Issues

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Education is not a one size fits all system. I believe parents are best equipped in making the best choice for their child’s education needs. 

As a product of a K-12 public district school education, I have worked most of my adult life on behalf of our school children. I volunteered in the inner city knowing young children came from broken homes and might need a young mentor to guide them on a better path. I worked in a GED classroom helping both young and old high school dropouts pass the test that gave them a better chance to achieve a secondary education or attend a vocational training school. And I witnessed first hand the importance of having a strong leader at a school (a.k.a the principal) during my time at an inner city public high school in New York City. Principals and teachers should be able to work together with parents on the best curriculum for their students.  

Our children are our most undervalued resource. We need to ensure our investments are directly made to classrooms and teachers so that they have the necessary funds to compete in our evolving global economy.   

Teachers should be rewarded for their children’s academic excellence.  If students are excelling in their subject those teachers should receive additional compensation for their successes in their classroom. 

Not all children learn at the same speed or in the same style. I support incubators of success we have experienced in our Arizona charter and district schools and believe the highest performing schools should be replicated across the state. 

I am a strong advocate of STEM (Science, technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and STEAM (Science, technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) curriculum and schools. My own children attend a STEM-themed school and I have seen first hand the benefits of this education.   

I have spent the last several years ensuring low-income, special needs and foster care children receive the best education possible by finding a public or private school that understands their needs. These children now have better opportunities and many of these scholarship students go on to graduate high school and often on to college. As a Mom, I know the importance of a good education and I will be an ally of yours in this arena.  

Government needs to be limited and spending needs to be retrained. I support a balanced budget as a step towards making Arizona prosperous. My family does not spend out of its means and neither should our state government. I will work hard to ensure we are never again in a position where we have to sell state buildings just to keep our government functioning.  

I am opposed to unfunded mandates handed down by the federal government and have worked to protect Arizona from them.   

Each resident of Arizona should be in favor of transparent government. As taxpayers, we should be able to track every dollar the government spends so the process is out in the open. It is our right to know how each dollar is spent.  

I am a firm believer in States' rights. I supported the passage of the 2010 Health Care Freedom Act.  Arizona was the first state to adopt the Health Care Freedom Act.  This constitutional amendment prevents citizens from being compelled to join a government-run healthcare system. The measure also guarantees the right to purchase private health insurance, and would allow individuals the freedom to directly purchase lawful medical services.

I believe the Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they wrote the Constitution. To secure our liberties three branches of government were created. Further, splitting powers of government a second time between the national and state governments helps keep the federal government from further encroaching on our states' rights.  

Arizona needs public pension reform and more transparency in union contracts.  I will help lead the charge in these areas.

I have physically toured parts of the Arizona/Mexico border and even had the pleasure to meet with then Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever to discuss the Border. I met with third generation ranchers who have been adversely affected by illegal immigration and drug trafficking. The locals want a stronger presence of Border Patrol, unmanned drones and more strategic fencing. Together, we also need to ensure we have the best functioning E-Verify system and as members of the state legislator, work with our Congressional delegation to fix our broken legal immigration system.

In the late 1990s, I had the privilege to work for Texas Lt. Governor Rick Perry who brought high technology executives together to find out what a more hospitable business environment would look like.  It turns out strong schools, reducing the regulatory burden and a low tax environment were part of the recipe for encouraging and spurring growth.   

I am proud of the success Arizona has already achieved in this area by cutting regulation, investing in our K-12 system and building a more predictable tax structure. We have also rebuilt strong partnerships with the Mexican government, which have allowed us to role out more efficient flows for people and commerce coming into and out of the United States. 

The recipe to strong free enterprise is a tax system that taxes all consumed income at the flattest rate. The government should not be picking winners and losers in the marketplace, or setting economic policies that will help one business over another. I am opposed to special interest, corporate subsidies.

Our small businesses are the backbone of our economy. We need a level playing field to help all businesses thrive. I will advocate on behalf of our small businesses to ensure the marketplace remains as fair to the future of their success.