Rep. Juan Mendez, D-Phoenix

Name: Juan Mendez

Chamber: House of Representatives

Party: Democrat

Profession: Manages a non-profit association called Community Voicemail

Hometown: Phoenix

Legislative District: No. 26, which includes north Tempe, northwest Mesa and part of the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community.

Committee Assignments: Insurance and Retirement; Reform and Human Services.

Previous or Current Elected Offices: None

Highlights of Community Involvement: He has held various positions on the executive board of the District 17 Democrats and served as president of the Young Democrats of ASU.

Why He Ran: “I can look back at all the programs and services that helped my family – I come from poverty – and I can see a lot of those programs are not there anymore … I need to do something about that.”

His Focus: “My focus right now is just to learn how to operate the Legislature. I just want to get my footing.”

Bills: Author of HB 2359, which would prohibit credit card companies from offering gifts or promotional items while soliciting students to apply for credit cards.