Republican – Legislative District 20 Senate

Phone: (602) 456-9536

Address: PO Box 83561, Phoenix, AZ 85071

Age: 40. (02/23/74, Phoenix, AZ).

Arizona since: Birth

Occupation: Small business owner; AZ state senator since 2013; AZ state representative 2010-12; director of communications and government affairs, AZ State Treasurer’s Office, 2006-10; deputy cabinet secretary, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Office, 2003-05; senior research analyst, AZ Senate Committee on Education, 1998-2003; policy analyst, State Board of Education, California Governor Pete Wilson’s Office, 1997-98; executive fellow, California State Superintendent’s Office, 1996-97.

Marital: Married

Children: 1

Education: M.P.A., ASU, 2001; B.A., political science/English, Pepperdine University, 1996; Greenway High School, 1992.

Political experience: Board member and representative, National Order of Women Legislators, National Foundation of Women Legislators; chair, Republican Committee of Legislative District 10, 2006-08; Arizona Delegate, Republican National Committee, 2008; precinct committeeman since 2006; Executive Guidance Committee, Maricopa County Republican Committee, 2006-08.

Legis exp: Senate 2013-14; House 2011-12.

Interests: Spending time with family and friends, art and design, cooking and traveling.

Two biggest issues: The two biggest issues facing Arizona’s future are improving our education system and growing our state’s economy. I am a strong supporter of our state’s offering of school choice options and believe we should better fund our neighborhood district schools and charter schools, particularly in the areas of teacher salaries and classroom supplies. We should ensure education funding doesn’t stop at the district or charter administration office; as such funds should flow down to the individual schools and classrooms. We can improve our economy and encourage job growth by reducing excessive tax obligations and getting government out of the way by reducing red tape and government regulations on businesses.

Budget priorities: My budget priorities are in education, health care, child welfare services and public safety. We have large state agencies that can trim programs and downsize divisions to cut expenditures without interrupting critical public services. Private businesses take a look at how their overall business structures are working year to year and program and personnel changes are made in order to improve efficiencies in the workplace. Unfortunately, we don’t do that in state government, but we should. We can increase our revenues by improving our job market and encouraging more businesses, especially manufacturing businesses, to our great state.

Fiscal philosophy: I am a fiscal conservative. I believe we should be prudent stewards of our tax dollars. We should not spend more than we make.

Common Core: There was a lack of transparency that occurred in developing these standards. I helped develop California’s academic standards in my early career and we received input from parents and teachers from communities in every county. The result was that families embraced those standards. That, unfortunately, did not happen in the development of Common Core. The cautionary sentiment I hear today on Common Core is that families feel these are universal standards and each state’s unique stamp was left out of the overall development. As we move forward to implement these standards, policymakers must listen to those who are most affected.

Gifts to elected officials: I sponsored a bill in 2011 that is now state law which increased transparency so that the public may view online the financial reports of lobbyists and elected officials. My bill developed a user-friendly and searchable electronic database through the Secretary of State’s office website which provided an additional level of transparency for the public. Before this bill, financial disclosures could only be viewed by filling out a public records request and by visiting the Secretary of State’s office in person. I would continue to support reforms that provide the public more information on financial disclosures.

Transparency in government: As a strong supporter of transparency in government, I have received awards for my work in this area. I have focused on transparency in budgeting, allowing taxpayers the ability to see how their tax dollars are being used at the local, state and federal levels of government. I have sponsored and passed legislation to require local school districts, cities and municipalities to publish their annual budgets online and ensure the budget information is not more than “3 clicks away” from the home page so that taxpayers can hold governing bodies accountable for how they are spending their hard-earned tax dollars.

Pro-life / pro-choice: I am pro-life and believe that the precious life of a baby begins at conception.

Public policy advice: When determining how I vote on important public policy issues, I consider many viewpoints including that of my constituents, public testimony relayed from committee hearings, perspectives sent through correspondence and phone calls, staff recommendations, and I always try to meet with both sides of controversial issues so that I fully understand the details, strengths and weaknesses of every policy issue being considered.

Yee, Kimberly

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