Republican – Legislative District 20 House

Phone: (623) 934-5087

Address: 3925 W Davidson Ln , Phoenix, AZ 85051

Age: 57. (07/25/56, Mt. Vernon, NY).

Arizona since: 1985

Occupation: Owner, insurance consultant/broker specializing in employee benefits, Ryan Austin & Associates, since 1996.

Marital: Married

Children: 2

Education: Attended, marketing and business management, El Camino College (Torrance, CA), 1979-82; Smithtown H.S. (East, NY), 1974.

Political experience: Board member, current vice president, Washington Elementary School District, since 2006; candidate, Arizona House of Representative, 2010; precinct committeeman.

Interests: Anything revolving around family, traveling, Broadway plays, golf, racquetball, movies and audio books.

Two biggest issues: The economy and the creation of new jobs. In order to grow our economy we must attract new businesses and bring in new jobs. Get government out of the way of business and let them do what they do best, sell product/services and create new jobs. Make it easier for businesses to do business with our state. We need to work together to attract new businesses, stimulate the market and bring in these much-needed jobs to grow our economy! Education: Change the funding formula and make it easier for everyone to understand. Give control back to the governing boards, untie their hands, and allow them to truly self-govern without the Legislature micromanaging everything. Give districts full responsibility of their budgets and allow them to decide where their dollars go. Get rid of ALL unfunded mandates. No new education laws unless three are taken off the books and have the funds to support them. Make the playing field even for all.

Budget priorities: The budget: Complicated issue, no simple answer. I do know that accountability and sustainability are keys. Have the foresight and strength to tap into reserves when needed and the climate is right and the courage to say no when the money isn’t there. Toughest part of the job: Balancing the budget.

Fiscal philosophy: I am a fiscal conservative and support limited government. I believe there are alternatives to raising taxes including more self-governance for our city and towns/ school district governing boards to start with. I will work to take all unfunded mandates off the books.

Common Core: I support [Arizona College and Career Ready Standards]. [The] district [I serve] as a school district governing board member has been working on and preparing for this since 2010 when it first became law. I have seen our staff working closely with the DOE, educating themselves, training our personnel and prepare to ramp up. While I believe in “higher standards” and conceptually support ACCRS, my major concerns revolve around funding (or lack of), technology required and how it’s impacting our teachers and the classroom. I would invite anyone to come and visit one of our classrooms to see what these amazing individuals are doing and how the students are responding to these dramatic changes. I also believe that with these new national/statewide standards we will have a stronger capability of attracting more businesses and their families to our state. Preparing our children for the future has always been our goal!

Gifts to elected officials: The Arizona Attorney General’s Guidebook for Statewide Elected Officials and State Agency Heads provides clear guidance for all elected officials. I would recommend annual training for our elected officials to remind them of these laws, at all levels of government. When it comes to compliance issues, businesses do this all the time with their employees and representatives to help offset any liabilities the company may incur.

Transparency in government: As a school governing board member, I live and breathe transparency in government and providing public notice to the community. As elected officials, we are held accountable; we must insure our stakeholders have full access to all issues relating to our community.

Pro-life / pro-choice: I believe no tax payer dollars are to be paid for any abortion except of those pregnancies caused by rape and incest.

Public policy advice: Everyone! I talk to elected officials who are my friends, constituents, anyone I can to discuss these issues [with]. Rick Gray, Jerry Weiers, Heather Carter, Ken Strobeck and many more; it’s a very large and diverse list.

Adams, Bill

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