Former Sen. Steve Kaiser resigned from the Legislature in 2023 to spend more time with family, but also because he “felt like that place started to change” him. Turning the page, Kaiser, a Republican, launched his own lobbying firm and told the Arizona Capitol Times he hopes to impact state policy from a new perspective. 

The questions and answers have been edited lightly for style and clarity. 

What is your fondest memory of your time in the Legislature? 

There’s a lot. I really, really did love it. I love the thrill of the debate in committee. There were several bills where we would have a strong debate in committee, and then we would win the vote, our bill would pass, and I remember just being like, all adrenaline pumping, going back to my office, just so excited. Like, that was a great debate, we went back and forth and we came out on top. It’s on to the next step. That happened several times in my three years, and I loved that feeling. Committees can flip on you randomly. So, somebody can seize on one word or one phrase and the whole thing gets derailed, or it can work toward your benefit. So it’s very exciting. I love the committee process.

Do you think that working across the aisle is important as a lawmaker? 

I think it’s important because that’s how generally you’re going to get the best bill, right, because your ideas are going to get challenged by somebody that thinks totally differently than you, and it’s very easy as people to put blinders on and to say, “This is the way it should be, this is the only thing I see.” 

How did you feel on the day that you resigned from the Legislature?

Before I got elected, I had experience with that world (politics), and I knew the dangers of that world, and I was afraid that place was going to change me. After I got elected, before I went down there, I was really thinking that a lot, “I don’t want this place to change me.” So one of the things that came in my mind when I was thinking about that was, what could I do to remind myself, to stay myself? The image that popped in my head was — I’m a Christian, so — Jesus was washing the feet of disciples. That’s a reminder to be humble, to serve others and to never think that you’re better or more important than another. I really thought about that image, and how I could have that remind me. So I went to get a poster and I had that hanging in my office. I started thinking more about what else I could remind myself to do and it kind of turned into my own reminder wall. I had another one that was Benjamin Franklin teaching younger printers, that was a reminder to seek mentorship. I had another one that was George Washington in Valley Forge by himself, praying. It was just kind of a reminder that leadership is lonely. You’re gonna feel alone, there’s gonna be a time when everything’s going wrong, just remember to look up and ask for help. My fourth poster was that scene in the movie Dumb and Dumber — them driving into Aspen on the motorbike — which was just a reminder to try to have fun. So, I had those on my wall, and I was looking at them the whole time, and I had those warnings, but I still felt like that place started to change me. 

I started finding that I was putting that place in front of my wife, in front of my kids, and, you know, I had sold my business. During that last year, especially, I just went 150 percent into the Legislature, and that was a mistake. I should have moderated myself a little bit, and I just felt myself changing in a way I didn’t like. I know I’m coming from a swing district, and so I want to protect my seat for my party, and I knew that by resigning, that would allow my seat to be replaced by a Republican, who ideally would not have a primary fight. She wound up having a primary fight, but it wasn’t much of one. I did that because I knew I didn’t want to run again, because that place was changing me, and I resigned to protect my seat for my party, because I believe in the principles of my party. It was really hard to do. It’s even hard to talk about, because I didn’t like doing it, but I knew it was the right thing to do. It’s easy to get really consumed by the Legislature. It just took over. It took over before I realized it.

Have you spent more time with your family since then? 

Yeah, it’s been great. So I had sold the business in 2022 and when I resigned, I didn’t really have a plan as to what I was going to do. We had a good sale, so I had some time where I didn’t have to get a job right away. So I started the nonprofit, the Arizona Prosperity Project, and I’ve been able to spend so much of my time on that. But, more importantly, I think I’ve been able to kind of reprioritize life and balance it a little bit better. I think as a senator, or as a public servant, I really felt like I needed to do all these things, because I was responsible to a lot of people, right? And I mean, that’s what service is. You put people in front of yourself. The problem is, I put everybody else in front of my family, and that wasn’t good. So I was able to kind of recalibrate the focus areas and put them first. Now I serve a much smaller population, right, my clients, but I’m still working to make Arizona a great place, which is still important to me. But, yeah, it’s totally different. It’s awesome. I mean, I think about my brothers and sisters, who I love and respect, that are still serving and all the things they still have to go to and do, and I don’t have to do all those things. It’s been way better. I feel like it’s a really hard decision to pull back and change course, but I’m so glad I did because it’s just so much better putting them first. 

Are you still getting a sense of fulfillment from the work you do now? 

Oh yeah, for sure. One of my favorite things about being a lawmaker was policy work. I find policy fascinating, I think bill drafting is fascinating. I love how bills move through the Legislature — or how they don’t move through the Legislature. I think all of that is really interesting. So what I love about this job is I can pick the areas that I really care about, like criminal justice reform, like education reform, and I can find clients in those spaces, and I can just work on those areas. So I get to focus, instead of being pulled a million different ways on a million different subjects, I can dig in deep on those subjects that I am really interested in, and then I can do more policy. I am doing more policy work now than I was, and I find that really interesting and rewarding. I didn’t realize that was gonna be the case, but I really love it. We’re creating little definitions, you know, we’re changing small words. I found coalition building interesting. I’m still doing that, like I did as a lawmaker. So, it is very similar, but it allows more focus, which was the hardest part about being a lawmaker. It got to be a mile wide and an inch deep, but with this role, you can really dig in, and that’s been really rewarding.

What did you think about the housing legislation that passed during the recent legislative session, and were you at all involved with that process

Yeah, I was. I was involved in two of the four that got passed and got signed into law. I was very sad to see the Starter Home Act didn’t get through. I hope they run it again, because we desperately need that. But it was a huge, huge year for housing. I mean, this is one of those moments where the momentum finally crashed over the wall, and the wall has broken, and there’s gonna be more coming, and I can’t wait for that, because the citizens of Arizona desperately need better housing options. We have no diversity in housing. We’ve got no affordability. Young people can’t build that equity that they need, right? So, yeah, I was helping on two of them behind the scenes, because I can’t lobby directly for that one year, but what I could do is build coalitions in the background with people that weren’t members, so other entities and things like that. That was really rewarding, and now I’m very excited I get to work more directly down there. 

Any other of your legislation you think will make a comeback? 

One of the bills I’m really excited about was a bill that I ran two years ago as a member. It’s a home confinement bill where if you’re in the last 18 months of your time for certain non-violent criminal reasons, you can be released into home confinement. It allows you to get a job and start transitioning back in. So that’s gonna be coming back next year. I’m very excited that I’ll be working on that.