Kimber Lanning is one of the most interesting people in the state right now, and her organization Local First AZ is one of the most promising groups for our future.

Kimber advocates for making a simple choice: try to spend your dollars on locally-owned businesses before you spend elsewhere.

Now, I am a free trade kinda guy, but I think we have let it go too far in some ways (especially when it comes to environmental degradation and worker’s rights). Yet I don’t think it is harmful to make a choice to support local businesses. As Kimber likes to say, For every $100 spent in a chain store, $13 remains in the state. For every $100 spent in a locally owned business, $45 remains in the state.

I find this topic particularly interesting because of the time I spent as the director of the State Energy Office, which (unfortunately) is housed in the Arizona Department of Commerce. What I saw and we’ve seen over years is that we bend over backwards to attract businesses to Arizona and give away the farm rather than support local businesses, which, if fostered, could be the next Intel or Microsoft and could end up bringing more business here.

I am inspired by Kimber’s leadership and the rate at which Local First has exploded over the last couple years. Maybe something about the Great Recession has made people realize that they need to keep it local. She has done more for AZ than any sitting politician I can think of, except maybe Terry Goddard.