Respected Leaders Depart Free Enterprise Club As
New Management Does APS’ Dark Money Bidding
Media Reports
Outline New Status Of Organization To Help Regulated Utility Monopoly Install
Regulators
(PHOENIX) Dark money flowing from a once-respected Republican group has led to a dramatic changing of the guard. Two of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s founding members departed when the dark money started flowing into campaigns for Arizona Corporation Commission. A third founder had already left.
The Arizona Republic, The Yellow Sheet and countless others continue to pull back the curtain exposing the Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s fixation on getting anti-solar candidates Tom Forese and Doug Little elected to the Corporation Commission.
The Yellow Sheet reports the conventional wisdom is that APS is writing the checks:
“However, one source with strong ties to the situation, but who is not directly involved, said the circumstantial evidence makes it impossible to conclude that anyone other than APS is funding the Free Enterprise Club’s efforts. Most troubling, the source said, is that APS is doing little to cover its tracks.” The Yellow Sheet-July 23, 2014
Meanwhile, APS continues to dodge questions about whether they are cutting checks to enable the Arizona Free Enterprise Club to engage in a dark money campaign. In 2013, APS was ultimately revealed to have lied about millions in political spending. This year the utility monopoly refuses to confirm or deny political spending.
The Yellow Sheet has a theory as to why the Arizona Free Enterprise Club may be APS’ favorite Political Action Committee:
“A source said Free Enterprise Club may represent the last of APS Vice President of State and Local Affairs Jessica Pacheco’s stable of allies that hasn’t been definitively connected to the utility in the past year. A number of groups and allies Pacheco has turned to in the past to obfuscate APS’s involvement may now be unusable because of their public connection to the company.” The Yellow Sheet- July 23, 2014
The days of oversight from respected Republicans are gone as the Club spends dark money without revealing its source or its motives. These days there is nothing ‘free’ about the Free Enterprise Club. They have spent some $500,000 and counting to elect the utility giant’s flawed candidates.
To learn more about T.U.S.K. visit www.dontkillsolar.com.
T.U.S.K. believes that rooftop solar is similar to a charter school—it provides a competitive alternative to the monopoly. Monopoly utilities aren’t known for reducing costs or for driving business innovation, but the solar industry is. Solar companies have a track record of aggressive cost reduction. The more people use rooftop solar, the less power they need to buy from the utilities. Energy independence means smaller profits for the utilities, so they are doing everything they can to stop the spread of independent solar.
Paid for by TUSK (Tell Utilities
Solar won’t be Killed.) Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s campaign
committee.
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