Jeanine L'Ecuyer

The Arizona Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to consider the claim by cities that the state - and Gov. Janet Napolitano in particular - illegally took some of their funds.

In a brief order, the justices said they want to hear arguments about whether the provision ordering cities to surrender $29,748,400 is effectively a tax. That's the argument being made by attorney Paul Eckstein who represents the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.

If the court sides with Eckstein, then what lawmakers and the governor did is illegal for two reasons.

First, the order to the cities was put into the bill enacting the new $9.

The Napolitano administration is making way for governor-in-waiting Jan Brewer to move into the gubernatorial suite.
The Brew Crew will start moving in to the Governor's offices on Jan. 17, while those remaining on Planet Janet will finish up their tour of duty in the space currently occupied by the Brewer transition team.
"A few of us are just going to switch with them," said Jeanine L'Ecuyer, Napolitano's spokesperson.
By that time, Napolitano is likely to be finished with the confirmation hearing staged by the U.S. Senate's Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. The committee is expected to hold hearings on President-elect Barack ...

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Gov. Janet Napolitano is headed to Washington next week in her bid for her new job.

But she may not be governor when she finally returns.

Gubernatorial press aide Jeanine L'Ecuyer said Napolitano flies to the nation's capital midday this coming Tuesday, just 24 hours after giving what is expected to be her last State of the State speech. The governor is awaiting confirmation as Barack Obama's pick to be the next chief of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

"At this point there is not a return on her schedule,” said L'Ecuyer.

Congressional Quarterly is reporting that the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs has tentatively scheduled confirmation hearings for Jan.

Getty Images Photo

John McCain

Gov. Janet Napolitano's spokeswoman confirmed Thursday that U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Phoenix) called to congratulate her on being the "top contender' for the job of Secretary of Homeland Security in President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet. 

A release put out by McCain Thursday said:

"Senator McCain called and congratulated Governor Janet Napolitano on her emergence as top contender for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Senator McCain said 'Governor Napolitano's experience as the former U.S. Attorney for Arizona, Arizona's Attorney General, and as Governor warrants her rapid confirmation by the Senate and I hope she is quickly confirmed.' Senator McCain looks forward to working with her throughout the nomination process."

Gov. Janet Napolitano is flying to Washington, D.C. Wednesday night to appear before a congressional committee Thursday, her spokeswoman told PolitickerAZ.com.

Jeanine L'Ecuyer, communications director for Napolitano, said the governor will be addressing a House committee - which one she couldn't remember off hand - regarding the Medicare system as it relates to the states, as well as the overall fiscal conditions of the states.

When asked if this was related to Napolitano's work on President-elect Obama's transition board, L'Ecuyer said, "Only if you want to stretch."

Plans are being formulated that would send Gov. Janet Napolitano back out on the stump for Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, according to Napolitano's office.

The governor, who has already campaigned on behalf of the senator from Illinois in the swing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida in the past few weeks, would be going to Colorado for Obama.

"There are tentative plans that would put [Gov. Napolitano] in Colorado next week," said Jeanine L'Ecuyer, the governor's spokeswoman.

However, where Napolitano would be going or with whom she would be appearing remain to be seen.

Gov. Janet NapolitanoGov. Janet Napolitano expects to be appearing on the campaign trail and in the media on behalf of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, according to Napolitano spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer.

'We fully expect the governor to be travelling and doing a whole lot of media on behalf of Senator Obama," L'Ecuyer told PolitickerAZ.com Friday.

Napolitano was an early supporter of the junior senator from Illinois, and with the choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the running mate of U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Phoenix), female surrogates for Obama - particularly female governors - are expected to have an increased role in the campaign.

As the TIME Coalition tries to fight its way back onto the ballot through the courts, there are a lot of questions being asked about how the Coalition - backed by Gov. Janet Napolitano and supported by some of the top political consultantcy firms in Arizona - found itself in this position.

The Coalition is trying to put a 1 cent sales tax increase before voters to pay for improvements in transportation infrastructure - an initiative the governor considers vital for Arizona's future. Yet Secretary of State Jan Brewer invalidated a large number of signatures collected in the effort, and unless the Arizona Supreme Court rules otherwise, TIME will not appear on the November ballot.

Much of the blame is being placed with Ziemba Wade, the relatively new but high profile consulting firm that was ultimately in charge of the campaign. Though not many political insiders are speaking publicly, behind the scenes there is talk that Ziemba Wade failed its first major test as a power in Arizona politics.

Gov. Janet Napolitano: Getty Images PhotoDespite her inclusion on at least one Clinton supporter's list of personae non gratae, Gov. Janet Napolitano, who backed U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) against U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) early in the presidential primary process, sees no reason for alarm, according to her spokeswoman.

"The person keeping the list is certainly within her rights to do so," said Jeanine L'Ecuyer, Napolitano's press secretary.

A report by the New York Times Wednesday revealed numerous of Clinton's intimates and big-time backers had developed lists of "traitors" or "enemies" who either refused to support Sen. Clinton's nomination or initially backed her but switched to Obama. Susie Tomkins Buell, who founded the Esprit clothing line, has included Gov. Napolitano on her list.

State Treasurer Dean Martin invoked the ire of Governor Janet Napolitano yesterday by announcing that the state would be flat broke by early May. Napolitano's office claims that Martin is "not privy to enough information to make accurate predictions," and that his is merely a "ministerial position." Now Martin tells Politicker AZ his side of the story, including his views on how the state got into this situation, how it can be fixed and how the answer isn't to "kill the messenger."