Elections 2014 Just another Arizona Capitol Times Election Coverage site
Republican – Legislative District 20 House
Phone: (480) 577-0078
Email: Paul@BoyerAZ.com
Website: www.boyeraz.com
Facebook: Paul Boyer
Twitter: @BoyerAZ
Address: 2244 W Michigan Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85023
Age: 37. (05/06/77, Phoenix, AZ).
Arizona since: Birth
Occupation: Professor, University of Phoenix, since 2013; supervisor of district communication, Mesa Public Schools, 2011-13; communications specialist, Arizona House of Representatives, 2008-11; legislative liaison, AZ Dept of Corrections, 2005-08.
Marital: Single
Education: M.A., communication studies, ASU, 2011; B.A., English, ASU, 2003; Associates, Calvary Chapel Bible College, 1998.
Political experience: Precinct committeeman, 2006-08 & 2011-12; field representative, Bush Cheney 04 Inc., 2004; intern, Congressman John Shadegg, 2003.
Legis exp: House since 2013.
Interests: Mountaineering, rock climbing, hiking, weightlifting, Greek & Latin, reading the classics, philosophy.
Two biggest issues: Prop 105 reform and economic development. Prop 105 is a generational issue that we will necessarily have to address at some point, without which we will never be able to honestly balance our budget and will continue to struggle with structural and cash deficits. Our needs and priorities change as a state and no Arizonan should be beholden to initiatives passed by previous voters who may no longer reside in Arizona. A recent Gallup survey saying 1 in 5 Arizonans will move out of Arizona in a year, we should give current Arizona voters the opportunity to weigh in on their priorities. I will work on a ballot referral, garner critical support, gain earned media, and talk to every voter I can about this issue. Regarding economic development, we need to find the states that are successful and model what they’re doing. This includes properly funding core government services. I’d also like to see a businessman on the 9th Floor and wholeheartedly support Doug Ducey for governor.
Budget priorities: Public safety and education. It’s extremely difficult to cut expenditures given our needs as a state and the little discretion the Legislature has in state spending due to statutorily driven and voter protected spending. Therefore, one key way to increase revenue is Prop 105 reform and economic development through fair and equitable, broad-based tax relief and recruiting businesses from less business friendly states.
Fiscal philosophy: Government is responsible for core, necessary services and should foster the conditions that allow businesses to thrive including stable and predictable tax environments. Tax credits are like tax increases – they rarely go away so we ought to be very judicious as a legislative body when passing future tax credits. Conversely, I support equitable and broad based tax policies.
Common Core: Unfortunately, Common Core was approved during a time of great fiscal need. The Legislature took many steps to fund education, including accepting A.R.R.A. dollars during our worst crisis in state history to backfill some of those cuts. It was during this time that Arizona was under the thumb of No Child Left Behind and desperately needed funding that we applied for Race to the Top funding. Now, we are threatened by the feds with pulling our NCLB waiver if we opt out of CC standards as the state of Indiana has. I’ve consistently supported higher standards as a piece of the puzzle to help improve the quality of Arizona’s education generally but am not convinced Common Core is the right vehicle to get us there. So I believe we ought to halt and study CC since we cannot so easily opt-out without penalty and given how standards drive curriculum. Student success is driven by two factors – parental involvement and quality teachers. We ought to focus aggressively on the latter.
Gifts to elected officials: As County Attorney Bill Montgomery recommended, I would like to see a single reference point in law for lobbyists and legislators that clarifies what, if any, types of gifts are permissible, and establishes consistent definitions of gifts and items that require disclosure. I would also like to see a more easily navigable reporting system on the Secretary of State’s website that would allow the public to see who has accepted an actual gift without having to buy the data. This means we would need a less complicated data compilation and reporting system that no doubt means a new or upgraded IT system for reporting requirements.
Transparency in government: This is very important, of which we already have a great resource with ALIS, where anyone from the public can view live proceedings from our azleg.gov website. I would like to see a 24-hour floor amendment deadline that would give members and the public the ability to study them before they go to the floor instead of having to quickly analyze them and depend on the summary sheet that only the members receive immediately before Committee of the Whole.
Pro-life / pro-choice: I am against the taking of life and believe we ought to protect life no matter what stage of development. Certainly no tax dollars should ever go towards funding an abortion.
Public policy advice: It depends on the issue. For social issues, I turn to authors Robert George, Frank Beckwith and Ryan Anderson. For fiscal issues, I highly respect Congressman Paul Ryan and his work as the House Budget chairman. I also read the Wall Street Journal daily in addition to First Things and City Journal. On health issues, I read Kaiser and Milliman reports and talk with Senators Kelli Ward and Nancy Barto. However, as with all issues, no matter what I read or who I talk to, I’m looking for a good argument whose conclusion necessarily follows from its premises, contains no informal fallacies and whose premises are more plausible than their negations. I want to hear the best case for both sides of an issue, synthesize the information and come to a solid conclusion so I can vote with conviction. Given the speed with which we pass bills, it can sometimes be difficult to be thoughtful, which is why I spend so much time reading reports, papers and talking with those knowledgeable of the issues.
