Elections 2014 Just another Arizona Capitol Times Election Coverage site
Democrat – Legislative District 4 House
Phone: (928) 919-3345
Email: jose_l_suarez@hotmail.com
Website: suarez4staterepresentative.org
Facebook: Jose Suarez
Address: 374 Los Tres Hombres St, San Luis, AZ 85349
Age: 50. (02/06/64, Mexicali, Mexico).
Arizona since: 1992
Occupation: Personal financial rep, Allstate Financial Services, since 2013.
Marital: Married
Children: 2
Education: Some college (studied in Mexicali, Mexico); GED from Imperial Valley College (El Centro, CA).
Political experience: City council member, City of San Luis, 2008-12, 1996-2000 (vice-mayor, 1998-2000).
Interests: Financial literacy, political literacy, spending time with family.
Two biggest issues: Economic development: I’d like to sponsor legislation to help promote better infrastructure and international trade. This will attract both domestic and foreign investors to our state. Education: High quality education should always be considered one of the top issues government must work on. The public school system must be supported at all levels with proper funding and appropriate policies in place.
Budget priorities: I’d look at the tax code and look for ways to enhance job creation, but this would have to be monitored. If we are willing to reduce taxes to corporations, but there is no job creation, then there is no sense to lower corporate taxes. Quality of education is a top priority. Also, the state needs to invest in enough infrastructure to attract investors. Waiting lines in ports of entry in the state need to be shortened to facilitate legal international trade, thus, improving local economies and tax sales increase. We need to find ways to work together with federal authorities to improve this.
Fiscal philosophy: Invest the money where it really needs to get invested. Cut down on expenses that don’t help to improve our economy.
Common Core: It is my understanding that the Arizona Dept of Education receives about $1 billion annually in federal funding to implement the Common Core program. If we didn’t have it, it would harm the economy of the state, since we would have to look for ways to keep funding it.
Gifts to elected officials: I wasn’t aware of laws on gifts given to elected officials. It is my personal belief that no legislator or his/her family members shall solicit or receive any gift or money in exchange for being influenced in the performance of the legislator’s duties. That would imply corruption in most cases. I would support/sponsor legislation to avoid corrupt acts in all elected officials.
Transparency in government: Voters have a right to demand transparency in government. They have to know what the elected officials are doing in order to comply with the laws. That’s how the public will know if we are doing the things for which we were elected.
Pro-life / pro-choice: I am pro-life, but not on an extreme manner. I understand that there can be certain situations where it’s better for an unborn child to stay unborn, like rare birth defects, where they aren’t expected to live. I’d rather see proper and adequate support and counseling for victims of rape or abuse from organizations like Planned Parenthood or state-funded organizations, coordinated with adoption services entities.
Public policy advice: Public input first and/or seasoned politicians second.
