Republican – Legislative District 18 House

Phone: (480) 838-3118

Address: 938 E Ranch Rd , Tempe, AZ 85284

Age: 67. (05/31/47, Columbus, OH).

Arizona since: 1970

Occupation: Professor of computer science and engineering, ASU, 1974-2004; officer, U.S. Air Force, 1969-73; founder and principal, Western Microsystems (a company that designs and develops custom software for microprocessors and embedded systems), since 1974.

Marital: Married

Children: 2

Education: Ph.D., electrical and computer engineering, ASU, 1974; M.S., electrical engineering, ASU, 1973; B.S. (with honors), math, Case Institute of Technology, 1960.

Political experience: President of two different HOAs for over 25 years; founder, Youth for Goldwater.

Interests: Working on houses, hiking, reading, travel, avid sports fan.

Two biggest issues: Improving the economy and improving education. The government can improve the economy by removing or reducing impediments to businesses and job creation. The compliance/reporting burden that the government imposes on businesses is crippling, especially for small businesses that do not have large administrative staffs. Improving education is essential for our future, and improving education will ultimately improve the economy and job prospects. We need stronger requirements for the study of math, science, English, and personal finance. We also need to expand the Regents Scholarship program so that more of our best and brightest students will remain in Arizona for college and, most likely, following graduation from college.

Budget priorities: Simply spending more money without carefully targeting it will not help, but my top priority for budget consideration is education. I think the best opportunity for saving money would be to provide a defined-contribution retirement plan for new government employees while allowing current employees to remain in their defined-benefit plan if they wish.

Fiscal philosophy: I believe in a balanced budget, of course, but the state, unlike the federal government, has no other option. I have always been frugal with my own money and have managed my personal finances carefully and wisely. I would do no less with the state’s finances.

Common Core: The implementation of Common Core is certainly far from perfect, but I have not seen any alternative proposal that would be as good. We need higher standards for education. Our children will grow up to compete with people from all over the world, and our children will not do well if we continue to give them an education that ranks well below what children in many other countries receive. If someone has a proposal for standards that are better than Common Core, we should consider that proposal. Simply being against Common Core without offering a better program, though, seems like a shortsighted approach.

Gifts to elected officials: I would favor a clear-cut rule that simply prohibits such gifts entirely. Alternatively, we could allow gifts of a nominal value, perhaps not to exceed $25 in value.

Transparency in government: The more visible the governing process is, the better our government will be. Public scrutiny tends to eliminate many undesirable actions.

Pro-life / pro-choice: My personal feeling is that abortion is a terrible thing, and I think that anyone who saw the exhibit of fetuses at the Arizona Science Center a few years ago would feel the same way. I think the government should provide counseling and the alternative of adoption. However, I do not feel entitled to impose my own personal beliefs onto other people, so I will not be the person who, for example, tells a rape victim that she cannot have an abortion.

Public policy advice: I look to people who have experience and knowledge in the particular area of the policy in question. For example, I have talked with present and former legislators to gain insight about things the Legislature has done in the past. I have talked with medical experts to get informed opinions regarding medical issues. I have talked with other educators to help develop my own ideas about education. In general, I go to people who have expertise in the area of concern, so I don’t turn to any one source for overarching advice.

Pheanis, David

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