Elections 2014 Just another Arizona Capitol Times Election Coverage site
Republican – Legislative District 17 Senate
Phone: (480) 897-1060
Email: sby@acsto.org
Website: www.yarbroughsenate.com
Address: 1086 W Armstrong Way, Chandler, AZ 85286
Age: 66. (08/26/47, Las Cruces, NM).
Arizona since: 1963
Occupation: Executive director, Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization, since 1998; attorney since 1972.
Marital: Married
Children: 3
Education: J.D., ASU, 1971; B.S., finance, ASU, 1968; Phoenix Union H.S., 1965.
Political experience: School board member for 24 years.
Legis exp: Senate since 2011; House 2003-10.
Interests: Family activities plus watching eight grandchildren play sports and do musical productions.
Two biggest issues: Restoring economic growth including quality job creation and improving student academic achievement. Continue to lead efforts to create the most favorable business climate we can with low taxes and minimal regulation and continue to advance school choice – open enrollment for district schools, charter schools, scholarship tax credits, online education opportunity, supportive homeschool environment, and Empowerment Scholarship Accounts for disabled, displaced students and students in D and F schools – and improve pay for highly successful teachers who do so much to make a difference.
Budget priorities: My demonstrated budget priorities include funding K-12 education adequately, maintaining public safety, and protecting children better than we have been. We had to make serious cuts and borrow heavily during the Great Recession. We need a solid commitment to eliminating our debt preferably over the next four years, including paying back the K-12 rollover. The way to increase revenue is to grow our economy with as many high quality jobs as we can help the private sector create.
Fiscal philosophy: Conservative, common-sensed, and compassionate for those who truly need our assistance.
Common Core: Not in their current format. We have the talent in our universities, public and private, and our K-12 schools, public and private, and our business and policymaking communities to design our own Arizona standards. They could well be more rigorous than Common Core and surely would benefit from being Arizona unique. We very much need to improve student academic achievement and make our high school graduates more college and career ready. We can do better.
Gifts to elected officials: I would be fine if they were totally prohibited. The loss to Arizona would be that legislators would virtually never be able to engage in professional improvement and learning opportunities at places like NCSL, ALEC, Excellence in Education Foundation, Legislative Leaders Association, and numerous others. As for the “free lunches” on the grounds during session, again, it doesn’t matter to me. I spend that time working in my office. It is a good time for members to visit with constituents, but if the minimal “gift value” is really a big deal, just eliminate them.
Transparency in government: Transparency in government is very important. I believe Arizona’s Legislature may be the most
transparent one in the country. Everything is publically noticed. Proceedings are on TV and the
internet. The press has access pretty much everywhere. If there is anything more that can be
done to add even more to transparency then fine, let’s do it.
Pro-life / pro-choice: I am profoundly pro-life. Abortion on demand up to a certain time is judicially mandated as the law of the land. Someday perhaps our humanity in opposition to killing the unborn will change that fact. Until then, we should do as much as we can to protect the health of the mother electing to have an abortion.
Public policy advice: I visit with other members, our professional staff, lobbyists who have expertise on the issue, PC’s and other knowledgeable folks in the community. Sometimes for the fun of it, I will even ask one of my friends in the media what they personally think about the issue. I get some interesting answers or non-answers.
