Standing Up to Out-of-State Dark Money in Rural Arizona
Across rural Arizona, our farmers, ranchers, and local county communities are facing an escalating political campaign driven by left-wing activist groups. Under the guise of affordability, these outsiders are pushing radical energy mandates that threaten our agricultural way of life. Initiatives like Climate Power En Acción’s “El Precio Que Pagamos” target our local Latino families with polished rhetoric, attempting to pin rising utility costs on traditional energy producers. But rural Arizonans who work the land know the truth: energy inflation is driven by big-government regulation and the premature retirement of the reliable, baseload power our farms, homes, and irrigation systems depend on.
Top-down mandates from Leftist special interests choke Arizona’s energy supply just as demand reaches record highs. These policies threaten to destabilize our local power grid, drive up monthly electric bills for working families, and undermine the reliable energy foundation necessary to keep our rural economies thriving. Conspicuously, these activist campaigns directly target local land rights and county governance in places like Cochise, Yuma, and Pinal counties. Front organizations like Rural Arizona Engagement (RAZE), backed by national Leftist groups, pack Planning and Zoning Commission meetings and local workshops. While claiming to represent local voices, they stoke division and stir up fear around local economic projects – essentially dictating how rural communities manage their own land and energy needs.
The Local Money Facade
Tax filings and financial disclosures expose RAZE and its allies as heavily bankrolled organizations from out-of-state dark money networks. Grants from radical organizations including $505,000 from the Windward Fund and $125,000 from the Pro-Democracy Campaign – alongside deep-pocketed funding from the New Venture Fund and the Tides Foundation funnel millions into rural Arizona. This massive influx of coastal capital creates artificial local opposition, and overrules local property owners. And the worst part – they have the bravado to call themselves “rural” Arizona Engagement. What part of national leftist funding is rural?
Should wealthy out-of-state donors dictate the future of our farms, ranches, and county roads, or will rural Arizonans stand up for local control and affordable power?
It’s Not All or Nothing
Out-of-state activists falsely claim Arizona ignores clean energy simply because our leaders refuse to sign onto reckless, 100% intermittent energy mandates. In reality, Arizona has long led the nation in clean, dependable power anchored by our nuclear sector. The Palo Verde Generating Station stands as the single largest producer of carbon-free electricity in the United States, providing safe and reliable power to millions of homes. State efforts to expand domestic uranium enrichment and streamline nuclear facility licensing prove that real Arizonans prioritize practical, realistic energy independence over urban political posturing. We have shown that protecting our environment and securing grid reliability can work!
Securing the Future of Rural Arizona
Rural Arizona cannot afford to let out-of-state special interests and extreme agendas dictate our economic future. As different sectors increase demand, shutting down dependable baseload power in favor of unproven mandates is a threat to our livelihood. True strength lies in local self-determination, not Elites telling Rural Arizonans what to do.
Rural Arizonans must reject top-down activist mandates and remain steadfast in protecting our communities!