Democrat

Name pronunciation: AB-lesser

Age: 34. (03/16/78, Los Angeles, CA).

Arizona since: 1996.

Occupation: Mental health family counselor, Ableser Family Counseling, since 2008; Southwest Behavioral Health, 2003-2008; group counselor, Bridges to High School, 2002.

Marital: Married.

Children: 1 (Brielle).

Religious preference: LDS.

Education: Doctoral candidate, justice and social inquiry, ASU, since 2007; M.A., counseling, ASU, 2004; B.A., political science and Chinese, ASU, 2000.

Political experience: Chairman, Young Democrats of Arizona, since 2007; state committeeman since 2005; chief of staff to executive VP, ASASU, 1998-1999; youth campaign chairman, Chrysler for U.S. Congress, 1993-1994.

Legis exp: House since 2007; appointed to Senate, 2006.

Memberships: Counselors for Social Justice; American Counseling Assn; Winner of 2004 City of Tempe Martin Luther King, Jr. Diversity Award; Boys and Girls Club of Tempe; Kiwanis Club of Tempe; Sister Cities of Tempe; Tempe Chamber of Commerce/Tempe Leadership; University Presbyterian Church; No More Deaths; Humane Borders, Childsplay; LDS-Tempe Stake.

Interests: Volunteering, homeless outreach, basketball, running, spending time with family, hiking and fantasy football.

Political influence: All the families and children I counsel daily remind me of how government can help people who are living paycheck to paycheck and barely getting by. They inspire me to advocate and pass legislation that helps our community and people in need.

Job creation measures: The best way to create jobs is to invest in new technologies. Arizona can create more jobs if we use our best asset, the sun. By making Arizona the Saudi Arabia of solar, we can not only create a cleaner and more sustainable energy source but also create a substantial amount of jobs. The second job creating initiative is to provide tax credits for enterprise zones, which will create growth within our cities, reduce blight and create more local and higher paying jobs.

Top Issues: My first main focus is to invest in our public education system, such as getting our children new textbooks, something the Republicans took away from our children in this year’s budget. The second main concern is to protect consumers from predatory practices such as illegal tow trucks, pay day lenders, outrageous interest on student loans and slumlord rentals.

Prop 100 sales tax extension: I support any measure that can provide more revenue to our unfunded public education system. Our children deserve better than 49th place in the U.S. for education funding.

Illegal immigration: I fully support my church’s (LDS) stance on immigration as a policy issue that must be handled by the federal government, as well as encouraging just and humane laws, providing a path for citizenship and promoting personal responsibility. No one should ever have an agonizing death trying to cross the desert in search of freedom and liberty.

Background & experience: As a legislator that has served for seven years, I have the institutional knowledge of how to properly navigate through a very dysfunctional state legislature. As a small business owner, I know the struggles of local businesses and how to best alleviate the tremendous amount of bureaucracy we have to go through. As a family counselor, I see the daily pain and suffering that most Americans deal with, from health and financial concerns to being on the brink of losing your home.

Pro-life / pro-choice: I believe abortions must be safe, rare and legal, when necessary.

One last thing: I am an ASU alumni and have successfully worked to create parity funding for all our universities as well as protected our campuses from allowing guns on them. I believe the vitriol and hate in American politics is the most harmful threat to our community. We must see past blind partisanship and do what we can so everyone has a hopeful and fulfilling life.

Campaign finance: public.

Name pronunciation: Day-me-ahn Tray-bull

Age: 32. (04/27/80, Fort Wayne, IN).

Arizona since: 2008.

Occupation: Business intelligence, analytical technologies; independent software business since 1999.

Marital: Single.

Children: none.

Religious preference: Religious freedom for all, respect for diversity..

Education: Bachelor’s, computer science, Indiana-Purdue University, 2003; Heritage High School (Monroeville, IN), 1998.

Political experience: I have been involved in politics since high school. I have been involved in educational projects such as historical re-enactments. I have worked the polls, and I have assisted non-profit and charitable organizations in political activities. I have never run for office before.

Interests: I enjoy music and play several instruments – piano is my favorite. I like to sketch, travel, read, exercise, and expose myself to new and interesting things every day.

Political influence: If I had to pick one person, I’d credit Bud Baker from Fort Wayne, IN (who passed in April of 2010). He was very politically active and always kept me up-to-date on issues that were important to him. We engaged in a lot of spirited discussion which we both enjoyed and benefitted from, even though we often disagreed.

Job creation measures: Adjust taxes to make Arizona more attractive to job creators. Support innovation with credits for research and development.

Top Issues: Education and job growth. Education is an ever-important issue for families and for the future of our community, especially with the large college population of LD17. Making sure we have the best environment possible for businesses to flourish is also key to maintaining the health of our community and fighting unemployment.

Prop 100 sales tax extension: I supported the temporary sales tax increase, along with the majority of Arizonans who voted to approve the tax as a stopgap measure. I do not support an extension unless it is similarly approved by voters.

Illegal immigration: We need to address the need for more legal routes for immigrants to live and work in Arizona.

Background & experience: I have a tremendous background of diverse experience that has left me well-equipped to rapidly adapt to new environments, communicate effectively with individuals from a variety of backgrounds, education levels, cultures and languages, and to work together with various groups to develop innovative solutions to challenging problems.

Pro-life / pro-choice: While the morality of abortion will continue to be debated, the Roe vs. Wade decision is well-reasoned and should be upheld in the interest of personal freedom and the health and well-being of women. Federal funding for abortion should be limited, and our focus should be on preventing unwanted pregnancies.

One last thing: As your senate representative, I will use taxpayer money wisely and effectively and work hard to protect our freedoms and ensure that LD17 is positioned for economic success. Thank you for your consideration and God bless America.

Campaign finance: private.

Age: 55.

Arizona since: 1982.

Occupation: Asst. superintendent, CEO, Sequoia Distance Learning Schools; senior mgr, Deloitte and Touche; COO, Quorum International; teacher, CES; CEO, TJ Development.

Marital: Married (Janet).

Children: 7.

Religious preference: LDS.

Education: B.S., M.S., accounting, BYU, 1982.

Political experience: Precinct committeeman.

Legis exp: Senate since 2011 (won recall election against Russell Pearce in Nov. 2011).

Memberships: Vice president, Grand Canyon Council of the Boy Scouts of America; former chm, Mesa District, Boy Scouts of America; stake president and bishop, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; treasurer, bd member and coach, Westwood Little League (formerly Mesa Northwestern Little League); coach, Mesa Girls Softball and Mesa YMCA Soccer; member, Whittier Elementary, Carson Junior High and Westwood High School parent groups; chair, Westwood Baccalaureate Committee; president, AZ Drug Abuse Program (formerly the Palmer Drug Abuse Program).

Interests: My wife, my grandkids, running marathons, Boy Scouts, cycling, gardening/yard work, Arizona Diamondbacks, fishing with sons.

Political influence: My Dad, Reg Lewis.

Job creation measures: A plan to consistently market the positives and our strengths around the country and abroad. Targeted incentives to educators to train our students for the 21st century economy and workforce.

Top Issues: Strengthening families and improving academic achievement results.

Prop 100 sales tax extension: The voters were promised that the tax would sunset. Promises are made to be kept. We will need to find other means to adequately and responsibly fund our education system.

Illegal immigration: We must come to an agreement on a plan that defines what we want real immigration reform to look like and then become united to exercise our influence with the federal government to act responsibly to fulfill that plan or something better.

Background & experience: Growing up with many siblings in a “yours, mine and ours” home on an auto mechanic’s wage taught me how to work hard, value education and get along with others. Witnessing the ravages of alcoholism and drug addiction, the difficulty of rehabilitation and the sweet joy of recovery amongst my family members taught me to be patient and forgiving. Being a foreign exchange student in Taxco, Guerrero Mexico as a junior in high school and then a missionary in Hong Kong, China as a young man taught me to appreciate and respect different cultures and people even more than I had previously. Counseling many needy individuals as a leader in the community and church taught me how to listen carefully and that there are always at least two sides to every story. Owning, managing and operating a variety of businesses taught me the importance of living within available means and to thoughtfully plan and budget. Teaching high school and college age students taught me the individual and infinite worth and value of every soul. Raising a family has taught me that I am not always right and that I can catch more flies with honey than I can with vinegar.

Pro-life / pro-choice: Abortion is a serious personal matter that should only be considered in uniquely rare circumstances and only after careful and responsible contemplation.

One last thing: I enjoy creating the best solutions by cooperating with and listening to the viewpoints of others regardless of their political leanings even when we don’t agree.

Campaign finance: private.