Chicanos por la Causa's Hiring of Arizona Lawmakers Draws Scrutiny
Chicanos por la Causa's pitch to legislators for COVID-19 relief funds uncovered that the charity had four members of the Arizona House of Representatives on its payroll on a contract basis, Robert Meza, D-Phoenix, Alma Hernandez, D-Tucson, César Chávez, D-Phoenix, and Lorenzo Sierra, D-Avondale.
"I do feel like they — everyone — could be more transparent, including the charity here, in their relationship with these legislators," said Joan Harrington, director of social sector ethics at Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. "We don't have their job descriptions. ... It seems to me their job description is 'please use your weight — power of office — to help.'"
Joan Harrington, director of social sector ethics, quoted by The Arizona Republic.