Smith looks to continue career in Senate

Rep. Steve Smith is a candidate for the open Arizona Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Al Melvin. Smith was elected to the Senate in 2010, in what was then Legislative District 23, in the wave of upsets that saw Republicans take over Democrats’ stronghold in Pinal County.

Smith said he’s helped Maricopa by increasing funding for education, transportation and law enforcement.

Steve Smith
www.SteveSmithAZ.com

Age: 38

Family: Married to my amazing wife and proud dad of our four awesome children!

Education: Graduated with Honors from Michigan State University with a B.A. in marketing and a Cognate in business law

City of residence: Maricopa

Maricopa resident since: 2008

Arizona residence since: 2001

Hometown: Detroit

Profession: Legislator and director of a talent agency in Phoenix

Prior elected office held: Elected as our Senator (2010-2012) and House of Representatives member (2012-present)

Community involvement: As a devout Christian I serve in my church, I work with our veterans both individually and through our local VFW chapter, and volunteer or participate in many events and causes including Kids Day, Relay for Life, the Miss Maricopa Pageant, the Salsa Festival, and our Fourth of July celebration.

Hobbies: Spending time with my family, sports and activities, and studying American History.

Why are you running? I am running for re-election to the Senate because I have kept my promises and have done what I said I was going to do. When first elected, I promised to fight to balance our budget, to grow our economy, and to secure our border and stop illegal immigration. After some hard work, Arizona went from billion-dollar deficits to now a budget surplus, moved from the bottom five in the country to the top five in job growth, and I authored the nationally-known bill to help build our border fence to keep Arizonans safe.

What differentiates you from your opponents? I think the biggest difference is that my opponent supports the Obamacare expansion in Arizona and Common Core (these are two disastrous federal takeover programs of our healthcare and education systems). I voted against both of these programs every time and will continue to do so because not only will they plummet Arizona financial debt but the federal government clearly cannot manage our healthcare system (as seen with Obamacare and the VA) and I certainly do not want them to now try to manage our children's future. I am also the only person endorsed by Sheriffs Paul Babeu and Joe Arpaio.

What qualifies you to serve in this capacity? I am qualified based on what I have done, not what I said. As a result of my stellar voting record, I am named “Champion of the Taxpayer,”' “Guardian of Small Business,” “Friend of the Family,” four-star rated by the Arizona Police Association, A+ rated by the NRA, and am ranked as the No. 1 conservative in Arizona by the Goldwater Institute, the Arizona Conservative Coalition, the national Open States Project, and many others.

What will you do for Maricopa if elected? I will continue to introduce and sponsor legislation that directly helps our great city; some examples are: I introduced the amendment that helped save Pinal Energy (the ethanol plant by Walmart) retain approximately 50 local jobs, voted to increase K-12 education spending to record levels, including allocating additional funding to help the district/charter conversion schools, I authored legislation to help our farmers and agricultural community keep their grandfathered groundwater rights here in Pinal County, sponsored the TPT (sales tax) reform that will make doing business easier for our city and local businesses, sponsored legislation to gain additional HURF funding and increase in pay for our law enforcement officers, and much more. I never forget that I work for you!

What do you like most about campaigning? Meeting with the people from our great district and finding out what issues are important to them.

What do you like least about campaigning? The wear-and-tear on my poor car!

What politician do you admire most, and why? George Washington because as the father of our country, he set the precedent on how one should govern and helped define the true role of government and its limits. He then of course implemented his own term limit by choosing to retire rather than clinging to power and stay in office.