Democrat – Legislative District 19 Senate

Phone: (602) 315-1899

Address: 10933 W Bermuda Dr , Avondale, AZ 85392

Age: 50. (07/15/63, Erie, PA).

Arizona since: 1967

Occupation: Principal investigator, Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, since 2003; lecturer, ASU, 2002-03, 2013; research associate, Steward Observatory, UofA, 1998-2002; National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1995-98.

Marital: Married

Education: Ph.D., applied physics, Stanford University, 1995; B.S., engineering science, University of Texas, Austin, 1986; B.A. (Honors), liberal arts, University of Texas, Austin, 1986; Flagstaff High School, 1981.

Political experience: Emerge Arizona graduate, instructor and board member, since 2007; Kyrene ESD override campaign consultant, 2013; Continue the Quality PAC, 2008-13, 2 bond and 3 override campaigns; Tolleson Union High School District, Override campaign 2010; Arizona legislative campaigns, 2008, 2010.

Interests: I enjoy hiking throughout the state and spending time gardening. I also enjoy bringing astronomy into classrooms and holding star parties for children.

Two biggest issues: Education: A high quality education system provides the foundation for individual and economic growth. Being at the bottom of the nation in per-pupil funding is simply unacceptable for Arizona. We must enable our citizens to meet the needs of a modern and continually evolving job environment. Jobs: We have to establish an economic environment conducive to diversified job creation and sustainable job growth. When Arizonans work, Arizona works.

Budget priorities: My priority is to restore K-12 education funding to a level that enables us to have optimal class sizes and to recruit the best teachers. Universities must be funded so college is as close to free as possible (as required by the Arizona Constitution). We can immediately cut wasteful spending by reducing the amount we expend on more than 200 tax credits enacted in the last 20 years; particularly credits that benefit narrow interest groups. We must modernize our tax laws to increase equity and ensure a stable revenue stream.

Fiscal philosophy: Balance. Our recent (and upcoming) budget crises are largely a result of an imbalance in our state tax revenue sources. For political gain, Arizona’s tax base has been shifted to an over-reliance on sales taxes, resulting in over-sensitivity to economic cycles and resulting in regressive tax rates. This forces average citizens to pay the price at the store, while the wealthiest in Arizona enjoy lower overall tax rates. Taxes cannot be burdensome, but they must be equitable. Our expenditures must be necessary and efficient.

Common Core: These are the current standards and our public schools should be allowed to continue using them until we can objectively evaluate whether or not they are effective in raising student performance. As a scientist, I strongly support making the development of critical thinking skills the main goal of our public schools, rather than encouraging rote learning to pass a test. As someone who understands statistical analysis, I want to ensure that any evaluations take into account all of the important variables that effect student outcomes.

Gifts to elected officials: There is always room for improvement of laws designed to keep potential corruption or favoritism out of our public policy decisions; particularly as people find new ways around the old limits. The key is to simultaneously minimize the dollar amount for any one gift, increase the transparency by requiring reporting within a short time frame, and maximize the enforcement of all such laws.

Transparency in government: Enabling the public to know what all levels of government are doing in their name is a fundamental aspect of democracy. Public notices should continue to be available to our citizens in the most accessible form possible. When new laws require the establishment of a new system to enhance transparency of governmental entities, however, they cannot be unfunded mandates. The expense and work involved in the creation and quality maintenance of new online interfaces to extensive databases cannot be underestimated.

Pro-life / pro-choice: All reproductive health care decisions should be private between a woman, her doctor, her family, and her faith. Our policies should be geared to help reduce unplanned pregnancies, which is the best way to lower the need for abortion. No woman should ever have to explain her reproductive health care choices to her employer.

Public policy advice: There is no single person I turn to for advice. I have learned that everyone I meet teaches me more about the problems facing our state, and how I can help solve those problems. As a researcher, I know that the best methodology is to seek out unbiased information, and keep researching until you have sufficient data to reach a conclusion based on reproducible facts.

Cotera, Angela

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