The partner to Gov. Katie Hobbs’ chief campaign advisor now works as a lobbyist for the Saudi Arabian company targeted for taking the state’s water supply.
The partner, Chad Guzmán, co-manages the lobbying firm Fillmore Strategy with Hobbs’ senior campaign advisor, Joe Wolf. The Saudi Arabian company tapping into Arizona’s dwindling water supply, Fondomonte, enlisted Guzmán’s firm, Signal Peak Consulting, about two months ago according to a Fondomonte spokesperson. However, Fondomonte didn’t register their hire of Guzmán with the secretary of state’s office until Wednesday. Guzmán is the sole member of his firm, which was registered in January. Fillmore Strategy and Signal Peak Consulting have the same address listed on their registration with the Arizona Corporation Commission.
Guzmán formerly worked as a lobbyist for former Attorney General Tom Horne for one year in 2011, Arizona Public Services (APS) and Pinnacle West Capital Corporation from 2013 to 2020, and EPCOR Water from 2020 to 2023.
Wolf told The Arizona Republic that he no longer receives payments from Hobbs’ campaign, and that he has no business dealings with Fondomonte.
“Given I’ve never had a contract, been paid by Fondomonte or provided consultation, I’d say this is a nothingburger,” said Wolf. “Chad’s extensive experience over the years makes him a valuable asset to any client and he maintains a separate and solely owned consulting practice, of which I am not involved.”
In April, Attorney General Kris Mayes revoked Fondomonte’s drill permits for two deep-water wells. Fondomonte received permission under former governor, Doug Ducey, to use Arizona water for growing alfalfa to feed cattle overseas.
Just 8 months ago, Arizona state agencies approved new deep-water wells in La Paz County for a Saudi-owned company to pump thousands of gallons of water per-minute.
I can tell you that today – just before Earth Day – that's not happening. Those drill permits have been revoked.
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) April 21, 2023
Fondomonte originally grew its alfalfa in Saudi Arabia, but moved their operations due to a long-term drought similar to the one plaguing Arizona.
Prior to Guzmán, Fondomonte hired Rose Law Group and former Republican congressman John Shadegg: six months earlier on the same day in January.
Hobbs’ office wouldn’t comment on Guzmán’s hire or proximity to her campaign advisor, Wolf.
Wolf came into the spotlight after Project Veritasdocumented him driving around with an AR-15 to campaign events. Wolf said he traveled with an AR-15 because it was “easier to fire than a handgun.” In a separate clip, Wolf stated that Hobbs would do everything in her power to issue an assault weapons ban.
“There’s nothing she could do about it, at least immediately, right? Except advocating for it publicly, which is really more impactful once you’re governor,” said Wolf. “This state is unfortunately crazy in love with their guns.”
Wolf again came into the spotlight for retrieving Hobbs last October, who fled and hid in a restaurant’s bathroom after reporters attempted to ask her questions about her aversion to discussing policy.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The Arizona desert’s classic dry heat should now qualify as an “extreme heat,” according to Democratic lawmakers and leadership.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) is lobbying for more federal funding to counter the desert heat. Democrats at all levels have recharacterized summer temperatures as “extreme heat” in an attempt to pull more funding for a variety of progressive initiatives ranging from climate change to social justice. Trending usage of the word “extreme heat” has increased dramatically over the past 20 years, spiking with increased regularity every summer.
In a press release, Gallego commended President Joe Biden for increasing heat-related worker protections on Thursday. As part of the changes, Biden met with Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, the congressman’s ex-wife, and San Antonio, Texas Mayor Ron Nirenberg. Yet, those changes fell short of Rep. Gallego’s ultimate goal: he urged the Biden administration to go one step further by classifying heat as an emergency.
“Far too many people are dying or falling ill from these extreme temperatures,” said Rep. Gallego. “[M]ore must be done. We need a swift, immediate deployment of resources, and that requires FEMA declaring extreme heat as an emergency. I will continue pushing the administration and Congress to get that done.”
I'm thankful the admin is heeding our call with these meaningful steps to protect Arizonans from extreme heat. But more must be done. We need FEMA to declare extreme heat an emergency. I'll keep pushing the administration and Congress to get that done.https://t.co/kKlpEHn8Wy
Both Gallegos have worked together to lobby the federal government to declare summer heat as an emergency.
During her annual state of the city address in April, Mayor Gallego petitioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to qualify extreme heat as a disaster by adding the regular seasonal occurrence to its national emergency declarations categorization.
A FEMA recognition would bring in more federal funding. The city has a number of heat mitigation projects that would likely benefit from such funding, like the manufactured shade and drinking water access areas known as “cool corridors,” which are determined on an equity basis, and the special sunlight reflective streets known as “cool pavement.” (Which, as AZ Free News reported, actually makes people hotter). Those initiatives were unique creations under Mayor Gallego’s administration.
Mayor Gallego was also responsible for the creation of one of the first heat mitigation offices within city government: the Office of Heat Response and Mitigation (OHRM). The city established the office with $2.8 million in 2021, with the explicit attempt to combat urban heat: the theory that urbanization causes higher temperatures.
Presently, the OHRM doles out COVID-19 relief federal funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for annual heat relief grants. These grants are earmarked for nonprofit, charitable, small business, and faith-based organizations existing within the city-recognized Maricopa Association of Governments Heat Relief Network that claim negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. OHRM will give out a maximum of $450,000 total, with each recipient receiving anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000.
A major focus of the OHRM is providing heat respite for the homeless. The latest update from OHRM, issued last summer, announced initiatives costing millions to increase the comfort of the homeless residing within the infamous mass homeless encampment known as the Zone: the creation of seven new shade structures; distribution of insulated and reusable water bottles, hats, sunscreen, personal misters, towels, ice chests with water; and 475 shelter beds for 24/7 heat respite.
The first and current OHRM director is Arizona State University (ASU) professor David Hondula, who teaches within the Global Institute of Sustainability. ASU worked with the city of Phoenix on the trial run and report ahead of the full launch of the cool pavement program.
After the mayor, Rep. Gallego introduced the Extreme Heat Emergency Act last month. Rep. Gallego said that extreme cold weather warrants federal disaster relief and contended that the same should be the case for the opposite of extreme heat.
“If you’re in Chicago and you have two weeks of extreme cold weather and snow and 400 people die, and Chicago calls the federal government, they will get money from the federal government,” said Gallego.
When it gets dangerously hot in Arizona, our leaders should have the ability to call on FEMA to deploy the necessary resources to save lives.
As AZ Free News reported this week, a majority of heat deaths in Maricopa County last year were due to meth.
Rep. Gallego also introduced similar legislation last year alongside Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12). Last year’s version, the Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act of 2022, would establish a grant program through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It never made it past introduction.
In this latest announcement from Biden on Thursday, the president directed the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a Hazard Alert for heat and ramp up workplace heat-safety violation enforcement, allocated $7 million in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for weather prediction improvements, and allocated $152 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding to expand water storage and equity-based climate resilience efforts in California, Colorado, and Washington.
The Biden administration has invested over $50 billion so far to address climate issues like heat waves. They have also established a website providing information on federal funding opportunities to mitigate health risks from heat, the #SummerReady awareness campaign, established the new Office of Climate Change and Health Equity, funded 10 community groups and localities for equitable heat relief, and launched heat mapping campaigns in 154 communities across 14 states.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced other heat mitigation initiatives: $5 million to NOAA for two virtual research centers providing technical assistance and information to historically marginalized and underserved communities, a National Heat Strategy focused on equity and environmental justice developed by the White House Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Extreme Heat, meetings with local and tribal leadership to offer federal support for summer heat, and affordable housing opportunities using IRA and BIL funding.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Plans by state and local leadership to establish Arizona as a leader in semiconductor manufacturing have stalled due to a lack of skilled workers.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced last week that it will delay production until 2025: a full year after their initially planned launch. TSMC produces 90 percent of the world’s microchips, supplying major products like Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers.
TSMC Chair Mark Liu indicated in last week’s second quarter earnings call that efforts on their end to gin up an adequate workforce couldn’t counter the limited talent pool in the country.
“We are encountering certain challenges, as there is an insufficient amount of skilled workers with those specialized expertise required for equipment installation in a semiconductor-grade facility,” said Liu. “While we are working to improve the situation, including sending experienced technicians from Taiwan to train the local skilled workers for a short period of time, we expect the production schedule of N4 process technology to be pushed out to 2025.”
Maricopa County Community Colleges (MCCC) partnered with Intel to launch a program last year to supplement the burgeoning semiconductor industry’s workforce, estimated to be around 3,000 workers between Intel and TSMC. Students who pass certification receive a $270 stipend to cover the tuition cost.
TSMC raised their investment in the state from $12 billion to $40 billion ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit to tour the Phoenix facility last year.
Biden’s TSMC appearance marked his first and only trip to the state during his entire presidency — even with the ongoing border crisis. Biden justified prioritization of a manufacturing facility over the border crisis by claiming the border wasn’t important.
Biden’s first and, so far, only interest in visiting Arizona may align with his consistent desire to prioritize business and personal interests over national interests (as reflected by his alleged involvement in the laptop debacle revealing corrupt foreign business dealings by his son, Hunter Biden). Biden said during his TSMC speech that he “owe[s] an awful lot” to TSMC because the wife of its founder, Morris Chang, worked his first Senate campaign.
NOW in Arizona: @POTUS said he "owes an awful lot" to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company because founder Morris Chang's wife, Sophie, worked Biden's first Senate campaign. Perhaps that's why Biden told @pdoocy today that the border isn't important. Scratching backs! pic.twitter.com/wFFYncZIMV
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego also has ties to TSMC. Gallego’s former senior policy advisor and campaign donor, Laura Franco French, serves as TSMC’s director of state government relations. Franco French joined TSMC in 2021 immediately after departing Gallego’s office, where she’d served since Gallego became mayor in 2019.
Gallego’s TSMC connection may explain her apparent lack of concern with TSMC’s delay. When asked about the TSMC issue with obtaining skilled workers during an interview on Sunday, Gallego responded with a non-answer.
“We are very excited to be the future of semiconductors. It’s so important that we’re onshoring manufacturing of these essential devices in the United States and we’re going to take an all-hands-on deck approach to make sure it is successful,” said Gallego. “President Biden has picked Phoenix as one of the innovation job hubs and will be able to partner with the US Department of Commerce in particular, but across his administration to do training for our residents. We have a very successful project with our community college where people can get a six-week certificate in semiconductors that’s produced hundreds of graduates so far, but we know we have to turn it up so that we can deliver not just for Arizona but for the world.”
In addition to the shortage of skilled workers, TSMC’s development in Arizona may be delayed due to other concerns with health and environmental impact.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — dubbed “forever chemicals” for their resistance to breaking down — are integral to microchip production. PFAS have been linked to a host of serious health issues concerning fertility, fetal development, bone variations, behavioral changes, accelerated puberty, high blood pressure, liver disease, cancer, lowered immunity, hormone disruption, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, and obesity. Chemical waste from factory production has led to PFAS contaminating water and, consequently, humans and the environment.
The Biden administration has progressively focused on PFAS with increasing pressure. Last June, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued four drinking water health advisories for PFAS. Last August, the EPA proposed designating two of the most widely used PFAS as hazardous substances. Last December, the EPA required facilities to report on all PFAS usage. In March, the EPA issued its first-ever proposal to regulate PFAS in drinking water.
The Biden administration has offered $3 billion in grants to states and territories to clean up PFAS in drinking water; it also launched an analytics tool for the public to track PFAS contamination.
3M announced in December that it would halt PFAs production by 2025, a move which set off alarm bells for TSMC and other chipmakers. The announcement came ahead of the company’s $10.5 to $12.5 billion settlement for drinking water contamination.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A majority of heat deaths in Maricopa County are attributable to methamphetamine, according to the latest Maricopa County Department of Public Health heat deaths report.
53 percent of heat deaths involved meth last year, or 226 deaths. 67 percent of deaths involved some type of substance abuse. The county noted that the proportion of heat deaths involving drug use has increased over the years.
The homeless make up the largest class of all heat deaths: 178 met that characterization (150 were classified as having “unknown” living situations). Nearly 70 percent of all heat deaths last year occurred in urban areas.
Although the homeless made up the most heat deaths last year and in 2020, that wasn’t the case from 2012 to 2019. More non-homeless individuals suffered heat deaths during those years than the homeless.
Phoenix had the most heat deaths last year, 245, followed far behind by Mesa at 36 deaths and then Glendale at 22 deaths. Scottsdale and Tempe both had 10 deaths, Avondale and Peoria both had 8 deaths, Chandler had 7 deaths, and Gilbert had 6 deaths.
Phoenix also holds the vast majority of the homeless population in the county. The Maricopa Association of Governments reported a 36% increase in homeless individuals in the county from 2019 to last year. That increase was most greatly felt at the very heart of downtown Phoenix, evident in the mass homeless encampment called “The Zone.”
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego has used heat deaths to bolster her campaign to declare The Valley’s regular summer heat as a federal emergency. Such a declaration would result in the awarding of federal relief funds.
Heat relief teams like @HeatReadyPHX are working tirelessly to support residents during this heat wave, and additional federal resources could multiply our impact.
During her annual state of the city address in April, Mayor Gallego petitioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to qualify extreme heat as a disaster by adding the regular seasonal occurrence to its national emergency declarations categorization.
A FEMA recognition would bring in more federal funding. The city has a number of heat mitigation projects that would likely benefit from such funding, like the manufactured shade and drinking water access areas known as “cool corridors,” which are determined on an equity basis, and the special sunlight absorption streets known as “cool pavement.” Those initiatives were unique creations under Mayor Gallego’s administration.
Mayor Gallego was also responsible for the creation of one of the first heat mitigation offices within city government: the Office of Heat Response and Mitigation (OHRM). The city established the office with $2.8 million in 2021, with the explicit attempt to combat “urban heat”: the theory that urbanization causes higher temperatures.
Presently, the OHRM doles out COVID-19 relief federal funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for annual heat relief grants. These grants are earmarked for nonprofit, charitable, small business, and faith-based organizations existing within the city-recognized Maricopa Association of Governments Heat Relief Network that claim negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. OHRM will give out a maximum of $450,000 total, with each recipient receiving anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000.
A major focus of the OHRM is providing heat respite for the homeless. The latest update from OHRM, issued last summer, announced initiatives costing millions to increase the comfort of the homeless residing within the The Zone: the creation of seven new shade structures; distribution of insulated and reusable water bottles, hats, sunscreen, personal misters, towels, ice chests with water; and hundreds of shelter beds for 24/7 heat respite.
The first and current OHRM director is Arizona State University (ASU) professor David Hondula, who teaches within the Global Institute of Sustainability. Hondula was named director of the office overseeing the pavement initiative within weeks of publication of a joint study on the city’s “cool pavement” infrastructure, which the city knew ahead of expansion would make people hotter.
Although FEMA hasn’t heeded Gallego’s call, her Congressman ex-husband did. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) introduced the Extreme Heat Emergency Act last month.
When it gets dangerously hot in Arizona, our leaders should have the ability to call on FEMA to deploy the necessary resources to save lives.
Per the latest county heat deaths report, fatalities decreased from 2012 to 2014. 2012 totaled about one-fourth of last year’s deaths and 2014 reached a low of 61 deaths. Deaths then increased from 84 in 2015 to 199 in 2019, spiking to 323 in 2020 and steadily increasing since then.
The county report also revealed that African American and Native American individuals made up the most heat deaths: 13 per 100,000 and 9 per 100,000, respectively. White individuals followed closely behind at nearly 8 per 100,000 deaths.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Both the executive director and operations director of Arizona’s school choice program resigned on Monday.
In a statement, former executive director Christine Accurso said she accomplished her goal of getting the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program “back on track and functioning well.” Accurso indicated that she would be taking on other opportunities in school choice activism.
“I hired, trained, and implemented a full staff of competent, professional people who love the program and will carry it forward,” said Accurso. “I achieved much of what I set out to accomplish, but it is time for me to move on and pursue opportunities to engage citizens, especially parents, to fight for school choice and the other issues they believe in, for the future of our state and of our nation.”
— Christine Accurso (@ArizonaCatholic) July 25, 2023
In a statement, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) announced John Ward as Accurso’s replacement. Ward served as an ADE internal auditor and previously worked within the Auditor General’s Office.
Former operations director and vendor liaison, Linda Rizzo, also resigned. Rizzo also served as a regional director for the Arizona Federation of Republican Women.
ADE loosely echoed Accurso’s reasoning for her departure in their explanation of her resignation, crediting her for “unprecedented growth” within the ESA Program.
Superintendent Tom Horne appointed Accurso to the position last November. Horne selected Accurso for her knowledge and experience with the ESA Program, as well as her advocacy to universalize its opportunities. As a member of the ESA Program herself, she was a constant advocate for Horne’s election.
Last year, Accurso led the Decline to Sign movement: a counter-movement to the Save Our Schools Arizona (SOSAZ) ballot initiative to overturn legislation that universalized school choice. As part of her advocacy, Accurso discovered that SOSAZ overreported the number of signatures they collected for the ballot initiative. Accurso’s publicization of this discovery prompted an expedited review of the signature count.
Over the last few years, Accurso also raised awareness of the unresponsive ESA Program helpline.
In January, Accurso told AZ Free News about issues inherited from the prior superintendent’s administration indicating neglect of the ESA Program.
Over 60,500 students now participate in the ESA Program as of Monday. Ward has estimated that the ESA Program will reach 100,000 applicants by next July.
With the double departure from the ESA Program, Democratic leaders highlighted weaknesses of the program.
On Monday, Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a renewed focus on investigating ESA Program fraud and loss of federal discrimination protections concerning disabilities and educational records. Mayes encouraged members of the public to report cases of fraud by ESA vendors or private schools.
It’s important for Arizona families to be aware of the rights they give up when they leave the public school system with an education savings account.
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) July 24, 2023
On Tuesday, Gov. Katie Hobbs’ Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) released a report projecting a budget deficit of $319.8 million next fiscal year with the ESA Program costing about $943.8 million annually by the next fiscal year. Hobbs alleged the ESA Program would “bankrupt” the state.
“[T]his program is unsustainable and does not save taxpayers money,” said Hobbs. “We must bring transparency and accountability to this program to ensure school vouchers don’t bankrupt our state.”
The newest voucher cost projections show us what we already knew: this program is unsustainable and does not save taxpayers money. We must bring transparency and accountability to this program to ensure school vouchers don’t bankrupt our state. I’m committed to reforming…
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) July 25, 2023
The OSPB disputed ADE’s claim that the ESA Program costs less to taxpayers since it pulls children from public schools, noting that about 40,400 non-public school students would receive funding where before they hadn’t. The OSPB also claimed that individual student payouts for the ESA Program are more costly than what public schools pay.
“The ESA program is unaccountable and overfunded,” stated the OSPB.
The governor’s team asked for ADE to implement academic testing requirements and audits for schools accepting ESA funding, requiring staff to be fingerprinted, and requiring students to attend a public school prior to enrollment.
The ESA Program admittance requires at least 45 days of attendance at a public school.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
