Why I’m running
I am running for reelection to the Arizona State Senate to carry on the work of preparing Arizona’s future for the coming generations. Arizonans have learned the hard way in the last year of the high cost of not investing in prevention whether we are talking about the health and well being of our children or sustaining our infrastructure.
The lack of foresight of previous legislatures has come to roost. One need only look at the headlines regarding CPS or simply drive down almost any Tucson street and see what penny wise and pound foolish planning has wrought.
While we had a remarkable year in regard to the Medicaid expansion and some improvements in school funding there remains much to do to prepare Arizona for its inevitable growth. Our decisions today reverberate for years to come.
Every election is about the future and the 2014 race will be no different. I am running again for this office to carry on the work of improving the quality of life for all Arizonans. I want to build an Arizona that challenges its youth to change their communities for the better, that creates and sustains an environment where business can develop and grow and provides opportunities for the aging population to contribute their wisdom, knowledge and guidance.
We need more people in the legislature who can identify what is right with our State and build on its strengths to make it better and not just lament about what is wrong and criticize it. While our economy is slowly recovering we are still living in difficult times and government has a role to play in helping people get back on their feet and then stepping back to let them prosper and grow.
As a candidate and subsequently as an elected official, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of the fact that the causes are more important than the individual espousing them. I have tried in my senate term to remain ever mindful of that fact.
I approach this role with no monopoly on the truth nor with any simple sloganeered formulae to confront and overcome the many challenges that face our community and State. I do know though that the path to making life better for us and those who follow hinges upon the cardinal virtues of justice, fortitude, prudence and temperance.
Practicing those virtues is difficult, because they are unrelentingly tedious and perpetually demanding. As prudence requires, I hope to enlist your guidance and counsel as we hit the campaign trail again. As justice beckons, let’s continue to work together to make it right for those we mutually serve. As temperance guides, let’s not succumb to divisiveness, sophomoric labeling of each other or interminable screaming. As fortitude demands, let’s never give up working for the values that we share and hold sacred.
There is much work to do for our State, I will seek to earn your support again to work on the many challenges that we face.
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