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Jack Kretzer
Kretzer, Jack (Libertarian)
Phone: (928) 376-6871
Email: fourlegs183@yahoo.com
761 W. Queens Pl., Yuma, AZ 85365
Name pronunciation: KRET-sir
Age: 75 (5/17/35, Hannibal, MO).
Arizona since: 1998. Occupation: Currently, I am a pro-bono ombudsman to the citizens of Yuma; previously, I was district maintenance engineer for ADOT-Yuma; Director of public services for Town of Quartzsite; county highway engineer for Winnebago County, IL; Director of public utilities for the city of St. Louis, MO; Director of engineering, planning and acting, city administrator for St. Peters, MO; have been licensed as a Professional Engineer by the states of Missouri, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Arizona.
Marital: Divorced.
Children: 2.
Religious preference: Baptist.
Education: BSCE, University of MO-Columbia; graduate level studies at the University of Illinois-East; University of MO-Rolla; University of Missouri-St. Louis; Webster University branch at MCAS-Yuma.
Political experience: Chair of the Reform Party of Arizona; 2009 candidate for the LD24 Senate seat.
Memberships have included: Habitat for Humanity board, member; League of Women Voters, member; Colo-Gila Kiwanis Club, member.
Interests: My interests are the unique history of Yuma, honest open government, and getting information to the qualified electors of my community. A couple of years ago, the Yuma was attempting to incur an enormous debt to build an arena; I provided the servant leadership to get the issue on a referendum ballot, whereby the voters of Yuma said no.
Issues:
Political influence: Harry S. Truman, for demonstrating that tough decisions can be made. H. Ross Perot, who identified the failures of the two-party system and led a grassroots movement to provide an alternate political system.
Budget recommendations: On day one, the Legislature must recognize that the state can only spend the revenues received, and the raiding of special accounts must end. Legislation must be drafted, debated and enacted to create a ‘floating budget’ to keep all programs and employees in-place and reduce compensation across-the-board from the governor down. With spending stabilized, the budget would be amended up or down as actual revenues received change. Legislation must be enacted to make school districts accountable for children learning. An Ad Hoc Committee would be impaneled to assist the Legislature to prepare appropriate legislation.
Other concerns: Draft, debate and enact the proposed doubling of House districts, as proposed by former Supreme Court Justice O’Connor, with one seat for each district. Reduce the Senate seats to 15 with a senator elected by each Arizona county.
Background & experience: All of my professional career has been in local, county and state government and in regional planning. I have a track record of servant leadership in my community.
Proposition 100 sales tax: The passage of a temporary sales tax only delays making the decisions required to bring fiscal stability to all units of Arizona government. Also, the way the statutes are conceived, in three years the Legislature could vote to extend the sales tax without a vote.
Pro-life/pro-choice: Abortion is the law of the land; as senator for District 24, there is no power to amend the law of the land.
One last thing: I accepted Christ as my savior when I was nine years old; I am a 32 Degree Mason.
Campaign Finance: private.