Frequently Searched

Academic Transparency

Civil Forfeiture

Critical Race Theory

Right to Try

School Choice

Carrie Ann Donnell

0-Related Reforms
City of Mesa throws Cubs a softball, will taxpayers cry foul?

Mesa pitched a softball to the Chicago Cubs baseball team, and the Cubs hit it out of the park – but taxpayers should cry foul. Under a new contract, the city will shell out $84 million to build a sparkling new stadium for Cubs spring training. The city promised an additional $15 million for parking, power lines, and other infrastructure, on top of costs for maintenance and capital improvements for 30 years.

0-Related Reforms
Glendale Busts Its Budget and Plans to Raise Taxes

How do you close a $35 million budget gap? Perhaps the better question is why that hole was dug in the first place. One answer for the City of Glendale is hockey. In fiscal year 2012, the city added $20 million (up from only $1.2 million the year before) to its operating budget for the Jobing.com Arena, where the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team plays. The NHL has been demanding financial support from the city since 2009, when the team filed for bankruptcy.

0-Related Reforms
Keeping Emergency Measures Limited to Emergency Situations

Busted sewer lines, leaky roofs, and debris in the road are all emergencies. Apartment complexes have hotlines for emergency maintenance, which residents can call even on a Sunday afternoon or in the middle of the night. Cities have a process for emergencies too. Councilmembers can convene on short notice and approve urgent action, and the normal city rules for getting competitive bids and providing public notice of a hearing are waived. For public emergencies, whatever action a government takes is effective immediately because there is no time to wait 30 days for citizens to take out a referendum on what the council approves.

Property Rights
Carrie Ann Sitren on the Luke AFB Moratorium

The Goldwater Institute filed a $20 million dollar claim against Maricopa County on behalf of more than 175 property owners. Under Prop 207, government is required to compensate property owners when it enacts laws that reduce existing property values. Maricopa County placed a building moratorium on building permits in the "Clear Zone" near Luke Air Force Base, which lowered residents' property values. Attorney Carrie Ann Sitren appeared on Channel 3 to explain.

Property Rights
Carrie Ann Sitren on the Luke AFB Moratorium

The Goldwater Institute filed a $20 million dollar claim against Maricopa County on behalf of more than 175 property owners. Under Prop 207, government is required to compensate property owners when it enacts laws that reduce existing property values. Maricopa County placed a building moratorium on building permits in the "Clear Zone" near Luke Air Force Base, which lowered residents' property values. Attorney Carrie Ann Sitren appeared on Channel 3 to explain.

Property Rights
Maricopa County violating private property rights

Arizona's Private Property Rights Protection Act (Proposition 207) remains one of the strongest pro-property rights laws in the nation. It requires government to compensate owners for land use regulations that reduce property values. A group of Maricopa County landowners near Luke Air Force Base are a perfect example of the importance of these protections.

Property Rights
Carrie Ann Sitren Reflects on Preston v. Hallman

Goldwater Institute attorney Carrie Ann Sitren spent an hour on KFNX's "Main Street Out Loud" show with Rudi K. where she discussed Preston v. Hallman (the Tempe tattoo case), just hours after a judge heard oral arguments.

Regulatory Reform/Taxes
Carrie Ann Sitren Reflects on Preston v. Hallman

Goldwater Institute attorney Carrie Ann Sitren spent an hour on KFNX's "Main Street Out Loud" show with Rudi K. where she discussed Preston v. Hallman (the Tempe tattoo case), just hours after a judge heard oral arguments.

Regulatory Reform/Taxes
Avoiding a multi-million tax dollar ’emergency’ in Glendale

Months after cries of “emergency,” the City of Glendale will be given another season to try to keep the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team playing in the desert.

Regulatory Reform/Taxes
A new bully on the playground

There’s a new feature at summer camp this year. But it’s not a new swimming hole or playground. It’s Big Brother looking over the shoulders of daycare centers.

View More

Donate Now

Help all Americans live freer, happier lives. Join the Goldwater Institute as we defend and strengthen freedom in all 50 states.

Donate Now

Since 1988, the Goldwater Institute has been in the liberty business — defending and promoting freedom, and achieving more than 400 victories in all 50 states. Donate today to help support our mission.

We Protect Your Rights

Our attorneys defend individual rights and protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Need Help? Submit a case.
Join our pro-bono attorney network.

Get Connected to Goldwater

Sign up for the latest news, event updates, and more.

Wait! Don’t close this yet!

We are grateful for your support of the Goldwater Institute’s efforts to advance and defend liberty throughout the United States. For over 36 years, we’ve been defending the rights of Americans to live their lives free from government interference.

And Goldwater is unique in that we direct our efforts to the 50 states where we introduce and advance innovative ideas that expand freedom. And we fight in courtrooms and capitals nationwide to defend individual liberty.

In 2024 alone, we scored over 50 policy and litigation victories defending liberty!

And that’s just the beginning.

Our plans for 2025 include:

  • Stopping pernicious DEI and other woke programs in America’s universities.
  • Ensuring that patients suffering from rare and terminal diseases have access to cutting-edge, lifesaving medical treatments, without having to first seek permission from the government.
  • Defending parental rights across the United States so that parents can send their kids to the school that best fits their needs, free from leftist indoctrination.
  • Eliminating government interference in the fundamental right of individuals to own property and use it as they see fit.
  • And much, much more

We seek to restore the presumption of liberty; that people are free to act without first asking permission from the government.

But we cannot do this without you. Will you join us as we fight to preserve and advance liberty throughout the country? As we seek new and innovative ways to defend freedom in all 50 states?

And there’s great news: Thanks to a generous Goldwater supporter, your donation today will be doubled!

So please, join us in fighting to advance liberty and score real wins for freedom from coast to coast!

Donate Now