Teri Conrad

Teri Conrad

Conrad, Teri (Democrat)

Phone: (602) 742-7306

Email: teri.conrad@hotmail.com

38914 N. 33rd Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85086

Age: 55 (1/24/55, Tacoma, WA).

Arizona since: 2002.

Occupation: Librarian, Phoenix, 2006-10 (currently on leave of absence); self-employed educational consultant, contracting with BHP Billiton and Caterpillar, 1993-05; history instructor at San Juan College (Farmington, NM) and Estrella Mountain Community College, intermittently 1992-04.

Marital: Married (Byron, engineer).

Children: 3.

Religious preference: Presbyterian.

Education: M. A., history, University of Utah, 1984; B.A., political science, University of Nevada Reno, 1976.

Political experience: Candidate, AZ House LD6, 2008; precinct committeeperson; events coordinator for Rano Singh for AZ treasurer, 2006.

Memberships have included: New River Desert Hills Community Association Board, communications chair; Crosswinds Presbyterian Church, elder; Social Justice & Peacemaking Committee of the Grand Canyon Presbytery, moderator; Society for Mining Metallurgy & Exploration Education Committee, National chair, Environmental Education Task Force of NM, chaired local and state groups, Friends of the Nature Center (Farmington, NM), president; Farmington Museum Foundation, president; NM Science Teachers Association, board member, National Science Teachers Association, delegate, NM Committee for Writing Social Studies Standards, industry rep.; Science Fair Board, officer.

Interests: Hiking, camping, and traveling; history, politics, religion, and art; spending time with my family and friends; needlepoint; volunteer with DUET (formerly ViCap), United Way, Academic Decathlon, Just Coffee, and mission projects with my church.

Issues:

Political influence: My father, a Republican, has been the most influential person in my political development. I remember discussions we had, where he taught me to approach problems from different angles. He modeled integrity and having respect for all people. He taught me about the importance of being moderate, and truly listening to people on all sides.

Budget recommendations: 1) The Legislature could stop referring controversial measures to the ballot. We could save the cost of special elections, such as the one we just had for Prop. 100. 2) We should reduce private school tax tuition credits to equal those allowed for public schools. 3) The answer does not always lie in increasing taxes or decreasing spending. For example there was an excellent proposal last session for funding Arizona parks. It would have added a small amount to vehicle registration fees and allowed free park access to Arizona residents. In addition to putting the parks on a sound financial plan, this would have increased tourism in some of the state’s rural areas.

Other concerns: Education and creating jobs through sustainable growth.

Fiscal philosophy: I support balanced budgets.

Background & experience: My background, in both private industry and the public sector, has prepared me to serve as a legislator. Working as a kindergarten teacher, a college and public librarian, and owning my own consulting business has given me opportunities to meet people from all walks of life. My academic background, studying history and politics, will help me to understand the difficult issues that come before the Legislature. I have lived all over the West and worked in a natural resources industry. Those varied experiences will help me to make good decisions for all Arizonans.

Prop. 100 sales tax: The Legislature should adequately support our schools and other state programs. We should not have to depend on a regressive sales tax for adequate funding.

Pro-life/pro-choice: As a person of faith, I understand and respect the opinions on both sides of this issue. An important part of the answer to this problem is building stronger families and helping young women develop greater self-esteem (things that cannot be legislated). My goals would be to 1) prevent the need for abortions through better birth control education and availability; and 2) for all sides to work to work together to make adoption a more viable solution.

One last thing: In an era when politics are characterized by polarization, I favor pragmatism and moderation. I’ve achieved success in helping people learn to work together toward common goals. The best example is the Nature Center that we built in Farmington, New Mexico. I brought together people from industry (oil and gas, coal mining and electrical power production) with environmentalists, teachers and government representatives. We agreed that teaching children good solid science would create the critical thinkers of tomorrow. From that point of agreement, we were able to build an outstanding facility that sits on the bank of the Animas River.

Campaign Finance: public.