Issues

In this episode of the Better Together Arizona podcast, ONE Community President & Co-Founder Angela Hughey is joined by Executive Director of the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Tom Collins. Angela and Tom discuss AZ Prop 313 which would create a mandatory life sentence for criminals convicted of child sex trafficking.

Under current Arizona law, the penalties for child sex trafficking, which involves a range of criminal activities, are quite severe based on the age of the victim and the crime that has been committed. Existing sentencing guidelines are between seven years to life imprisonment and include limitations on releasability.

❌ Arguments against Prop 313: Tough on crime measures such as this one are not effective, in part because criminals don’t consider sentencing when they commit crimes. Mandatory minimum sentences such as this one shift the power of sentencing from judges to prosecutors.

✅ Arguments for Prop 313: Child sex trafficking is a human rights abuse and a growing problem. Social media has made it easier for criminals to commit these crimes and unaccompanied minors at the border are particularly vulnerable.

In this episode of the Better Together Arizona podcast, ONE Community President & Co-Founder Angela Hughey is joined by two leaders of the Aliento Education Fund, Founder and CEO, Reyna Montoya, and VP of Education and External Affairs, José Patiño. 

Angela, Reyna, and José discuss Prop 314, also known as “Secure the Border Act.” This is a 2024 Arizona ballot measure that would make it a state crime to cross the border illegally, which is currently a federal crime. Proposition 314 would grant enforcement power to state and local officials and these officials would receive immunity so they could not be prosecuted for civil rights violations. 

❌ Arguments against Prop 314: This bill will harm taxpayers by targeting certain communities and putting people at risk. Prop 314 will not help secure the border and will not support Arizonans, especially Dreamers who have been in this country since they were born. This proposition is unfunded and therefore violates state law. Prop 314 will tarnish our state’s image. 

✅ Arguments for Prop 314: This measures empowers law enforcement to keep our communities safe by establishing harsher penalties against illegal border crossings.  

In this episode of the Better Together Arizona podcast, ONE Community President & Co-Founder Angela Hughey is joined by Executive Director of the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Tom Collins. Angela and Tom go into detail about AZ Prop 315 which would give state legislators more power over regulations passed by state agencies like the Department of Health. 

This measure would set up a new process for any state agency that wishes to pass a new rule. The agency would first need to have the regulations vetted by a state office, and if that state office finds the cost of implementing those regulations exceeds $500,000, the proposed rules will have to go to the legislature to be ratified before they can be implemented.

❌ Arguments against Prop 315: This proposal would prevent agencies from taking actions already delegated by the legislature to make the public safer and healthier. Requiring legislative agreement would place politicians rather than experts in charge of determining health and safety requirements.

✅ Arguments for Prop 315: Businesses are over regulated. Unaccountable bureaucrats make rules that are unnecessary and raise costs. Legislators who are accountable to voters should make these important decisions.

In this episode of the Better Together Arizona podcast, Angela is joined by Patrick McDaniel from Phoenix Community Alliance to discuss Proposition 479.

Prop 479 is not a tax increase; it is a continuation of a funding measure that has been on the books for 20 years. If Prop 479 passes, it will provide roughly $15B in funding for continued infrastructure projects across the Valley to reduce traffic and gridlock, expand roads and freeways, make intersections safer, improve arterial streets and connectivity between neighborhoods, support Dial-A-Ride services, and more. 

✅ Arguments for Prop 479: This is not a tax increase; it is the continuation of a measure that has been on the books for over 20 years. If you rely on any type of transportation in Maricopa County, you will see direct benefits to your quality of life. The funding produced from Prop 479 will help reduce traffic and gridlock, expand roads and freeways, make intersections and arterial roads safer, create better connectivity between neighborhoods, support Dial-A-Ride services, and expand access to public transportation.   

❌ Arguments against Prop 479: Maricopa County voters deserve a better plan, and elected leaders should be forced to craft a better transportation plan. 

In this episode of the Better Together Arizona podcast, Angela and Stephen Richer, discuss the role of Maricopa County Recorder, including statutory responsibilities related to voter registration and early voting.

Stephen and his team have put a number of safety measures in place to safeguard the integrity of Arizona elections and mail-in ballots. As part of their efforts to extend transparency to the public, Stephen and his team have made it possible for any Maricopa County voter to request to take a tour of the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center. Maricopa County is the largest of all 15 counties in Arizona and is second only to Los Angeles County when it comes to total number of registered voters in counties across the country.

Stephen Richer is the 30th Recorder of Maricopa County. He was elected in November 2020 and took office in January 2021. His office of ~150 employees records hundreds of thousands of documents each year and maintains a voter registration database of 2.5 million voters–the second largest voting jurisdiction in the United States–and administers the mail/early voting component of all elections in Maricopa County.