Diane Brown: Promoting Pragmatism Over Partisanship With PIRG

Four Decades of Consumer Advocacy in Arizona

Diane Brown has spent the past four decades advocating for consumers with the Public Interest Research Group. Twenty of those years have been spent in the Grand Canyon state, where she serves as the executive director of the Arizona Public Interest Research Group.

Brown sat down with the Arizona Capitol Times to chat about her pragmatic approach to policymaking and focus on energy issues.

From Community Activism to State Leadership

Can you tell me about your career journey and how you got to Arizona PIRG?

In large part, I would say my upbringing had an influence on the path that led me to PIRG. My mom had been extremely active in my school, our church, our community, and she paid a lot of attention to state and national issues. My dad and a couple of his colleagues built and expanded an accounting firm. I think both the experiences and the responsibilities they had helped me to see the importance of doing something that you enjoy every day and being part of a community.

I was involved in a lot of activities throughout school and during graduate school. PIRG was doing a massive voter registration drive, particularly geared at college students and first-time voters. And I really appreciated the focus on giving people facts and information and not hounding them on a particular position or for a particular candidate.

A Philosophy of No Permanent Enemies

How long have you been at PIRG?

Over 40 years. I started working on college campuses, helping train students to take an idea and move it along the policy process, overseeing internships and in the summertime, running door-to-door canvasses to help engage citizens on issues in the public interest.

I had the opportunity to return to Chicago, where I am from, after several years on the East Coast. I directed our Illinois offices for about 15 years, where I got into policy at a much greater scale, and also had the privilege of overseeing a lot of our offices in the Midwest, from Indiana to Missouri and points in between. And then came to Arizona a little over 20 years ago to start up Arizona PIRG, which I really enjoyed.

What does Arizona PIRG do?

Arizona PIRG is a statewide organization that conducts research, education and advocacy on issues in the public interest, with a focus on protecting consumers. To us, public interest is the greatest good for the greatest number of people over the longest period of time, and we think of ourselves as pretty unique in Arizona in that we are the only organization we are aware of that advocates on behalf of all consumers and not just a segment of the population.

There are great organizations that focus on low income, on children, on seniors, and we really kind of span that. And so whether you are a resident in Yuma or a business in Paradise Valley, we want to make sure that you are not getting ripped off.

Finding Common Ground

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

The most rewarding part is having conversations with an individual or a set of individuals to find common ground and determine a path forward working together. PIRG really espouses the no permanent friends, no permanent enemies philosophy and there are a number of instances where we have been able to agree on a policy recommendation with an entity that we do not see eye to eye with on anything else. And vice versa.

There are organizations that we often are aligned on a particular policy, but we do not always agree. To me, it is extremely rewarding to hear from other perspectives, to absorb information, look at statistics and data trends, but at the end of the day, find a way to ensure that there are good, pragmatic policies that can withstand the politics.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

The most challenging has been this devolution of partisan politics. Too often we see rhetoric over reality and the politics playing a role more than the policy itself should. In a number of individual conversations, we can find common ground with very different perspectives from different political parties, perhaps for different reasons, but at the end of the day, oftentimes there are votes that align with that political party versus with what that individual will often tell us they would like to see happen.

The Energy Efficiency Standard Win

You have been with PIRG for so long. What keeps you coming back year after year?

With PIRG, I have had an opportunity to be responsible in a variety of different facets of the organization. No two days are alike. It is extremely rewarding to see progress being made. To us, progress does not always mean a bill is getting signed or a monumental executive order has been authored, but it is seeing more people getting engaged in the political process, more people understanding the roles that the municipalities, the counties, the state, different agencies play, and paying more attention to those as a result having policymakers that then pay attention in a more significant manner to their constituents.

Looking back, can you tell me about a win from your career you still think about?

Arizona has a very successful energy efficiency standard. The energy efficiency standard that was adopted by the Arizona Corporation Commission has resulted in a net benefit of billions of dollars in our state, has not only reduced energy, but it is also reduced water consumption. It has avoided the need for additional power plants that, in many instances, have created more pollution, adverse public health impacts, and it is a program that really can benefit both the ratepayer who takes advantage of a program, but also all ratepayers due to the alleviation of the need to spend more money on costly capital infrastructure.

Focus on the Arizona Corporation Commission

Why does Arizona PIRG focus on the ACC?

When I first came to Arizona, it was really important to me, to not just jump into the first issue that I read in the newspaper, but to really get out there and talk to a wide variety of individuals. So after hundreds of meetings with nonprofit leaders, business leaders, elected officials from both sides of the aisle, members of the media, folks in the philanthropy community, we landed on working on energy issues at the Arizona Corporation Commission as our dominant focal point for those initial years.

As anyone reading the Capitol Times knows, energy has not gone away from being a big, important issue. Many could argue it is even more critical today as Arizona faces growing demands on water and power resources.

A Pragmatic Approach to State Politics

Brown emphasizes that PIRG works across the political spectrum, finding policy solutions that benefit all Arizonans regardless of party affiliation. The organization focuses on issues that affect everyday consumers including utility rates, energy efficiency, and environmental protection.

The Arizona Corporation Commission oversees the state electric and water utilities, making it a critical regulatory body where consumer advocacy can have a direct impact on ratepayers across the state.

PIRG maintains that pragmatic policymaking requires listening to multiple perspectives and finding solutions that serve the public interest rather than advancing particular agendas.