Nationwide and statewide, far too many women and their children are living in poverty. Those of you who follow my Legislative Updates and videos know that I have been beating the drum for improved maternal and child health and for tackling Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) like food, housing, and financial insecurity. During the pre-COVID19 pandemic, Arizona was #50 — worst in the country — for Adverse Childhood Experiences.
The Children’s Action Alliance (CAA), a watchdog group that lobbies the Legislature on behalf of children, recently published their 2020 Kids Count Book with data regarding the well-being of Arizona’s children. You can read the data book here. CAA also collects survey responses from candidates and electeds who are running for the Legislature. You can read the responses here.
To read more about the data book, check out David Gordon’s story in Blog for Arizona: Child Poverty and Food Insecurity are Major Concerns as the CAA releases the 2020 Arizona Kids Count Book.
It’s Time for Meaningful Change in Arizona
It’s time for the Arizona Legislature to stop featherbeding corporations with tax giveaways and shortchanging future generations.
In 2015, when I first ran for office, I promised to be the voice of the people in the Arizona Legislature. Before I vote on any piece of legislation, I ask myself, will this benefit the people of Arizona?
In my four years in the Arizona House, I have seen far too many bills passed that benefit special interest groups or specific industries or corporations, to the detriment of the people.
As a three-term Clean Elections candidate, I am not beholden to lobbyists or big-money donors. My independent voting record shows that I am not bought and sold. I have used my voice, my votes, and my bills to fight for the rights of workers, patients, teachers, students, women and the underserved.
I grew up in a tiny house in the rust belt of Northern Ohio, but thanks to fulltime work and union wages, my family always food on the table and a roof over our heads. The children of Arizona don’t have those luxuries.
In 2020, I proposed comprehensive legislation to expand maternal and child health and tackle Adverse Childhood Experiences, like food, housing, and financial insecurity. I also proposed a truth in renting bill to make our tenant landlord laws fairer and stem the tide of evictions.
It’s time for a new day in Arizona. Instead of featherbedding corporations, what if the Arizona Legislature made sure ALL of Arizona’s children had food on the table and a roof over their heads?
Unfortunately, even though the Democrats held 48% of the seats in the Arizona Legislature, Republican gamesmanship blocked these bills and many others that would have benefitted people.
Giving babies a healthy start on life and lifting Moms and their children out of poverty is economic development, in my opinion.
It’s time for the Arizona Legislature to fund the People’s To-Do list — education, healthcare, infrastructure and security – instead of the corporate wish list of privatization, deregulation, and tax giveaways.
As a Progressive Democrat and a Clean Elections candidate, I want to continue to do the people’s work in the Arizona House. I ask for your vote in the General Election on or before Nov. 3,2020.