Heather Carter

Republican
Candidate for Arizona House in Legislative District 15
Phone: (602) 697-9777
Email: heather@voteheathercarter.com
Website: www.voteheathercarter.com
Twitter: @HeatherCarterAZ
31225 N 57th St, Cave Creek, AZ 85331.
(Mail: 28248 N Tatum Blvd., Ste. B1-299, Cave Creek, AZ 85331)
Age: 43. (03/01/69, Newport News, VA).

Arizona since: 1988.

Occupation: Clinical associate professor, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, ASU, since 2002; teacher, English/social studies, Greenway Middle School, for five years; real estate agent for two years; pharmaceutical sale representative, Wallace Labs, for one and a half years; account executive, Phoenix Suns, for one and a half years.

Marital: Married (Jay, Realtor ).

Children: 1.

Religious preference: Methodist.

Education: Ed.D., educational leadership, NAU, 2006; M.Ed., educational technology, ASU, 2002; B.S., communication-rhetoric, ASU 1992.

Political experience: Served on the AZ Dept of Education Alternative Teaching Certification Task Force, Institutional Review Committee for teacher and administrator program evaluations, and on NCLB working group for ADE.

Legis exp: House since 2011.

Memberships: Multiple professional associations related to employment.

Interests: Spending time with my family, hiking and biking, riding and showing registered quarter horses, animals.

Political influence: Personally, my mother is the most influential person in my political development. As a life-long Republican, I was raised on conservative, limited-government, and personal liberty ideals. Professionally, I look to both Barry Goldwater, who loved his country and our great state of Arizona, and Ronald Reagan. Both men stand as pillars in the Republican Party.

Job creation measures: As elected officials, we need to focus on reducing government roadblocks to job creation, while recognizing that “government” doesn’t create jobs. With that in mind, we need to focus on streamlining government bureaucracies related to doing business in our state, such as permitting processes, tax payments, navigating multiple municipality requirements and so forth. We also need to make sure we are working with business to identify and train a 21st century work force.

Top Issues: The top two issues beyond balancing our budget include improving both education and health care in Arizona. In education, there are a number of areas worthy of legislative attention, but I will focus on education data systems, quality teachers, and fixing education-funding loopholes. As for health care, I will work with our health care stakeholders to find innovative ways to deliver high quality medical services in the most efficient and effect manner by focusing on medical technology and delivery innovations.

Prop 100 sales tax extension: The tax that was passed in 2010 was marketed to the voters as a ‘temporary’ sales tax, and as such, will and should expire.

Illegal immigration: Securing the border is a high-stakes priority for Arizona. As a border state, we demand that the federal government address illegal immigration. The federal government must also increase the number of customs and border protection officers at Arizona’s international ports of entry to properly enforce immigration and drug laws and to facilitate trade. In Arizona, the Cattlemen Association’s “Restore Our Border Security Plan” outlines a solid path to do this important work in our state.

Background & experience: Many of my professional experiences have prepared me for my service as a state representative. However, probably most helpful has been my ability to read, study and analyze large amounts of information in a short period of time. Throughout my academic career, including completing my educational doctorate degree, this has been a skill that has served me well. In addition, I have worked in many sales positions that require me to negotiate and find “win-win” solutions to complex problems.

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

One last thing: I consider it a true honor to be elected to represent the constituents in my district and hope to continue to serve in this capacity. Probably the most rewarding part of my job is working with people to help solve problems, whether it is through constituent services or sponsoring legislation. I am also inspired by the school tours that come to the Capitol to learn about the legislative process. The students never cease to amaze me with their depth of understanding and genuine interest in the process.

Campaign finance: private.