Sign Derrick's Ballot Petition HERE

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Americans Contribute Your $200 HERE

CEOs and lobbyists for Big Pharma, corporate insurers, and private hospitals have formed a front group called Partnership for America’s Healthcare Future that wants to exploit our healthcare system to make money off of keeping us sick.I pledge to put patients over profits and not take contributions over $200 from the executives, lobbyists, and PACs affiliated with the corporate health care industry, including private insurers, pharma corporations, and private hospitals who are organizing to take over our health care system.*
Derrick EspadasCandidate for the Arizona Corporation Commission

Sign Derrick's Ballot Petition HERE

Arizonans Contribute Your $5.46 HERE

Americans Contribute Your $200 HERE

CEOs and lobbyists for Big Pharma, corporate insurers, and private hospitals have formed a front group called Partnership for America’s Healthcare Future that wants to exploit our healthcare system to make money off of keeping us sick.I pledge to put patients over profits and not take contributions over $200 from the executives, lobbyists, and PACs affiliated with the corporate health care industry, including private insurers, pharma corporations, and private hospitals who are organizing to take over our health care system.*
Derrick EspadasCandidate for the Arizona Corporation Commission

Meet Derrick Espadas | Arizona Corporation Commission Candidate

About Derrick

Illustration

Derrick Espadas is a numbers guy with a people-first heart, running for office to make Arizona’s future more affordable, accountable, and fair for everyone. His journey—from overcoming early adversity to earning an MBA and leading mission-driven businesses—shapes a candidacy rooted in hard work, integrity, and real-world experience.
Who Derrick Is
Born in East Los Angeles and raised in a working-class to entrepreneur family, Derrick grew up seeing how hard it can be to get ahead when the system isn’t built for you. Living with Charcot Marie Tooth, a neurological condition, he learned early what it means to navigate barriers and still show up, work hard, and push forward.
Education And Expertise
Derrick earned his accounting and management degree with honors from the University of Arizona, then completed an MBA at Syracuse University to deepen his expertise in finance and strategy. He is currently completing a Doctor of Business Administration, focusing on how data and smart policy can help communities and small businesses thrive.
Career Of Service
Professionally, Derrick has led accounting, bookkeeping, and operations teams that help local businesses stay open, grow, and create jobs. He has also served as a teacher, tutor, and science educator, helping youth—especially those involved in the justice system—find confidence, pass their exams, and see new possibilities for their future.
Community Leadership
Beyond his career, Derrick has stepped up as a precinct committee person and as an appointee to Tucson’s Commission on Disability Issues, advocating for accessibility, inclusion, and civic participation. His work in these roles reflects a simple belief: government should listen to the people it serves and remove barriers, not create them.
Why He’s Running
Derrick is running because Arizona families deserve leaders who understand budgets, respect working people, and will fight for transparent, accountable decision-making. With lived experience, financial expertise, and a lifelong commitment to service, he is ready to bring practical solutions, compassionate leadership, and a clear moral compass to public office.

Protect & Advance AZ

Arizona has been a desert for 4,000 years. Which means we have little water and a lot of sun. If you want to put Arizona first- protect our water and use our resources to provide energy exports rather than importing our energy needs to support Texas billionaires.

Equality

We need equality in Arizona. As an approved monopoly, Arizona utilities do not allow citizens and small businesses to participate in a free economy. Arizonans deserve to have a right to consumer choice.

Economic ProsperityFor Families & Small Businesses

The ability of utility corporations to get free reign to raise rates, simply because they do not make revenue targets, places the burden upon families and small businesses to suffer the consequences. Arizonans deserve to flourish!

Supporting Tomorrow's Leaders

Strong public oversight and fair policy don’t happen by accident—they require leaders who are prepared before they ever take office. We support emerging leaders by providing early, hands-on experience, mentorship, and a clear understanding of how decisions impact real people. By investing in the next generation now, we’re building a pipeline of leaders ready to enter the next election cycle informed, accountable, and committed to serving the public.

Fair Energy Rates In Arizona

Arizona families and small businesses deserve reliable power without runaway bills. I’m running for the Arizona Corporation Commission to challenge monopoly abuse, demand transparency, and put people—not utilities—first.

Sign the Ballot Petition
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Energy for everyday ArizonansWhen utility costs rise faster than paychecks, it hits seniors on fixed incomes, working families, renters, and small businesses first. Arizona needs commissioners who ask tough questions, follow the evidence, and defend the public interest.

Stop unjustified rate hikes No blank-check increases. Every dollar must be proven necessary, reasonable, and tied to real benefits.
Utilities shouldn’t profit from complexity, secrecy, or political influence. Oversight must be independent and aggressive.
Plan for peak heat, wildfire risk, and growth—without wasting money on expensive projects that don’t deliver.
Make clean energy affordable and practical More efficiency, smarter planning, and fair rules so Arizona can modernize without punishing regular people.

Lower bills. Honest oversight. A grid built for Arizona’s future.

My plan for fair rates and real accountability

Demand full transparency in rate cases
Plain-language billing impacts, independent modeling, and clear explanations of who pays and who benefits.

Hold utilities to measurable performance
Reliability, outage response, customer service, and cost control should matter—and be tracked publicly.

Prioritize “least-cost” solutions
Energy efficiency, demand response, and targeted upgrades can reduce costs and improve reliability—often faster than mega-projects.

Strengthen consumer protections
Better shutoff protections during extreme heat, fair deposit policies, and stronger low-income support programs.

Crack down on wasteful spending
Scrutinize executive compensation, lobbying, and “gold-plated” investments that raise bills without improving outcomes.

Modernize planning for Arizona’s reality
Heat, drought, growth, and economic development require honest forecasts and planning that doesn’t leave communities footing the bill.

People-powered oversight
I’ll bring sunlight to decisions that affect every household. That means showing my work, listening across Arizona, and fighting for outcomes you can feel—like lower bills.
● Open, accessible public meetings
● Clear explanations of votes and filings
● Community input before decisions are locked in
● Accountability when utilities miss commitments

Protecting Arizona’s Water & Infrastructure

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Arizona’s water is not for corporate giveaways.
Derrick Espadas stands for responsible infrastructure planning and long-term water security.

Arizona’s Water Is Not a Corporate Giveaway

Arizona is one of the fastest-growing states in the country—and one of the driest.
That means every decision about water and infrastructure must be careful, transparent, and grounded in reality.
Too often, massive projects are approved first and questions come later—leaving families, small businesses, and local governments to absorb the risk if the promises don’t pan out.
Arizona deserves better planning and stronger oversight.

What Responsible Water Planning Looks Like

Plan for What We Actually Have
Protect Local Communities First
Build Infrastructure That Serves People
Demand Accountability & Transparency

  • Growth must be tied to real, verifiable water availability—not speculative projections or accounting tricks.

  • Water decisions should prioritize existing residents, farmers, and small businesses—not out-of-state corporations chasing short-term profit.

  • Infrastructure investments should solve real problems: flood control, heat resilience, system reliability, and long-term sustainability.

  • If a project needs water, power, or infrastructure, the full costs and risks must be disclosed—before approval, not after.

Stopping Risky, Speculative Projects
Large-scale developments—especially water- and energy-intensive projects—are increasingly proposed as “inevitable.”

But inevitability is not a plan.

Some projects are speculative bets made by entities that can afford to lose hundreds of millions of dollars. Arizona families cannot.

• Proven demand• Long-term community benefit• Real environmental limits• Clear financial responsibility
If a project fails, Arizona should not be left holding the bill.

Holding Utilities Accountable

Utilities exist to serve the public—not to extract unlimited profits from families and small businesses.
As Arizona grows, so does the responsibility to ensure power and water companies operate transparently, ethically, and in the public interest.

What Accountability Means

Proof Before Profits

Utilities must justify rate increases with real data, not assumptions or fear-based forecasts..

Transparent Decision Making

Contracts, infrastructure plans, and financial models should be understandable and open to public review.

Independent Oversight

Regulators must work for the public—not be captured by the industries they oversee.

Real Consequences for Misconduct

Bad behavior should not be rewarded with guaranteed returns or higher rates.

Why It Matters

When utilities aren’t held accountable, everyday Arizonans pay the price—through higher bills, overbuilt infrastructure, and decisions made without community input. Accountability protects seniors on fixed incomes, working families, and small businesses trying to plan for the future.

Derrick’s Commitment

Ask hard questions—even when they’re unpopular

Demand evidence, not talking points

Center decisions on people, not shareholders

Defend the public’s right to transparency and fairness

Arizona deserves utilities that are reliable, responsible, and accountable—because these systems belong to all of us.

Community Impact & Data Centers

Arizona is being asked to shoulder enormous corporate projects with very little return.
Across the state, large-scale developments—especially speculative data centers—are being approved with promises of “jobs,” “growth,” and “economic opportunity.” Too often, those promises don’t match reality.
These projects can consume vast amounts of water, electric power, and public infrastructure, while providing:
Few permanent local jobs
Minimal tax benefits
Little accountability once construction is complete
When communities raise concerns, they’re frequently told the project is “too important,” “already approved,” or “out of their hands.”
That’s not acceptable.

What Will Derrick Espadas Do?

As a regulator, Derrick Espadas will put communities—not corporations—first by:

A Simple Principle

If a project wouldn’t be approved with your name on the utility bill—or your community footing the risk—it doesn’t deserve a free pass.

Arizona’s future should be shaped by people who live here, not by corporations that can afford to walk away.

Power This Campaign With People

This campaign runs on neighbors—not corporate money.

Volunteers are how we protect fairness, transparency, and accountability in Arizona’s energy, water, and infrastructure decisions.

If you believe these choices should be made in the open and for the public good, we need you.

Sign up to volunteer. Show up for Arizona.

Events


  • 06

    Tuesday| January

    Pinal County Coffee with the ChairVirtual

  • 06

    Tuesday| January

    Stop the Data Center-Marana City CouncilMarana, AZ

  • 07

    Wednesday| January

    ADP Senior Council Monthly MeetingVirtual

  • 08

    Thursday| January

    LD18 Social Media Training - FACEBOOK 101Virtual

  • 08

    Thursday| January

    I Help with Tempe RisingTempe, AZ

  • 09

    Friday| January

    United Food Bank-Volunteer EventMesa, AZ

  • 31

    Saturday| January

    Movement Builders BootcampPhoenix, AZ

  • 09

    Monday| February

    Human First CanvassingAhwatukee, AZ

Message Derrick Espadas

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Your Voice Matters

If you have any ideas, proposals or complaints, write Derrick! Your insight may be the voice Arizona's future needs!

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FAQ

  • It regulates investor-owned utilities—setting rates and approving major plans that affect your monthly bill and long-term infrastructure.

  • .Rate increases can come from fuel costs, infrastructure spending, planning assumptions, and utility profit structures. The key is whether increases are necessary, justified, and fairly distributed.

  • Yes. A commissioner can force transparency, ask hard questions on the record, push amendments, rally public attention, and build coalitions. Even when votes are tight, accountability changes outcomes.

  • Affordable, reliable energy with honest oversight—so families and small businesses aren’t treated like automatic revenue.

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