CHRISTINE'S PRIORITIES
Enhancing Education and the Economy
Our education system is the foundation for our state’s future, and right now we are failing our kids and our future. I believe we need to restructure the way we fund our public education system. We need to invest in our teachers, require smaller class sizes, hire more counselors and prioritize public neighborhood schools. We also need to develop strong accountability and transparency measures for the voucher program. A highly educated, trained local workforce–and robust infrastructure–will motivate businesses to move to Arizona. We need to create a sustainable and diverse economy that has the ability to compete globally for new, high-wage jobs.
I come from generations of small-business owners. I’m proud of Arizona’s growing businesses, but I’m against corporate welfare. Arizona Republicans think the state succeeds economically when corporations benefit from huge tax breaks. This failed economic policy goes by many names but has had one result: a shrinking budget, and that leads to underfunded public services.
In my first term in the Senate, Arizona Republicans gave corporations even more tax breaks. I know firsthand that corporate handouts lead to poorly maintained infrastructure and inadequate funding for our public schools. Everybody wins when corporations pay their fair share.
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Ensuring Access to Quality,
Affordable Healthcare
All Arizonans deserve access to quality, affordable healthcare. As a former teacher, I know that there is a direct correlation between healthy children and learning. I support the continued availability of Medicaid and KidsCare to all who are eligible. I know we need meaningful reforms to make healthcare more affordable, including the opportunity to purchase health insurance through our current state Medicaid program.
It is absolutely critical that all reforms protect people with pre-existing conditions. Additionally, women in Arizona must have access to safe, legal reproductive healthcare in our state, and they must have the ability to make their own decisions regarding their healthcare.
Arizona is facing a physician shortage, and I will advocate for new policy and expanded programs that will help retain graduate medical professionals in our state and strengthen our hospital system.
Addressing the Opioid Crisis
We are losing too many lives to the opioid crisis in Arizona, and one way to mitigate that is to increase support for local efforts to reach into the community with resources, including pathways into recovery programs.This is personal for me. In 2020, I lost my own son to fentanyl after he took what he thought was a percocet, but what was actually a pill laced with fentanyl, and–in honor of him–I was able to get a bill signed into law that legalizes testing equipment for detecting fentanyl.
Expanding Arizona’s
Renewable Energy Industry
Arizonans know our state has a unique connection to the sun. Arizona has the potential to be a renewable energy powerhouse, but the current State Legislature has been a roadblock to achieving it. Let’s get Arizona on track to lead the nation in solar, wind, and hydroelectric energy production, and let’s save taxpayers money in the process.
Green, renewable, sustainable energy is projected to be a leading job creator now and in the future; Arizona has the knowledge and infrastructure, but now we need policies that move us forward. I’ll work to make sure we don’t overlook our unique energy capabilities.
And I’ll work to ensure Arizona has safe and secure water for future needs. With the diminishing water available from Lake Mead and Lake Powell, it is imperative that the Legislature take water needs into account as part of any future development. Incentivising use of agricultural land for new housing is one way to reduce water needs. Pausing new data centers will protect future water supplies and reduce the ever-growing demands for more power.
Maintaining A Balanced Arizona Legislature
Currently, Arizona has a Republican majority in both chambers of the State Legislature. We need more balance at the Capitol in order to force negotiation and compromise. Under Republican leadership, populations that already face discrimination, including people of color, women, the LGBT community, and people with disabilities, have been placed at risk.