Mastodawn

yahoo news | SRP election results: Clean Energy Team wins majority - KTAR.com

The Salt River Project (SRP) board election attracted unusually high attention after the conservative advocacy group Turning Point Action entered the race. Early voting began on March 11, and landowners in SRP’s ten voting divisions cast weighted votes based on property size. Most contests turned into head‑to‑heads between candidates endorsed by Turning Point Action and those backed by a coalition calling itself the Clean Energy Team.

Unofficial results released on Wednesday showed Turning Point Action losing the bulk of board seats to Clean Energy Team candidates, though its two top‑ticket contenders – Chris Dobson and Barry Paceley – secured the SRP presidency and vice‑presidency. Maricopa County Supervisor Thomas Galvin praised the victories on X but called the overall performance a “complete botch job.” The Clean Energy Team had expected to be outspent by a ten‑to‑one margin, but the spending gap did not translate into a sweep for Turning Point.

Detailed vote totals reveal a clear split: Dobson (TPA) edged out his opponent with 5,401 / 5,373 votes, and Paceley (TPA) won 4,531 / 4,499. Clean Energy candidates won all at‑large and division seats shown, with margins ranging from a few hundred to several thousand votes. SRP, a non‑profit utility serving about 1.1 million Phoenix‑area customers, will have the full unofficial results posted on its website, and the official canvass will be completed on Monday.

#saltriverproject #cleanenergyteam #turningpointaction #maricopacounty #phoenix

SRP election results: Clean Energy Team wins majority of seats - KTAR.com

The unofficial results for the SRP election were released Wednesday, showing Clean Energy Team candidates winning a majority of the board seats.

KTAR.com

The Bad Place Apr 9

yahoo news | Climate activists make gains in SRP elections jolted by Turning Point

Climate activists surged ahead in this year’s Salt River Project (SRP) elections, a contest that typically flies under the radar but this time drew unprecedented political spending and a four‑fold increase in voter participation. The race pitted a slate of “Clean Energy” candidates against SRP’s traditional leadership, which was backed by Arizona’s business community and the right‑wing group Turning Point Action. Because SRP elections are limited to property owners and voting power is weighted by acreage, the contests are uniquely partisan and have historically favored incumbents, but the influx of roughly 36,000 ballots (about four times the 2024 turnout) gave the climate coalition a decisive edge.

Preliminary tallies show the clean‑energy slate winning a majority on the utility’s power board and doubling its representation on SRP’s advisory councils. Activists flipped two new power‑board seats—Ken Clark in the 4th district and Lupe Conchas in the 6th—bringing the coalition to eight of the 14 power‑board seats, up from six. On the advisory councils, the climate bloc will control eight of 30 seats, up from four. Despite these gains, traditional candidates retained the board’s presidency (Chris Dobson) and vice‑presidency (Barry Paceley), and they continue to hold six of the ten water‑board seats, which remain entirely acreage‑based.

Turning Point Action quickly framed the results as a “huge victory” on social media, even as its own spokesperson Tyler Bowyer acknowledged that the clean‑energy slate fell short of total control. Board vice‑president‑elect Barry Paceley promised to prioritize affordable rates, reliability, and the expansion of clean‑energy generation, while lamenting the loss of several qualified activist candidates. The outcome underscores how intense campaigning, donor‑driven advertising, and the polarizing presence of Turning Point galvanized both left‑leaning voters and traditional stakeholders, setting the stage for a more contested governance of one of Arizona’s largest utilities.

#climateactivists #saltriverproject #turningpointaction #cleanenergy

Climate activists make gains in SRP elections jolted by Turning Point

Two traditional SRP candidates hung onto the board's top spots, but the “Clean Energy” candidates won a majority on the utility's power board.

Yahoo News

The Bad Place Apr 9

yahoo news | Early results in contentious SRP election expected this afternoon

Early results from the contentious Salt River Project (SRP) board elections were expected on the afternoon of April 8, 2026. After an unprecedented wave of political spending, turnout surged to roughly three times the level seen in 2024, turning the usually low‑key utility race into a partisan showdown. A slate of climate‑ and clean‑energy activists, backed by environmental groups, liberal organizations and most Democrats, faced off against the utility’s traditional leadership, which was supported by many in Arizona’s business community, the right‑wing group Turning Point and most Republicans.

On election day, voters lined up for hours at SRP’s Tempe headquarters, with volunteers handing out water, pizza and fried chicken while loud music and Turning Point’s “FREEDOM” shirts filled the tents. Voters like Jerod King of Laveen expressed relief that the utility was not “going California,” underscoring the political fervor. The SRP elections are unique in Arizona: only property owners may vote, and their voting power is tied to the acreage they own. More than a hundred people were still in line when polls closed at 7 p.m., and the final ballot was cast just before 11 p.m., after which staff worked late into the night to tally the votes.

The SRP’s governance consists of two boards—a 10‑seat water board and a 14‑seat power board—both with even‑numbered districts up for election this cycle, along with the president, vice‑president and several at‑large seats. Because the boards are elected only every two years and do not coincide with other races, the results are closely watched. Official outcomes will be certified after a canvass by the SRP boards on April 13, and the final tally will determine whether the clean‑energy slate or the incumbent, business‑aligned leadership will steer one of Arizona’s largest water and power utilities.

#saltriverproject #srp #turningpoint #democrats #republicans

Climate activists make gains in SRP elections jolted by Turning Point

Two traditional SRP candidates hung onto the board's top spots, but the “Clean Energy” candidates won a majority on the utility's power board.

Yahoo News

The Bad Place Apr 7

qwant news | One acre, one vote: The bizarre election that could decide Arizona’s energy fate

The Salt River Project (SRP), Arizona’s largest public‑power utility serving more than two million customers, is still governed by an antiquated, acreage‑based voting system that gives each landowner a vote proportional to the size of their property. Homeowners with large parcels control multiple votes, while renters and many condo owners have little or no say, leaving thousands of ratepayers excluded from decisions about how electricity is generated. This “effectively feudal” structure has kept SRP’s board resistant to clean‑energy transition, even though the utility relied on fossil fuels for roughly two‑thirds of its 2024 generation and its current carbon‑reduction plan could actually increase fossil‑fuel use by 2035.

The upcoming SRP board election, scheduled for next Tuesday, is being framed as a referendum on the utility’s energy future. A coalition of clean‑energy advocates—backed by groups such as Lead Locally—has already secured six of the 14 board seats and hopes to win a majority, while a pro‑business slate supported by large landowners and the conservative organization Turning Point USA argues for expanding natural‑gas capacity and converting retiring coal units. The clean‑energy side seeks to accelerate solar, wind and battery‑storage projects, improve energy‑efficiency programs, and rely on existing gas plants only as a short‑term bridge, whereas their opponents warn that rejecting fossil fuel upgrades will cause price spikes and reliability problems as demand surges from data‑centers, electric‑vehicle adoption, and Phoenix’s continued sprawl.

If the clean‑energy coalition captures the remaining seats—including the presidency and vice‑presidency—it could steer SRP toward meeting its projected 4 percent‑per‑year peak‑demand growth through renewable resources, aiming for roughly 45 percent clean generation within a decade. The race is unusually high‑stakes: Turning Point has mobilized hundreds of volunteers and a $500,000 pro‑business finance effort, outspending the advocates roughly ten‑to‑one. Voter turnout has historically been low—often under 10 percent—so the outcome will hinge on mobilizing the small pool of land‑owners who retain voting power and on convincing the broader ratepayer base of the benefits of a clean‑energy transition for Arizona’s future grid reliability and affordability.

#saltriverproject #turningpointusa #phoenix #cleanenergy #fossilfuels

One acre, one vote: The bizarre election that could decide Arizona’s energy fate

One slate aims to steer the nation’s largest public utility toward clean energy. Their primary foe: Turning Point USA.

Mother Jones