Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

There is a reason the Los Angeles Dodgers don’t get to pick the starting pitchers for the Arizona Diamondbacks when they play against them.

The old saying, “Nobody can fight city hall,” does not apply to members of “Building a Better Phoenix.” We have decided to fight City Hall on August 27. Vote Yes on Proposition 105 and deliver a knockout blow to government waste and insensitivity to the little guy.

In Arizona, help for our schools can always wait, it seems. A 903-1 student-to-counselor ratio is an emergency. The consequences of delay could be tragic. Our state's response requires more urgency than "wait until next year."

The ERA is our nation’s conduit to everyone – male and female – reaching full human potential. The injustice to women and families stops here and now, when we raise our voices in unison and compel lawmakers to ratify the ERA. Let freedom ring and equality reign.

We are on an unsustainable path that we cannot continue. I will be introducing legislation in the coming weeks to address the border crisis and fix the loopholes in our immigration laws. I hope my Democrat colleagues will join me in ending this crisis once and for all.

Based on our counterfeit opioid drug crises, it’s important to “know your source” when it comes to your medication and beware of advertisers offering large discounts on foreign prescription drugs. Lawmakers and citizens should be skeptical of any proposals to “legally” allow the foreign importation of prescription drugs into the U.S. and placing Americans at risk.

The political fight over School Choice - Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts seem to never end. The latest battle continues over a small group of Navajo children, who needed the Education Savings Accounts to attend a school in New Mexico just over the Arizona state line.

As the recent trade war with China has escalated, Beijing has implied that it may retaliate by withholding rare earth minerals. Such a strategic vulnerability – and America’s alarmingly high reliance on imported minerals and metals – is now in the spotlight for all the world to see.

In U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko’s June 5th, 2019, article, she stated "Medicare for All strips away health care freedom." However, just the opposite is true. People will have freedom to choose their doctor with no networks to worry about, fear of bills they cannot pay, or going into bankruptcy. Everyone benefits, seniors on Medicare, those with employer-based insurance, those with pre-existing conditions, young, old, and those in-between. Everyone!

I am proud of what we accomplished this year and of the relationships we’ve built. It makes me optimistic about the possibilities the next legislative session holds as we commit ourselves to proactively building coalitions to find sustainable, effective solutions for education.