← Election Series · Down-ballot coverage · Arizona
Our call — vote NO
The measure
Proposition 407 is on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot in Casa Grande, in Pinal County. Per the City of Casa Grande, it is the city's only item on the November 3 ballot — the mayor and council races were decided at the July 21 primary.
The city's official Proposition 407 page states the question: "Shall a Franchise Agreement with Arizona Public Service Company be approved for a period of 25 years for the purpose of constructing, operating, and maintaining its electric utility facilities within the City rights-of-way, in the form presented to the Mayor and Council of the City of Casa Grande?"
What a franchise is: a franchise is a contract in which a city grants a utility the right to use the city's public rights-of-way — its streets and easements — to construct, operate, and maintain its facilities, on stated terms. It is the legal instrument that lets APS's electric lines, poles, and equipment sit in and over public ground. Per the city, Casa Grande's current franchise agreement with APS was approved by voters in 2002 and expires in April 2027, and Arizona law and the Casa Grande City Charter require voter approval before a new franchise agreement can take effect.
At its April 20, 2026 regular meeting, the City Council adopted Resolution Number 5907, declaring that granting an electric utility franchise to APS would be beneficial to the City, approving the ballot question, and referring the proposed 25-year franchise agreement to the voters for the November 3, 2026 election.
What YES does
A YES vote approves the franchise agreement: APS holds the right to construct, operate, and maintain its electric utility facilities within the city's rights-of-way for a period of 25 years, in the form presented to the Mayor and Council.
What NO does
A NO vote rejects the proposed agreement. The new franchise does not take effect; the existing voter-approved franchise runs to its April 2027 expiration, and a further proposal would have to be presented to the voters for any successor term.
The math
- Term: 25 years, as stated in the ballot question — the same length as the term on the comparable APS franchise on Chandler's ballot this cycle, and a standard generation-length term for utility plant.
- What is not printed: the City of Casa Grande's official Proposition 407 page prints no franchise-fee percentage and no fiscal estimate for this agreement. That is a gap, stated here rather than filled: we will not borrow the 2% fee figure from Chandler's APS franchise or any other city's agreement, because each franchise is its own contract, and Casa Grande's page does not state its fee. Voters who want the fee term should ask the City Clerk's office for the text of the agreement referred by Resolution 5907 before voting.
- No tax and no rate is set by this question: the ballot approves a right-of-way franchise. It does not levy a tax and does not set electric rates.
OUR CALL
Our call: no call.
A utility franchise renewal is a procedural item with no values stake, and either outcome is consistent with our values. The current APS franchise, approved by Casa Grande voters in 2002, expires in April 2027; some successor instrument has to govern APS's use of the city's rights-of-way, and Arizona law and the city charter reserve the approval to the voters, where it belongs. A YES continues electric service under a fresh 25-year term negotiated by the elected council. A NO sends the council back to present terms Casa Grande's voters like better, ahead of the April 2027 expiration. Neither outcome raises a tax, sets a rate, or expands a government program. We note the one disclosure shortcoming plainly — the city's page does not print the agreement's fee term — and we leave the contract judgment to Casa Grande voters.
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Sources
- City of Casa Grande, official Proposition 407 page — the ballot question (25-year APS franchise for electric utility facilities within city rights-of-way), the 2002 voter-approved franchise expiring April 2027, the voter-approval requirement under Arizona law and the city charter, and Resolution Number 5907 (adopted April 20, 2026) — https://casagrandeaz.gov/722/Proposition-407-APS-Franchise-Agreement
- Research roster notes — Proposition 407 as Casa Grande's only November 3 measure, with mayor/council decided at the July 21 primary — ~/workspace/voter-guide-research/inventory/down-ballot/notes/az_core.md
- Gap stated, not filled: the city's official page prints no franchise-fee percentage and no fiscal estimate for the proposed agreement
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.