Free Republic

The mayor of Quartzsite, Ariz., the town seething in vitriol since police forcibly removed a woman from speaking at a public meeting despite the mayor's objections lost in a recall election last night, but claims the "corrupt" town council fixed the results to force him out. "They found a whole bunch of early ballots they could stuff the box with," said Mayor Ed Foster, telling WND the election was "absolutely" stolen. Foster says at the polling place, he was winning by a 2-to-1 margin over former Town Councilman and Quartzsite Fire Department Capt. Jose Lizarraga. But there had been 328...

The state of Arizona is now investigating allegations of massive corruption among government officials in Quartzsite, Ariz., the town that's the focus of worldwide attention after police forcibly removed a woman from speaking at a town-hall meeting, and where the mayor today says he's not being paid and most local police officers are wrongly being fired and have been ordered not to leave their homes. "I'm no longer getting paid as mayor," said Ed Foster, the elected head of Quartzsite. "That's not a big deal, but it's in the town code that I get a stipend of $400. If they...

QUARTZSITE, Ariz. - A state of emergency has been declared in the small western Arizona town of Quartzsite after a video of a woman being arrested during a public city council meeting went viral and prompted death threats to council members. Jennifer "Jade" Jones, a blogger and vocal critic of local government, was delivering remarks during the public comment session of a June 28 city council meeting when she was interrupted. A video posted on YouTube shows council members interrupting her and asking her to leave or be escorted out. The mayor of Quartzsite, Ed Foster, is heard telling officers...