Arizona Dems and Activists Affirm ‘Affordability’ Could Be the Party’s Silver Bullet

Community Sentinel | December 1, 2025  | original article

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PHOENIX — There have been a million answers to the question of how Donald Trump earned such a resounding victory in 2024 despite his many unfavorables. According to Pew Research Center, about 81 percent of voters named economic concerns among their top issues. In other words, the election was decided because of the simple fact that people couldn’t keep up with rising prices. Whether President Trump has done anything to answer that mandate is another question entirely.

With no clear leader, there remains the question of how the Democratic Party will choose to define itself going into the midterms. Economic populism has earned key victories thanks to emerging figures like Zohran Mamdani, but Socialism remains a dirty word for many Americans (although Capitalism doesn’t fare much better, according to a Gallup Poll). At an event meant to prepare Phoenix residents to tackle these unsure times, State Senator Analise Ortiz (D – District 24) joined the chorus of Democrats offering “affordability” as the answer to the party’s dire identity crisis.

Affordability Agenda: Legislative Reveal and Training was facilitated by local organizers at Opportunity Arizona. Sen. Ortiz joined the Nov. 15 event as a special guest, and as a proponent for the titular “Affordability Agenda.” Hosted in Testal Mexican Kitchen, the event was pretty much a full house. Leaders of the event showed a more fiery passion than “we go high” Democrats might be used to, including plenty of playful jabs directed at the Republican party. Everyone, Ortiz included, was more than willing to name the people behind the problems they intended for the Affordability Agenda to solve.

Opportunity Arizona offers training to tackle local issues

The training seminar was introduced and led by Blake Lister, the Political and Advocacy Manager for Opportunity Arizona. Lister explained that he and Ben Scheel, Opportunity Arizona’s Executive Director, would conduct a few role-play exercises to prepare attendees for the experience of testifying in committee at the Arizona Legislature. Warning his audience about the frustration inherent in this process, Lister joked, “You won’t have talking points, but trust me, you’re going to hate it.”

Lister and Scheel then dove right into a trial run of the exercise, embodying to the audience what they would have to practice. Scheel played the role of a lawmaker in the majority Republican Party, while Ortiz joined in her capacity as a Democratic lawmaker. Lister, meanwhile, acted as a constituent. The bill being discussed was HB2450, a bill that would both tighten the eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits, and significantly reduce the benefits a person could receive in the first place. As Lister predicted, everyone hated it.

Naturally, organizers spent no small amount of time or effort instructing volunteers on how to channel this anger without being discounted by key decision makers. By putting an emphasis on decorum, the exercise was more focused on making sure volunteers would be able to secure their time to speak. There was little discussion of how one might go about actually changing minds.

In fact, the leadership of Opportunity Arizona was rather forthcoming about their dire chances. After one volunteer made a convincing argument against SB1085, Scheel responded frankly, “I like the bill, so we’re still going to pass it.” Scheel explained that many of these decisions are made before a single vote is cast, and are informed more by partisan lines than by public opinion. Lister swooped in with a small dose of optimism, saying “Our presence there is still important.” Training was followed by a dedicated question-and-answer segment for participants to freely voice their thoughts. This would quickly prove to be the most lively time of the night.

Politicians and activists take different approaches to address the community

The first half of Q&A was filled with controversy around Arizona’s Request to Speak (RTS) program. RTS is intended to allow constituents a direct line to committee members, but instead serves as a roadblock for a few reasons. First and foremost, anyone intending to submit an RTS must activate an account in-person at the Capitol building. One attendee asked Senator Ortiz if it was worth her time to even look at RTS. Ortiz affirmed that she personally reviews any RTS that is submitted to her, but that her Republican colleagues “hardly look at the damn bills.”

Community activist Ruthee Goldkorn raised her hand to chime in, and called RTS a “methodology of discrimination.” Goldkorn believes that RTS serves as a deliberate roadblock for people of color, low-income individuals, and especially for anyone with a disability. All of these demographics are less likely to have reliable transportation to make it to the Capitol, and likewise, they are less likely to have a personal computer to submit RTS from afterwards. Goldkorn concluded her passionate rant by calling RTS a “barrier to the 1st Amendment.”

Next to speak was a woman named Carmen, an Arizona resident of 6 years. Carmen was exhausted by the circumstances created by people in power, and doubly so over the troubles she’s gone through to change them. According to Carmen, “Your chances of getting heard are slim to none” if you live in one of Arizona’s low-income communities. Carmen went so far as to call out the lack of diversity in the very room the event was being held in. It was an apt observation. Carmen was one of a handful of African American people in the room. There were few Latinos in attendance other than the reporter and the man who worked behind the bar. The reporter also noted that he may have been one of the only queer people in attendance as well.

pportunity Arizona was seemingly unprepared to handle a challenge of this nature, and handed the microphone to Ortiz, who explained, “These are huge systems that we’re trying to break down.” Ortiz claimed that her Republican opposition has “gutted unions” and “allowed people to starve.” The latter accusation refers to existential threats pointed at SNAP benefits and their recipients during the recently-concluded government shutdown. According to AXIOS Phoenix, 900,000 Arizonans rely on food assistance programs, which composes an estimated 11.8 percent of the state’s population.

When later asked to comment on their hesitation to respond at the time, Ben Scheel enthusiastically accepted the challenge. Scheel affirmed that the communities he had been questioned about are a high priority for Opportunity Arizona. He also admitted that reaching such communities can be a challenge because of “competing priorities” such as residents’ work and home life. Scheel shared that his organization has had success in engaging underserved communities despite these challenges, and described Opportunity Arizona’s mission as “working with elected officials to put forward an agenda that materially improves people’s lives, and ultimately engaging the community to advocate for itself.” Teach a man to fish, if you will.

Leadership of Opportunity Arizona then celebrated their various victories, claiming that they “have killed legislation that would harm Arizonans.” They also took credit for various benefits achieved during the Biden administration, some of which are currently in jeopardy of bills like HB2540. This marked the end of the question and answer period, and by extension, the end of the event.