The Copper Courier Voter Guide: Arizona’s 22nd Legislative District

Candidates for Legislative District 22 in Arizona

By Alicia Barrón

October 14, 2020

2020 is an election year like no other. The Copper Courier has the information you need to participate in Arizona’s November election, no matter how you choose to do so. As part of our efforts to help voters feel informed as the November election approaches, we’re creating an overview of local races throughout the state, along with access to tools Arizonans need to find out how to vote, who will be on their ballot, and what they can do to participate in the upcoming election.

What’s My Legislative District | Am I Registered to Vote? | Full Voter Guide

Arizona House of Representatives

*Candidate bios have been written by the candidates and submitted to the Arizona Secretary of State or posted on either the candidate’s Facebook page or official campaign website.

Photo courtesy: Frank Carroll campaign

Frank Carroll, R-Surprise

Three basic principles of the office he holds in highest regard

  1. The oath to uphold the constitutions of our nation and our state, strongly and consistently defending the principles written in these hallowed documents.  I will tirelessly represent the people of my legislative district, but likewise, the people of our Great State of Arizona!  And I will represent the truths contained in those constitutional documents to all citizens
  2. Life is a precious gift from our Creator. Cherish it, protect it, and secure justice for all
  3. Spending must be within our financial means and not leave future generations liable for our excesses. Equally…to roll back the growth and influence of government from robbing citizens of their privacy and freedoms to enjoy life

Bio

I was born and raised in Chicago and became a permanent citizen of Arizona twenty-four years ago. My wife Joanne and I recently celebrated twenty years together. Joanne retired from the airlines having worked most of her career in customer service. My career has always centered around the technology of ground transportation vehicles from the muscle cars of the ’60-’70’s era through the alternative vehicles you read about in the latest periodicals. We are both Christian constitutional conservatives who together will always stand for the republican principles that make this country the great republic it is.

My working-class career began as a service mechanic for a forklift and construction equipment dealer in Chicago. Electronics and computer technologies were making much-needed inroads to internal combustion engines and transportation vehicles. I hired on with a vehicle test equipment manufacturer advancing with the proliferation of computer control technologies. As a certified subject matter expert, I trained service technicians for several years in the subjects of vehicle computer management systems; emission systems and their environmental impact; vehicle safety systems; electric vehicle technology; and late model vehicle diagnosis and testing. After stepping away from my training career, I have spent the most recent two years’ operating commercial motor coaches for the tourism industry while getting to know the western US meeting locals and visitors.

I became involved in the Arizona Republican Party shortly after arriving in Arizona. I always serve as a Precinct Committeeman representing registered Republican voters to the political party. I have served as Precinct Captain, Area Director, and State Delegate. Under Chairman Eric Morgan served as 2nd Vice Chairman and then as 1st Vice Chairman. I also served two years as President of the Sun City West Republican Club.

My activist affiliations are Endowment Life Member of the National Rifle Association, member of the AZ Citizens Defense League grassroots group, activist in the Surprise Tea Party Patriots, an activist with Americans for Prosperity pursuit of smaller government and lower taxes, and an activist with the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Association.

I am asking for your support for a greater state of Arizona.

Photo courtesy: Wendy Garcia campaign

Wendy Garcia, D-Surprise

Key Issues

Education

  • Believes Arizona does not value or fund an excellent public education system
  • Wants to increase education funding to the 2008 pre-recession levels, and add (25% more for a 10 year cost of living adjustment COLA)
  • Wants to recognize and celebrate student achievements publicly

Health Care

  • Believes health insurance costs too much money
  • Believes healthcare should be treated as a human right; which covers drugs and mental health
  • Wants to expand Medicaid insurance as state program following U.S. national system

Economy

  • Believes there is a lack of good paying jobs
  • Wants to increase the minimum wage to $20 per hour
  • Wants to foster new industry development: computers, conservation, and construction

Bio

Wendy Garcia founded Indivisible Surprise and organized Save Our Schools in the Northwest Valley. She is an experienced radio news director, fearless activist, grass roots leader, and mother. She knows the importance of protecting vulnerable people’s rights. Special interest groups corrupt Arizona with too much money. Politicians don’t pay attention to everyday people. To restore democracy Wendy will protect voter rights and support publicly funded elections (as a “Clean Elections” candidate). U.S. education statistics rank Arizona’s schools in the bottom 10%. To improve student and school achievement, Wendy will fight for resources and better qualified teachers. Strong public schools protect democracy for “we the people” by teaching citizenship. Quality public schools also teach effective job skills. Healthcare must be affordable and accessible to everyone in Arizona. Wendy supports expanding Medicaid in Arizona with prescription coverage. Arizona’s economy relies upon Cattle, Cotton, Citrus, Copper, and Climate. To increase jobs and grow the Northwest Valley, Wendy advocates for developing Construction, Conservation, and Computer industries. Wendy will serve “by and for the people” of District 22 to restore democracy, improve public schools, expand healthcare coverage, and increase good paying jobs.

Photo courtesy of Ben Toma campaign

Ben Toma, R-Surprise

Key Issues

Immigration

  • Believes that to keep our neighborhoods safe, our border must be secure
  • A strong border will be able to prevent drugs, criminals, and illegal immigrants from entering our country without our knowledge
  • Fully supports legal immigration
  • Promises to do everything in his power to see President Trump’s wall completed

Economy

  • Believes the best way to grow the economy and recover from this downturn is to get the government out of the way
  • Regulations that hinder growth need to be repealed, and government budgets must be scrutinized so we can trim bloat and reduce taxes
  • Business owners will invest their capital to expand and create jobs if they can keep more of their hard-earned money and have less red tape to deal with

Education

  • Fully supports school choice
  • Competition in education is the #1 way to increase the quality of our education system and to see that our best teachers make the salaries they deserve
  • Believes throwing more and more taxpayer dollars at education without true reform isn’t the answer

Bio

Ben was born in Romania, and came to America in pursuit of the American Dream in 1987. He has been living in the West Valley since 1996. He married his wife Ani in 1998, and together they have five daughters in the Deer Valley School District.

Ben is the co-founder and CEO of Century 21 Toma Partners, one of the fastest growing CENTURY 21 franchises, and one that has been consistently named as one of Arizona’s top-25 real estate brokerages.

Prior to co-founding his own company, Ben managed billion-dollar budgets and prepared financial forecasts for top executives at American Express. He is also involved in his local church where he serves as the Music Director, and serves on the Board of Directors of Benita International, a non-profit organization established to help orphans and the needy in Romania.

Ben currently serves as one of the two Representatives serving Legislative District 22 at the Arizona Legislature. He currently serves as the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations Committee, Commerce Committee, and the Regulatory Affairs Committee.

Ben’s voting record demonstrates that he is a tried and tested conservative, as he has voted to lower taxes, protect property rights, and improve public safety. Americans for Prosperity and the Free Enterprise Club rank Ben as one of the most conservative members of the Legislature.

Prior to his service at the Legislature, Ben served on the Peoria City Council, tackling such as education, development, infrastructure planning, and public safety. While on Council, Ben voted to cut taxes, opposed tax increases, stopped a costly taxpayer-funded stadium from being built, supported the Peoria Police Department, and worked with developers to provide schools with more resources.

Photo courtesy of Mary Kathleen Honne campaign

Mary “Kathleen” Honne, D-Surprise

Key Issues

Education

  • Local Control: Believes curriculum and unfunded state mandates must be addressed
  • Accountability: Wants charter school transparency & neighborhood school excellence
  • Safe Environment:  Infrastructure, public school specialist teams, & training
  • Teacher Respect:  Wants to increase pay for all staff involved in public education

Health Care

  • Believes universal coverage for everyone solves the problem of access to healthcare
  • Thinks the point of insurance is to prevent family bankruptcy from a medical emergency
  • We must maintain excellent medical care (best in the world)

Economy

  • Wants to raise the minimum wage to $15/$20 an hour
  • Must be able to maintain a family with regular work hours
  • Wants to modernize business industries (5 old C’s and 4 new C’s)

Bio

Kathleen Honne grew up in rural Southern Arizona.  Participating in 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) programs, she learned the values of citizenship, responsibility, and service to her community; as well as valuable life skills such as clear thinking and healthy living.  Along with those values and skills Kathleen will bring her leadership and experience to the job of representing the voters in the Northwest Valley (Arizona’s Legislative District #22).

      Mrs. Honne has worked in education for over 20 years serving as both an assistant principal and a classroom instructor.  She has taught 3rd grade, managed an elementary school with over 900 students, and balanced multi-million dollar budgets.  Kathleen has also successfully written safety grants and advocated for individual students with special needs.  So she knows, first-hand, how to navigate the bureaucratic red-tape and address the challenges we face in getting the politicians down at the Capitol to act for the public good.

     During this campaign, as both a Democratic and Clean Elections candidate. Kathleen will address the issues of political corruption, improving student education, healthcare access for all, embracing our diverse abilities, and making our economy work for everyone.

Arizona Senate

Photo courtesy of David Livingston campaign

David Livingston, R-Surprise

Key Issues

Protecting the Taxpayers

  • Thinks that while the majority of Arizonans had to cut their budgets and tighten their belts, big-spending politicians at the State Capitol were neglecting their responsibilities and mortgaging our state buildings to pay the bills
  • Is proud of how the 2011 Legislature finally balanced Arizona’s budget
  • Promises to fight high property taxes that hurt our seniors and families
  • Will never forget that tax dollars belong to you, the taxpayer, not the government

Immigration

  • Believes our first and foremost priority must be to finally secure our southern border
  • Supports SB 1070 and believes that Arizona has an absolute right to enforce immigration law and protect our borders
  • Is proud to support former State Senator Russell Pearce and is honored to have his endorsement in this race

Education

  • Believes our public education system is top-heavy, with too many districts and too many administrators
  • We must treat our teachers as professionals and insist that at least 65% of all education dollars are used in the classroom
  • Would insist on higher standards for our traditional public schools and also continue to expand the school choice options Arizona families currently enjoy

Health Care

  • Believes the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” will grow government into a massive uncontrolled bureaucracy
  • Doesn’t want any government bureaucrat making healthcare decisions for himself or his family
  • Was a supporter of Proposition 106, the HealthCare Freedom Act
  • Will stand with our conservative champions in the legislature to ensure we do all we can to prevent this disastrous mandate from taking effect in Arizona

Bio

David Livingston has made his home in Arizona since 1983 and graduated from Arizona State University in 1988 with a bachelor’s Degree in Finance.  After graduating, Livingston began building a financial consulting business with Ameriprise Financial, Inc., a diversified US financial services company with locations throughout the country.  He is a Lifetime Member of the Million Dollar Round Table, and became a Chartered Financial Consultant in 1997.  As a financial advisor and franchise owner of Ameriprise Financial in Peoria from 1992 – 2012, David helped parents save for their children’s education, provided solutions to adults with parents who require special care, and guided many people toward their financial and retirement goals.  After 20 years of hard work building his highly successful business, David sold the business in 2013 and semi-retired.

In 2012 David ran for office and was elected to serve as Representative of Legislative District 22 in the Arizona House of Representatives.  He received the fifth highest number of votes for the Legislature in the entire state.  During his first term at the Legislature, which began in 2013, he served as vice chairman for the House Committee on Financial Institutions.  Representative Livingston also served as a member of the House Committee on Insurance and Retirement, and the House Committee on Public Safety, Military and Regulatory Affairs.

Representative Livingston was re-elected in 2014 and during his second term was selected by his fellow Republicans to serve as Majority Whip for the Republican Caucus, working with the successful leadership team which led to the passage of many important pieces of legislation, the most imperative of which is a balanced budget for the State of Arizona.  Among his biggest accomplishments were passage of Governor Ducey’s budget and completing the session in a 50-year record of only 82 days.

During his third and current term in the Arizona House, Representative Livingston serves as Chairman of the Banking and Insurance Committee, Vice-chairman of both the Appropriations Committee and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety, Infrastructure and Resources and Member of JLBC (Joint Legislative Budget Committee).

David is a former member of both the Glendale and Peoria Chambers of Commerce and is a past Board Member of the Glendale/Peoria YMCA.

David and his wife, Tracy Livingston, have been married since 1988.  They have a son, Kyle, who attends college part-time in Prescott and works fulltime for a hospital there. David and Tracy enjoy scuba diving, playing tennis and traveling.  They attend Christ’s Church of the Valley (CCV) and currently live in Peoria with their two Siberian Huskie rescue dogs, Kate and Spencer.

Photo courtesy of Sarah. Tyree campaign

Sarah Tyree, D-Surprise

Key Issues

Education

  • Believes the best way to grow the Arizona economy is by properly funding state higher education and allowing in-state tuition for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients
  • Promises to support legislation that allows start-ups and small local businesses to obtain the capital they need to grow their business infrastructure because it is vital for the economic growth of our communities
  • Believes that lowering taxes can, in the right circumstance, provide many benefits to local communities

Health Care

  • Is against surprise billing (sometimes also called “Balance billing”), the practice of a healthcare provider billing a patient for the difference between what the patient’s health insurance chooses to reimburse and what the provider chooses to charge
  • While I fight for full protection and prohibition of surprise billing, let me and my team teach you how to keep these less than pleasant bills to a minimum
  • Believes healthcare should be a right, not a financial privilege
  • Everyone deserves to be treated with prompt, personalized care that is respectable and informational, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, profession, or social class

Economy

  • Promises to fight to not impose any more taxes on our small businesses and/or individual taxpayers while we prepare to rebuild our economy
  • Will work hard to find wasteful and unnecessary spending and close the gaps, so that we can rebuild our economy faster
  • Believes that in unprecedented times of crisis, we must begin our work with immediate, rapid response interventions
  • When a short-term crisis becomes a long-term reality, it can be beneficial to simultaneously use together rapid response planning and short, medium and long-term thinking

Bio

I decided to run for State Senate, in order to make forward changes in our community. My goal is to bring policy back where it belongs, with the people. To me, The Take Back 2020 is about overcoming the current system and empowering Arizona voters to take back their power, their voice, and their vote. It’s about putting aside our differences in order to be able to make the changes necessary for a better Arizona.

A native of Arizona, Sarah was born in Laveen and raised in Maryvale. She grew up in a single parent home, surviving abuse and poverty.

She graduated from Trevor Browne High School at the age of 17! After graduating, she joined the United States Army and served our great country for 8 years.

At 21 she received her first Undergrad Degree in Social Work, followed by a second in Political Science. She then earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work.

After college, her work in the non-profit sector allowed her to work with legislators in Tennessee and Utah, providing knowledge, testifying in committee hearings and writing bills that now help provide safety and security for constituents.

It also allowed her to work together with other vulnerable and systemically oppressed populations. She currently serves as the Medical Special Needs Coordinator at Luke Air Force Base, where she’s able to continue giving back to her sisters and brothers in arms, by serving their families.

As a small business owner, she believes in autonomy. More than ever, she appreciates the freedom of choice because it has allowed her to step away from a world of survival and move into a world of abundance!

She is a firm believer in justice for all and not just some. She believes not just in equality, but in equity and that together, as a community, everyone can succeed!

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