Gov. Hobbs’ Treasurer Quietly Collected Millions In Dark Money To Kill GOP Ballot Measures
By Staff Reporter |
On a Friday in July 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ), under President Joe Biden, arrested a man for a bomb threat he’d made a year and a half earlier to the Arizona secretary of state at the time, Katie Hobbs.
According to the DOJ’s public announcement of that arrest, that threat was sent online in mid-February 2021 through the secretary of state’s Elections Division contact form. Yet, it took law enforcement more than a year to nab the perpetrator: a Massachusetts man named James Clark.
Media outlets promptly picked up the news of Clark’s arrest, framing it as the latest in what was then an ongoing scourge of threats to election officials following the contentious 2020 election.
Hobbs was reaffirmed in the public eye as a face of resistance to former President Donald Trump’s purported election denialism. And she was deep into a contentious race of her own for the governor’s office against Trump-backed candidate Kari Lake.
“Election officials across the country are being threatened regularly for doing their jobs,’’ said Hobbs in a prepared statement at the time. “It’s unconscionable and undermines our democracy. This harassment won’t be tolerated and can’t be normalized. We thank the FBI for their persistence on further investigating this incident.”
The one detail that never received much attention was the timing of Clark’s arrest.
On the same day that the DOJ sparked a flurry of media coverage on their delayed arrest of a Trump-defying Democrat’s would-be assassin, a Hobbs campaign operative quietly registered Will of the People, a political action committee (PAC) that would go on to raise more than $5 million from dark money and labor union heavyweights across the nation.
The listed address for the PAC is a virtual office in downtown Phoenix. Its treasurer from day one was Dacey Montoya, founder and president of The Money Wheel, a well-known political and nonprofit compliance firm in Democratic circles. Montoya is currently the treasurer for both Gov. Katie Hobbs’ campaign and Hobbs’ alleged campaign finance fund-washing fund.
Montoya has offered her Money Wheel services to numerous Democratic candidates, party organizations, and progressive dark money operations both in Arizona and nationally over the years. Past clientele include Gov. Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Rep. Yassamin Ansari, Sen. Mark Kelly, Jevin D. Hodge, Kirsten Engel, Reginald Bolding, Arizona Democratic Party, Maricopa County Democratic Party, Progress Now Arizona/Progress Arizona, Our Voice Our Vote Arizona, Copper State Victory, and the Arizona Education Association.
The Money Wheel has received more than $5.2 million since 2017 at the federal level according to Federal Election Commission records, and more than $1.9 million since 2017 at the state level according to secretary of state campaign finance records. Since 2022, Montoya’s company has received more than $119,000 from the PAC.
Will of the People PAC
Most of Will of the People PAC’s millions came in 2022 and 2024.
- $2.3 million from SEIU-UHW and SEIU-COPE, the nation’s largest labor union and a PAC
- $1 million from Open Society Action Fund, an organization by the Soros family, who are top Democratic dark money donors
- $680,000 from ProgressNow AZ
- $600,000 from the National Education Association
- $360,000 from the Fairness Project
- $200,000 from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona
The PAC has not reported any income this year, and the only significant reported expenditures so far have been $8,000 from January through April given to The Money Wheel.
The PAC has spent an undisclosed amount of funding on lawfare to kill Republican-led ballot initiatives; in recent months, they filed two lawsuits to stop Propositions 142 (called the “Prohibit Mandatory Support for Discrimination or Preferential Treatment by Government Entities Amendment”) and 318 (called the “Require All Schools and Athletic Associations to Restrict Sports Participation and Access to Private Spaces Based on Sex Measure”).
Prop 142 would prohibit the state and government agencies from compelling, promoting, or implementing practices rooted in preferential treatment or discrimination based on race or ethnicity.
Prop 318 would restrict access to private spaces like restrooms and locker rooms based on biological sex, bar male students from participating in female sports, and establish a definition of sex rooted in biology.
In the case of Prop 318, the PAC also created a website called “Vote No on Prop 318.” However, per media coverage and the website itself, the PAC is now claiming to be a program under Progress Arizona, a progressive 501(c)(4) nonprofit. This website has not been disclosed under the PAC’s campaign finance reporting as of this report. The PAC’s logo is displayed on the website.
“Will of the People is a program of Progress Arizona,” states the website. “Email info@progressarizona.org. Paid for by Will of the People.”
Concerning the media — as previously reported, the PAC once identified The Arizona Republic as an endorser of their efforts.
It appears that the PAC may have failed to file some of its required expenditure disclosures. Four television advertisements urging Arizonans to vote “no” on Prop 132 (called the “60% Vote Requirement for Ballot Measures to Approve Taxes Amendment”) weren’t reflected in the PAC’s ballot measure expenditures for 2022, because none were issued.
Voters approved Prop 132 in 2022, which established a 60% vote threshold for ballot measures approving taxes.
Will of the People Is Also a Nonprofit
The PAC also has a similarly named nonprofit, “Will of the People Arizona.” The two share a launch year, an address, and leadership.
One of the first leaders of the nonprofit arm, Betsy Boggia, was not listed on PAC documentation. Boggia served as the director/secretary from 2022 through 2024, based on Arizona Corporation Commission records.
Will of the People: Articles of Incorporation
Will of the People Annual Reports: 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
Boggia is a League of Women Voters board member and a recent former president of its Tucson chapter, according to her active and up-to-date LinkedIn profile. Notably missing from her work history and posts were any references to her leading a nonprofit that raised more than $5.5 million in three years.
Boggia’s silence on the matter may be explained by the nonprofit’s tax filings, which reported that Boggia spent an average of just one hour per week running the multi-million dollar operation.
Between the nonprofit and PAC, the two apparently affiliated entities have raised and spent approximately $11 million in four years.
The nonprofit didn’t disclose its revenue sources on its available tax filings from 2022, 2023, and 2024. Only four contributions totaling $2.1 million were publicly available through other organizations’ tax filings:
- $1 million from Open Society Policy Center in 2024
- $700,000 from Every Single Vote in 2022
- $250,000 from The Fairness Project in 2022
- $200,000 from the ACLU in 2023.
Only the ACLU provided a detailed explanation for the purpose of their contribution: paid communications to defeat Propositions 128, 129, and 132.
Propositions Targeted by Will of the People PAC and Nonprofit
Based on various sources, the PAC and nonprofit together targeted at least 14 Republican-led propositions from 2022 through this year.
Nine were defeated and five passed. Five are to be determined this year.
The PAC and nonprofit also successfully advocated for the passage of Prop 139 in 2024, which made abortion a constitutional right in Arizona.
On publicly available archived versions of the PAC’s site from 2024 through 2025, the PAC clearly disclosed which propositions it opposed: Props 134, 136, 137, and 139.
Prop 134 would have set a signature distribution requirement in all 30 legislative districts for citizen-led initiatives: 10% for statewide initiatives, 15% for constitutional amendments, and 5% for statewide referenda.
Prop 136 would have allowed individuals to sue to stop voter-proposed initiatives from being put on the ballot if they believe them to be unconstitutional.
Prop 137 would have ended term limits for state supreme court justices and superior court judges.
Then, earlier this year, the PAC changed its website to offer a ballot proposal guide in exchange for donations. The linked donation button led to a donation page hosted by ActBlue Civics, which disclosed that the donated funds would be given to Progress Arizona, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, not the Will of the People PAC.
In 2024, the PAC disclosed giving $8,000 to Progress Arizona’s policy and research director, Casey Clowes, in 2024 to run digital ads opposed to multiple propositions and in favor of one proposition, Prop 139, which created a constitutional right to abortion.
The PAC has also paid $55,000 to ProgressNow AZ and Progress Arizona PAC, and $706,000 to the Arizona Democratic Party.
The current version of the site as of this report no longer includes the promise of a ballot proposal guide in exchange for fundraising. Instead, the PAC website now urges individuals to endorse a “no” vote on Props 142, 144, 318, and 320.
“A group of power-hungry politicians have voted to put a set of highly deceptive propositions on your ballot this November,” states the present version of the site. “They are aiming to make voting more difficult for Arizonans, hollow out our schools with funding cuts, and institute blanket discrimination in youth sports. You can help stop these propositions by adding your name to the list of Arizonans endorsing a NO vote on these dangerous measures.”
Despite its grassroots-sounding name, Will of the People has been funded by millions of dollars from national labor unions, progressive organizations, and Democratic-aligned dark-money groups, while its leadership and vendors have extensive ties to Arizona’s Democratic political establishment.
The organization has opposed numerous Republican-led ballot measures. With five targeted measures still awaiting a vote, its influence over Arizona’s ballot initiatives remains active heading into November.
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