Standing for Freedom

Education is the foundation of opportunity and prosperity for both K-12 students and for unemployed or under-employed adults. My professional work experience, as well as my past leadership roles as the Chairwoman for the Education Committee in the Arizona House of Representatives and as a governing board member on the state's 4th largest school district governing board lead me to support:

• A back-to-basics approach to Reading, Math, Science and American History
• Parental rights and school choice
• Expanded vocational career and technical education opportunities for students and adults
• Reducing the expensive regulatory costs on schools before raising school taxes
• Safeguarding student privacy

When it comes to the all important task of preparing our students for the future, we should have confidence in our methods and fund them appropriately. We simply do not have the money to waste on programs and policies that do not effectively contribute to our children's education. Our over-regulated public education system already receives the largest share of the state budget and our first response to fixing it should not be our current tax and spend approach - education must be refocused on its primary mission and reformed for the benefit of our children.

Historically, our country's public education system produced students who landed Americans on the Moon. Today, too many students across the nation cannot read at grade-level proficiency. By returning to a back-to-basics approach, we can reverse this trend and make Arizona a national leader in education.

The highest priority of any state government is to bring prosperity to its citizens by creating educational and economic opportunities in safe and secure communities. Meeting this challenge requires accountability and transparency at all levels of government. To promote opportunity, I support state policies and programs that:

• Reform Arizona's tax policy and regulations to reduce adverse economic impacts and better promote individual opportunity.
• Expand adult education and training programs for work-displaced Arizonans so they can both benefit from a growing Arizona economy.
• More wisely foster the development of new technologies and the infrastructure required for continued economic growth and long-term economic security.

Prosperity also requires a Safe and Secure environment.  As such, I also support policies and programs that:

• Improve border security to protect all of us from drug trafficking and the risk of infectious diseases.
• Oppose sanctuary cities and sanctuary policies that shield criminals from appropriate law enforcement efforts.
• Support law enforcement efforts and build community trust.
• Address addiction and other public health concerns. This includes making sure first responders and Arizona health service providers have the resources they need to keep us safe.
• Responsibly protect and preserve wild spaces and water reserves as our metropolitan areas grow--for our own well-being as well as  for future generations.