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John Thrasher
Thrasher, John (Democrat)
Phone: (602) 978-6767
Email: info@thrasherforcongress.org
4537 W Park Pl., Glendale, AZ 85306
(mail: 5350 W Bell Rd, C-122 #484, Glendale, AZ 85308)
Age: 67 (born:08/02/42, McAlester, OK)
Arizona since: 1957
Occupation: Retired music educator; faculty emeritus, Glendale Community College.
Marital: Married (Jackie, retired music educator)
Children: 2
Religious preference: Lutheran
Education: Master’s degree, music, NAU, 1970; B.S., education, NAU, 1965.
Political experience: Congressional candidate, 2006, 2008; precinct committeeman; president, College Band Directors Nat’l Assn, Western Division, 1990; president-elect, CBDNA, 1988; vice president, CBDNA, 1986; member and treasurer, Glendale Community College Faculty Senate.
Memberships have included: College Band Directors Nat’l Assn; Music Educators Nat’l Conference; AZ Education Assn; AZ Music Educators Assn; Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; auxiliary member, Sandy Coor VFW Post 1433.
Interests: Conducting and listening to great music; watching the History Channel.
Issues
Political influence: John F. Kennedy was the inspiration for me to become involved in public service. After teaching for many years, running for office became the next step in my service to the community.
Top priority: Creating jobs for Arizona residents and returning our fair share of federal tax dollars back to the people of CD 2.
Respected opponent: Barry Goldwater. I had the opportunity to meet and speak with Senator Goldwater when I was in college. I was impressed with his interest in the conservation of Arizona’s land, water and wildlife. He was respectful of all people, and I appreciated his sincerity.
Wall St bailout: I disagreed with the Wall Street bail out by the Bush Administration because there was no oversight provided for where and how the money would be spent. As a result of the worsening economy, hard working families, often without recourse, suffered a staggering loss of jobs, foreclosures on their homes and loss of community services. Future reforms need to include consumer protections against financial mismanagement in the banking industry.
Stimulus Act: Without the stimulus plan, states and local economies would not have even been able to begin recovering from the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. I supported this course of action as part of the solution to stimulate our economy, protect existing jobs for teachers and public safety personnel and create new jobs.
Health care overhaul: I believe the recently enacted federal health care package is a good start. I support banning insurance companies from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, from dropping people when they get sick, closing the Medicare Part D prescription drug donut-hole and providing tax credits for small businesses to make healthcare coverage more affordable. I support reform because we must reduce skyrocketing costs that are forcing hard working people to choose between food on the table or life saving medications. Healthcare must be made affordable.