Elections 2014 Just another Arizona Capitol Times Election Coverage site
Democrat – Legislative District 23 Senate
Phone: (480) 221-0976
Email: paulapennypacker@aol.com
Website: Paula2014.com
Facebook: Paula Pennypacker
Twitter: @PPennypacker
Address: 16495 North 113th Way , Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Age: 56. (05/03/58, Toledo, OH).
Arizona since: 1998
Occupation: Small business owner, president/founder, Just for Redheads International, since 1993.
Marital: Married
Children: 1
Education: B.A., business management minor, University of Toledo, 1980.
Political experience: Republican party activist for 30 years before changing my party registration to Democrat last year. Founder, The Lucas County Republican Grassroots Coalition; founder, Citizens for Fair Taxation (Lucas County); candidate for Toledo City Council, 1989; candidate for mayor of Toledo, 1991 and 1993; candidate, LD8, 2010.
Interests: Politics is my passion. I have been a good government activist since graduating from the University of Toledo in 1980. I am also a studying martial artist and am working towards a black belt in Wado karate. I am also an avid reader of non-fiction.
Two biggest issues: The education of all our children is both an economic and social imperative. We cannot continue our current system that leaves far too many behind. The alternative is to keep expanding our private prison industry at a huge cost to the state. Expanding access to quality preschool programs, restarting statewide all-day kindergarten, and ensuring that all of our students are reading at grade level by the 3rd grade will increase academic achievement and reduce our high school dropout rate. We will accomplish this by making sure our public schools have the resources they need and that hold them accountable for results. The second biggest issue that I will address will be major tax reform that addresses the revenue shortfall we are experiencing. I favor tax reform that will lower and broaden our state sales tax. I also favor closing tax loopholes.
Budget priorities: Major tax reform will generate the much needed revenue for the state.
Fiscal philosophy: I have always been fiscally responsible. And have always favored lower and broader taxes for everyone. Everyone must have skin in the game. That is why I favor a consumption tax over the personal and corporate income tax. This type of tax model puts more money in people’s pockets to spend and moves the global economy forward.
Common Core: Yes! But Common Core will have limited success due to the continued under funding of our public schools by our current Legislature. As a recent letter writer in the Arizona Republic opined about the new core-driven curriculum, “When average class sizes are 35 students, does anyone believe this state will attract quality teachers into an environment where sub-professional wages, inadequate facilities, overloaded classes and negative rhetoric are the norm?”
Gifts to elected officials: Gifts to our elected officials need to be transparent. All trips should have to be reported regardless of who pays. All sporting and event tickets should be reported. Tickets over a face value of $75 should be banned. Currently, gifts valued over $500 must be reported. That amount should be dropped to $250. And there must be sanctions against those who do not report correctly.
Transparency in government: Good government demands transparency! Lack of transparency is the number one reason why people have left the political process and voter turnout is at an all time low. Transparency must be prevalent at all times and the games played by legislators of not giving the public enough notice of upcoming bills and committee meetings must stop. The rules are that agendas must be set the day before and that has to be held true. The games of “it was on an agenda last week so we can introduce it today” without any real notice must also stop.
Pro-life / pro-choice: Safe, legal and rare.
Public policy advice: Over my years as a political activist, I have collected a rather large group of political mentors and friends who I turn to for political advice. My most trusted adviser? My husband.
