One Arizona spent the election season getting out the vote—a move by the coalition that paid off as Democrat Joe Biden was declared the president elect on Saturday, November 7.
Coalition politics
The group, which was founded in 2010, has grown in size and influence over the southwestern state, long a bastion of conservatism. One Arizona brings together stakeholders from around the southwestern state in voter drives.
In an interview with Blue Tent, spokesperson Vianey De Anda said, “One Arizona has grown to include now 28 organizations representing diverse communities across Arizona, working side by side to build a culture of civic engagement and democratic participation and registering 185,000 people to vote this year alone, despite COVID limitations. By working together, we’ve created deep and lasting change in the state we call home.”
Among the groups in the One Arizona coalition is the Council on American-Islamic Relations Arizona. CAIR Arizona’s former executive director, Imraan Siddiqi, told Blue Tent that in his experience, the collective is doing a good job at outreach.
“They’ve really expanded our horizons as to how civic engagement work is done,” said Siddiqi.
Staying vigilant
With the election and the pandemic, 2020 was a challenging year, said De Anda.
“Since our inception, our work has been about persistence and dedication; this year was no exception,” she said. “From the constant uncertainty this year brought, we learned that we must stay vigilant.”
One Arizona used drive-through voter registration and aid disbursement as a vehicle to sign people up over the course of the pandemic, tactics that adapted to the reality of COVID rather than allowing the disease to stop their work.
ADDING ELECTION RESULTS
Board makeup, funding and looking forward
One Arizona’s executive director, Montserrat Arredondo, is a longtime Arizona organizer.
The group’s board is made up of members of the coalition’s participants. The board includes Tomas Robles, co-executive director of the Arizona Center for Empowerment; Brendan Walsh, executive director of Central Arizonans for a Sustainable Economy; Phoenix City Council Member Carlos Garcia; Eduardo Sainz, the Arizona State director at Mi Familia Vota; and Poder in Action Executive Director Viri Hernandez.
In 2018, the year of the last available filing, One Arizona had an operating budget of $5,388,660. The group spent $2,043,659 on voter registration, by far its greatest expense of the year.
De Anda noted that the coalition’s mission, while centered on voter registration and electoral politics, has grown in the past year to include race issues and police brutality.
“We are supporting our partners that are directly impacted by police brutality by providing the tools and resources they need to continue the fight against racial injustice,” De Anda said.
