Democrat – Legislative District 29 House

Phone: (623) 238-6064

Address: 4709 N 64th Ln , Phoenix, AZ 85033

Age: 53. (08/04/60, Los Angeles, CA).

Arizona since: 2006

Occupation: Treatment coordinator, Jewish Family Services, since March 2014; unit supervisions, Dept of Economic Security, 2007-12; self-employed, A & L Auto Doctor, 2003-06; St. Anne’s, 1995-2004.

Marital: Married

Children: 3

Education: B.S.W., California State University, Los Angeles, 1998.

Political experience: Cartwright School Board since 2013.

Interests: Music, reading, arts and crafts, advocating for social justice.

Two biggest issues: Public education and high dropout rate in Arizona. To make sure the legislation supports the true needs of education, students and educators and to promote/advocate for funding. To date, Arizona ranks #2 with the highest dropout rate next to Nevada. This to me speaks volumes and frankly, I am ready to advocate for our students statewide as this is a statewide epidemic. The serious and pressing issues of jobs and our economic sustainability for our community, the businesses and in particularly the individuals and working families who remain at or below the poverty line, while large corporation flourish at their expense. I would advocate for raising the minimum wage along with job training for displaced workers and creating new jobs.

Budget priorities: Arizona budget priorities would include money for CPS and to protect those in need. To support our newly developed Dept of Child Safety that will help support and monitor CPS along with those agencies who are contracted with CPS. I believe that this system will assist in bridging the gap of communication and provide a system of accountability to be tracked and monitored. The Legislature allocates millions of dollars to the rainy day fund (contingency fund). I believe some of this funding can be allocated elsewhere as we know that in a real emergency, we can also depend on our federal government to assist with funding. Being transparent of where exactly our tax dollars are being spent, eliminating smoke screens and special interest groups. Education is another area that I would consider a priority. As a state we lack support and funding in our public school system. Lawmakers have been placing too much emphasis on charter and private schooling when we know the reality is that public educators are better trained and more equipped to provide quality public education. I truly believe that public education is not failing our kids. If we were to allocate more funding to our public schools and less to the voucher program for charter and private schools, we would see consistency in our number of graduates along with preparing our kids for Common Core.

Fiscal philosophy: Advocate and ensuring that tax dollars and government spending are utilized in a way that can be tracked and monitored and available when a recession and/or inflation is present.

Common Core: By implementing Common Core, we as a state, schools, communities, educators, etc. would be investing in our children, preparing them to excel academically and professionally so that they may become empowered to become the professionals and experts in their chosen fields of interest and study, and to ensure that our students will be exposed to a variety of educational options and a future with a vision. They will learn that by studying, dedication, determination, structure and discipline that this will enable them to achieve their educational goals whether their vision is becoming a physicist or an auto mechanic.

Gifts to elected officials: No freebies. I would advocate for stricter laws for those who take free gifts from lobbyists. This would assist in ensuring political transparency and hopefully eliminate “personal agendas”.

Transparency in government: To be an elected official means to be a public servant. Therefore, I believe that we should always maintain integrity and be transparent as we continue to govern and serve our communities and state.

Pro-life / pro-choice: Speaking for myself, I am pro-life. As I think about the democracy that we live in, I also believe that I do not have the right to dictate health care decisions or alternatives others may choose or may deem appropriate for themselves. Although this topic will always be controversial, I do believe that we should have the choice.

Public policy advice: I usually rely on myself to research, analyze, look at my surrounding community and state to see what is in the best interest of my community to make informed decisions.

Garcia, Denice

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