Take, for example, Arizona Representative, Russ Jones (R). Mr. Jones is on the advisory board and council for the Arizona Community Foundation (Yuma sector). He is also a donor.
Initiatives for the ACF reads like the Democratic propaganda platform:
Black Philanthropy Initiatives ("The mission of the Black Philanthropy Initiative is to advance equity, health, education, leadership, and SOCIAL JUSTICE for African-Americans in Arizona.")
Education Reform (The ACF partnered with the Ellis Foundation on a report about the Education system in Arizona. One of the partners of the Ellis Foundation is the Creighton School District. The Creighton Elementary school is an affiliate of the IAF. The ACF also gave a grant to STAND FOR CHILDREN which then campaigned in Arizona for the Prop 100 "temporary" sales tax increase.)
Affordable Housing
Latinos Unidos
VISTA- AmeriCorps (Obama's personal recruiting arm)
What piqued our interest was the Latinos Unidos initiative.
The Arizona Community Foundation's Latinos Unidos initiative is the natural evolution of the highly successful Hispanics in Partnership program and the Arizona Hispanic Funders' Collaborative launched in 2005. With matching funds from the national Hispanics in Philanthropy organization, Arizona's HIP program granted $620,000 to the following 10 Latino-led nonprofits in 2006:
- Border Action Network
- Borderlands Theatre
- Florence Immigration Project
- It’s a Baby’s Life
- La Sociedad Mutualista de Obreros Mexicanos
- Pinal Hispanic Council
- Pirtleville Community Action Network
- Regional Center for Border Health, Inc.
- The Way of the Heart: The Promotora Institute
- Xico, Inc.
Let's look at just a few of these groups who received funding and what exactly they were doing during that three year period to "boost their capacity":
1. Border Action Network (BAN). A leftist open borders group whose activist leader, Jennifer Allen, is closely tied to people like Sal Reza, Randy Parraz, Raquel Teran, Isabel Garcia etc.
Anti-SB1070 video showing Allen, Reza, etc.
BAN and Citizens for a Better Arizona
BAN 2008 Year in Review Video
2009 at the Legislature showing Allen, Teran, AILA lawyer and ACLU representative
2. Borderlands Theater
"Border people, in the best sense of the word, are citizens of the world.
Borderlands Theater has also benefited from the legacy of the artists/activists who performed with an earlier theater, Teatro Libertad, a collective and outgrowth of the early Chicano civil rights movement."
3. Florence Immigration Project
"The Florence Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing free legal services to men, women, and unaccompanied children detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Arizona."
4. La Sociedad Mutualista de Obreros Mexicanos
5. Xico, Inc
One of the board members is Martin Quintana from Chicanos por la Causa. Another familiar board member is Brian Barabe, one of the founders of Parraz's first organizations created to fight illegal immigration legislation called the East Valley Patriots for American Values. He was one of the many who paraded the Utah-style Compact in front of both the Chandler City Council and most recently, the Mesa City Council. Barabe donated to both Jerry Lewis' campaign as well as to Citizens for a Better Arizona.
6. Regional Center for Border Health? The same RCBH whose CEO is former Arizona Senator, Amanda Aguirre from the same district as Rep. Russ Jones? The same organization that receives almost all of its funding from the Alinsky IAF which receives THEIR funding from the TAXPAYERS?
Two of the Arizona Hispanic Funders' Collaborative organizations who help contribute funds included:
- Arizona Community Foundation (Rep. Jones serves on the Advisory Council)
- Border Philanthropy Partnership (Rep. Jones serves as the Treasurer)
I think we're beginning to understand why Rep. Jones had "struggled mightily" about voting for SB1070. He himself claimed,
...he intends to represent all people in his district, and thus will not sign on to any type of voting pledge. “We narrow ourselves down and make ourselves less flexible,” he says. “It’s more important for a constituent to try and understand the candidate’s core values that make the person who he is; that’s the best a candidate can possibly do.”
We'll explore more of Mr. Jones and his core values in our next installment.
