Reps. Austin and Blattman prioritize local concerns over culture war in west Mesa

Two Democrats running for House reelection in a highly competitive Mesa district stand in stark contrast to Republicans on the ballot.

State House Reps. Lorena Austin and Seth Blattman are vying to keep their seats in the Legislature by focusing on winning over independent voters who are tired of extreme, far-right candidates. 

Legislative District 9 is a compact legislative district covering west Mesa and a small portion of Tempe. It is highly competitive—registered independent voters make up the majority, with 36%, while 32% are Republicans and 29% Democrats. 

Perception of west Mesa hasn’t always reflected the reality of the area, said Austin, who uses they/them pronouns. It’s a community–oriented place where people care about their neighbors and moving the whole community forward in a positive manner.

Austin sees Mesa as a big, small city, often running into people who remember their grandparents, who owned a local grocery store in the area for decades. “‘Some people say ‘I know your family, I used to go to your grandparents’ store, you come from good people,”’ they said. 

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The district is tired of divisive, far-right rhetoric, which was proven in 2022 when the Democratic slate of candidates was elected: Austin, Blattman, and Sen. Eva Burch.

There are very balanced opinions in LD9—something that wasn’t surprising for both Blattman and Austin, who knock doors and talk to voters on a regular basis.

“It’s my home, my family, my friends live here, and we’ve always had different perspectives, but we still found a way to move forward, especially when our community was on the line,” Austin said. 

Republican candidate Mary Ann Mendoza ran against Blattman and Austin in 2022, when photos of her appearing in blackface in an Aunt Jemima Halloween costume surfaced. She was also removed from the Republican National Convention as a scheduled speaker in 2020 after she reposted a series of tweets promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories. 

Mendoza’s campaign website says Austin and Blattman have “pushed for radical ideas in office.”

She has made the death of her son, who was killed by an undocumented immigrant in a car accident, the forefront of her campaign. 

Kylie Barber, who is running against Austin, is an anti-abortion and anti-LGBT Republican lobbyist, supporting parents who “seek professional counseling for their minor child with same-sex attraction or gender identity issues.”

Mendoza did not respond to a request for an interview or comment from The Copper Courier. Barber declined a request for an interview. 

Blattman and Austin have significantly outraised their Republican opponents in campaign fundraising. 

Who lives in the district?

Mesa has a high population of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members, who lean conservative and typically vote Republican. West Mesa’s Hispanic population, a quarter of the district’s population, is where Democrats are able to make some inroads.

Austin was born LDS and spent a small period of time growing up in the church. Now, they work with Mesa’s faith community, which they see as a backbone of LD9’s community. 

They grew up in a politically mixed household, laying the groundwork for them to find common ground and points to agree upon with people out in the community. 

“I never even grew up knowing what party I belonged to, but I grew up knowing that my community mattered, and we were supposed to show up for them,” Austin said. 

For the district’s swing voters, education and supporting small businesses is where Blattman and Austin are able to find common ground. 

Blattman grew up in Arizona, and he owns a furniture business in the East Valley. 

It’s easy for Austin and Blattman to find commonality with the people in their community, they said, because they have both grown up there, worked there, and live there. 

“I represent Democrats, independents, and Republicans. Their party doesn’t make a difference to me, so having a conversation as a representative being genuinely interested in what’s important to them is important so I can do my job well,” Blattman said. “We might not agree on everything, but I certainly want to hear what they think.” 

Where do Mendoza and Barber stand on top issues? 

Abortion is a top dividing issue between Austin, Blattman, and their Republican opponents. Barber sat in the Arizona House gallery in support of the 1864 near-total abortion ban, and Mendoza labels herself as pro-life. 

Austin and Blattman’s stances on LGBT issues stand in stark contrast to the values that Mendoza and Barber are putting forward in their campaigns.

Even as part of the LGBT community, Austin doesn’t make it the forefront of their campaign—but they were able to bring their authentic voice to the Legislature, to fight against anti-LGBT bills, and speak from personal experience in opposition to them.   

Mendoza and Barber’s opposition to LGBT rights are just “hot button issues,” Austin said. 

“It shows me that they do not really understand our community and the needs of our community,” Austin said. “Our community is not banging on my door talking about LGBTQ+ people. They’re talking about how they can’t afford their rent and how there’s not a lot of housing options for them.”

Barber and Mendoza both fall in line with MAGA extremists, Blattman said. Right now, he said, the Republican Party has a problem with extremism—extending to blowing off the media, not attending debates, and not responding to constituents when they ask for help.

“I think they [Barber and Mendoza] give lip service to economic matters,” Blattman said. “But when it actually comes to policy, I don’t think they’re interested in helping working families.” 

The Democratic Party is actually looking out for people’s best interests and affordability, Blattman said.

In his first term, Blattman created a micro-business loan program to support businesses with five employees or fewer. That program is now starting to lend out money to small-business owners.

The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Greater Phoenix Chamber have endorsed Blattman, and he won the Arizona Chamber of Commerce 2024 Representative of the Year award.

One of Austin’s biggest wins in their last term was getting a $40 million state budget increase into the Arizona Promise Program, which helps provide tuition assistance for all three state universities for in-state students. 

Flipping the Legislature

With a Democratic majority, more community and people-focused policy would be proposed and made law, Austin said. 

“I tell people, if you’re not happy with the state of Arizona, thank the Republican Party, because they’ve been in charge for almost 60 years,” Austin said. “Arizona should not be in the situation that it is right now where we don’t have enough housing for people, or we can’t pay our teachers enough.”

And, it’s important to stand up and speak out when something is not acceptable, when the positions taken by the Republican-controlled Legislature are offensive, Blattman said. 

Blattman first ran for office because he was not happy with the current representation, and he was bothered that he would raise a family in a state that regularly fell to the bottom of rankings related to education. 

The policies that the majority in the Legislature pass are extremely consequential, Blattman said. 

The Republican majority has taken Arizona to the bottom of the list in education spending, and it does not prioritize public education—whereas a Democratic majority would, boosting Arizona’s education ranking and achievement, Blattman said. 

“If you’re serious about wanting to get things done,” Blattman said, “building relationships across the aisle and working across the aisle to try to achieve commonsense solutions is sort of the name of the game.”

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