It is an honor to ask for your vote as your next State Senator from District 26. I am proud to run on a record of integrity and accomplishment.
I was raised in the Arizona culture of Barry Goldwater. When I learned to drive I visited the office of U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater in downtown Tucson, an office that my mother, Freddy Hershberger, ran for 18 years. I still seek to model myself after the Senator's maverick Arizona spirit and common-sense principled leadership.
When the Arizona economy was good I voted for the largest tax cut in Arizona history. Now, when our state is $3 billion in the hole, I don't support further permanent tax cuts. We will borrow to get out of this hole. I see no sense in borrowing to fund tax cuts.
I voted for the toughest employer sanctions law in the country. This along with the federal government's border enforcement is a start to deal with our illegal immigration problem. But, I don't support felony trespass for illegal immigrants. We don't have the jail space or the hundreds of millions of dollars to build the jails necessary to house them.
My record in the Arizona House of Representatives over the last 8 years has proven my leadership and experience. I have fiercely and consistently supported District 26 and Southern Arizona against the power brokers in Maricopa County.
There is no greater champion in the Arizona Legislature for children. I have taken the lead in assuring that our children are safe, healthy, and have access to a quality education. As Chairman of the House Human Services Committee, a founder and Chair of the Arizona Children's Caucus, Chairman of the Human Services Committee of the National Conference of State Legislators, and member of the exclusive Legislative Working Group of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, I have been a leader at a state and national level on children's issues and have received state and national recognition for this work.
