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Arizona State Senate District 4

Arizona State SenatorDescription: The Arizona Legislature has two chambers. The State Senate is the upper chamber and comprises 30 Senators, one from each of Arizona’s 30 legislative districts. The House of Representatives is the lower chamber and comprises 60 Representatives, 2 from each of Arizona’s 30 legislative districts. Arizona Senators must be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for 10 years, and an Arizona resident for 5 years. The term of office is 2 years, limited to 4 terms. Arizona has no staggered terms, so every member of the Legislature is up for reelection every two years. All seats are elected every 2 years in even-numbered years.Responsibilities: Both chambers of the Legislature propose new laws and amendments to current laws, including proposed amendments to the state constitution to be referred to the voters for approval, and write and approve the state budget. In addition, the Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to the Executive Branch and hold a trial of impeached officials and, if convicted, can remove them from office.Why you should care: With the Governor s approval, the legislature enacts laws that affect crucial aspects of our daily lives, including state taxes, how the money is spent, your voting rights, the criminal justice system, women’s rights, the environment, immigration, education, and gun safety. The legislature can bring a legislative initiative (new law) directly to the voters without gathering signatures. Proposed changes to the state constitution originate in the legislature.Additional information:https://www.azsenate.govhttps://www.azcleanelections.gov/how-government-works/arizona-state-senators-and-representatives__________________________________________________________________________________________El Senador Estatal de ArizonaDescripción del puesto: La Legislatura de Arizona tiene dos cámaras. El Senado del Estado es la cámara alta y está formado por 30 senadores, uno de cada uno de los 30 distritos legislativos de Arizona. La Cámara de Representantes es la cámara baja y está formada por 60 representantes, 2 de cada uno de los 30 distritos legislativos de Arizona. Los senadores de Arizona deben tener al menos 25 años de edad, ser ciudadanos estadounidenses durante 10 años y ser residentes de Arizona durante 5 años. Los senadores desempeñan un mandato de 2 años, y no pueden desempeñar más de 4 mandatos. No hay mandatos escalonados en Arizona, así que cada miembro de la Legislatura se presenta para la reelección cada dos años. Se eligen todos los puestos cada 2 años en los años pares.Responsabilidades: Ambas cámaras de la Legislatura proponen nuevas leyes y enmiendas a las leyes actuales, incluidas las enmiendas propuestas a la constitución del estado que los votantes deben aprobar. También redactan y aprueban el presupuesto del estado. Además, el Senado puede confirmar o rechazar los nombramientos del gobernador para la rama ejecutiva, iniciar procesos de destitución en contra de funcionarios elegidos y, si son condenados, puede destituirlos.Por qué debería interesarte: Con la aprobación del gobernador, la Legislatura promulga leyes que afectan a aspectos importantes de nuestra vida, como los impuestos estatales, la manera en que se gasta el dinero, el derecho de voto, el sistema de justicia penal, los derechos de la mujer, el medio ambiente, la inmigración, la educación y la seguridad de las armas. La legislatura puede presentar una iniciativa legislativa (una nueva ley) directamente a los votantes sin recoger firmas. Los cambios propuestos a la constitución del estado se originan en la legislatura.Para más información:https://www.azsenate.govhttps://www.azcleanelections.gov/how-government-works/arizona-state-senators-and-representatives

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  • Candidate picture

    Christine Marsh
    (Dem)

  • Candidate picture

    Carine Werner
    (Rep)

Biographical Information

What legislation will you propose or support to protect every Arizona citizen’s right to vote, guarantee access to flexible voting opportunities, and ensure that every vote is counted accurately to reflect the will of the voters?

What role, if any, do you believe the government should play in reproductive health care, including abortion, contraception, and fertility treatment, and what policies would you propose or support regarding individuals’ access to and choices about these forms of health care?

What will you do to provide adequate and sustainable funding for instruction and support services to ensure quality education for all Arizona students enrolled in publicly-funded pre-K, K-12, community college, and university programs?

What can be done to make housing affordable and accessible and reduce the unhoused population?

What laws would you propose or support to ensure that Arizona has a sustainable supply of clean water now and in the future?

How will you address the budget shortfall and balance the budget?

Campaign Email Chris4Arizona@gmail.com
Campaign Twitter @christinepmarsh
Public Policy Priorities Education, water, reproductive rights, ensuring safe communities, mitigating the opioid crisis
Qualifications and Experience Current elected state senator, 2016 Arizona Teacher of the Year, former small business owner
Organization Memberships and Affiliations Arizona Education Association, former participant in Valley Interfaith Project, and numerous groups and entities focused on education and parenting.
Endorsements AFSCME, Arizona List, Arizona Police Association, Arizona Technology Council, Climate Cabinet, EMILYs List, Ironworkers, MALF, Moms Fed Up, NOW, Sierra Club, Teamsters, UFCW. I am also a Moms Demand Action Gun Sense candidate.
Community Service I am a former foster mother to six kids. In addition to that: fostering of kittens, former high school club sponsor, former preschool teacher at my church.
Occupation Arizona State Senator and public school teacher
Education B.A. from UCLA; Masters Degree from Grand Canyon University.
I have supported previous efforts to enshrine automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration, and easier processes for independents looking to vote in primaries into law. Right now, in part because of our primary process which makes it difficult for independents to vote in primaries, the legislature has drifted towards the extremes.
The decision on how and when to start a family should be between families and doctors. The government's place in those decisions should grant medical professionals the necessary leeway to provide the treatment they need to provide.
We need to take a look at the tax cuts, breaks, and loopholes to determine which ones fail to benefit our economy. Our current majority has spent years prioritizing those cuts, breaks, and loopholes at the expense of a smaller and smaller funding pool for our kids.
Local control and affordable & accessible housing can and should go hand in hand. We should, for instance, allow cities and towns to regulate short-term rentals within their boundaries and trust local communities with those decisions.
One of my major concerns about the recently-passed budget was the threat to necessary funding for the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority, which we must fund at adequate levels. Securing Arizona's water future will require a comprehensive approach which includes conservation, new technology, and a tough stance on those who threaten our water supply. I supported the current administration's move, for instance, to end leases to Saudi-owned alfalfa farms.
I was a No on the budget which passed the legislature this year for several reasons, one of which was the use of opioid settlement money to backfill deficits. I instead think we should have gone to the Rainy Day Fund to help address shortfalls for this year while we explore options to fix the structural imbalance in future sessions.
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