The Outsiders Buying District 4: How Coastal Dark Money and Anti-Police Radicals Recruited Ed Hermes
Arizonans deserve to know exactly who is trying to dictate our municipal policies and spend our tax dollars. In Phoenix City Council District 4, candidate Ed Hermes wants voters to believe his campaign is entirely about local neighborhood advocacy. But when you pull back the curtain and inspect the political apparatus boosting his run, a very different picture emerges: Hermes is the chosen vehicle for an aggressive network of out-of-state special interests and anti-public-safety ideologues determined to import California-style governance straight into the heart of Phoenix.
The Multi-Million-Dollar Chispa Pipeline
Central to the machine backing Hermes is Chispa AZ, a political operation that acts as a dark money conduit for the far left.
While Chispa markets itself as an authentic community voice, campaign finance records tell the real story:
Between 2020 and 2024, CHISPA AZ PAC injected over $4.73 million into Arizona campaigns.
Over $4.41 million went directly to boosting Democratic candidates, while hundreds of thousands were spent attacking conservative candidates.
In the 2024 cycle alone, Chispa dumped nearly $1.17 million into campaign operations.
This massive political war chest does not come from Phoenix neighborhoods. It flows directly from national activist hubs like the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) in Washington, D.C., along with coastal billionaire-backed foundations in New York, California, and Colorado’s Katz Amsterdam Foundation. These outside donors expect a return on their investment: extreme, one-size-fits-all energy mandates that threaten grid reliability and drive utility bills through the roof for everyday Phoenix families.
| CHISPA AZ PAC Political Spending Engine (2020–2024) | |
|---|---|
| Pro-Democrat Spending: | $4,414,162.97 |
| Anti-GOP Spending: | $323,476.57 |
| Total Political Impact: | $4,737,639.54 |
The Anti-Public-Safety Alliance: Anna Hernandez Jumps In
If there was any lingering doubt about Hermes’ radical ideological alignment, look no further than his official endorsement by Phoenix City Councilmember Anna Hernandez (District 7).
Hernandez has established herself as the leading anti-police activist in Phoenix municipal politics. From consistently voting against the Phoenix Police Department's budget to publicly attacking basic law enforcement resources, Hernandez represents the extreme fringe of the "defund the police" movement.
By aggressively backing Ed Hermes, Hernandez is working to build a reliable left-wing voting bloc on the council that actively undermines law enforcement, starves first responders of critical resources, and makes our streets less safe. Hermes cannot claim to support safer neighborhoods while simultaneously aligning with the loudest anti-public-safety voice in City Hall.
The National Astroturf Apparatus: Lead Locally and the DSA
Chispa and local radicals are not working alone. Hermes has aligned himself with a roster of national special-interest groups that specialize in quietly flipping low-turnout local elections.
His campaign features endorsements from national political machines like Lead Locally and Run on Climate. Lead Locally is an out-of-state organization dedicated to installing hard-left activists onto local city councils, using national resources to bypass everyday municipal voters. We saw this playbook deployed in Tempe, where outside groups installed socialist Bobby Nichols onto the council. It is no accident that Nichols quickly endorsed Hermes to help expand that same progressive faction into Phoenix.
Hermes is also backed by radical organizing arms like LUCHA (Living United for Change in Arizona) and Keep Arizona Blue PAC, alongside the Phoenix Metro DSA (Democratic Socialists of America). These networks consistently coordinate with out-of-state donors to enforce progressive compliance and block vital economic growth.
The "Corporate PAC" Shell Game
Hermes and the DSA boast that his campaign rejects corporate PAC checks. This claim is nothing more than clever political misdirection.
Drawing an artificial line between corporate contributions and millions of dollars in coastal-funded, independent expenditure dark money is absurd. The progressive groups backing Hermes spend massive sums through independent campaign channels to ensure their candidates get across the finish line.
Furthermore, the DSA’s own financial lifeline exposes the myth of grassroots independence. Faced with a crippling fiscal crisis due to reckless spending and falling membership, the national DSA was recently rescued by a sudden $5.2 million windfall from a wealthy New York professor's retirement account. The same socialist apparatus that required a multi-million-dollar coastal bailout to survive now wants its endorsed candidates handling the municipal budget of the nation's fifth-largest city.
Defending Phoenix from Outside Agendas
When city council candidates rely on coastal dark money networks and anti-police radicals, local representation disappears. The policies pushed by these national organizers—punitive taxes, anti-growth mandates, and hostility toward public safety—have left coastal metropolitan areas struggling with crime and stagnation.
Phoenix’s strength relies on free enterprise, safe communities, and leaders who answer directly to local residents, not national PAC directors or anti-police activists. Voters in District 4 deserve authentic local representation, not a councilmember beholden to extreme outside agendas.