Aaron Márquez of Phoenix will be Legislative District 5’s newest House representative. Márquez is an Army veteran who served two deployments in Afghanistan. He said education and reproductive rights are two of his top priorities as he enters office. He is the co-founder of the progressive veterans group VetsForward.us and worked in U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego’s office in 2015 for veterans outreach.

The committees that interest Márquez are the Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections Committee because of the military component and the Education Committee.

Márquez, a Valley resident throughout his childhood, was elected to the Phoenix Union High School District Governing Board in 2020, and said he was interested in running for the state House because of the control the Legislature has in school funding. He said his political heroes are former U.S. Presidents Barrack Obama, John F. Kennedy, and has found inspiration for public service from Bill Clinton helping start AmeriCorps.

Márquez said working across the aisle is critical at the Legislature and his military experience gives him the confidence to do so. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a Democrat or a Republican standing next to me, we have to find a way to bring each other home and get the mission accomplished,” he said.