The following is a detailed account of the road that Stephen Richer took on his journey to holding the elected position of Maricopa County Recorder in the state of Arizona.
College Years: Undergraduate at Tulane University, New Orleans where he co-founds the NOLA HURRICANE FUND which raises over $100,000 in eight months.
In the fall of 2003, Stephen Richer started his freshman year at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. He travelled from out of state and if he lived where he is listed on the deed/property title, that would have been in in Sandy, Utah. However, in future publications he lists as hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah.
Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, on August 28, 2005 Stephen Richer founded the New Orleans (NOLA) Hurricane Relief Fund. The November 4, 2005 edition of the University of Utah's student newspaper runs an article interviewing Stephen Richer, about selling t-shirts for his charity in the student building.
The 2006 Winter Edition of Tulanian, the student-run newspaper at Tulane University mentions Stephen Richer as a co-founder of New Orleans (NOLA) Hurricane Relief Fund.
March 2, 2006 - The "NOLA HURRICANE FUND" is incorporated. It is registered in Louisiana as a Utah-based, "Non-Lousiana", Non-Profit.
Stephen Richer is listed as the Registered Agent and his Registered Office in Louisiana share an address with the New Orleans Charter Science and Mathematics HS.
This charity does an outstanding job of raising a lot of money in a relatively short period of time. The NOLA HURRICANE FUND reports on its website the running total of accumulated donations. The following list represents the total dollars raised as reported on the NOLA HURRICANE FUND website on the particular date listed below:
2005
2006
- Feb 2nd - $85,000
- Mar 16th - $95,000
- Apr 24th - $100,000
- Jun 16th - $110,000
- July 14th - $110,000
- Aug 21st - $110,000
- Sept 28th - $110,000
- Oct 7th - $110,000
- Dec 5th - $110,000
The NOLA Hurricane Fund, a charity co-founded by third year college student, Stephen Richer, raised $110,000 in eight months. As their merchandise was $15 t-shirts and $2.00 wristbands, presumably most of their fund intake came from solicited cash donations.
To this end, the NOLA Hurricane Fund boasts an impressive list of donors including:
- Allman Brothers Band
- Cal Poly State University Foundation
- Hudson River Bank & Trust Co Foundation
- University of Santa Barbara
- Wake Forest University, Undergraduate Admissions Department
- Wisconsin, University of (at Madison)
2007 and 2008 saw no updates to the website, with the final web archive snapshot having been taken on June 8, 2009. By 2009 Stephen Richer was living in D.C. working at various think tanks, therefore it's doubtful he had much to do with the NOLA Hurricane Fund past the end of 2006.
Graduate School: Stephen Richer obtains M.A. from University of Chicago, identifies as a Democrat in school debate.
From 2007 - 2008 Stephen Richer attends the University of Chicago as a graduate student, obtaining a Master of Arts in Political Science. On February 19, 2008 Stephen Richer, as a Democrat, debates the proper government position in same-sex marriage. This is notably the only time Stephen Richer identifies as a Democrat, in every subsequent mention found online he is labelled as Republican. This debate is written about a week later in the Chicago Maroon.
2008 -2012 The Washington D.C years: Stephen Richer bounces between two Think Tanks, founds "Gather the Jews", creates short lived research firm "RK Research".
The source for the following two "think tank" associations derives from a profile found on a 3rd party site listing Cato Institute employees.
- 2008 - 2009 American Enterprise Institute
- 2009 - 2012 The Washington Legal Foundation
2010 - 2014 Stephen Richer is involved with Red Knight Research. This appears to be a corporation that underpins "RK Research", the firm Stephen Richer founded which produced one report before dissolving.
2010 - 2013 Gather the Jews was allegedly founded by Stephen Richer and he acted as a Director for three years. The organization still exists, though it has since rebranded itself as Gather DC.
2010 - Co-authored an opinion piece on The Daily Caller, Death of a delusion about Obama's handling of healthcare.
2011 - Stephen Richer goes on record stating "The beginning of Circus is my life MO: “There’s only two types of people in the world. The ones that entertain and the ones that observe. Well baby, I’m a put-on-a-show kind of girl. Don’t like the backseat, gotta be first.”"
06/2011 - RKresearch.org, the firm founded by Stephen Richer, shows up on web archive, no earlier presence able to be found.
In 2011 and 2012 Stephen Richer pens two articles that appear in The Salt Lake Tribune. Huntsman could have appeal for young voters, which appears on May 31, 2011 and Romney, Obama and the Jews on May 23, 2012.
2011 - Sometime in the summer, Stephenricher.com is launched. The site appears to host a large collection of articles written by Stephen Richer between 2009 and 2011. Click on the image below for the complete list.
2012 - 2015 Stephen Richer attends The University of Chicago Law School, Works for Cato Institute, Invests in a failed restaurant in D.C.
In the fall of 2012 Stephen Richer is said to have been starting his first year of Law School at The University of Chicago. This is based on listings in his bio pages found on several different online sources.
In August of 2011, Stephen Richer launches another blog, this time on Forbes.com. The blog remains active for nine months. During this period of time Stephen Richer posts a total of 37 articles to this blog. He lists himself as a Contributor and the word WASHINGTON appears in his title. Presumably, Stephen Richer is attending The University of Chicago Law School at this time.
On November 7, 2012 Stephen Richer writes one of his final two posts for his Forbes.com blog titled Obama Zombies (The Youth Vote) March On. This article is cross posted to the University of Chicago Law School's newsfeed.
Stephen Richer lists "August 2012 - Present" for "American Unity Fund ((c)4) and American Unity PAC". under Experience on this page listing Cato Institute employees.
July of 2013 Stephen Richer partners with an old roommate on a doomed restaurant venture. The restaurant/bar/lounge is called Thomas Foolery and it's located in D.C.
The restaurant is full of video games and youth based entertainment items with the theme resembling that of a toy store. The same author as above wrote another post about Thomas Foolery one week prior: 12 Craziest Things About Thomas Foolery, Opening Wednesday
Thomas Foolery permanently closed its doors and ceased operations almost exactly three years after it opened.
An article written by Stephen Richer in September of 2013 titled Same-Sex Marriage Ruling May Polarize the Marriage Equality Debate is published on jurist.org. The same article is crossposted to The University of Chicago Law School's newsfeed.
Between June and August of 2014 Stephen Richer worked at Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
In 2015 Stephen Richer graduated from the University of Chicago Law School. On May 13, 2016 a Supreme Court of Arizona press release lists Stephen Richer as having passed the Arizona Bar Exam.
Following his passing of the Arizona Bar, Stephen Richer appears to go back to work for Steptoe & Johnson LLP, located in Phoenix. He remains there until July, 2019 when he takes a job at Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP.
The domain "richerforrecorder.com" is registered on March 3, 2019, the earliest online indication that Stephen plans on running for the Recorder position.
On March 16, 2019 Stephen Richer is listed as a panelist for The Federalists's Society's event The Resurgence of Economic Liberty. Specifically he is part of a roundtable discussion entitled An Introduction to the Lawyers Division, which is held during the lunch break.
Stephen Richer formally announces his intent to run for the position of Recorder for Maricopa County on April 2, 2019.
Ironically, given the current news, Stephen Richer runs as the attorney who audited the 2018 election, found potential problems, and wishes to correct them through holding the office responsible for making needed changes.
On July 16, 2019: Stephen Richer leaves his position at Steptoe Johnson LLP and starts a new position at Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP
There is a primary challenger, reported on July 30, 2020, that Stephen Richer beats in order to gain the Republican ticket nominee.
There isn't much to be found online as far as his campaign other than a interview he did on a radio show which is posted on richerforrecorder.com. The Great State Alliance hosted the interview and posted it as their first upload to their YouTube channel on July 7, 2020. They have a total of 74 subscribers and 18 videos on YouTube, this video has just over 2000 views.
When election night on November 3, 2020 rolls around Stephen Richer's opponent is ahead by a "wide margin". However, as the days progressed and more votes rolled in they were overwhelmingly in favor of Stephen Richer.
Fontes initially held a wide lead over Richer, but that changed as more results came in. Richer took the lead on Saturday.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2020/11/12/stephen-richer-unseats-adrian-fontes-maricopa-county-recorder-race/3762610001/
Stephen Richer closed the gap in the days following election night with his opponent officially conceding nine days after the November 3rd election day.
January 2021: Stephen Richer assumes the office of Maricopa County Recorder
That is the raw history of Stephen Richer with as little personal commentary as possible thrown in the mix as I put it together. This next section is purely my own opinion and speculation, much of it is based on nothing I found but rather what I have inferred. If items below sound factually stated, there is a link to the source found in the above article where the same item is referred.
My opinion is that Stephen Richer's life was designed so that he could be inserted into the political system when needed. His past has given him a seemingly robust and well rounded history of business, academia, philanthropy, and political connections. Stephen Richer was always in the right place at the right time and he never failed to capitalize on opportunities to further his clout when they presented themselves to him. This provided him with a great looking resume every time he needed to show it off.
However, there are some oddities that pop out at me and cause me to reconsider the clean/linear path being one that Stephen Richer walked. The biggest oddity is the amount of money Stephen Richer raised for his NOLA HURRICANE RELEIF FUND, the short amount of time in which he raised it, and the curious list of donors. Pulling together $110,000 in 8 months is no short feat for a professional fundraiser who does it as a lifelong career. Stephen Richer did it as a Junior in college and did it in record speed. His charity received donations from the Allman Brother's Band, major Universities and major Trust Funds.
I speculate that the charity was destined to succeed before it was founded and the entire point was to obtain the clout on the resume and, most importantly, the award given Stephen Richer by President Bush for his work with the Charity. This charity move alone had Stephen Richer being able to boast getting an award from a sitting president for helping a national disaster, all before he finishes his undergraduate degree. I am not attempting to imply the charity didn't help people who needed help, from all things I can find the charity fulfilled its mandate as promised. Rather it's the $10,000/month pouring into the charity as soon as it is incepted until the end of that school year (8 months later) that seems insanely convenient. Granted they did offer $15.00 t-shirts and $2.00 wristbands in their online store, so perhaps they sold 7,000 t-shirts, 55,000 wristbands or some combination of the two to hit the $110,000 total raised.
Furthermore I also find it odd that the physical location for the NOLA HURRICANE FUND is an address in Sandy, Utah while the local address is a building owned by a Charter High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. I am unable to determine a link between this High School and Stephen Richer, other than the corporate founding documents. The charity exists for a few years after the initial burst of energy that created it, but it never seems to raise any more money and eventually its presence vanishes from the internet.
Another curious item is that Stephen Richer is listed on the title of that house in Sandy, Utah yet he always describes himself as from Salt Lake City, Utah. The house in Sandy, Utah was the address for both his "NOLA Hurricane Fund" corporation as well as his "RK Research" corporation. This leads me to believe that the property in Sandy, Utah was Stephen's primary residence before he left for school. It could be that he travelled to Salt Lake City before going to college, but I found no record of that if it happened.
From how I see things, when Stephen Richer spent his post undergraduate years at think thanks in D.C. he was preparing himself for a life as a politician. I suspect he had lots of help and guidance through the process and I think he was born to be a political asset.
I doubt he fully understood what he was stepping into when we was tapped to run as Maricopa County Recorder in the 2020 election cycle. I say "tapped" because I assume he was given the plan by the people who manage these political assets. Perhaps he was sold a story that the current Recorder was making too much noise (true) and had a lot of people angry at him (true), was a Democrat and since Trump was popular Stephen running on Republican ticket would be helpful (true). It would be a good way to test his ability to give interviews and run a campaign for a position that most people don't pay very much attention. Before you get to be a Senator or even, someday President, you have to cut your teeth at some sort of local level. Starting off as Recorder is a good boost, much higher than City Counsellor and with a lot more power, yet with little fanfare or notice by many. After serving as Recorder, perhaps he was told the next step would be State Senate with an eye to D.C. not too far away. If I were Stephen Richer and my life had been planned to be a politician, this would sound like a natural progression and next step for my career. It would make sense to take the offer and run for the position.
I feel if that was the story he was sold then he was sold a lie. Or it could be that they have dirt on him and he had no choice but to run and assume the office. This thought brings me to the odd, child-themed, restaurant that he owned and was open during the years he was in D.C. He partnered with another person named "Steve", who used to be his roommate and who which he shares a birthday. This relationship seems closer, to me, than a simple business partner. I am not sure what went on at that restaurant, exactly, but my mind wanders to plenty of places that could involve the production of blackmail. Through my week of digging I never found any mention of a girlfriend or a partner of any kind. On richerforrecorder.com there is mention of a wife that he goes hiking with, but there are no photos to be found. If Steven Richer is married I suspect it's purely a marriage of either political or business convenience, perhaps not unlike his parent's marriage.
Either way the result is the same - The Maricopa County Recorder position is in the national spotlight and a political neophyte with no public service experience, Stephen Richer, is in the role. He is taking a ton of heat to the point of doing CNN appearances to defend himself and some of the allegations.
Stephen Richer has been very outspoken against the Forensic Audit that is currently underway in his County. However, the Forensic Audit is only auditing the vote for "President", and not the "Down Ballot" votes. Even if he had a reason to worry, which I don't know if he does, it shouldn't matter unless the audit gets expanded. As there is no promise that this won't happen, I suppose there might be reason to worry if his election wasn't completely clean.
He has certainly changed his tune on the idea of auditing elections. Stephen Richer was hired by the Arizona GOP to audit the 2018 Maricopa County election, which he did and reported finding many things that bothered him. Shortly after being elected as Recorder in November 2020 he tweeted his support of an Audit, if nothing else to bring piece of mind to the voters. However since the Forensic Audit started he has taken to twitter to blast it every step of the way and is fighting it though court actions in his official role as Recorder.
Whether he knew he was getting set up to have this battle because he has been promised something bigger on the other side, or he thought this would be a quiet stint on his way to higher office it is clear to me that he is about to take the fall for something done by his predecessor.
The final curiosity comes when I think about the fact that Stephen Richer was way behind on election night and won by a 0.3% margin after 4 subsequent days of counting additional votes. I feel like that exact same scenario happened on a larger scale and is being audited as a result, perhaps even in the same county!
Nice - dive. How he is bankrolled?
Thanks. From what I found his father is an attorney, some funds probably come from the family. Furthermore, the deed on the house also lists a "Living Trust" as one of the owners, along with Stephen. This trust probably funds some of his life as well.
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