Newsroom
Message From Legislative District 3 House Representative
Alex Kolodin
Proposed Bylaw Changes for LD3
February 7, 2025
To All LD3 PCs:
The Bylaws Committee has been hard at work on a first pass of the bylaws with a goal of resolving any internal conflicts in the document. The Committee has voted unanimously on the below linked and red-lined changes (which are primarily moving paragraphs to different sections, technical corrections, or resolving internal document conflicts). We ask that you please review them prior to the February 11th meeting, and per our bylaws vote for adoption in the March 11th, 2025 meeting.
Download the red-line DRAFT proposed Bylaw Amendments here
In the next round, the Bylaws Committee will seek input from the body for additions and changes. Please hold that input until a trackable form is created for your submissions.
Sincerely,
The LD3 Bylaws Committee
Arizona Republicans Elect New AZGOP Leadership
PHOENIX, AZ – The Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) proudly announces the results of its recently concluded leadership elections at its annual statutory meeting. The new leadership team, elected by the party's membership, is poised to build on their historic successes in 2024 and deliver on President Trump’s promises for Arizonans.
“It is an honor to be elected to lead our Republican Party of Arizona into the 2026 elections. The road to winning begins today—every vote, every precinct, and every campaign matters. As a united Republican party, we will continue to WIN for President Trump and all Arizonans. I believe that by working together, we can help our Republican candidates win up and down the ticket, promote our conservative values, and Make America - and Arizona - Great Again!”
- Chairwoman Gina Swoboda
The newly elected officers are as follows:
Chair: Gina Swoboda
Secretary: Nickie Kelley
Treasurer: Ron Gould
The party is also excited to announce the newly elected Members-at-Large, representing Arizona's Congressional Districts:
CD 1: Mark Beach, Brian Ference, Jeff Greenspan
CD 2: Sherri Laffey-Long, Lori Ann Martinez, Arlene Rheinfelder
CD 3: Jeremiah Cota, Cheryl Rosado, Thomas Wing
CD 4: Donald Hiatt, Madeleine McDonald, Patty Porter
CD 5: Ken Berger, Trevor Cook, Carol Nelson
CD 6: Cheryl Caswell, Bob Dohse, Gail Griffin
CD 7: Malba Alvarez, David Lara, Tara Maldonado Oster
CD 8: Carol Ayotte, Anthony Kern, Michelle Rugloski
CD 9: Michelle Altherr, Timothy Griepp, Joe Tambrello
The Arizona Republican Party’s new leadership team is committed to engaging grassroots activists, energizing voters, and ensuring that Arizona remains a stronghold for conservative principles. With these dedicated leaders in place, the party is ready to continue winning and secure victories for Republican candidates at every level of government.
Special congratulations to our very own LD3 PC's Michelle Rugloski and Brian Ference for their CD MAL Election Wins on Saturday Night!
Also, a huge thank you to all LD3 volunteers who once again worked long and hard to help make the AZGOP Statutory Meeting a huge success!
MCRC
Chairman’s
Report
January 14, 2025
Craig Berland, MCRC Chairman
The MCRC 2025 Statutory Meeting is now behind us, and I want to offer a recap as I saw the day unfold. Our meeting objectives were to elect new MCRC Officers, vote on approval of 10 new proposed Bylaw Amendments, vote on approval of 10 proposed Resolutions, and above all to do this in a fun and efficient manner. While the early morning temperatures were a little chilly, the mood in the credentials lines was jovial as the process was very well thought out and effective.
The meeting opened a few minutes behind schedule with an inspiring Invocation from Susan Cheatham, the Color Guard presentation from Luke Air Force Base, the Pledge of Allegiance led by Army Veteran Chris Hamlet, and the National Anthem sung by Joanie and Rick Colson.
After a few opening remarks, acknowledgement of all the hard-working committees, and recognition of our Maricopa TARS (Teenage Republicans); we were right on schedule. Marcia Weiss reported the Final Credentials Report, and documented 1426 PCs attending in person, another 446 attending by proxy, for a total of 1872. Our Voting Card method proved to be a great way to get through acceptance of the meeting Rules and the meeting agenda.
The next item on the agenda was the Nominating Committee Report, and obtaining nominations from the floor. After introducing Tony Peters, the meeting Nominations Chair and MCRC 2nd Vice Chair, I turned the meeting over to Tony Peters as I was running for re-election.
During the request for nominations from the floor, an attempt to disrupt the meeting began and I feel it is important to be transparent as to how this all unfolded. Let me begin by building some historical foundation.
In October, during the 2024 General Election run-up, the MCRC EGC received a complaint that Candance Czarny, Carrie Cox and Susan Woods violated MCRC Bylaws by supporting a Democrat for office when a Republican was running for the same office. I appointed a committee to investigate the charges. The committee reported their findings at the November MCRC EGC meeting and the EGC unanimously voted to accept the committee recommendations and to proceed to trial for all three PCs. Czarny, Cox and Woods were sent a certified letter describing the charges and encouraged them to attend their trial at the MCRC EGC January 7th meeting. None of the three showed up to defend their position and the members of the MCRC EGC voted unanimously to suspend their voting rights through the end of their current PC term. Even though Carrie Cox knew that her eligibility to credential or run for office had been suspended, she showed up to the meeting and attempted to credential. She was denied access. Therefore, when a PC came to the microphone and nominated Carrie Cox as 1st Vice Chair, Tony Peters, the presiding official over the meeting, ruled the nomination Out of Order. Tony’s decision was challenged, a heated debate followed, and eventually the MCRC Body voted overwhelmingly to accept Tony’s decision, and the nomination of Carrie Cox was not accepted by THE BODY. Shelby Busch was re-elected 1st Vice Chair through acclamation.
The remainder of the floor nominations and candidate speeches were efficiently completed. Slightly ahead of schedule, the body received brief voting instructions and the polls were opened for the election of new officers. One thing to be aware of, Maricopa County is the largest Republican dominant county in the United States, and we therefore have a LOT of PCs. At our Statutory Meeting we had more people vote in 90 minutes than most county voting centers had vote on Election Day during the 2024 General Election. After the polls closed, even the last PCs to vote had a leisurely hour to eat lunch and return to the meeting.
Upon returning from lunch, Tony Peters introduced Joe Neglia, the Bylaw Committee Chair and Joe gave his Bylaw report. Each Bylaw was then debated. About halfway through the bylaws debate, the tally results were brought forward and Tony Peters announced the results. Craig Berland was re-elected Chair, as previously reported Shelby Busch was re-elected 1st Vice Chair, Julie McIlwain was elected 2nd Vice Chair, Michelle Altherr was elected Secretary, and Lawrence Hudson was re-elected Treasurer. I will add that our returning leadership won overwhelmingly, receiving nearly 70% of the votes. I then took the gavel back and finished the Bylaw debate. Another attempt to disrupt the meeting took place during Bylaw debate. A single PC spoke against each and every Bylaw. While I encourage debate for both in favor and against, the arguments appeared less than substantive. For example, one Bylaw made it possible to replace a poorly performing MCRC Chairman by simply removing the word “special” from the meeting requirements. The cost to get the entire MCRC body together for a meeting is approximately $35,000. So, to remove a poorly performing Chairman would require the MCRC to spend $35,000 on a “special” meeting, realistically making the removal impossible. By removing the word “special” a poorly performing Chairman could be removed at the annual Mandatory meeting. I will let you be the judge on whether or not arguing against each and every Bylaw was simply to disrupt or not.
The last remaining important meeting objective was to vote on Resolutions. Unfortunately, a significant number of members left the meeting after voting on the bylaws. It was still pretty early in the day so I will let you decide why so many members left. The same PC who spoke against each and every Bylaw then made a motion to adjourn the meeting as it was “felt” that we had lost quorum. After a very heated debate and a large number of “Point of Order” requests, I finally found the bantering without value and moved on to a vote. The motion overwhelmingly failed and the meeting was NOT adjourned. However, the PC that brought the adjournment motion then left along with a significant number of other PCs. This reduction brought quorum into question and a count of remaining PCs took place. There were 846 PCs remaining and we needed 886 PCs to have quorum, therefore no further business could take place and all Resolutions were lost.
Jim O’Connor, Chairman of the AZ Corporation Commission swore the newly elected Officers in and we patiently waited for the Bylaw vote results before adjourning.
Shelby Busch in a moment of brilliance, asked me if we could call an Emergency Meeting of the MCRC EGC and vote on the lost MCRC Resolutions as we waited. An MCRC EGC vote does not carry the weight of an MCRC vote but I enthusiastically agreed. I asked all LD Chairmen to come to the stage and we held a MCRC EGC Emergency Meeting with quorum. The Church microphone was used and all remaining PCs were enthusiastic visitors. Earlier in the day, Jim O’Connor asked if he could present a motion for a resolution during new business and I agreed. Since new business did not happen during the Statutory Meeting due to loss of quorum, I agreed to entertain the motion during the EGC Emergency Meeting. The Resolution presented is as follows: “I move that the MCRC EGC commend newly elected Maricopa County Supervisor Debbie Lesko for her bold move to initiate an investigation of election issues and maladministration of Maricopa County.” Jim’s Resolution passed with a VERY enthusiastic unanimous vote. The lost MCRC Resolutions were then voted on and all passed except Resolution #8 and #9. I might add, nearly all passed Resolutions were unanimously passed by the 30 member EGC.
In conclusion, I can’t help but communicate my deeply felt exasperation with Candace Czarny and her followers who sent out a fake Newsletter claiming to be LD3 asking all PCs to attend the 2025 MCRC Statutory Meeting and create chaos, vote against all Bylaw changes, and vote against all Resolutions. The entire MCRC body approved 2 of the 10 Bylaw amendments and the MCRC EGC which includes the Chairmen from all 20 LDs approved 8 of the 10 Resolutions. The Czarny faction has lost two court cases against the MCRC, and a judge’s order confirms that Czarny violated State Statute when she sent out a fake LD3 Call Letter for the LD3 December Statutory Meeting, and along with their losing their MCRC voting rights; one would think they would cease their attempt at creating chaos.
In court last November, Susan Woods was asked under oath by the MCRC Attorney if she believed the US Constitution had greater authority than the LD3 Bylaws. Ms. Woods responded under oath that she didn’t know. Did Ms. Woods perjure herself or does she really not know that the US Constitution is the supreme law of the land?
I sincerely believe we have a LOT of work in front of us if we are going to save our Republic. I hope this Statutory Meeting wrap up brings you clarity so we can focus on what is important.
I am proud of the accomplishments of the PCs and leadership of the MCRC and want to thank you for your hard work, continued support and faith in my leadership. I look forward to all we will accomplish in the next two years.
Craig Berland
MCRC Chairman
MCRC Statutory Meeting - Huge Success!
2025 MCRC Statutory Meeting Results
Congratulations to MCRC and the hundreds of PC and non-PC volunteers for a wildly successful event! 1,872 Maricopa County PC’s credentialed to elect our new MCRC Executive Board, vote on proposed bylaw changes and resolutions.
New MCRC Executive Board
Chairman: Craig Berland
1st Vice Chair: Shelby Bush
2nd Vice Chair: Julie McIlwain
Secretary: Michelle Altherr
Treasurer: Lawrence Hudson
Proposed Bylaw Changes (2/3 majority needed to pass):
1. Vacancies – Did not pass
2. District Chairman Removal Process – Did not pass
3. Removal of Officers – Did not pass
4. M.A.L. Election Process – Passed
5. One Proxy Maximum in LD’s – Did not pass
6. Notarize Proxies – Did not pass
7. The MCRC Chairman Appoints PC’s – Did not pass
8. Endorsement of Non-GOP Candidates – Did not pass
9. Lawfare – Did not pass
10. Bylaws Committee Schedule - Passed
Resolutions: (due to loss of quorum, a Special EGC Meeting was called for the specific purpose of the resolutions. The EGC then reviewed, discussed and voted on all resolutions on stage in full view of the body)
1. The MCRC Calls Upon Arizona State Legislature and Elected Officials to Take Action Resolving Mismanagement, Maladministration and Interference Rampant in Arizona Elections – Passed
2. MCRC Resolution for Free &Equal Elections in Arizona – Passed
3. Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Contracts Must be Open and Transparent, subject to Public Oversight, Audits, and Corrective Action Plans – Passed
4. MCRC Motion of No Confidence in Mike Pence – Passed
5. The MCRC Calls Upon the Arizona State Legislature to Mandate that All Arizona County Recorders Shall Use Appropriate Terminology in All Matters Relating to Voter Registration – Passed
6. The MCRC Calls Upon the Arizona State Legislature to Reinforce the Longstanding Principle Mandating that Only U.S. Citizens are Eligible and Qualified for Elective Office – Passed
7. MCRC Resolution Demanding Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Establish a Maricopa County Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Mandating Strict Financial Checks and Balances, Transparency and Accountability – Passed
8. MCRC Resolution Promoting the Importance of Rotating Roles – Did not pass
9. MCRC Resolution Calling for the Establishment of Term Limits for Legislative District Chairs – Did not pass
10. The MCRC Stands Positively United in its Longstanding Commitment to the REAL Conservative Roots, Patriotic Principles, and America 1st Policies of the REAL Republican Party - Passed
Ray Michaels interviews Maricopa County Republican Party Chair Craig Berland at AmFest 2024
LD3 Censures Speaker Johnson Demanding His Resignation and Calling to Vacate the Chair
LD3, The largest Legislative District in Arizona, censured Speaker of the House Mike Johnson at a recent meeting, demanding his resignation as Speaker of the House, and calling for all House Representatives to vacate the chair.
Speaker Johnson is under fire from several Republican Representatives for his support of the current CR. Critics point out that the CR is full of “pork” and includes funding for pandemic “Disease X” and expands the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Response Act including “allows for vaccine and mask mandates, vaccine passports, intentional emergency powers, gain of function research…”, gives automatic raises to Congressmen, allegedly allows quashing of any subpoenas, a one year extension on the State Department’s Global Engagement Center which reportedly has funded speech suppression efforts and is currently being sued by the Federalist and Daily Wire, and holds hostage needed disaster relief funding.
Senator Rand Paul said “I had hoped to see Speaker Johnson grow a spine, but this bill full of pork shows he is a weak, weak man. The debt will continue to grow. Ultimately the dollar will fail. Democrats are clueless and Big Gov Republicans are complicit. A sad day for America.”
Representative Thomas Massie said “People call me ‘NostraThomas’ for accurately predicting Speaker Johnson would use the Christmas recess to force a massive spending bill through Congress. After claiming he would not, Johnson is embracing a D.C. tradition that’s nearly as old as decorating Christmas trees.”
Representative Jim Banks said “This CR funds the censorship of conservative speech for the entire first year of the Trump administration. Unacceptable!”
LD3 Board Response to Czarny and Cox Election Challenge:
Candace Czarny is again spamming LD3 PCs and illegally using the LD3 name in violation of the judges order. Her pattern of filing false lawsuits and challenges is clear. In her latest email, Czarny criticizes the decisive and landslide victory in which new LD3 Chairman Stuart Scurti defeated her pick for chairman by over 39 points in the first round of the election run by third party LD12 Chairman Greg Dutton with assistance from MCRC. Czarny claims “Many are saying it was an absolute failure, so much so that the following timely election challenge has been filed by numerous PCs…”
But what she doesn’t tell you is that SHE personally filed the election challenge along with her board member Carrie Cox. The signed challenge pages reveal the truth:
Her further claims and points of her challenge are all false: “There were reports that ballots were removed from ballot boxes during counting, multiple ballot pages were not reconcilable, during hand counting ballot boxes opened and ballots were manipulated without observers, and MCRC 1st Vice-Chair Shelby Busch prepared the master tally without observers.”
Response to Points in Czarny Challenge:
Point #1: “Violations of PC Voting Rights and Timely Notice.”
All elected PCs as of Oct. 1st, 2024 were permitted to vote in the statutory election held on November 19th 2024. The call letter for the LD3 statutory election was sent via email or USPS to all elected PCs 10 days prior to the meeting in accordance with the governing statutes and bylaws.
Point #2: “Violation of ARS 16-823 (H) Failure to issue Physical Call letter to PCs who did not give MCRC Authority to communicate by email.”
All elected PCs as of Oct. 1st, 2024 were given notice of the district statutory meeting by email or by USPS if no email was provided. See the below photo evidence of physical letters prior to mailing:
Point #3: “Violation of the right to observe the tallying of votes”
Candidates were permitted to observe the tallying of the votes on November 19th. Candidates were also present at the tallying of votes on November 23rd.
Point #4: “Failure to implement a secure voting process” and Point # 5: “Vote collection process violated chain of custody”
The voting process was secure. There is no bylaw prohibition on ballots being printed on site. The ballots were printed on 2 pages and given a ballot number. The ballot number was printed on the first page, however, all voters were instructed to write their ballot number on the bottom of the second page when the error was discovered. A minimal # of ballots had the second page without a ballot number, but all ballots were verified as matching at the tally. There is no evidence of any over votes or any ballots discarded due to over votes (this is being confirmed).
Ballots were well sealed and protected. See the below images:
Point #6: “Chain of custody violated – No observers on the opening of the ballot boxes”
Observers were absolutely present. Four were present to open the ballot boxes and every pair was personally reviewed and cleanly matched. At the November 23rd tally of the State Committee votes the sealed ballot bins were presented and all present were able to see that the seal was intact and had the correct #. Nothing regarding the tallying was done without observers.
Point #7: “Violation of Credential and Tally Committee”
There is no bylaw prohibition on having other entities participate in the counting of ballots. It was prudent to enlist the help of MCRC especially given then large number of State Committee ballots.
Point # 8: “Violation of observers for the master tally”
Observers were permitted and present at the vote tallying process. All ballots were individually checked and confirmed to match at tally
See the below statement from Greg Dutton:
“When it was brought to my attention the State Committeeman ballots did not have Page 2 printed on the back, we immediately went to the ballot box where both Patty P and Carol A were observers and had already started giving word to every person to write the ballot number on the second page. Every one already had been submitted was entered together. It turned out during hand counting to be around 30 ballots. I personally secured the bins. They never left my sight, secured in my office, all seals fully intact inside and out, delivered. I was there when we opened the bins. I spoke about ALL of the above before we opened the bins. I called for questions and there was none.”
This is nothing more than more sour grapes in a pattern of false challenges and lawsuits.
We can stop these fraudulent harassing emails if all immediately do every step below:
1. Report Candace’s email as spam in your email system
2. Then contact Constant Contact her mail list provider
compliancesupport@constantcontact.com AND
https://www.constantcontact.com/about/contact-us
Telephone 781-472-8100
https://mobile.twitter.com/constantcontact
Hello, i request you immediately freeze, investigate, and close the constant contact account sending from admin@azld3gop.org. It is in violation of a judges order:
https://drive.proton.me/urls/0C3QDNXSV8#SBg8vNL5FXWj
committing fraud, spamming hundreds, and in violation of the canned spam act as she is not a political organization but an LLC. The former Chair Candace Czarny was removed and replaced and is now illegally abusing the email list which she no longer has any permission or right to use. https://maricopagop.org/press-release-congratulations-to-the-new-ld3-board-members/ shows the County recognized election. There has since been another new election with an entirely new board elected: https://www.gopld3.org/newsroom Please immediately freeze her account and delete all emails or I will be forced to file multiple complaints with state and federal authorities including the Arizona Attorney General and pursue litigation against Constant Contact.
3. Report BOTH Constant Contact AND Candace as committing fraud using always the top option on this FTC form
(pick the first option in all cases)
https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/
4. File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau against Constant Contact
https://www.bbb.org/file-a-complaint
State Committeemen Results
Press Release
NEW BOARD ELECTED IN MARICOPA COUNTY’S LARGEST LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT - LD3
The largest Legislative District in Maricopa County and one of the largest in the country, Republican Legislative District 3 in Maricopa County votes in new Officers for the 2025 and 2026 Term.
Maricopa County, AZ, November 19, 2024: According to the 2020 Census and 2023 Vintage Population Estimates, Arizona’s Maricopa County is the fourth largest County in the United States, and one of the largest and most influential in the United States, thus a critical district in a critical battleground state. The recently reunited LD3 credentialed in a whopping 299 in-person Precinct Committee (PC) members at their District Statutory Meeting to elect their new Board Members and State Committeemen for the 2025 and 2026 Term.
Congratulations to the new Officers for LD3:
Chairman: Stuart Scurti
1st Vice Chair: Dee Miller
2nd Vice Chair: Brian Ference
Treasurer: Ben Wells
Secretary: Melissa Luft
The newly elected Chairman of LD3 Stuart Scurti stated, “It was an incredible sight to see so many LD3 Precinct Committeeman from such a large and diverse set of precincts gather under one roof, vote for new Officers and then see them interacting with each other - creating new and rekindling old relationships”.
###
Political News
LD3 News
Candace Czarny Cease and Desist
Trump Endorsement
Dewit Censure
Supporting Details on Difference between the Woboards
Pride in America Month
Resolution in support of Senator Sonny Borrelli and SCR 1037
1st Vice Chair sets Jeff DeWit straight
PC Contributions
Detailed Clarification of LD3 Actions
Rank Choice Voting (RCV)
🚨Beware of the Rank Choice Voting Scheme!
Beware of those who want to fundamentally change America’s election systems; there is usually a self-serving motivation behind it. Consider Rank Choice Voting (RCV), which purports to solve the problem of divisive two-party elections, but in the end, can lead to mediocre winners who never received a majority of the votes cast. Moreover, it reallocates a voter’s choice to candidates they do not support, and it opens more opportunities to rig the system through this complicated process.
Instead of voting for a candidate that best shares your values (even if not perfectly), RCV has voters rank candidates in order of preference, even candidates the voter does not support. If no one wins more than 50% in the first round, the candidate in last place is dropped. Voters who ranked that candidate first lose their first choice, and now their second choice is counted and distributed accordingly among those remaining. If still no one receives 50% of the vote, the next lowest candidate drops, and those voters’ next choice is counted and distributed accordingly to the remaining candidates. This continues until someone wins 50% of the vote.
Through this process, a faux majority is fabricated to come up with a winner that was never the majority’s choice.
Disenfranchises Voters
RCV often leaves voters disenfranchised because many voters will not rank all candidates – especially those with which they strongly disagree. If their top choices don’t get 50%, their ballot is exhausted, leaving them out of the rest of the process. That’s what happened in a 2021 New York race ending in more than 140,000 ballots being thrown out after a couple of rounds. All those voters were left out of the final decision. It’s one thing to have your vote counted and be on the losing end; it is a whole other thing to be completely left out of the process.
In a 2018 Maine U.S. House election, the Republican who won the most first-choice votes ended up losing to a Democrat after the second round of reallocating votes and eliminating 8,000 votes.
The Heritage Foundation noted a 2015 study revealing that out of 600,000 votes cast using RCV in four local elections in Washington state and California found the winner in all four elections did not win a majority of the total votes cast.
Here’s this from Rosemary Spaulding…
To Everyone, I just wanted you to know that we need to keep up the pressure on our government servants. Bill Gates said he will not run for his office again for BOS. This is a win for all of us. He said the pressure from the people and the recall help him make that decision!!! This is a start for all of us in the win category.
We must keep up the pressure and keep signing the jotforms for removal of government form office and keep signing the affidavits. We can not give up we need to push forward in this and show them we are not backing down. We have both affidavits on both websites now with videos and links to download the affidavits. I have also put up the link to see the locations that we will be at for signings. We will be looking to go around the State to get as many signatures as we can. If you know of anyone that would like to host a signing party in their home with their Neighbors, Family, Friends we will do that as well.
Please stay with us in this fight. We are all going to make big changes in Arizona. Also know that our affidavits are going out across the Nation as well. We are going to take back our State and our Country. Everything we have done up to now has all worked out for the betterment of what we all what to happen. We want our elected offices to listen to us or know we can and will remove them. We want to have a say in what is going on in this state and if they do not want to listen to us the government can be removed.
All efforts that we have done so far are parts to the bigger picture. We must keep going. We must stay strong to get the changes that we want. We can not give up. So Please sign the jotforms and sign the affidavits. Change is on the way. Do not give up!