With the new year here and the 2025 legislative session officially underway, Democrats are already proving they can’t learn a lesson. Led by Governor Katie Hobbs, one of their primary targets is once again…you guessed it…Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program. Stop us if you’ve heard this before.
You would think that Democrats would find a different target after getting trounced in an election where teachers’ unions and other anti-school choice groups made it a referendum on school choice. But no. After 2 ½ years and multiplefailures trying to overturn school choice, they’d rather double down on their same tired and out-of-touch policies.
This time, Hobbs and the Dems say they want to roll back ESAs because of all the supposed “fraud” in the program. Never mind the fact that the rate of waste, fraud, and abuse in the ESA program is extremely low. Never mind the fact that ESAs have proven to be far more financially accountable than other government programs. Democrats don’t care about facts. Instead, they want to regulate this popular program while Arizona’s Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes asks for more funding to investigate ESA fraud.
But here’s a message for Hobbs, Mayes, and the rest of the Democrats:
If you care so much about fraud, why not investigate Arizona’s public school districts?
They could start with Isaac Elementary School District (IESD).
Earlier this week, IESD was placed under a state receivership after it was determined that it had a budget shortfall of over $12 million!And this didn’t come as a surprise. The Auditor General has been trying to stop the mismanagement of funds in this school district for five years!
A $12 million budget shortfall in just one school district is mind-blowing, but IESD is certainly not alone. School districts throughout our state have been mismanaging millions, going into default, and committing fraud for years.
Back in 2022, Mesa Public Schools (MPS) failed to explain where $32.3 million of their federal emergency funds slated for COVID expenses went. The investigation came after reports that MPS teachers were asking parents to donate basic school supplies they were running out of because the district wouldn’t cover them. But instead of having a clear explanation for the money that was buried under expenses listed as “other,” “indirect costs,” and “etc.,” MPS officials dodged the question and claimed no records existed for those categories.
Also, in 2022, a former superintendent and another employee from Toltec Elementary School District were indicted for fraudulent schemes, misuse of public monies, and theft. This came after the employees secretly used their personal monies to fraudulently inflate their Arizona State Retirement System benefits.
Then, there’s Higley Unified School District (HUSD). Back in 2021, HUSD’s now-former superintendent, Dr. Denise Birdwell, was indicted on 18 counts related to procurement fraud, misuse of public monies, fraudulent schemes and practices, and more. This came after the Auditor General found that Dr. Birdwell conspired with employees of Education Facilities Development Services (EFDS) to circumvent school district procurement rules to improperly award the group with a $2.5 million project development service contract for the construction of two new schools. On top of that, the Auditor General also found that Dr. Birdwell misused public monies when she authorized the unlawful use of $6 million in restricted public funds toward the construction of the schools.
And let’s not forget what happened in Yuma County toward the end of last year when a former superintendent secretary with the Hyder Elementary School District was indicted for theft, misuse of public monies, and forgery. The indictment came just eight weeks after the same woman was arrested in Scottsdale in connection with an elaborate scheme against the Cocopah Middle School Association of Parents and Teachers.
You won’t hear about any of this type of fraud from Hobbs, Mayes, or other Democrats because this isn’t about fraud. It never was. They just want to find any way they can to regulate our state’s historic school choice program—all to protect their buddies in the teachers’ unions.
But here’s a message for Hobbs and Mayes. Whether you like it or not, school choice is here to stay in Arizona. And we will keep fighting back with this winning message because every student in our state deserves the best education possible and the funding to make it happen. Instead of griping about ESAs, which have way more oversight than the typical school district, show us that you really care about fraud and start investigating our public schools.
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PHOENIX, ARIZONA – This week, the Arizona Legislature commenced its 57th Regular Session with Opening Day ceremonies for both the state House and Senate and the State of the State from Governor Katie Hobbs. Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, issued the following statement:
“It’s another year, but Governor Katie Hobbs continues to push her tired and out-of-touch policies on hardworking taxpayers of this state. During her address on Monday, Hobbs discussed her relentless desire to regulate the state’s historic school choice program and to waste funds on housing tax credits that we cannot afford. Our organization is again committed to being the tip of the spear in opposition to the governor’s radical agenda as we stand with state legislators at the Arizona Capitol. Future generations are depending on our efforts to stand for freedom, prosperity, and opportunity for all Arizonans.”
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.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – The Arizona Free Enterprise Club is saddened to announce the passing of Dean Riesen. Dean was a founder of the organization and served as Chairman for over a decade.
Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, issued the following statement:
“Our organization and the state of Arizona suffered a great loss with the passing of our Chairman Dean Riesen. As one of the founders of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, Dean was instrumental in building one of the most influential and effective policy organizations in the state. Our countless legislative and ballot box victories over the last 20 years would not have been possible without Dean’s guidance and unwavering commitment to limited government and pro-growth policies. He will be sorely missed.”
Riesen began his life in the State of Iowa and commenced a fulfilling journey of learning, leadership, and service that took him to Cornell College for education. It was here at this institution that he met his love of his life – his wife of 42 years, Bambi Hull Riesen. They had three children together and now three grandchildren. Dean rose to prominence with the Carlson Real Estate Company – even helping to negotiate a multi-billion-dollar, international merger.
After the turn of the century, Riesen and his family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, and he helped lead a commercial real estate investment and development firm, Rimrock Partners. He then founded, what is described as his biggest philanthropic project, the Tanzania Water Fund, which provided clean water to over 200,000 individuals. Dean was highly involved in a number of other private and public efforts and organizations throughout his life, including the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, where he sacrificed countless hours to strengthen Arizona’s standing as one of the most free-market and conservative states in the union.
Our members, supporters and activists at the Arizona Free Enterprise Club will forever be grateful for Dean Riesen and his life of service to this state, our nation, and the world. He will be missed, and his work will live on for future generations of Arizonans and Americans.
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.
Another election has come and gone, and unsurprisingly, Arizona is yet again the butt of national jokes for taking weeks to process ballots and tabulate votes. While some in the corporate media still attempt to defend our vote counting circus, most everyone is in agreement that big changes are needed. It doesn’t take being an election expert to recognize that states with far greater populations, who also experience large rates of early voting, somehow get their votes counted on election night or near to it.
It’s a fix that is long overdue, yet for over five years the reform has continued to run into a political meatgrinder at the state Capitol. Since 2019, our organization, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, has supported, championed, and authored bills to ensure we get results on election night. And while Democrats in the legislature have been an obstacle to reform (they have universally opposed any reforms geared toward getting faster results), they have not been the only impediment to fixing the problem.
The real culprit is opposition from county “election officials,” or more precisely, their taxpayer-funded lobbyists. For years, our so-called election experts have worked overtime to stop any reasonable reforms to Arizona’s mail-in voting system. Their tactics are incredibly disingenuous. When people express their frustration about the glacier pace of vote counting, they clap back (usually with dripping condescension) that their hands are tied by existing law. But when lawmakers introduce bills to change those laws, those same election officials send their army of lobbyists down to the Capitol to fight reform at every turn.
We already know what their strategy will be. First, they will complain that the proposed tabulation fix, while used in over a dozen other states, simply won’t work here. Then they will claim that they don’t have a position on any particular date for ending early voting in order to ensure quicker results. But when the legislature does pick a date (any date), it somehow becomes an “implementation nightmare.” By implementation, what they mean is that it may create some work for them, and they don’t like it.
The good news is that some of these roadblocks appear to be dissolving. We are encouraged to see the Chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Thomas Galvin, has signaled support for meaningful changes to our election system. In addition, the election of pro-reform Recorder Justin Heap in Maricopa County should help break through the election administration resistance in our state’s most populous county.
There really is a very simple path to speed up election results in Arizona without restricting access to the ballot box and maintaining or even increasing the integrity of the process. We can make elections secure, efficient, and accessible. To start, cutting off early voting on the Friday before the election provides time for election officials to process those ballots before they open back up on election day, meaning those ballots will be tabulated and results ready to be posted as soon as the polls close.
Allowing voters to tabulate their own early ballots on site after providing identification means less time doing signature verification, removing ballots from envelopes, inspecting them to ensure there are no problems, and tabulating them. A step further would be requiring objective ID on mail-in ballots, so that instead of relying on subjective signature verification, counties can quickly compare objective numbers.
Taken together, these modest reforms will bring us closer to getting results on election night, and at the latest, election week. The question is, are the “election officials,” their taxpayer-funded lobbyists, and their friends in the media finally willing to step back and let it happen?
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.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – This week, the Arizona Corporation Commission announced that it had approved an amended version of its Policy Statement Regarding Formula Rates. The Arizona Free Enterprise Club released the following statement:
“Following contentious double digit rate hikes being approved and ESG Resource Plans committed to going ‘Net Zero’ by 2050 being rubber stamped, the Commission has rushed through approving new rules masquerading as a mere ‘policy statement’ that could insulate utilities and the Commission from having to face ratepayers in future rate cases. The ‘policy statement’ would depart from traditional rate making and pursue ‘formula based rates’ offloading risk from investors to ratepayers and baking in automatic rate increases with little transparency or opportunity for ratepayer engagement.
“The only support for this ‘policy statement’ came from the utilities themselves. The Commission is charged to protect ratepayers by regulating the utilities, not the other way around. The Commission should pump the brakes, not rush through major rulemaking decisions in a lame duck session.
“The Arizona Free Enterprise Club is committed to protecting ratepayers, ensuring affordable and reliable energy in Arizona. We will continue to work to ensure utilities will not be able to force their captive ratepayers to foot the bill, especially through automatic rate hikes, for their costly goal to go ‘Net Zero’ by 2050 by shuttering reliable sources of energy generation to build out expensive and unreliable wind, solar, and battery storage projects.”
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.
Since the results of the 2024 election came in, much of the focus has been on President-elect Donald Trump’s historic win—and rightfully so. Trump won every single swing state in a massive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, and he beat her in the popular vote too.
But Kamala Harris wasn’t the only significant loser to come out of November’s election.
Here in Arizona, teachers’ unions and other anti-school choice groups, like Save Our Schools Arizona (SOSAZ), made the 2024 election a referendum on school choice. And they lost big!
Much of their work began earlier this year, when Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs came into legislative session (just like she did in 2023) with her top priority being to regulate the wildly popular Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program out of existence. But it didn’t work. Despite the noise from Hobbs, legislative Democrats, the legacy media, the teachers’ unions, and other anti-school choice groups, only minor changes were made to the ESA program through the budget, with most of it remaining untouched.
This failure fell on the heels of other similar failures.
In 2023, Attorney General Kris Mayes went after the ESA program at the Department of Education. In a public tirade, she falsely claimed that the budget agreement that protected universal school choice would bankrupt the state, despite the expenditure data showing that the ESA program actually saves the state money. But her tirade didn’t stop the Republican budget bill from being signed by Hobbs the same year in another failure to place any limitations on the ESA program.
And let’s not forget what happened in 2022. After then-Governor Ducey signed universal school choice into law in Arizona, the teachers’ unions and groups like SOSAZ threw a hissy fit and immediately began working to stop the new law by gathering signatures for a ballot initiative aimed at overturning ESAs. But they were met every step of the way by an organic movement of parents, teachers, and community members who informed people with the truth and convinced them that it was ok to decline to sign.
Despite this, SOSAZ claimed to have 141,714 signatures, which would have been enough to put the anti-school choice initiative on the ballot. But the group was left with egg on its face when the final signature count revealed that they were actually more than 52,000 signatures short in another failed attempt to overturn ESAs.
You would think that after all these failures, the far-left education community would have learned its lesson. But that’s asking too much.
As we approached the 2024 election, Hobbs’ gubernatorial campaign raised millions to flip the Arizona legislature blue. And the teachers’ unions, combined with anti-school choice groups like SOSAZ, followed in her footsteps. They made it no secret that their top priority was to roll back and eliminate the ESA program—along with other popular school choice programs. That’s why they spent millions to push candidates with a long track record of being anti-school choice like: Christine Marsh, Kelli Butler, and Karen Gresham in Legislative District 4; Judy Schwiebert in Legislative District 2; and Keith Seaman in Legislative District 16—to name a few.
Voters heard the message loud and clear. And how did they respond? By doing the exact opposite.
With the 2024 election now complete, Republicans expanded their majorities in both the Arizona House and Senate. That means school choice is here to stay in our state, and it’s time that the far-left education community comes to grips with this fact.
The reality is that more and more families are recognizing the tremendous benefits of school choice. Over 83,000 students are now enrolled in the ESA program. This has not only saved taxpayers money, but it has strengthened all schools because competition delivers the best product—leading to better students, families, and communities.
If teachers’ unions truly cared about students, they would be on board for this. But instead, groups like the Arizona Education Association responded to the election results by promising “to be the union thugs we were meant to be.” That’s right. After 2 ½ years and multiple failures trying to overturn school choice, they’d rather double down on militant left craziness than learn a lesson.
That’s fine with us. We’ll just keep fighting back with a winning message—that every student throughout our state deserves the best education possible and the funding to make it happen.
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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