Search Results

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 25, 2024 PHOENIX – Overcoming a two-week Republican blockade, House Democrats on Wednesday put forth the bill and key votes to the repeal of Arizona's draconian and archaic 1864 total abortion ban. Representative Stephanie Stahl Hamilton's House Bill 2677 passed the House 32-28 and has now been transmitted to the Senate where they could take final action on it next week. Without legislative action the abortion ban passed decades before Arizona became a state and before women gained the right to vote will completely shut down reproductive freedom in Arizona on June 8. "We did what the people wanted us to do. The vast majority of Arizonans want this cruel and out-of-step ban repealed, and that's where we are now headed," said House Democratic Leader Lupe Contreras. "I am proud of our caucus for staying focused, staying disciplined and sticking together to make the vote on our bill happen. Now we wait for the Senate to do the right thing and get this to the Governor's desk. If this ban is repealed, it gives our allies on this issue an excellent opportunity to argue in court for an injunction to keep the ban from ever taking effect, even temporarily, until the repeal officially becomes law 90 days after we adjourn the session." -30-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 25, 2024 PHOENIX – Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced on Wednesday that a State Grand Jury had delivered multiple criminal felony indictments against 11 Republican fake electors – including Arizona State Senators Anthony Kern and Jake Hoffman-- and seven aides to Donald Trump in an illegal scheme to overturn the 2020 election. House Democratic Leader Lupe Contreras released the following statement in response to the indictments: "The 2020 election was free and fair, and won squarely by President Joe Biden. The effort to send fake alternative electors to Washington D.C. in the midst of an orchestrated and violent insurrection was a desperate, shameful and blatantly illegal attempt to hold onto power despite the will of the American people. An empaneled Grand Jury of Arizona citizens agreed with this assessment, and we appreciate Attorney General Kris Mayes for bringing forward these indictments and for her efforts to hold accountable those who would illegally undermine our democracy and American institutions. It's disappointing, but not surprising, that two of those indicted are currently serving in the Arizona Senate. If they had any integrity, they would resign immediately." -30-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 16, 2024 PHOENIX – The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has appointed Junelle Cavero of South Phoenix to fill the vacant House seat in Legislative District 11. A political consultant, small business owner and longtime community and Democratic Party advocate, Cavero will add to the Democratic Caucus more than 25 years' experience in government affairs, nonprofit management, political campaigns and business development. Cavero works as Head of Political for My Code, the largest multicultural digital media company in the country. She has also served as CEO of Blue Knot Strategies, Executive Director of Emerge Arizona and worked for several Democratic presidential campaigns, including Obama-Biden and Hillary Clinton. She began her activism in Arizona working against Senate Bill 1070 and fighting housing discrimination while working for the Arizona Fair Housing Center. "As I step into the role of representing Legislative District 11, I am deeply honored to accept this responsibility," Cavero said. "In a time that calls for unwavering commitment to our communities, I am dedicated to being a tireless champion for reproductive justice, affordable housing, and the economic issues affecting everyday Arizonans. I pledge to work night and day to serve and uplift the voices of working families and our communities." House Democratic Leader Lupe Contreras added, "Representative Cavero brings a wealth of business experience and political savvy to our Caucus, and we look forward to her joining our Caucus as soon as possible. We have no doubts she will hit the ground running as budget negotiations heat up and we take other significant votes for our state's future." Cavero is the mother of two daughters and has lived in the South Mountain community for 10 years. Her swearing is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday morning, details TBA. -30-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 9, 2024 PHOENIX – House Democratic leaders today said the Arizona Supreme Court chose chaos over common sense when justices chose to impose the draconian 1864 total ban on abortion that criminalizes reproductive care with no exceptions for survivors of rape and incest. "The Arizona Supreme Court chose chaos over reason and common sense today," said House Democratic Whip Nancy Gutierrez. "This is outrageous, extreme and devastating because we know Arizonans overwhelmingly support the right to obtain an abortion and other reproductive healthcare. We must take immediate steps to repeal this archaic and cruel law, and to expand our rights. Our caucus stands with the vast majority of Arizonans who support these basic rights, and we won't stop fighting to expand them." House Democratic Whip Melody Hernandez added, "Women will die if this law stands and medical professionals could be jailed. That is unimaginable, it is not supported by our constituents and it cannot be allowed to stand. Every Republican in the Legislature supported this total abortion ban passed during the Civil War, decades before we even became a state and women gained the right to vote. We know this because the Speaker and Senate President submitted an amicus brief on their behalf asking for exactly that result. We hope they will acknowledge their mistake and work with us to repeal this law before anyone is harmed." -30-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 4, 2024 PHOENIX – House Democratic Leader Lupe Contreras released the following statement regarding the resignation of Representative Marcelino Quiñonez on Thursday. "Representative Quiñonez has served our caucus with class and eloquence, and he has played a vital and impactful role as a member of leadership and a ranking member on the Appropriations Committee. We will miss him, but we will move forward with the business of our state, and we wish him all the best." -30-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 3, 2024 PHOENIX – The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has appointed Deborah Nardozzi of south Scottsdale to fill the vacant seat in Legislative District 8. Nardozzi owns the Ta Da Agency, a campaign, lifestyle, events and travel consulting business with clients around the country. She has also served as Chair of the old Legislative District 24, which is now part of District 8. "It is an honor to be chosen as the next Representative for Arizona Legislative District 8, and I am committed to serving our community with integrity and an unwavering dedication to advocating for the needs of our constituents," Nardozzi said. "Deborah Nardozzi has been committed to the success of other Democratic candidates and issues for several years, in addition to her impressive small business career. Now we are thrilled to have her deep well of experience as part of our team for the remainder of the year, and for a very important part of our session," said House Democratic Leader Lupe Contreras. "Our caucus is 29 strong as we head into budget negotiations that will impact the lives of everyone in our state." Nardozzi has been married for nearly 14 years and she and her husband have a 12-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter. Information on the swearing in will be forthcoming.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 2, 2024 PHOENIX – On Monday, during a time reserved for a welcoming opening prayer on the House floor, Representative Lupe Diaz instead preached a five-minute sermon that condemned the LGBTQ+ community, President Biden, the United States as an "unrighteous nation," and non-Christians as sinners worthy of eternal damnation. This manufactured rage was a response to International Transgender Day of Visibility coinciding this year with Easter. International Transgender Day of Visibility has occurred annually on March 31 around the world since 2009. This year, the day of awareness and acceptance coincided with Easter Sunday, a religious holiday that follows a full moon and occurs on shifting Sundays each year between March 22 and April 25. Next year Easter will be on April 20, while Transgender Day of Visibility will remain on March 31. "Eternal life is not available just to everybody, it is available just to those that acknowledge Jesus Christ," Diaz preached, while people of various faiths looked on, before ending with, "This eternal life is not for everybody, only to those who cry out to you, repent of their sins and then come to you. They will have eternal life. The others will be judged to eternal condemnation." Representative Lorena Austin, Arizona’s first non-binary legislator, delivered a powerful and inspiring counterpoint to the intolerance and exclusion that opened Monday’s session. Today, LGBTQ Committee Co-Chairs Patty Contreras and Oscar De Los Santos spoke out on using House opening prayers to score culture war political points and to target vulnerable communities and non-Christians. “Monday’s sermon was a coordinated and cynical display of religious intolerance, which used a coincidence in the calendar to attack LGBTQ+ Arizonans, and anyone who doesn’t fall in line with one member’s view of Christianity,” said Contreras. “For one member to use this time of welcoming to condemn to Hell anyone he doesn’t agree with was deeply offensive to me, and to tens of millions of Americans. Fortunately, Representative Diaz doesn’t get to decide who is, and is not, worthy of salvation.” De Los Santos added, “I am proud to be a member of a welcoming and inclusive caucus that looks out for and has the back of our most vulnerable communities. I stood and respectfully listened as my colleague damned me to Hell, but it is outrageous to hear such intolerance, divisiveness and disrespect directed at so many Arizonans inside the People’s House, with Republican members standing in support. This was a shameful moment.”

March 21, 2024 Mr. Charlie Baker President of the NCAA 700 W. Washington Street Indianapolis, IN 46202 On April 6-8, the Valley of the Sun will once again host the NCAA Men's Final Four, a point of pride for our state and a showcase to the world of the state we all love. When your organization selected Arizona as its 2024 location, you chose a welcoming state with a growing economy where communities have worked hard to put a dark history of bigotry, discrimination, and racial profiling in the rearview mirror when major portions of 2010's controversial Senate Bill 1070 were set aside as unconstitutional. Hispanics now make up a third of our state, and our economic buying power has doubled in our economy since 2015 to nearly $50 billion a year. But, as the games near tip-off, that reputation, that positive economic trajectory, and most importantly, our rights as Latinos and people of color in this state are once again at risk. On March 4, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed Senate Bill 1231, an unconstitutional measure that would have legalized and encouraged racial profiling by police and divided our communities and our state along the same lines as Senate Bill 1070 just over a decade ago. That bill cost our state hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to our economy, especially to our agricultural and tourism industries. We hope that you would agree with the Governor's decision and would agree that locating a tournament or a convention in a state where residents can be targeted and detained because of the color of their skin is a tacit endorsement of that policy. If you remember, Arizona lost out on the 1993 Super Bowl because a bigoted previous Governor rescinded a holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and we did not host our first Super Bowl until 1996 after voters spoke up and passed our current King holiday. The Governor's veto was a welcome development, but Arizona's business community and economy faces another pending threat. First, Republicans have threatened to continue passing the same bill until the Governor relents, and if she doesn’t, they will take the measure to the 2024 Arizona ballot. Additionally, House Concurrent Resolution 2060, a profoundly discriminatory and anti-business companion measure that could also end up on the 2024 statewide ballot, would burden Arizona businesses of all sizes with extensive new requirements to use E-Verify for subcontractors, to obtain business licenses and to obtain public services. This measure has cleared the House, and if passed by the Senate and approved by voters, it would duplicate other effective measures that bar undocumented Arizona residents from obtaining services and would overlay confusing and costly new burdens on businesses. We do not need another measure that damages our reputation, spreads fear, and divides our state while increasing costs for businesses and prices for consumers. What we do need is your voice. We urge you to speak out against this legislation by joining more than 100 diverse business leaders who have publicly objected. And we encourage you to make future location decisions accordingly. Immigration policy is a federal responsibility. States cannot and should not have patchwork immigration laws. Join us in opposing HCR 2060 and in demanding Congress and the Administration to set aside partisan differences and get to work passing a negotiated bill to send out border states like ours the resources we need immediately to handle this ongoing humanitarian crisis.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 25, 2024 PHOENIX –Urging early detection and diagnoses, Representative Judy Schwiebert today passed a House proclamation honoring National Cerebral Palsy Day. She also announced that Governor Hobbs will light the Executive Tower green tonight in honor of National Cerebral Palsy Day and Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. Cerebral palsy is the most common physical disability in children, impacting 17 million people around the world. With more than a dozen guests from United Cerebral Palsy of Central Arizona in the gallery, Schwiebert urged parents to pursue early diagnosis. Infants can be diagnosed as early as three months old, and children are on averaged diagnosed by age 2. "Early detection can impact the trajectory of a life," Schwiebert said. "Early detection leads to early medical management and therapy, which leads to increased acceptance, empowerment and opportunities down the road." Learn more about cerebral palsy and the work of United Cerebral Palsy of Central Arizona here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 18, 2024 PHOENIX—Representative Analise Ortiz released the following statement today after Governor Hobbs vetoed House Bill 2570, the Arizona Starter Homes Act. "I am deeply saddened and disappointed in the Governor’s decision to veto the Arizona Starter Homes Act.  HB2570 was a historic bipartisan solution to our state’s housing crisis and it would have created a pathway to the American dream of homeownership that too many Arizonans find themselves locked out of.I am equally frustrated that while other states are proactively addressing housing in an urgent and deliberate manner, Arizona continues to kick the can down the road.  Status quo is clearly not working and believing that things will change without policies like the Arizona Starter Homes Act is, at best, wishful thinking.I don’t know what the Governor’s plan is for housing.  But I do hope that whatever she does have planned includes policies to expand the state’s inventory of modest, starter homes, and homes on small lots—homes that our parents and grandparents purchased many years ago that allowed them to build generational wealth, lay roots in their communities, and break the cycles of poverty." --30--

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 26, 2024 PHOENIX – The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has appointed Dr. Elda Luna-Nájera to fill the vacant seat in Legislative District 22, which will bring the House Democratic Caucus back to its full strength at 29 members. Luna-Nájera is a licensed master social worker and is the current President of the Tolleson Union High School District Governing Board. She has spent most of her professional career working with non-profits and public education. In addition to her role on the Governing Board, she is currently the District's liaison for foster care and homeless education. " I am honored and humbled by this opportunity. Serving as the LD22 House Representative is a responsibility I don't take lightly," Luna-Nájera said. "I am excited to be a voice for my community and look forward to collaborating with my seatmates Democratic Leader Contreras and Senator Diaz to advance our district's priorities. I thank leadership for their trust and support." An Arizona native, Luna-Nájera is a first-generation Mexican American whose parents were immigrants from Mexico. Luna-Nájera earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Arizona State University, and her doctorate in social work from the University of Southern California. She has been married for 26 years and is the mother of five children. "With Dr. Luna-Nájera, our caucus returns to full strength, but more importantly we gain another powerful voice for public education," said House Democratic Leader Lupe Contreras. "She also has tremendous experience working with families who are struggling, who experiencing homelessness. Those issues are front and center right now and her expertise will benefit our caucus, her constituents and our entire state." Details of Luna-Nájera's swearing in will be forthcoming. -30-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 14, 2024 PHOENIX – The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has appointed attorney Charles Lucking of Phoenix to fill the legislative seat vacated by the recent resignation of Representative Amish Shah in Legislative District 5. Lucking, a fourth-generation Arizona native, works for Community Legal Services where he defends tenants facing eviction. "I'm very excited and honored to be representing LD 5 in the legislature," Lucking said. "Arizona is facing a mountain of very complex challenges, such as our housing crisis. I'm eager to get started doing the hard work as a servant of the people to implement real solutions for all Arizonans." In addition to his community-focused legal work, Lucking is a former United States Peace Corps volunteer where he served in the island nation of Samoa and met his now wife, Skye, who was also volunteering. The Luckings are raising two children, a 5-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son, along with two dogs and a flock of six chickens. Lucking was born and raised in Phoenix where he attended Central High School. Following his graduation, he pursued higher education at Claremont McKenna College. After completing his undergraduate studies, he returned to Arizona to earn his law degree at Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. "With the appointment of Charles Lucking, Arizona and our caucus has gained a passionate champion who is committed to use his legal expertise to address pressing social issues, including the housing crisis and environmental conservation," said House Democratic Leader Lupe Contreras. "Deep roots and unwavering dedication to service, advocacy, and community empowerment will make Representative Lucking an impactful addition to our caucus." -30-