or forgery perpetrated by paid signature gatherers—passed the House on April 13 and awaits a Senate vote.
    • In 2016, Arizona voters approved an initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage, which was opposed by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. The chamber lobbied in favor of the initiative restrictions considered in the legislature this year.
    • Initiative restrictions were considered or are being considered this year by the legislatures of several other states where initiatives concerning issues such as minimum wage, marijuana legalization, campaign finance and elections, tax increases, and law enforcement were approved in 2016.
    • Arizona is one of 25 Republican state government trifectas.

U.S. Department Of Justice Disapproves Of Puerto Rico’s Status Referendum

  • The ballot language for the referendum asking Puerto Rico voters if they prefer statehood or free association/independence may be changing based on criticisms from the U.S. Deputy Attorney General. Gov. Rosselló, a member of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, received a letter from Dana Boente, the acting Deputy Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice, expressing disapproval of the referendum scheduled for June 11, 2017. Boente said, “The Department [of Justice] has determined that multiple considerations preclude it from notifying Congress that it approves of the plebiscite ballot [referendum] and obligating the funds.” Boente was referring to the $2.5 million authorized by Congress in 2014 to fund “objective, nonpartisan voter education about, and a plebiscite on, options that would resolve Puerto Rico’s future political status.” One of the factors that Boente criticized is that the referendum ballot question does not include the option of voting for the status quo; Puerto Rico is currently classified as a U.S. territory and commonly referred to as a commonwealth. Gov. Rosselló responded (translated from Spanish), “Even though it is worthless that we offer Puerto Ricans the option of the colony to resolve the serious problems we are facing, the opportunity to have a plebiscite endorsed by the federal government is a step forward that will benefit of the people of Puerto Rico.”

Special Elections

As of this week, 14 state legislative seats have been filled through special elections in 2017. Another 32 elections have been scheduled in 17 states to fill vacancies.

Due to redistricting, additional state legislative special elections may be held in North Carolina in 2017. The special elections have been called in response to a federal court order that ruled 28 state legislative districts unconstitutional because of racial gerrymandering. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, issued an order on January 10, 2017, halting the 2017 special elections in North Carolina. The change would move elections under new maps to the regularly scheduled 2018 elections. The court is expected to decide whether to take up an appeal of this order.

  • An average of 89 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past three odd years (2011: 94, 2013: 84, 2015: 88).
  • An average of 44 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past four even years (2010: 26, 2012: 45, 2014: 40, 2016: 65).

Upcoming special elections include:

April 18, 2017

April 25, 2017

State Politics: What's On Tap Next Week

Tuesday, April 18

Special Election In The Georgia State Senate

Special Election In The Alabama House of Representatives

 
States in session
 
Map of state government trifectas
 
 

Local Politics: The Week in Review

Elections Update

  • In 2017, Ballotpedia is covering municipal elections across 54 of America's 100 largest cities by population and several of the largest counties by population, local judicial elections across six states holding elections for general and limited jurisdiction trial courts and one state holding elections for municipal jurisdiction trial courts, school board elections across 461 of the 1,000 largest school districts by student enrollment, all local recalls, all local ballot measures in California, and notable local ballot measures across the United States.
    • So far this year, Ballotpedia has covered 12 city elections, three county elections, and 78 school board elections. Ballotpedia will cover between 100 and 200 local ballot measures in California in 2017.
    • Local ballot measure elections occurred in California on January 10, February 28, March 7, March 28, April 4, and April 11. On March 7, local voters decided 22 measures; 14 measures were approved, seven were defeated, and one is too close to call with certainty until results are certified. Los Angeles city voters decided four measures, including Measure S, a development-related initiative. Measure S was defeated.
    • The next local ballot measure elections Ballotpedia will cover are on April 25 in California, May 2 in California, and May 6 in Texas.

Monday, April 10

Resignation forces El Paso special election

  • In Texas, the El Paso city government determined that it would hold a special election to fill the District 8 seat on the city council. Its previous occupant, Cortney Niland, announced her resignation on April 4 due to family issues. The nonpartisan special election will be held on June 10. That would also be the runoff election date for the city’s regular election for mayor and city council in the event that the winners are not determined on May 6 in the general election. The city council seats in Districts 2, 3, 4, and 7 are up for election, and 12 candidates filed for the mayoral election after incumbent Oscar Leeser opted not to run for re-election. El Paso is the sixth-largest city in Texas and the 19th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Tuesday, April 11

Federal judge orders May trial start for Philly DA

  • U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond issued an order setting the trial date for Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams (D) for May 31, 2017. Diamond, who serves on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, wrote in the order, “I am hard-pressed to think of a case where the public’s right to a speedy trial is more pressing than it is here. [...] The largest prosecutor's office in the commonwealth is being run by someone who is not licensed to practice law and is himself charged with 23 federal crimes.” Williams’ law license was suspended by an order of the state supreme court on the same day as Diamond’s order. Federal prosecutors had requested additional time to prepare before the trial began. Diamond stated that he would consider a delay of the trial start date if Williams’ attorney was unable to prepare a defense by that time.
    • On March 21, Williams was indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey under charges of corruption and accepting bribes. The indictment had a total of 23 charges. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recused itself from the investigation due to its regular work with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Williams’ lawyer responded to the indictment by stating he “vehemently denies that he ever compromised any investigation, case, or law enforcement function,” and Williams pleaded not guilty to the charges in court on March 22. In January, he was fined $62,000 by the city’s ethics board for not reporting gifts that he had not reported in official finance statements. This was the largest fine issued by the board since its establishment in 2006.
    • In February, Williams announced that he would not seek re-election in the city’s general election on November 7, 2017. A primary election for partisan candidates will be held on May 16, 2017. The filing deadline for partisan candidates was March 7, 2017, and the filing deadline for nonpartisan candidates will be August 1, 2017. Seven Democrats and one Republican filed for the office by the first deadline. Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the fifth-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Sheriff survived recall election

  • The sheriff of Storey County, Nevada, survived a recall election with more than 59 percent of the vote. Recall supporters had alleged that the county was required to pay for an investigator to look into sexual harassment claims against Sheriff Gerald Antinoro and pay for settlements in two wrongful termination cases. Antinoro responded that he had done nothing wrong and that those who sought his recall wanted him out so that they could control the sheriff's office. He stated that they had “made countless allegations, filed lawsuits, proffered false statements, twisted information, and used the media and county commission meetings as platforms of attack.” Recall organizers submitted petition signatures to the county clerk on February 8, 2017. Enough signatures were verified by the clerk to put the recall on a special election ballot.

Local ballot measure unanimously approved in California

  • Property owners within the boundaries of the proposed Shandon-San Juan Water District—in San Luis Obispo County—voted to approve Measure A-17, a ballot question about whether or not to form the new district with an elected five-member board. Only property owners were allowed to vote in this election, and one vote was allocated for each acre owned. In other words, property owners with more land were able to cast more votes on the measure. The preliminary election results showed that all votes were cast in favor of the measure. Of the 68 landowners who could cast votes on the measure, 59 did cast ballots.
    • Water districts are primarily created to "acquire, plan, construct, maintain, improve, operate, and keep in repair the necessary works for the production, storage, transmission, and distribution of water for irrigation, domestic, industrial, and municipal purposes, and any drainage or reclamation works." Funding for the activities of water districts comes partly through a special parcel tax—a kind of property tax based on units of property rather than assessed value.

Wednesday, April 12

Federal reports on sanctuary cities halted

  • U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it would stop publishing its weekly report listing sanctuary jurisdictions. Two reports had been released since the report was announced in March. A sanctuary jurisdiction limits cooperation between its local law enforcement agencies and ICE in order to prevent the deportation of immigrants living in the country illegally. In these jurisdictions, government workers and police officers are barred from asking residents about their immigration status, and compliance with ICE detainer requests is limited. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson explained the decision by stating, “There have been some data processing errors, and some other issues. We want to make sure we look at this holistically and make sure we are getting this as accurate as possible.”
    • On January 25, President Donald Trump (R) signed an executive order to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities. The order stated that the municipalities "are not eligible to receive Federal grants, except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes." Click here to read Ballotpedia’s coverage of sanctuary policy preemption conflicts between the federal government and local governments across the United States.
NFL sued by St Louis
  • The city of St. Louisfiled a lawsuit against the National Football League and each of its 32 franchises in the Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court due to the 2016 relocation of the Rams football franchise to Los Angeles. The county government and the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority are both co-plaintiffs on the lawsuit, which charges the defendants with breach of contract, unjust enrichment, two counts of fraudulent misrepresentation, and interference with business relationships. The NFL’s vice president of communications responded to the lawsuit by stating, “While we understand the disappointment of the St. Louis fans and the community, we worked diligently with local and state officials in a process that was honest and fair at all times.” The Rams franchise had spent 21 seasons in St. Louis after being relocated to the city from Los Angeles in 1995. St. Louis is the second-largest city in Missouri and the 58th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Illinois judge indicted for fraud

  • In Illinois, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Jessica O'Brien (D) was indicted on bank and mortgage fraud charges. The indictment alleged that O'Brien falsified statements about her income and her real estate company's profits on mortgage documents between 2004 and 2006. The two mortgages amounted to more than $1.4 million combined. A committee of Cook County judges will meet to determine if O'Brien should be removed from office with an arraignment scheduled for April 20, 2017.

Las Vegas officials announced drug needle vending machine

  • In Las Vegas, a group of city health officials and representatives from Trac-B Exchange held a news conference to announce that vending machines distributing sterile syringes for intravenous drug users would be installed in May. Use of the machines will require registration for a swipe card, which may be done without the registrant providing information that could be used to identify the person. The Las Vegas Review-Journalwrote that this will be the first use of these machines in the United States. The chief officer of the Southern Nevada Health District, Dr. Joseph Iser, supported the introduction of the vending machines and stated, “It’s a very successful intervention to do harm reduction.” Proponents claim that allowing drug users to obtain clean needles and other medical equipment will prevent needle-sharing practices that result in the spread of communicable infections. The machines will be funded by private donations to Trac-B Exchange, which developed them. Las Vegas is the largest city in Nevada and the 30th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Republican candidate withdrawal leaves all-Democratic general in Omaha

  • In Omaha, Paul Anderson (R) withdrew from his general election matchup with incumbent Pete Festersen (D) for the District 1 seat on the city council. Anderson's withdrawal meant that Grant Sturek (D), who lost in the April 4 primary, will face Festersen. The general election will be held on May 9, 2017. The Omaha City Council will remain in Democratic hands no matter the outcome of the general election because there are no pickup opportunities for Republicans. Democrats could extend the council majority from 4-3 to 5-2 if they win the District 7 seat held by Aimee Melton (R). Omaha is the largest city in Nebraska and the 42nd-largest city in the U.S. by population.

What's On Tap Next Week

Monday, April 17

Filing deadline for New York school boards

  • The filing deadline will pass to run for 24 school board seats up for general election in eight of New York’s largest school districts by enrollment. This is the filing deadline for central, union free, and common school districts in the state. The election will be held on May 16, 2017. The school districts served a combined total of 95,506 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 3.5 percent of all public school students in the state.

Tuesday, April 18

School board election in California

  • A nonpartisan general election will be held for two of five school board seats in the Arcadia Unified School District. At-large incumbent Fenton Eng will face three challengers for the two available seats. District voters approved a parcel tax measure on March 7. The measure required a 66.67 percent majority to pass, and it was approved with 67.63 percent. The Arcadia Unified School District is the 175th-largest district in California and served 9,582 students during the 2014-2015 school year.
 

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