Democrat

Age: 42. (11/29/69, Houston, TX).

Arizona since: 1990.

Occupation: Executive director, AZ Consumers Council, consumer advocate & organizer, 2010-2011; director of community affairs, AZ Commission on African American Affairs, 2008–2010; executive director/government relations; AZ Natural Resource Conservation Districts State Assn, 2006–2008; boating & water safety program coordinator, AZ Game & Fish Dept, 2001-2006.

Marital: Divorced.

Children: 4.

Religious preference: Christian.

Education: M.B.A., marketing, Western International University, 2010; B.A., international relations, economics, University of Delaware, 1992.

Political experience: Most recently, I worked closely with Greg Stanton on his successful campaign for Mayor. I also served as an urban scheduler for Terry Goddard’s campaign for governor. I was the social action chair for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. I am a founding member of the Black/Brown Coalition. I sit on the board of the City of Phoenix Community and Economic Development/ Workforce Connection, creating and supporting policies to create and maintain a viable work force.

Memberships: Phoenix Business and Workforce Development Bd; president, Nat’l Pan Hellenic Council, Phoenix Metropolitan Area; chair, environment committee/legislative liaison, AZ Commission on African American Affairs; AZ Green Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Committee member; chair, social action committee, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Tempe Alumnae Chapter; town hall coordinator/legislative liaison, Arizona’s African American Legislative Conference; Nat’l Council of Negro Women, Metropolitan Sun Section; Nat’l Assn for the Advancement of Colored People; Nat’l Urban League; housing and transportation committee member, Consumer Federation of America.

Interests: I am a mother of four energetic children, and I enjoy sports, outdoor activities, reading, traveling, and target shooting with guns and archery.

Political influence: I have great respect for Nelson Mandela. He made a number of personal sacrifices, including imprisonment, for the betterment of his countrymen through public service. He recognized that peaceful tenacity would not only affect the good of his own country, but the end of apartheid would benefit humanity on a global scale. Most of all, I respect Nelson Mandela because he did not create positive change for glory. He truly had the betterment of humankind as the core value for his efforts, and humbly accepted his role as a leader so that he may be a servant to the people.

Job creation measures: The two measures I support are increasing the accessibility of micro-loans for small businesses and start-ups. Also improving tax incentives for local businesses while holding our government responsible to hire and contract locally.

Top Issues: One of the two primary issues I will concentrate on is full support of responsible, public education. Arizonans know that quality public education is necessary to provide a safe environment for our children. With responsible education, a child becomes an asset to a sustainable state economy. A second primary issue I shall focus upon will be to stabilize and expand our state economy by diversifying industries we attract. Education support will assist that effort. Also, the state Legislature should support investments in transportation and public infrastructure in order to meet the economic needs of both the businesses and workers.

Prop 100 sales tax extension: I favor extending the temporary sales tax increase. Simply put, the state Legislature has cut funding to public schools and then replaced it with money raised from the sales tax. As a result, public schools, human services and public safety concerns never received the increase they should have per the voter approved referendum. Therefore, I support the will of the voters to see an increase in these necessary areas. It is unfortunate the sales tax would not be necessary if the AZ Legislature fulfilled its obligation to support these areas.

Illegal immigration: While I support the stance of protecting our borders, I consider the one-sided methodology that we have adopted to be too simplistic and short sighted. In addition to security, we must take a holistic approach that includes economic opportunities and legal reforms that address illegal immigration. Arizona should be at the forefront of leading the country in policies that set forth a multi-prong approach. Such policies will call for immigrants who work hard as positive attributes in our communities to enter legally, even if temporarily, and law enforcement can focus on punishing illegal immigrants who mean to do us harm.

Background & experience: My educational background has provided me a well-rounded basis for understanding economics from the public and private sectors, as well as thorough comprehension of working with other countries which is important as we explore trade opportunities and immigration reform with Mexico. From my professional experience, I gained knowledge through diligence as an advocate for many groups on a number of issues how to successfully organize the public and build coalitions to pass effective legislation that has included increased boating safety standards and limiting predatory practices by pay day lenders.

Pro-life / pro-choice: I live my life guided by principles of faith, family, and community. Personal, medical decisions should be made between an individual, their family, faith advisor, and health care professional. Make no mistake about it. I am an ardent member of my church as a devoted Christian. With that in mind, out of respect of my religion and of others, I consider the policies of the Legislature regarding abortion a direct attack upon our individual liberties. The rights of women to choose medical procedures, including abortion, should be protected and the will of state government should not impose upon those rights.

One last thing: I have accepted the responsibility to run for the state House of Representatives in LD20 because people matter, and our state Legislature has lost sight of that fact. I am a working mother raising four children, and I understand the many challenges that face working families. I do not stand for government handouts. I do, however, think our elected officials should support the hard work of Arizonans rather than hinder them with poor educational and economic policies. It is time for new leadership to emerge, and I will make sure that at the Arizona Capitol, people matter.

Campaign finance: private.

Democrat

Age: 54. (9/23/57, Detroit, MI).

Arizona since: 1960.

Occupation: Music educator; retired teacher, Washington Elementary School District.

Marital: Married (John).

Children: 2.

Religious preference: Lutheran.

Education: B.M., instrumental music education, ASU, 1979.

Political experience: Legislative candidate, 2002-2010.

Legis exp: House 2007-2009.

Memberships: Nat’l Assn for Music Education, AZ Education Assn, Delta Kappa Gamma Int’l; AZ Women’s Political Caucus.

Interests: Books, music, public policy.

Political influence: My former students inspired me to carry the fight for great public schools beyond our local community to the state Legislature.

Job creation measures: Investing in education, infrastructure, research and simplifying the tax code.

Top Issues: Investing in education, infrastructure, research and simplifying the tax code.

Prop 100 sales tax extension: I support a consistent funding source for education and jobs, which is why I support the Quality Education and Jobs Initiative.

Illegal immigration: Immigration violations should be handled in a manner consistent with the rule of law and respect for the dignity of each human being. We must provide our public safety professionals with the tools they need to do their job.

Background & experience: I have been a legislator, and I know how the process works and how to get things done. As a teacher for 30 years, I have dealt with plenty of unruly children on playground duty, so those conflict resolution skills will definitely come in handy.

Pro-life / pro-choice: Women deserve the right of self-determination and to make their own health care choices, not politicians. I support a woman’s right to choose an abortion.

One last thing: I have a conscience. I believe in equality, fairness and moving Arizona forward.

Campaign finance: public.

Green

Did not respond.

Republican

Age: 35. (05/06/77, Phoenix, AZ).

Arizona since: Birth.

Occupation: Supervisor of district communication, Mesa Public Schools, since 2011; communications specialist, Arizona House of Representatives, 2008-2011; legislative liaison, AZ Dept of Corrections, 2005-2008.

Marital: Divorced.

Religious preference: Christian.

Education: Currently working on M.A., philosophy, ASU; M.A., communication studies, ASU, 2011; B.A., English, ASU, 2003; Calvary Chapel Bible College, 1998; Palo Verde Christian High School, 1995.

Political experience: Precinct committeeman, 2006-2008 & 2011-2012; field representative, Bush Cheney 04 Inc., 2004; intern, Congressman John Shadegg, 2003.

Memberships: AZ School Public Relations Assn; Assn of School Business Officials Int’l.

Interests: Mountaineering, rock climbing, hiking, weightlifting, Greek & Latin, philosophy.

Political influence: The most influential person in my political development is former House Speaker Kirk Adams. I admire his tireless work ethic, his thoughtful approach to policy, and his ability to steer Arizona through the worst fiscal crisis in state history to where we now have over $2 billion in our state operating fund for the first time since 2007. I don’t know of anyone else at the state level that could have dug us out of such a deep fiscal hole as Kirk did, and I hope he wins his seat for Congress.

Job creation measures: Tax revenues follow economic growth, not higher tax rates. I will work towards encouraging economic growth through a competitive tax code, lessen regulations and make the cost of doing business as low and predictable as possible for our business owners, the majority of which in Arizona have small businesses. I will look proactively for ways to reduce any unnecessary regulatory burdens and help reduce the time it takes to obtain permits and licenses so new or existing businesses can thrive.

Top Issues: I will concentrate on limiting the size of government wherever necessary. Government has become too intrusive, and it should exist merely to provide for core, necessary services. I will closely monitor the great legislation we have already passed including the Jobs bill (HB2001), the Teaching and Principal Effectiveness bill (HB2823) along with the Regulatory Bill of Rights (SB1598) to see if there’s anything more we can do to ensure the success of businesses, education and all Arizonans. I also intend on making myself available to the media and communicating the several issues that occur on any given day at the Capitol.

Prop 100 sales tax extension: I do not favor extending the temporary sales tax since we should honor the commitment we made to Arizona voters that said the tax would only last for three years. However, I support HCR2056, which will give voters an opportunity to fund education without extending the current tax or include any new General Fund spending. If voters support this at the ballot, next year’s distribution would be $62.4 million for K-12 education.

Illegal immigration: Our border must be secured. As a state, we are limited in what role we can play in border security, however, we must do all we can to ensure that we do not incentivize those who are here illegally and protect those who are here legally. Further, we must work with our Arizona congressional delegation to ensure we’re doing all we can on a federal level to secure our border.

Background & experience: I have spent several years serving the state of Arizona prior to beginning this run for the Legislature in Glendale/North Phoenix. I spent three years as legislative liaison with the Arizona Department of Corrections before becoming a policy advisor and communications specialist for Republicans in the State House of Representatives. While most non-incumbents will need on-the-job training, I will hit the ground running and will continue my work of supporting the members although now as a colleague and not a staffer.

Pro-life / pro-choice: I am strongly pro-life. I believe that any woman seeking an abortion should receive the complete and accurate information she needs before making a decision to abort her child. It is standard practice for virtually every other medical surgical procedure that a physician communicates with their patient all information, including the available alternatives, before the patient consents. The same should apply to abortion. I believe abortion providers should be required to show the mother to be her ultrasound unless she does not want to see it. I also believe no taxpayer dollars should go towards funding abortion.

One last thing: I am an Arizona native who grew up in the West Valley, attended Deer Valley High School, and graduated Magna Cum Laude from ASU West with a Bachelor’s in English and a Master’s in communication studies. I am currently in the M.A. philosophy program at ASU and am pursuing a Ph.D. in analytic philosophy. I currently work for Mesa Public Schools as the Supervisor of District Communications. I love the Grand Canyon and have hiked it rim to rim to rim six times with my best time at 24 hours. My dream is to one day climb el Capitan.

Campaign finance: private.

Republican

Age: 42. (07/14/69, Silver Spring, MD).

Arizona since: 2002.

Occupation: Small business owner, Integrity Printing and Publishing, since 2006; ad sales, Directions Publishing, 2002-2006.

Marital: married (Jamie).

Children: 3.

Religious preference: Protestant.

Education: A.A., College of the Canyons (CA), 1993.

Political experience: Candidate for LD-6 House, 2006; candidate for Corp Comm, 2004; chair, Maricopa County Republican Party, since 2006; Republican precinct committeeman, since 2002; founder and former chair of the PACyderm Coalition.

Legis exp: House since 2009.

Memberships: Member, North Phoenix Chamber of Commerce since 2003; member, Chamber at Anthem since 2005.

Interests: Music and history.

Did not respond.

Campaign finance: public.