Democrat

Age: 56. (12/23/55, Phoenix, AZ).

Arizona since: Birth.

Occupation: Maintenance/pipe fitter (Asarco) since 1974; small business owner, San Pedro Valley Transport, 1998.

Marital: Married (Martha).

Children: 3.

Religious preference: Catholic.

Education: Hayden High School, 1974; a few classes at Central AZ College.

Political experience: Councilmember, town of Mammoth, 2002-2003; precinct committeeman, Pinal County; vice president, United Steelworkers Union.

Legis exp: House 2003-2004.

Memberships: United Steelworkers, Local 886; Adelante Juntos Coalition; Eastern Pinal Literary Council.

Interests: Playing guitar, hunting, and fishing.

Political influence: My children. All three of my children attended Arizona public schools and graduated from institutions of higher learning (ASU, Stanford, NAU). They keep me in tune with the future of Arizona and remind me that the decisions we make as a state today will affect generations to come.

Job creation measures: Expanding our Arizona community college system. This is of vital importance to our rural communities for job training and preparing our workforce for a global economy; encouraging growth in solar technology and green jobs of the future.

Top Issues: Job creation policies; protecting education.

Prop 100 sales tax extension: Funding for our children’s education should not be “temporary.” It is the state Legislature’s job to find a stable and permanent source of funding for education. That is how we make education a priority in Arizona. As state representative, I helped pass all-day kindergarten, only to see it cut years later by a Republican-controlled Legislature. More reckless cuts have been made at the cost of our children’s future. Each school year, class sizes are increasing and teachers are being laid off. Simply put, our schools need this revenue. During this time of economic recovery, the Legislature should not raise taxes. However, I would support the continuation to protect education, just like a majority of Arizona voters did in 2010. We can’t afford not to.

Illegal immigration: For decades, the federal government has failed to act on addressing illegal immigration, thus putting a burden on states like Arizona to address the issue with piece-meal legislation. While this may be a step in the right direction, we need cooperation from the federal government to fully address this federal issue. I support comprehensive immigration reform and a safe, secure border. But Arizona taxpayers should not foot the bill.

Background & experience: As a legislator, I worked on a bi-partisan basis to restore funding for transportation in Pinal County. As a councilmember, I worked to build roads. As a union leader, I fought for better wages for workers and health care for families. As a father of three children, I understand first-hand the struggles and aspirations for working families. These combined experiences have informed me to be a true voice for middle-class families. And it is those values that I will represent at the state Capitol.

Pro-life / pro-choice: I am pro-life. Abortion should not be funded by taxpayers.

One last thing: I am a former amateur boxer and Arizona Golden Gloves winner. I’m still a fighter and will continue to fight for the middle-class.

Campaign finance: public.

Age: 33. (b 11/29/78, Ajo, AZ).

Arizona since: Birth.

Occupation: Did not respond.

Marital: Single.

Children: 2.

Religious pref: Catholic.

Education: Did not respond.

Pol exp incl: Did not respond.

Political influence: Former Governor and now-Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. She is the strongest, most influential Democratic female figure in recent Arizona history.

Job creation measures: If elected, I will work to create a state empowerment zone like the federal government has done, to utilize tax credits for employers to hire and train workers in fields that have a high demand, and support and expand job training programs and other direct-employment programs that provide skills for jobs that pay a living wage.

Top Issues: Creating more jobs and making our education system the best in the nation.

Prop 100 sales tax extension: I support Prop 204, the extension of the one-cent sales tax for education and quality jobs. It has helped plug the funding hole that would have further decimated our schools and classrooms.

Illegal immigration: The issue of illegal immigration is a federal matter and Arizona should deal with it in a manner that is within its jurisdiction. Arizona must implement a guest worker program to deal with our dependence on foreign labor. If we do not approach this as an economic issue, we will continue to see divisive bills come forward.

Background & experience: As a mother of two small children, I have lived the issues that I am advocating for. From being a city council member in Coolidge to my work as a workforce job developer in the non-profit sector, I bring my experiences and leadership that will best suit me to take on the issues as a legislator.

Pro-life / pro-choice: I am pro-choice.

One last thing: I will work to make Arizona stronger, better, together. Visit my website www.EmilyVerdugo.com.

Campaign Finance: public.

Republican

Age: 69. (08/27/42, Florence, AZ).

Arizona since: Birth.

Occupation: Owner, Pratt Pools, since 1986.

Marital: Married (Dr. Janice Pratt, chair, business division, Central AZ College).

Children: 1.

Religious preference: Christian.

Education: Attended, NAU; attended, Arizona Western College; attended, Central Arizona College.

Political experience: House candidate, 2004 and 2006.

Legis exp: House since 2009.

Memberships: Homeland Security and Fast & Furious committees; commissioner, Educational Commission of the States; Legislative Energy Horizon Institute; Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee; Casa Grande Daybreak Rotary; Pinal County Merit Commission; Casa Grande Chapter of the American Red Cross; Pinal County Public Safety Retirement Bd.

Interests: Scuba diving instructor.

Political influence: I have had the pleasure to meet many fine people over the years and have drawn bits of wisdom from many everyday people, local politicians and national leaders. A couple of Arizona leaders I have great respect for are former Speaker of the Arizona House and State Senator, Stan Turley and U.S. Senator Jon Kyl.

Job creation measures: To be fair, I think we should look at all proposals for job creation. The two standards I look for are: (1) will the proposal create higher than average jobs from a salary and benefit standard and (2) will the business create new revenue flow into the state from other states or countries.

Top Issues: Commerce and energy are my two top issues. Arizona cannot provide the future jobs needed without a favorable business climate and business will not relocate here without an assured, stable, affordable energy supply for their business and employee needs.

Prop 100 sales tax extension: The state Legislature made a commitment to the taxpayers of Arizona that by Prop 100 we would not extend the one-cent sales tax increase beyond the three years. I stand by that commitment.

Illegal immigration: Start with information sharing of all public safety agencies in the state under the direction of the Dept of Public Safety director. The federal government needs to show a real commitment to seal the border. When that is achieved then we can address issues like guest workers, children brought into the U.S. and undocumented aliens living in the U.S.

Background & experience: Most people spend their time worrying about the things that most likely will never happen. You can get a lot done for your district and state if you concentrate on issues with which you can have an impact, work on things you have the ability to change, and don’t worry too much about who gets the credit.

Pro-life / pro-choice: I am pro-life.

One last thing: The standards I use to make my decisions are: is it morally the right thing to do; is it in the best interest of the state of Arizona; and does it serve the district that I represent?

Campaign finance: public.

Age: 26. (08/12/85, Florence, AZ).

Arizona since:.

Occupation: Manager, Shope’s IGA Supermarket, since 2008; driver, ASU Disability Resource Center, 2007-2008; deputy director of communications, AZ Republican Party, 2006..

Religious preference: Roman Catholic.

Education: B.S., political science, ASU, 2008; A.A., general studies, Central Arizona College, 2005; Coolidge High School, 2003.

Political experience: VP, Coolidge Unified School Dist Governing Bd since 2008; precinct committeeman, Pinal County Republican Committee since 2003; second vice chair, Pinal County Republican Committee, 2009-2011; state chairman, AZ Federation of College Republicans, 2007-2008; CD 1 member-at-large, AZ Republican Party Executive Committee, 2007-2009; president, College Republicans at ASU, 2006-2007; president, Central Arizona College Republican Club, 2003-2005.

Memberships: Coolidge Chamber of Commerce, Knights of Columbus.

Interests: Watching sports, playing golf, and listening to various types of music but mainly country. I also enjoy reading both political and sports related books and am an avid viewer of the History Channel.

Political influence: My parents have been very influential in my political development and knowing that my father is serving his eighth term as Mayor of Coolidge is inspirational to me. As far as partisan politics, however, I would say former Pinal County Republican Chair Sharron Gil, who provided me with the knowledge of how hard I would have to work within the party apparatus to accomplish things. She opened many doors for me and made sure I knew that I would have to work hard to make an impression.

Job creation measures: We must continue to ensure that Arizona has a competitive tax structure. Great strides have been made by the Legislature and governor over the last couple of years, but we know that other states are making themselves more attractive as well so we must always keep a keen eye on setting ourselves up to be the most attractive western state in which to do business. We must also continue toward a path of regulatory reform so that when new businesses set up in Arizona, they won’t have layers of bureaucracy to deal with.

Top Issues: Education and transportation issues are very important not just to the state as a whole, but specifically to the district I will represent. I look forward to tackling issues such as school finance reform, working to ensure school choice, and continuing work on school district unification issues. As a member of a school board, I take education issues very seriously and will look forward to working on them at the Legislature. In transportation, we must ensure that infrastructure catches up to the growth seen in LD8 over the past years and into the future.

Prop 100 sales tax extension: I oppose extending the 1% sales tax. We need to keep the promise that was made to the voters of this state that it would be a “temporary” fix.

Illegal immigration: Illegal immigration continues to be a problem as well as drug smuggling into our state. We must work with law enforcement to make sure that the tools needed to keep drugs and dangerous cartels out of our state are readily available. SB1070 was a fine addition to the books, but we must now work with officials across the state to enforce it and other immigration measurers that have already been passed.

Background & experience: Coming from a political family showed me that this is a very important commitment to the State of Arizona and to LD8. I also know that for myself and anybody who comes from an active family has to work even harder than anybody else so you can show that you are your own person both in thoughts and action. Serving on a school board is often one of the toughest positions to serve in, and I know that it has served me well to prepare for this endeavor.

Pro-life / pro-choice: As a practicing Roman Catholic, I am proudly pro-life.

One last thing: I want the voters of LD8 to know that I will work very hard for them and will always have an open door policy regarding their issues and concerns. Arizona is a great state and our greatest days are ahead of us. I look forward to representing a district that is all inclusive of the Five C’s of copper, cotton, cattle, citrus, and climate. I look forward to earning your vote!

Campaign finance: private.