When people hear the phrase “left-wing political machine,” they probably think of local activist groups, paid protestors, and maybe even out-of-state wealthy progressive donors writing checks from afar. That mental model would be both outdated, oversimplified, and a major underestimation.
What operates in Arizona today is far more sophisticated and opaque. It’s best understood not as a movement (as the Left likes to brand themselves), but as a syndicate: multiple non-profits leveraging tax deductible contributions to advance shared political goals through a permanent, year-round infrastructure.
Our newly released report, prepared in conjunction with the Arizona Liberty Network, examined the financial transactions between a consortium of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the Grand Canyon State, and illuminates just how far-reaching this system is…in Arizona, this liberal syndicate has its fingerprints on almost every lever of government.
A National Pipeline, Not a Local Movement
When examining the financing of the liberal syndicate, it’s important to note that virtually all of their funding comes from out of state sources. National, and in some cases multinational, donors and foundations are the primary sources of money. The NGO network also utilizes direct taxpayer subsidies through grants at the federal level.
Most of the individual donors and foundations bankrolling the syndicate provide their giving through a financial instrument known as a donor-advised fund (DAFs). A DAF lets wealthy progressives make tax-deductible contributions to a private fund, which then routs their donations to ideological nonprofits.
The other major trough of funding for the network comes from taxpayers in the form of government grants. The most notable Federal agency providing these funds was USAID, which contributed over $50 million last cycle to progressive “philanthropic” organizations that then participate in political advocacy in Arizona.
From there, the money gets funneled through a web of intermediary organizations. Arabella Advisors (recently defunct and being replaced by Sunflower Services), Tides, and their affiliated funds dominate this space. These groups aggregate all that tax-advantaged and taxpayer-backed dollars, then redeploy them nationwide. Arizona is one of their preferred destinations.
Our report tracked more than 180 financial transactions, primarily from 2023 and 2024 alone. Altogether, the upstream sources pushed over $1.8 billion into the liberal NGO network, with nearly $200M ending up with organizations operating in Arizona.
So, this is no organic grassroots “movement”. It is a sophisticated syndicate: part tax-subsidized, part tax-advantaged, and built to operate year-round.
Permanent Infrastructure is the Name of the Game
What makes this system effective isn’t any single race or election. The bigger picture (and the bigger bucket of money) is the investment in everyday operations: voter registration, litigation, lobbying, and media narrative control.
Progressive organizations build C3/C4 pairings where the “nonpartisan” arm registers voters, builds databases, does policy research, and trains staff year-round. The sister C4 then uses that same infrastructure for electioneering, lobbying, litigation, and ballot measures.
Another mainstay is their funding of media outlets that will curate and frame the everyday narratives around Arizona issues, politics, and politicians. For example, Copper Courier received more than $7 million since 2022 from Soros-aligned entities. Though funded through tax-exempt nonprofits, it functions less like journalism and more like a citation farm for Democrat messaging with content written by operatives, shared by activists, and then recycled by campaigns during election season.
They then utilize the network to amplify their direct political spending.
In 2024 alone, aligned progressive groups spent over $33.2 million on non-federal races, which includes down-ticket candidate races and ballot measures.
One mega-PAC, PAC for America’s Future – Arizona, raised $28 million, mostly from out-of-state donors, and sent $3.2 million straight to the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. Their largest individual donation was a $2 million check from Jonathan Soros, son of billionaire donor George Soros.
Their major targets were flipping the Arizona State Legislature blue and passing an extreme pro-abortion measure. Coordinated progressive groups, such as the Chispa AZ PAC, Future Freedoms, Opportunity Arizona, and Our Voice, Our Vote poured over $7 million into boosting legislative Democrats and $4.5 million into opposing Republicans in key swing districts. Groups such as Mi Familia Vota, Will of the People, AANHPI Rising Tide, and Worker Power PAC spent heavily in the ballot measure space.
Understanding and Countering the Blueprint
Most people after viewing our report want to know if anything can be done to thwart this coordinated assault on Arizona and other states around the country.
We believe it can be stopped, and believe the first step is creating awareness about this threat. It’s obvious that this liberal network is not spontaneous civic engagement. This is a sophisticated, tax-subsidized, and centrally coordinated political syndicate, built to operate every day, every year, regardless of election outcomes. The more people know about it, the less they can operate in the shadows.
The next step is cutting off taxpayer funds from organizations that engage in political activity. The Trump administration took a major step on this front when they shuttered USAID earlier this year. But there are other federal, state and even local jurisdictions handing out taxpayer cash to liberal non-profits, that then use those dollars to lobby and electioneer in Arizona. All of it should be banned.
And finally, while it can be difficult to draw a clear line between some philanthropic educational activity that can be political, what is undeniable is that tax-deductible NGO’s cannot finance overt electioneering or activities that violate the law. For instance, partisan get-out-the-vote drives or organizations that promote violent protests should not receive tax-exempt status and must be investigated by the Department of Justice.
The good news is that it’s clear that this progressive network is feeling the heat. In just the last couple of months, several major donors have announced that they are severing ties with the syndicate. And Arabella Advisors, the largest intermediary in the network, quietly announced that they are closing their doors and have reorganized under a new entity called “Sunflower Services.”
We believe that with continued public scrutiny and political pressure, the Arizona Liberal NGO Syndicate can be dismantled.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
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Our country is facing an energy crisis. No, not because of new demand from data centers or AI. Instead, it’s because utilities in nearly every state, due to government imposed “renewable” mandates, self-imposed mandates, and the supercharging of the Green New Scam under the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act”, have been shutting down vital coal resources and building out almost exclusively intermittent and costly resources like solar, wind, and battery storage.
Taking a look at our largest regulated utilities (APS, TEP, and UNS) and the largest nonprofit utility, SRP, future plans paint an alarming picture. Combined, over the next 15 years, these utilities expect to see demand increase from 19,200 MW to 28,000 MW. For reference, 1,000 MW of electricity is enough to power roughly 250,000 homes. To meet that growth in demand, however, Arizonans will only get a net increase of 989 MW of reliable generation (coal, natural gas, and nuclear) compared to 22,543 MW (or nearly 23 times as much) of intermittent solar, wind, and battery storage.
But what about all of the new natural gas coming into the state? The vast majority of it will be eaten up just to replace existing coal resources, not to bring additional affordable energy to the grid. For example, the SRP board recently voted to approve the conversion of their Springerville coal plant to natural gas by 2030, which follows an earlier vote to convert another of their coal plants, Coronado, to natural gas by 2029. This coal conversion trap leaves ratepayers with the same amount of energy as before, eating up new natural gas capacity, without the benefit of more electricity.
So, while the Arizona utilities plan to collectively build an additional 4,538 MW of natural gas capacity over the next 15 years, at the same time they will be removing -3,549 MW (all of what is left on the grid today) of coal. And there are no plans for more nuclear capacity anytime soon. Instead, to meet their voluntary climate commitments, utilities plan to saddle ratepayers with the cost and resultant blackouts of the green new scam.
It’s the same story around the country. Electricity rates are rising. Reliability is crumbling. We know the cause. For generations, we’ve been able to provide reliable energy at an affordable cost. The only variable that has changed has been what we are choosing to build. Then, it was reliable, dispatchable power. Now, it is intermittent sources that we know cost more, and that we know cause blackouts, all to meet absurd goals of going 100% renewable – something that no utility, state, or country has been able to achieve. And we know the result when they try.
This crisis can be avoided. President Trump has laid out the plan to unleash American Energy. Now, it’s time for utilities to drop their costly green new scam commitments and go back to building reliable and affordable power that generations to come will benefit from.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
Join our FREE Grassroots Action List to stay up to date on the latest battles against big government and how YOU can help influence crucial bills at the Arizona State Legislature.
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club, in partnership with the Liberty Network, has released a landmark report exposing a billion-dollar left-wing political machine quietly reshaping Arizona.
“Arizona’s Liberal NGO Syndicate Report” details how donor-advised funds, national dark-money intermediaries, and teachers’ unions funnel massive sums into local groups to influence elections, ballot campaigns, litigation, and media narratives, often with little transparency. The report shows that this network is strategically designed to create lasting political infrastructure, rather than merely supporting short-term electoral victories.
National donors, including Fidelity Charitable, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, channel over $1 billion into intermediaries like Arabella Advisors/Sunflower Services, Tides Nexus, and Soros/Wyss-backed networks.
These funds are then deployed to Arizona-based organizations such as One Arizona, LUCHA, ACE, Chispa, AZ Mirror, and Copper Courier to carry out voter-registration drives, litigation campaigns, and media influence efforts.
Meanwhile, teachers’ unions provide year-round organizing infrastructure and contributing millions in campaign support, ensuring the Left’s influence is continuous and resilient. “This isn’t activism, it’s a professional, tax-advantaged political operation designed to look local but controlled from afar,” the Club said. “Arizona isn’t changing—it’s being engineered. Conservatives need a clear roadmap, strong counter-infrastructure, and strategic engagement to protect the state’s future and preserve local control.”
Despite Halloween being long over, Katie Hobbs has decided to spend the Christmas season playing dress-up as a Trump-loving, tax-cutting, leader of the middle and working class.
On November 20th Governor Hobbs released her so-called “Tax Cuts for Middle-Class Arizonans” plan. If some of these concepts sound familiar, that’s because every single provision in her plan was word-for-word copied straight out of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) tax package signed into law by President Trump on July 4th:
Increase the standard deduction from $15,000 to $15,750 for single filers, $31,500 for joint filers – straight from the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB)
Adding an additional $6,000 deduction for seniors over 65 – straight from the OBBB
Deducting tipped income from taxable income – straight from the OBBB
Deducting overtime income – straight from the OBBB
Deducting car-loan interest on new American-made vehicles – again, right out of the OBBB
So, after spending months opposing the OBBB, trashing Congressional Republicans and urging its defeat, Hobbs has now decided to pretend that it was her idea all along. It’s like she decided to wear a Dollar Store knockoff mask of President Trump, hoping no one would notice it said Made in MAGAland on the tag.
The social media reaction to her clumsy and desperate attempt to steal President Trump’s tax plan went about as one would expect. Hobbs was brutally ratioed by comments pointing out the obvious – Trump did this first, and better.
The traditional corporate media didn’t do her any favors either, grilling her about her plan’s lack of authenticity and how she now appears to be a flip-flopper on the OBBB. Suffice to say, if Hobbs was hoping for a glowing PR reception, her Trump tax plan heist landed with a thud.
School Choice Becomes Hostage of Plagiarized Tax Plan
Perhaps there are a handful of voters out there that do believe Hobbs had a change of heart and decided to jump on the Trump train for tax cuts. Could this be the start of a sincere effort to make Arizona more affordable for the middle class?
Unlikely.
Hobbs eliminated any perception of authenticity a couple weeks after her announcement when she undermined her own proposal by recasting it as a bargaining chip in her crusade against school choice funding. This proved that either she was never serious to begin with about providing tax relief to Arizonans, or she got so much backlash from her base that she “missed” an opportunity to use the tax conformity issue as political leverage that she felt it necessary to backpedal.
Either way, the tactic is doomed for several reasons. First, Republicans at the legislature won’t go for it. Second, there are no “savings” possible with ESA cuts without kicking thousands of children out of the program, which is both cruel and unnecessary. Any points Katie Hobbs scored via her plagiarized “middle-class family” tax relief plan has been undone by self-sabotage, now proposing hurting those same middle-class families by defunding their school choices.
Lastly, tax conformity is necessary (which is why she is responding to it) and has nothing practically or politically to do with school choice funding. Trying to tie the two together simply doesn’t work.
Not Conforming Will Lead to a Large Tax Increase
Unsurprisingly, Hobbs speaks “tax cuts” like it was a 3rd language. Complicating matters further is that her “plan” is actually part of a larger discussion about the need for the state to conform to the tax changes in the OBBB. Without a full conformity package, it is our position that Arizonans will be stuck with a tax increase north of $400 million dollars.
For those unfamiliar with tax conformity, Arizona’s tax code is “coupled” with the federal one. That means the state bases its definitions on things like adjusted gross income, deductions, and exemptions, on the federal tax code.
So, when Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill delivered big tax cuts, Arizona lawmakers must pass conformity legislation to match those changes. If they don’t, Arizona taxpayers don’t get those same breaks – meaning their taxable income goes up, and they pay more in state income taxes – offsetting the benefit on the federal side.
To use Hobbs’ example of a server named “Sally”:
Sally earns $55,000 plus $5,000 in tips. Under Trump’s new law, those tips aren’t taxed, and the standard deduction increases to $15,750. But if Arizona doesn’t conform to the federal changes, Sally loses both benefits. Her taxable income jumps by $6,500 – and her state tax bill rises by about $150, even though she didn’t make a penny more.
But the reality of Hobbs’ plan is far, far worse. The break-even amount is a $420M reduction in state revenues; her plan will lead to a massive tax hike as it only adds up to $215M. Maybe Hobbs’ tax hike parading around as a tax cut is just that Orwellian thing Democrats do when they use language to describe the opposite of what they are really doing.
Leader? Not in the Governor’s Tower.
The most absurd part of this whole stunt is Hobbs trying to frame herself as a leader on tax relief. On the policy she is nothing but an imitator. And politically, she would be a leader, if only anyone was following her.
When Hobbs rolled out her plan, the silence from the Left was deafening.
No press conferences flanked by Democratic legislators. No love from “local” progressive bastions like Progress Arizona, the AEA or other Arabella Advisers-connected AZ groups. Not even a blip in one of the lefty-controlled narrative-spinning outlets like Copper Courier or AZ Mirror.
The traditional business community had nothing to say about her announcement either. Not even liberal leaning business groups like Greater Phoenix Leadership threw a bone to Hobbs. That’s because she is entirely out on a limb, too weak to muscle her way with Republicans, and too unpopular with even her own side to build a coalition around her.
And now she’s “calling on the Republican Legislature to follow her lead”? Please.
Who’s Really Leading on Tax Cuts & Affordability?
Our organization has long been preparing a real conformity package, one that actually delivers relief to working families and small businesses.
Here’s what a serious plan looks like:
Fully covers the conformity “box” (roughly $420 million), so Arizona taxpayers see the full federal benefit.
Includes all the accounting provisions in the OBBB that help small businesses such as full expensing for business property, increasing small business expensing from $1.25M to $2.5M, and 100% depreciation for business property.
Is broad-based relief, not narrow carveouts.
Prioritizes workers, families, and small businesses.
Avoids bad policy gimmicks like the SALT deduction.
Republicans will likely fast track a more robust tax package on Hobbs’ desk in January, meanwhile (if she can even find a sponsor) her proposal will be lucky to get a committee assignment.
Republicans Will Ultimately Deliver – What Will Katie Do?
Just as Trump has been leading nationally on tax cuts and affordability, Arizona State Republican lawmakers will too. Because that’s what they have been doing the last three years – Hobbs has just been too busy either vetoing tax cuts or illegally trying to take credit for them.
Meanwhile Katie Hobbs’ “tax cut” plan is like her leadership, strictly performative. She isn’t fighting for taxpayers; she’s desperately trying to run in front of the Trump Tax Cut Train to avoid getting run over by it. But given how unconvincing even her tax cut theater is, her lack of original thought, and her inability to amass an iota of support, she’s better off surrendering to legislative Republicans and moving on.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
Join our FREE Grassroots Action List to stay up to date on the latest battles against big government and how YOU can help influence crucial bills at the Arizona State Legislature.
Despite the noble work of Republican lawmakers over the past five years to reduce the state’s burden on taxpayers (lowering and flattening the income tax, eliminating tax on renters, and addressing taxes on food,) cities and towns are constantly undermining this progress through rampant tax, fee, and utility rate increases.
Arizona’s affordability is being eroded through the insatiable tax-hungry decisions of city and town councils and their year-over-year spending sprees. If taxpayers have not noticed already, surely, they are feeling the pinch as these tax and fee hikes continue to stack one on top another. Red or blue, no city is immune, most likely your costs are going up.
Gilbert residents have been feeling these burdens on their wallets immensely this year. On January 1st of 2025, a tax increase was approved raising sales tax from 1.5% to 2%, and establishing a 2% use tax (previously Gilbert voters defeated the instantiation of a use tax via referendum in 2010), and hiking the bed tax to 5%. At the end of 2024, the Goldwater Institute sued the Town of Gilbert over the constitutionality of these sales-tax and bed-tax increases. Their lawsuit claims the city is violating a voter-approved provision of the Arizona Constitution that prohibits municipalities from imposing or increasing any tax on services (Prop 126, 2018), since Gilbert’s changes increase taxes on certain services like lodging and construction.
More recently, Gilbert residents have been shocked and upset by the astronomical rise in their water bills. In 2024, water bills went up 50%, in April 2025 another 25%, and one more planned 25% increase is set to take place in 2026. These kinds of outrageous, continuous increases hit families the hardest and will drive people away from Gilbert.
But where can they go for relief?
Certainly not the City of Phoenix. Starting in July of 2025, their Transaction Privilege and Use Tax (sales tax) increased 0.5% now sitting at 2.8%. According to the city, the increase is required to address a projected $39 million budget deficit. And this couldn’t possibly be attributed to Phoenix’s penchant for wasteful spending – like their $10 million Vision Zero program or their Office of Sustainability that self-imposes costly green new scam goals. The primary property tax levy increased by 1.22%, meaning residents with the same or higher home valuations will pay more. A 2% solid-waste fee increase occurred at the beginning of 2025 and is scheduled to happen again in January 2026.
This month, Phoenix will also consider raising inspection fees from $150 to $195 per hour and hiking hazardous material fees that will impact businesses and property owners. Phoenix city officials continuously show disregard for the financial strains persistently passed onto residents and businesses.
Unless you think you can afford to live in southern Arizona – Tucson is competing with Gilbert for who can have worse water rates. In August 2025, the City of Tucson adopted differential water rates for residents living outside city limits which includes a 5.5% base rate increase and two new fees: the Water Conservation Fee and Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Fee. Together these fees add $0.30 per hundred cubic feet (Ccf) of water to every Tucson Water bill, inside and outside city limits. This money will go to support ambiguous programs like “Homeowners Association education,” and “opportunities for low-income households.”
In September 2025, Tucson proposed several other fee and tax increases. A new 2.6% tax on Tucson businesses on all their local advertising – such as billboards, direct mail, radio. The proposal also increases the public utility tax from 4.5% to 5%, making it the highest public utility tax rate in the state. And the pawn shop and secondhand transaction fees would go from $1.00 to $3.00 per transaction. All this as if it isn’t hard enough surviving as a small business in Tucson…
Mesa is no longer a sanctuary of affordability in the state. On December 1st, the Mesa City Council voted to increase utility rates covering water, sewer, gas, electricity, and trash. Of the councilmembers present, all voted to increase the rate except one, the new councilwoman from District 2, Dorean Taylor. This is despite numerous members of the public speaking out against these rate hikes. But who cares about those guys? That seems to be the mindset of the Mesa Council after continuously raising rates and ignoring their constituents.
Listing every city and town raising taxes and fees would take too long. These are just a few examples of the same story playing out statewide.
But why are these increases so pervasive across Arizona cities and towns? According to the cities, they are all poor because the big bad state is starving their budgets. Since Republican lawmakers got to be Santa, slashing taxes, now cities must be grinch and raise them all!
And while taxpayers would certainly be the winners if the state stopped subsidizing the cities, it just isn’t true. When the Legislature lowered the state’s income tax to a flat 2.5%, the portion that went to cities (urban revenue sharing) increase from 15% to 18% in 2024. And though the cities seem to have complete amnesia about it, since 2019, the state began allowing the collection of online sales tax, a completely new and abundant source of revenue for the cities.
And the numbers bear this out. State Republicans have cut taxes, this has spurred more investment and wealth creation in the state, and as a result tax revenues have continued to climb. In Phoenix, for example, they collected $3.9B in revenues from taxpayers, and just four years later they raked in $5.7B – a 45% increase in their collections! Lest you think this is spurred by a boom in population, broken down by the number of residents, collections actually increased per resident by $1000 in only that four-year period!
It truly never ends. Taxes climb, fees multiply, and every year the cost of simply living in Arizona grows because cities and towns refuse to live within their means. Left unchecked, this steady creep of local taxation will drain families, punish homeowners, and crush the affordability in our state.
Just as the Republican-led Legislature stepped up to make Arizona affordable by cutting income taxes, it may once again fall to them to rein in local governments that can’t seem to stop reaching deeper into the pockets of hardworking taxpayers.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
Join our FREE Grassroots Action List to stay up to date on the latest battles against big government and how YOU can help influence crucial bills at the Arizona State Legislature.
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