Education should not be just a priority. It should be THE foundation of every conversation we have. Education enriches our lives today and secures our future. Education is the foundation of re-building our economy and brightening our tomorrow.
I pledge to make education a part of every conversation at the legislature. It is my intention to make sure the education of our children is never left out of the legislative process. I will work tirelessly on behalf of Arizona’s students and teachers at the legislature and with the Governor to strengthen our public schools.
We are currently in the middle of massive cuts to our public schools, which will affect thousands of teachers, education support professionals, and administrators from across the state. This is unacceptable and fiscally irresponsible. We must keep our fine-arts, music, and sports programs from being eliminated. These are essential to a child’s education and at times therapeutic. I plan to build community partnerships to keep these programs alive and bring new technologies and resources to the classroom.
Facts:
The legislature cut hundreds of millions of dollars from public education for the 2008-09 school year budget. Arizona's legislature is facing a budget deficit nearing $2 billion for FY09 and $3 billion for FY10.
We live in a desert. We need to do everything in our power to make sure it’s a ecologically and environmentally sound (green) desert where we can live and work: one where we conserve our resources and use them wisely to ensure a bright future for our state. Arizona needs to lead the nation in making our air, water and land clean through conservation measures and investment in renewable energy sources like Solar and Wind. Tax credits and incentives should be utilized to stimulate the production and use of green energy such as increasing tax incentives on hybrid gas-electric vehicles. Educating the public on a renewable resources directory where they can stay informed on what solar and other rebates are available (federal, state, and local incentives) is essential to encouraging Arizona residents to go green.
- Green energy can help improve our air, land and economic prosperity
- Attract Green technologies and Businesses
- Use renewable energy sources like Solar and Wind
- Water reclamation to help our cities with sustainable water sources
I am running to serve as your Representative to secure equal rights for ALL Arizonans. I understand from my own personal life experiences what it means to be in the minority. I pledge to bring that experience, and my willingness to work for equality for all, to everything I do in the legislature. I pledge to work with you to make our State an even greater place where all of our citizens are treated equally under the law without regard to an individual's race, gender, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or expression. I will not support any legislation that will take away rights from any individual. I also believe that a woman’s personal health care decisions should not be made by the government. It is the right of every woman to make her own health decisions.
I believe in working with business, labor and government to create sustainable jobs for our future. By building bridges we can make Arizona a great place to work, live and play. These are challenging times, some of the gravest our state has faced in its nearly 100 year history. What’s been done in the past hasn’t worked. We need to work together to rebuild our economy to support a vibrant, forward looking engine for growth and prosperity. This should be an engine to make it a better Arizona for all of us. And it has to be a partnership between each cog in the wheel, remembering that what we do with education, the environment, the community, and our citizens has far reaching implications for our economy.
Together, we can make Arizona work again.
- Partner with Business and Labor to tackle the tough issues
- Bringing together State and Local leaders to make things work
- Invest in new technologies and the education to create a first class work force to operate them
