The Arizona Supreme Court has reinstated Colleen Mathis, the chairwoman of the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC), who Governor Jan Brewer had impeached earlier this month for “gross misconduct in office.”
Yesterday the Court heard arguments from the IRC’s attorneys challenging Mathis’ removal, and afterward determined that the Governor had failed to demonstrate the “substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct in office or inability to discharge the duties of office” required by the Arizona Constitution to remove a public official from office. Read the Court’s order for Mathis’ reinstatement here.
In a statement, Brewer said, “With its reinstatement of the IRC Chairwoman, the Supreme Court has averted its eyes from the Commission’s misdeeds. The Chairwoman’s actions to meet in secret, arrange critical votes in advance of meetings and twist the words and spirit of the Constitution have been forgiven – if not endorsed outright.” She called the ruling “misguided.”
