PHOENIX – Attorney Ehsan Zaffar is leading an initiative to establish a civil rights center at Arizona State University to target inequality in the U.S. To do so, Zaffar envisions a range of products, services and programs – perhaps including Yelp-like reviews of how Arizona companies address social justice issues.

“Inequality is the greatest social, political, economic problem facing this country today,” said Zaffar, a civil rights and civil liberties official with the Department of Homeland Security who will join ASU in January. “I think our country is headed back to a time when institutions were powerless to fix the problems in the country. There’s a lack of trust.”

He hopes the center’s work will help strengthen institutions by encouraging them to be more responsive to the public and to produce more factual information about social justice issues.

Zaffar said his work at the center, which will include fundraising, also could examine how news and social media cover certain communities in ways that affect lawmakers, analyze emergency response times in communities of color and explore the gender pay gap in U.S. companies.

WASHINGTON – Arizonans were heavily invested in this fall’s elections in more ways than one, donating a total of at least $110 million to support candidates and high-profile ballot initiatives.

That was a sharp increase from the $60 million that state voters donated just four years ago. And the increases this year were seen across the board, with Arizonans opening their wallets for presidential as well as federal and state campaigns.

“People on both sides obviously felt extremely passionate about the presidential and Senate elections,” said Jason Rose, a Republican political consultant in Arizona. “They saw an opportunity to effect change this way.”

The surge in giving was driven by unusually high interest in the presidential and Senate races and Arizona’s newfound status as a battleground state. While that drew large amounts of money from out of state, it apparently inspired state residents to contribute more, too.

Democrats appeared to be especially motivated, donating to what turned out to be successful campaigns for president and for Senate.

President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump was the first time the state had voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since 1996. And Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat, unseated Republican Sen. Martha McSally to give the state two Democratic senators for the first time since the 1950s. It also brought Democrats one seat closer to control of the Senate.

“The Arizona Senate race was one of the few opportunities where Democrats were seen as potentially able to flip a Senate seat,” said Kim Fridkin, foundation professor of political science at Arizona State University.