Central Arizonans for a Sustainable Economy (CASE) advocates for deregulating immigration law and voting policies in Maricopa County and Arizona at large. 1 CASE also advocates for policies and ordinances to subsidize housing and support LGBT interests in Central Arizona. 2
Issues
Immigration
In 2019, CASE sponsored a petition to then-U.S. Senators Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and John McCain (R-AZ) demanding that a version of H.R. 2820 that would grant permanent residency to young illegal immigrants, prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants related to them, and prevent border enforcement funding. 3
In 2017, CASE asked Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) to investigate Motel 6 after illegal immigrants were arrested on its property. The impetus for requesting an investigation was based on suspicions that Motel 6 was alerting authorities to guests who were illegal immigrants. 4
Election Administration
In February 2020, CASE opposed Arizona’s Senate Bill 1032 by organizing a rally at the Arizona capitol. The bill sought to prevent voter fraud through several verification measures, including signature verification of early ballots. 5 6
On February 19, 2019, CASE organized an event to oppose HB 2626 during the bill’s scheduled committee hearing. The bill was drafted to prevent voter fraud. 7 8
In 2013, CASE lobbied against bills SB 1261 and SB 1003, both of which ensured measures to prevent voter fraud. 9
Subsidized Housing
In April 2019, CASE condemned Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego (D) for approving an urban development project for not including government-funded housing. 10 11 The developer, Medistar, then added taxpayer-funded housing to its development project plans, and CASE condemned Medistar for not providing “enough” subsidized housing. 12
Leadership
Betty Guardado, who serves concurrently as a member of the Phoenix City Council, is president and board member for CASE. Guardado also sits on the board of Arizona AFL-CIO and is a vice president of Unite Here Local 11. 13 14 15
Notable Donors
Marguerite Casey Foundation made a $225,000 grant to CASE in 2019. 16
NEO Philanthropy made a $100,000 grant to CASE in 2016. 17
Partnership for Working Families donated $10,300 in 2015 towards “civic engagement.” 18
Schwab Charitable Fund donated $15,000 in 2016 for “social services”. 19
References
- Gardiner, Dustin. “Stop printing ballots in Spanish, Arizona candidate for secretary of state says.” Azcentral. August 15, 2018. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/08/15/arizona-gop-candidate-steve-gaynor-stop-printing-non-english-ballots-secretary-state-michele-reagan/988431002/
- “Programs.” Central Arizonans for a Sustainable Economy. 2016. Accessed April 23, 2020. http://case-az.org/programs/
- “Tell Senators Flake and McCain: We Need a Clean DREAM Act!” The Action Network. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-senators-flake-and-mccain-we-need-clean-dream-act
- Flaherty, Joseph. “More Arrests of Undocumented Guests at a Motel 6 – This Time in Nogales.” Phoenix New Times. September 29, 2017. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/anonymous-tip-led-to-immigration-arrests-at-nogales-motel-6-9735175
- Torres, Luis. “Early-voting bill would disenfranchise thousands of Arizonans, protestors contend.” Tucson Sentinel. February 7, 2020. Accessed April 23, 2020. http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/020720_early_voting_bill/early-voting-bill-would-disenfranchise-thousands-arizonans-protesters-contend/
- Ramirez, Brandy Rae. “These Groups Headed To The Capitol To Fight Anti-Immigrant & Voter Suppression Laws.” The Copper Courier. February 7, 2020. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://coppercourier.com/story/these-groups-headed-to-the-capitol-to-fight-anti-immigrant-voter-suppression-laws/
- “Committee Hearing: Voter Registration Shouldn’t Be a Crime.” Facebook. February 19, 2019. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.facebook.com/events/358882074704971/
- Fischer, Howard. “House passes bill to put more restrictions on voter registration.” Arizona Capitol Times. March 19, 2019. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2019/03/19/house-passes-bill-to-put-more-restrictions-on-voter-registration/
- Adams, Kristen. “Voter advocacy groups rally against GOP election bills.” Cronkite News. March 21, 2013. Accessed April 23, 2020. http://cronkitenewsonline.com/2013/03/voter-advocacy-groups-rally-against-gop-election-bills/index.html
- “Urge Mayor Gallego to Defend Affordable Housing.” Facebook. April 16, 2019. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.facebook.com/events/2252308945029980
- rimble, Lynn. “Phoenix Approves $231 Million Mixed-Use Development or Downtown Transit Hub. Phoenix New Times. April 18, 2019. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/231-million-development-coming-to-downtown-phoenix-11272517
- Lollman, Laura. “One Arizona Coalition registers record number of voters.” AZFamily. October 10, 2018. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.azfamily.com/one-arizona-coalition-registers-record-number-of-voters/article_d2322ef2-cc87-11e8-b346-7334576b2456.html
- Boehm, Jessica & Rau, Alia Beard. “Final results: Phoenix council candidates head to May 21 run-off.” Azcentral. March 17, 2019. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2019/03/17/final-results-phoenix-council-candidates-head-run-off-may-21-guardado-guevara-garcia-johnson/3196612002/
- “Betty Guardado.” Ballotpedia. 2019. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://ballotpedia.org/Betty_Guardado
- “About Us.” CASE. 2020. Accessed April 23, 2020. http://case-az.org/about-us/
- “Central Arizonans for a Sustainable Economy.” Marguerite Casey Foundation. 2019. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.caseygrants.org/grantee-database/central-arizonans-sustainable-economy/
- “NEO Philanthropy Inc.” ProPublica. 2017. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133191113/201812709349300201/full
- “The Partnership for Working Families.” ProPublica. 2016. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/710914032/201722239349301002/full
- “Schwab Charitable Fund.” ProPublica. 2017. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/311640316/04_2018_prefixes_27-35%2F311640316_201706_990_2018040615249820