Two referendums that would have given Marana voters the final say on a sprawling 600-acre data center campus won’t make it to the November ballot.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Scott McDonald sided with the town of Marana, finding that the legal descriptions of the land attached to petitions — signed by more than 2,800 people — weren’t specific enough.
While the petition signature sheets collected by Arizonans for Responsible Development (ARD) contained a two-paragraph description of the ordinance that rezoned the properties, they failed to meet the legal standard requiring a full description of the land approved by the Marana Town Council.
We’ll show the difference below, but McDonald put it plainly in his decision: The law — and precedents set in other court cases — require a full legal description, and nothing less will do.
Want to know what the data centers might look like? Us, too! Instead, developers Fremont Peak Properties used images like these in its presentation to the Marana Town Council earlier this year.
“(The committee behind the referendum, Marana Citizens for Ethical and Transparent Government) argues the ordinances were the full and correct copies of the ordinances. The Court disagrees,” McDonald wrote in his decision released late on Friday night.
How we got here
The court fight was more complicated than most election challenges, with five plaintiffs and three defendants after Pima County Superior Court combined two separate legal challenges into a single hearing held last week.
It helps to know the players:
Marana Citizens for Ethical and Transparent Government, Jackie McGuire, Matthew Rohen-Trapp, Susan Ritz, and Fremont Peak Properties LLC filed legal challenges against the town, its clerk Jill McCleary, and Arizonans for Responsible Development, the political action committee formed to gather signatures.
Residents McGuire, Rohen-Trapp, and Ritz formed MCETG to challenge the town’s rejection of the referendums, arguing they represented voters who signed the petitions, while Fremont Peak Properties sued the town to force it to honor ARD’s request to withdraw the referendums from the ballot.
For the record, Fremont Peak Properties has contracts with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Kai Family Trust to buy the two 300-acre parcels.
Freemont Peak Properties plans on building data centers on these two plots of land near Pinal Air Park.
While an attorney for Arizonans for Responsible Development said the PAC “no longer supports placing these measures on the ballot,” the group did not participate in last week’s hearing before McDonald.
That absence makes a bit more sense in light of the ruling — ARD may have realized after filing that the petitions were, legally speaking, defective, and backed off its case.
Marana residents who supported the referendum are skeptical of ARD’s public explanation and think the union-backed group backed out after pressure from larger unions seeking a share of future construction contracts.
One estimate suggests the planned data centers in Marana will require a $5 billion investment, but it is unclear how much Fremont Peak Properties would directly invest.
An attorney representing Fremont Peak Properties told McDonald in court last week that the referendums could potentially cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars, but did not elaborate.
What’s the difference?
The gold standard for legal sufficiency in cases like this is known as “metes and bounds,” a detailed, point-by-point narrative that traces a property’s boundaries.
This is what the language should have looked like.
Referendum organizers used the town ordinances tied to the rezoning — provided by the town clerk — to describe the properties on the twin petitions.
This is what organizers put on the petitions.
Referendum dead, two running for Town Council
Friday’s decision will effectively kill the referendums, as the town had already stopped checking signatures ahead of the deadline to place them on the ballot — though an appeal is still possible.
McGuire told us she was disappointed with the ruling.
“The court's ruling is disappointing, but we're committed to continuing to fight for the people of Marana and for their right to have control over the future of their town,” she told us. “We're working with counsel to determine next steps and will continue to communicate updates as we're able to.”
The silver lining is the court did agree with MCETG that petitions cannot be withdrawn after filing, which could have set a dangerous precedent for future refendums.
However, the crew behind Marana Citizens for Ethical and Transparent Government isn’t giving up on local politics. Both McGuire and Ritz are running for seats on the town council.
We partnered with the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission to moderate this year’s legislative debates — and kicked off the political season with a debate between the two candidates seeking the Republican nomination for the Legislative District 17 Senate seat.
The district’s current senator, Republican Vince Leach, is retiring this year, leaving an open seat that both parties are eyeing as critical to controlling the state Senate.
Voters will choose between Republican candidates Anthony Dunham and Chris King in July, with the winner facing off against Democrat Edgar Soto.
Chris King (left) and Anthony Dunham (right)
The difference between Dunham and King was perhaps most pronounced when the duo discussed the accuracy of the 2020 election in Arizona, which Trump has falsely claimed he won.
Asked if they believed their ballots were counted accurately, Dunham, a retired federal detention officer and Iraq War veteran, said no.
“I mean, I believe it’s indisputable — 80% of Americans, no matter what their political affiliation, do not believe we have safe and secure elections,” he said. 1
King, who has served on the Vail Unified School District board since 2020 and has been active in local GOP politics for years, has faith in the elections in Pima County.
“I know what goes on, and I know once the ballots get in there, they’re tabulated accurately. We’ve actually done the hand counts,” King said, noting he has worked in the tabulation room of Pima County Elections for several years.
Although Republicans have a formidable edge in registered voters over Democrats in the district, LD17 voters have chosen candidates all along the political spectrum — from moderate Democrats and Republicans to far-right supporters of Trump — over the last few years.
The politically competitive district wraps around Tucson’s north and east sides, from Rincon Valley and Tanque Verde north through Oro Valley and Marana to SaddleBrooke in southern Pinal County.
You can watch the entire debate here on YouTube.
Well, that’s a surprise: Save the Scenic Santa Ritas says Hudbay Inc. didn’t filed the proper paperwork for four wells the company drilled more than a year ago, the Tucson Sentinel’s Paul Ingram reports. The company is planning to build the Copper World mine, which Save the Scenic Santa Ritas opposes. Drilling those wells could violate not only state law, but also a right-of-way agreement for a water pipeline that the company signed with the Town of Sahuarita.
This is why reviews are needed: The Trump administration bulldozed a big chunk of a 1,000-year-old cultural site known as Las Playas Intaglio near Ajo as the agency built more border wall, the Washington Post reports. CBP officials said the damage to the 200-foot etching of a fish in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge was accidental and the rest of the etching was secured before any further damage could be done. It’s worth noting that the Trump administration issued waivers for border wall projects to avoid doing environmental and cultural reviews, which would slow down construction.
Ambitious plans: Over at the downtown port of entry in Nogales, officials are getting ready to do an environmental review for a port revamp that could cost as much as $2 billion, Alessandra De Zubeldia reports for the Nogales International. The port is at the lowest point of the city, which means monsoon rains often flood the area, forcing customs officers to stand in ankle-deep, filthy water. When all is said and done, the project could raise the port and completely re-format the city’s downtown area.
Intense backlash: After a video spread on social media of a pet groomer in Marana abusing a dog, Marana police investigated the accusation and now they’re passing it along to the town prosecutor, KOLD’s Ashley Bowerman reports. The video shows a pet groomer at Prancin’ Paws Pet Spaw struggling to get a dog onto a grooming table. The dog appears to bite the groomer, who then hits and kicks it before whipping it with a leash.
May day, mayday!: Hundreds turned out for the May Day rally at El Presidio Plaza on Friday, the Tucson Sentinel’s Mia Kortright reports. Traditionally a workers’ rights day, this year’s events included a lot of folks with grievances against President Donald Trump. Among the protesters were Tucson Magnet High School seniors Emelina Diaz, Paul Mendoza and Nathan Villalovos, who said they were concerned about a possible return of the draft for the war in Iran.
“I don’t want my loved ones to die because of a war that they’re against,” Diaz told the Sentinel.
Here are the top events this week for those who want a front-row seat to local politics.
The Democrats of Greater Tucson meet virtually today at noon. The guest speaker is Tucson City Councilman Paul Cunningham. Register here.
The Oro Valley Town Council will have a study session today at 5 p.m. Here’s the agenda and livestream.
The Pima County Republican Club meets on Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. at The Kettle just west of I-10 on 22nd St.
The Tucson City Council will meet for its study session at 1 p.m. on Tuesday and start its regular session at 5:30 p.m.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors will meet on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at 130 W. Congress St. for a special meeting to discuss opposing Tucson Electric Power’s rate increase. Here’s the agenda / livestream.
The South Tucson City Council will meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday inside South Tucson City Hall, located at 1601 South 6th Avenue in South Tucson. The agenda can be found here.
The Oro Valley Town Council will meet on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The agenda and the livestream can be found here.
Did we miss an event? Email Joe to get it on our radar.
We’ve done enough debates to know candidates will say just about anything once the mic is live.
We’re ready for the occasional truth bomb — or angry rant — from candidates.
What we weren’t ready for was Republican Chris King literally logging off in the middle of last Thursday’s Clean Elections debate to reset his modem.
It only took a few minutes, but it was long enough for moderator Joe to get an unexpected crash course in professional-grade stalling.
And while we’re handing out surprises: We’ve got some tough news for Kari Lake.
Neither of the Southern Arizona Republican candidates on stage were feeling nostalgic about her run for governor.
Asked who they think would have made a better governor — Lake or Karrin Taylor Robson — even Dunham, the MAGA Republican, went with Robson.
1 There’s not a single reputable poll that backs up the belief that 80% of Americans do not believe we have safe and secure elections.