The Arizona Chamber’s second annual Summer Road Show rolled into Yuma last Friday for the first stop on this year’s trip around the state.
I want to thank my friend John Courtis at the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce for putting together a great roundtable. A for Arizona Executive Director Lisa Graham Keegan and I had the chance to visit with the group of business and community leaders and brief them on the top issues facing the state.
At each stop this year, in addition to shining a spotlight on all the good things that are happening in Arizona, I’ll be discussing the Citizens Clean Elections Commission’s dramatic regulatory overreach that stands to chill constitutionally protected free speech. (Check out my earlier blog post on this topic.) Local business communities need to know that their ability to engage in the political process will face major regulatory barriers if the CCEC gets its way. Employers across the state must be ready to defend their first amendment rights.
We also had a chance to highlight the good work of Yuma County schools that are delivering outstanding educations to kids in high poverty areas. Committed school leaders are setting the standard for how to ensure that all of our kids gain access to a world-class education. The Yuma Sun’s Darin Fenger profiled the work of our A for Arizona project.
There are more stops around the state. Next up: Tucson and Nogales, where, in addition to education, we’ll be talking trade.