Maricopa County voters narrowly approved Proposition 409 on Tuesday, authorizing Valleywise Health to issue $898 million in bonds for facility expansion. The final tally revealed just how divided the county remains: 51.4% voted yes, 48.6% voted no; a margin of just over 19,000 votes out of 672,290 ballots cast.
Think about that. There was virtually no organized opposition. Yes on 409 signs blanketed the County. Prominent leaders endorsed the bond and corresponding tax increase. Yet this measure passed by less than 3%.
For a measure that received minimal scrutiny until the final weeks, that razor-thin margin is remarkable.
Honestly, we barely had time to sound the alarm because we were not made aware of the troubling details until it was almost too late.
Here Is What Happened:
The information we uncovered about Valleywise Healthcare’s practices connected to Prop 409 was not exactly shouted from the rooftops by the bond’s proponents. We sent our analysis the moment we could confirm the details and complete our research, but by then, early voting had already begun.
We believe this was by design. Prop 409 appears to have been deliberately structured to keep the expansion of Valleywise’s controversial transgender programs out of the spotlight, making it difficult for voters to access critical information before casting their ballots.
Yet once the truth got out, Valleywise’s perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign, its stated goal to expand programs offering cross-sex hormones, its embrace of experimental practices condemned across Europe, voters responded. Thousands changed their votes. Thousands more shared our concerns with neighbors and friends.
The measure was not defeated. But it came shockingly close, given the uphill climb and the late start.
Demanding Accountability
Just because Prop 409 passed does not mean taxpayers should hand over a blank check for practices that harm vulnerable people suffering from gender confusion.
We are launching a petition demanding Valleywise make a public commitment: No taxpayer funds, directly or indirectly, will benefit or expand its harmful transgender programs or practices. No contracts for medical staff who provide these services. No use of bond-funded facilities to grow these experimental interventions.
As we have noted previously, the Cass Review in 2024 found no reliable evidence for mental health benefits from affirming gender confusion in children and teens, and there are no clinical studies on gender dysphoria that contradict that finding. Instead, these experimental interventions can leave recipients sterile and create lifelong medical dependencies. So, it is important that Valleywise holds to this commitment.
This petition is our line in the sand. We support quality healthcare for underserved communities. Valleywise does vital work in emergency and trauma care. But we will not silently watch our tax dollars fund ideology-driven experiments on people who desperately need genuine help, not cross-hormone therapy.
Taxpayers deserve transparency. They deserve accountability. They deserve a public pledge that their money will not enable these harmful practices.
Your Voice Still Matters
Sign the petition at https://www.azpolicy.org/valleywise-health-pledge/. Share it with everyone you know. Let Valleywise understand that accountability does not end on election night.
We came within 19,000 votes of stopping this measure entirely: despite learning about the problems far too late and facing a wall of high-profile endorsements. Imagine what we can accomplish when we keep fighting for transparency and truth.
This is not over.
ICYMI