April 7, 2026 · SRP Election Results

WE WON.

Dark money lost. Thank you, District 6.

Elected to SRP Council, District 6

Sara Travise
&
John Travise

Neighbors who beat the dark money.

Clean Energy Team swept all 4 D6 seats. Allison Gullick on D6 Council. Ken Clark on D6 Board. At-large landslides: Krista O'Brien (Seat 12) and Kathy Mohr-Almeida (Seat 14).

Neighbors beat money. Every time.

Investigation

FOLLOW THE MONEY.

Corporate donors. No individual customers on the list. Data center builders, construction firms, and utility contractors have spent $219,000+ through a PAC to pick your SRP board and council - and Turning Point USA has spent millions more.

From their own website - srpelectionalert.com
"Paid for by Arizonans for Responsible Growth. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's agent."
Read the Full Investigative Report →
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What is SRP?

The Salt River Project delivers water and power to over 1 million customers in the Phoenix metro area. Unlike a city utility, SRP is governed by an elected board and council - but most customers don't know they can vote. Unlike APS and other utilities, SRP is not regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission. The board you elect is the only oversight.

Who can vote?

Voting power is tied to land ownership, not population. One acre = one vote. Landowners with hundreds of acres can outvote entire neighborhoods. Turnout is typically 1-2%, which means a handful of large landowners can decide who runs your utility.

Check if you're eligible and request your ballot

Section 01 - The Donor Wall

Their own supporters page is the smoking gun.

azforrg.com/supporters lists every company funding the PAC behind srpelectionalert.com - in tiered donation levels. Here's who they are and what interests they have tied to SRP's territory and decisions.

$50,000+ NUCLEAR TIER
$50,000+
Willmeng Construction
Largest employee-owned GC in the Southwest
Builds data centers for Digital Realty Trust. Just broke ground on an $107M project with ViaWest (also a donor). But here's the tighter loop: Willmeng has held a Job Order Contract with SRP since 2011 - 32 job orders totaling over $3.15 million. They're not just building data centers SRP serves - they're literally an SRP vendor. And their VP of Economic Development, Jimmy Lindblom, is also the chairperson of AZFRG - the PAC spending this money. The company that gets millions in SRP contracts has its own VP chairing the PAC and gave it $50K+ to pick the board that oversees those contracts.
$25,000+ POWERHOUSE TIER
$25,000+
Google PULLED OUT
Data centers in SRP territory
Google originally gave $25,000 to AZFRG - then pulled its funding and demanded its name be removed from the PAC's donor page after public scrutiny. Even Google decided this PAC was too toxic to be associated with. But the damage is done: data centers like Google's still get water at $6.08/1,000 gal while you pay $10.80, and the 2025 rate hike hit residential customers at 3.5% while data centers got just 1.5%.
$25,000+
VW Connect
Utility construction & installation
Installs power lines, gas lines, and utility connections for new development. Lists SRP as a partner. Tagline: "The job isn't done until the meter is on." More development = more meters = more revenue. They gave $25K+ to pick who approves new connections.
$25,000+
ViaWest Group
$3.1B+ real estate developer
Develops industrial properties in SRP territory. Just broke ground on ReDiscover Logistics Park with Willmeng (also a donor) - 808,400 SF, $107M financing. More commercial development SRP approves = more ViaWest builds and profits.
$10,000+ HIGH VOLTAGE TIER
$10,000+
EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure
Wholesale data center operator - Mesa, AZ
3.1 million SF campus in Mesa. 450 MW capacity - enough to power 300,000+ homes. $1.9 billion in financing for the Mesa campus alone. A $1.9B data center that depends on cheap SRP power gave $10K+ to pick the board and council.
$10,000+
Douglas Allred Company
Commercial/industrial developer
13M+ SF of commercial space across Arizona. Uses Willmeng (top donor) as GC. Park Place in Chandler brought tenants like Northrop Grumman. Developer who profits from industrial growth gave $10K+.
$10,000+
Suntec Concrete
Largest concrete contractor in the Southwest
Lists "Data Centers" as a market sector on their website. Built for CyrusOne data centers. The company that pours data center foundations gave $10K+ to pick who approves them.
$10,000+
ESOP
Employee stock ownership plan vehicle
Listed at the $10,000+ tier on AZFRG's donor page. Likely an employee stock ownership plan vehicle connected to one of the other corporate donors. Another $10K+ from the same network.
$5,000+ GRID CHAMPION TIER
Coe & Van Loo Consultants
Civil engineering firm that designs site plans and utility infrastructure for new developments. More development = more engineering contracts.
Rummel Construction
Heavy civil contractor. Mass grading for data center campuses and solar farms. 675 employees, $414M revenue. Added Feb 2026 - AZFRG is building its war chest.
Trademark
Phoenix-area real estate/property firm with financial interest in SRP board and council decisions.
$1,000+ SPARK TIER
Withey Morris Baugh
Phoenix's largest lobbying and land use law firm. Gets zoning approvals and entitlements for major development projects. The legal machinery that makes data center development happen.
Kieckhefer Properties
Commercial property owner. ~700,000 SF of office/industrial in Tempe and Chandler.
One of these donors is on the ballot
Barry Paceley - Paceley Constructors
Spark Tier Donor ($1,000+) - Candidate for SRP Vice President
The PAC's donor list includes "Paceley Constructors" at the $1,000+ tier. The ballot includes Barry Paceley - president of Paceley Constructors - running for Vice President of the SRP board and council on the "Elected Leadership for SRP" slate. The same name appears on both the donor list and the ballot.
The donor list and the ballot. Same name.
No individual customers are listed on the PAC's public supporters page - only corporate entities. Not a single neighborhood group or community organization. Just companies with significant interests tied to SRP decisions - paying to pick who makes them.
Source: azforrg.com/supporters - their own public donor page
Section 02 - The Supply Chain

Every link in the chain. Every donor on the list.

Every major AZFRG donor fits into the data center supply chain. Here's how they connect.

Need data centers
Google pulled outEdgeCore
$10,000+ (Google pulled $25K)
Buy and develop the land
ViaWest GroupDouglas AllredKieckhefer
$36,000+ combined
Get zoning & entitlements
Withey Morris Baugh (Phoenix's top lobbying firm)
$1,000+
Engineer the sites
Coe & Van Loo
$5,000+
Build them
WillmengRummelSuntec
$65,000+ combined
Install utility connections
VW Connect (SRP listed as partner)
$25,000+
Who approves the contracts?
SRP BOARD & COUNCIL
These companies are choosing who sits here
Google pays
$6.08
per 1,000 gallons
You pay
$10.80
per 1,000 gallons
Source: SRP published water rate schedules - industrial vs. residential rates
Data center rate hike
1.5%
2025 increase
Your rate hike
3.5%
2025 increase

The board voted 10-5 to approve the rate hike. Residential customers pay more than double the percentage increase that data centers pay. The companies funding this PAC got the better deal.

Source: Phoenix New Times, March 9, 2026 - SRP rate schedules
$219K+
Raised by AZFRG PAC to pick your board and council
Millions
Spent separately by Turning Point USA on SRP election mailers and operations
0
Neighborhood groups, community orgs, or individual voters on the donor list
The companies building SRP's infrastructure are funding the PAC that picks the board members who approve that infrastructure. The money goes in a circle. The ratepayers are outside it.
Sources: azforrg.com/supporters - SRP water rate schedules - SRP electric rate schedules - Maricopa County Recorder public records
Section 03 - The Land Shuffle

One insider. One land transfer. One board seat. $247 million.

December 2023
Nick Vanderwey transfers ~240 acres from an LLC (can't vote in SRP elections) to a family trust (can vote).
April 2024
Vanderwey casts 217.76 acreage votes in the District 3 Board race - out of only 263.88 total votes for the winning candidate, Mario Herrera. One person decided the race.
June 2024
Land transferred back to LLC entities.
July 2024
Land sold to QTS Realty Trust (owned by Blackstone) for $246.8 million - for data center development.
2026
The board member Vanderwey installed will vote on QTS/Blackstone contracts. Now one Vanderwey brother is running for District 6 Board and the other for District 6 Council - directly against John and Sara Travise, your neighbors and SRP customers running on the Energy Freedom Team slate.
SRP's response
"Does not involve itself in or advise how property owners hold title to their property."
Phoenix New Times confirmed the full timeline

While SRP refuses to address the Vanderwey land shuffle, the Phoenix New Times independently confirmed the full timeline: the trust transfer, the decisive 217-acre vote, the $247M sale to QTS/Blackstone, and now two Vanderwey brothers running for District 6. SRP says nothing. The public record says everything.

Source: Phoenix New Times, March 9, 2026
He moved land into a trust to vote, won the race, moved it back, sold it for $247 million to a data center company - and now one Vanderwey brother is running for District 6 Board and the other for District 6 Council, directly opposing John and Sara Travise.
Source: Energy and Policy Institute, Feb 9, 2026
The Cracks Are Showing

They're losing allies. The story is falling apart.

Google pulled out

Google gave $25,000 to AZFRG - then pulled its funding and demanded its name be removed from the PAC's donor page. When a trillion-dollar company decides your PAC is too toxic to be associated with, that tells you something.

McGee disavowed

Former state senator Kate Brophy McGee sent a mass email endorsing the incumbent slate with fabricated claims about solar and rate hikes. We fact-checked every claim - and none of them hold up.

Meanwhile, Turning Point doubles down

Separate from AZFRG's $219K, Turning Point USA has spent millions on SRP election mailers and field operations. Their involvement dwarfs the PAC money - and raises the question of why a national political organization is this invested in a local utility election.

Source: Phoenix New Times, March 9, 2026
Section 04 - The Contrast

Two slates. Two funding sources. You decide.

"Elected Leadership for SRP"
Funded by Willmeng, VW Connect, data center developers & Turning Point USA
  • Backed by Arizonans for Responsible Growth (corporate-funded PAC) - running an at-large operation across the entire SRP board
  • Full slate: Dobson (President), Paceley (VP), Cooper (Seat 14), Kennedy (Seat 12)
  • Paceley's own company is an AZFRG donor - he's funding the PAC that's spending to elect him
  • Kennedy is an EVP at CBRE specializing in industrial capital markets - the same commercial real estate ecosystem as AZFRG's developer donors
  • $219K+ from corporate PAC, plus millions from Turning Point USA - no individual ratepayers listed
  • Attack site: srpelectionalert.com
Energy Freedom Team
Funded by individual donors
  • Grassroots support from neighbors
  • Candidates: John & Sara Travise - SRP customers, solar homeowners, your neighbors
  • Goal: Customer accountability, water conservation, data center transparency
One side has corporate PACs and Turning Point. The other has two SRP customers with solar and battery storage on the rate structure this board controls.
Section 05 - The PAC

Why are corporations and Turning Point USA funding your utility election?

Arizonans for Responsible Growth is a corporate-funded PAC backing a full slate of candidates across the SRP board and council - President, Vice President, and two board seats. They published their donors with logos, dollar amounts, and tiered sponsorship levels.
Each donor has significant interests tied to SRP's service territory and decisions - data center power contracts, water rates, infrastructure buildouts, utility connections, zoning approvals. One of the donors is running for Vice President on the slate this PAC supports.
$219,000+ from corporate donors through AZFRG alone. Millions more from Turning Point USA in mailers and field operations. No individual ratepayers, neighborhood groups, or community organizations on the donor list. Even Google pulled its money after public scrutiny - but the rest doubled down.
They published this themselves. The only question is whether enough voters see it before April 7.
Take Action

They have PACs and dark money. We have you.

No PAC money. No corporate donors. Just neighbors who want accountability.

SRP elections get 1-2% turnout. Your vote decides who controls your water and power: corporations or your neighbors.