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Vince Leach |
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Serial homophobe and extremist Republican
Vince Leach was a member of the Arizona State Senate,
representing District 11. He assumed office on January 14, 2019.
He left office on January 9, 2023. Leach ran for re-election to
the Arizona State Senate to represent District 17. He lost in
the Republican primary on August 2, 2022. Leach served as state
Senate president pro tempore from 2021 to 2023. Before joining
the state Senate, he represented District 11 in the state House
from 2015 to 2019. Leach criticized Arizona public schoolteachers
over the 2018 Arizona teachers' strike and for wearing red
shirts to support salary increases. In 2019, Leach sponsored
legislation that would give unrestricted power to the Arizona
attorney general to rewrite the ballot text of citizen voter
initiatives. Leach sponsored several anti-medical marijuana
bills in the state Senate; none advanced. In 2020,
Leach
promoted the conspiracy theory QAnon, a radical pro-Trump
fringe movement, on social media. In 2021,
Leach supported
legislation that made it easier to purge Arizona voters from the
early voting list. The bill, signed into law by Republican
Governor Doug Ducey, was one of many efforts by Republicans
nationwide to restrict voting following Trump's loss in the 2020
United States presidential election. In 2021,
Leach sponsored
legislation that would block any Arizona county or municipal
government from banning so-called gay "conversion therapy."
At the time, 20 states and Pima County, Arizona had enacted such
bans. In 2022, Leach sponsored Arizona legislation to give the
legislature the power to overturn election results. |
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Center
for
Arizona
Policy |
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2022 Survey
Questions For
Arizona Candidates |
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Position Sought:
State
Senate
District
17 |
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Question 2: Adding “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” or “gender expression” to the protected classes of race, religion, age, sex, and ancestry in nondiscrimination law. |
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Candidates'
Position:
Oppose. |
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Question 4: Allowing biological males that identify as transgender to play on female sports’ teams. |
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| Candidates'
Position: Oppose |
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Question 8: Allowing parents to seek professional counseling for their minor child with same-sex attraction or gender identity issues.* |
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| Candidates'
Position: Support |
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Question 9:
Protecting individuals and
businesses from being required
to provide services or use their
artistic expression in a manner
that violates their moral or
religious beliefs.** |
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Candidates' Position:
Support. |
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*
This is in reference to the
dangerous and disproven
"Reparative Therapy". |
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**Discriminatory
"Religious Freedom" laws. |
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AZ
Proposal Would Make It A Crime To Let Minors Attend 'Drag' Shows
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Republican state senators are crafting
legislation to make it a crime for parents to let a minor attend
"drag" shows, saying that promotes "sexual perversion." Sen.
Vince Leach, R-Tucson, who is leading the effort,
also
complained of a Pride Night at the Heard Museum in Phoenix,
which was billed as a "family friendly'' event in which children
were present. |
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Jun. 14, 2022 |
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Forget Rape Victims And
Transgender Kids. Lawmakers Protect 'Vulnerable'
Gunmakers Instead |
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"To hear our leaders tell it, gun
manufacturers and dealers are suffering the same sort of
discrimination long experienced by African Americans. “Somehow
our society has to come to grips with, we lived for years and
years and years with guns and ammunition,” Sen. Vince Leach,
R-Saddlebrooke, said this week, during a hearing on the
bill. “We lived through, as terrible as it was, … segregation
and the racism that followed it and now we’re seeing different
forms of racism coming forward." |
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Apr. 1, 2022 |
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Shame
On Every
Republican Who Voted To Sabotage Arizona's Schools |
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"It’s not surprising that our leaders
finally broke down and agreed to allow the public schools to
spend money that’s already sitting in their bank accounts –
money the Legislature appropriated last June. What is stunning
is that 20 Republicans – 14 in the House and six in the Senate –
actually voted to stiff the schools and to heck with the impact
on the one million Arizona children who attend them." |
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Feb. 22, 2022 |
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In other words,
as PROVEN by this bill, Republicans and
ammosexuals find it wrong to discriminate
against inanimate objects but have no
problem discriminating against people. |
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Emails Reveal Covert Efforts By Republican Vince Leach To
Promote GOP Gerrymander |
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"Arizona Senator Vince Leach (LD 11), a
Republican incumbent who is currently seeking reelection, has
led a successful advocacy effort to ensure his place of
residence is drawn into a safe Republican legislative district
in the IRC’s draft legislative map." |
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Dec. 2, 2021 |
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Bill Would Prevent Gay Conversion Therapy Bans In Arizona |
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"Arizona State Sen. Vince Leach is
sponsoring a bill with the backing of several Republicans that
would prevent any municipality or county from banning so-called
gay “conversion therapy.” |
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Feb. 7, 2021 |
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Center
for
Arizona
Policy |
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2020 Survey
Questions For
Arizona Candidates |
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Position Sought:
State
Senate LD-11 |
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Question 2:
Adding “sexual orientation,”
“gender identity,” or “gender
expression” to the protected
classes of race, religion, age,
sex, and ancestry in
nondiscrimination law. |
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Candidates'
Position:
Oppose. |
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Question 4:
Allowing biological males that
identify as transgender to play
on female sports’ teams. |
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| Candidates'
Position: Oppose |
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Question 9:
Protecting a parent's right to
seek professional counseling for
their minor child with same-sex
attraction or gender identity
issues to help them reach their
desired outcome.* |
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| Candidates'
Position: Support |
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Question 11:
Protecting individuals and
businesses from being required
to provide services or use their
artistic expression in a manner
that violates their moral or
religious beliefs.** |
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Candidates' Position:
Support. |
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*
This is in reference to the
dangerous and disproven
"Reparative Therapy". |
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**Discriminatory
"Religious Freedom" laws. |
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Who Are The Republicans Attacking Arizona’s
Education? |
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"Proposition 208 passed during the 2020
general election, and received 1,675,810
votes, with approximately 52% of the vote
and also received more votes than
President-Elect Joe Biden, or Donald Trump
did this election ... Now, there is a group
of Republican politicians that are teaming
up with one another to find any possible way
to undermine the education funding
initiative–including a joint lawsuit
attempting to challenge the
constitutionality of the education-funding
proposition. This Republican coalition to
invalidate the Invest in Education
initiative includes Republicans from both
legislative chambers, and even statewide
politicians." |
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Dec. 7, 2020 |
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Why Does Vince Leach Have A Discredited Racist Dog Whistle Editorial Cartoon On His Face Book Page |
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Jun. 22, 2020 |
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Two GOP Lawmakers Promote QAnon
On Social Media |
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"On Saturday, Sen.
Vince Leach, R-Tucson, posted a cartoon from
political cartoonist Ben Garrison depicting
President Donald Trump, his former National
Security Advisor Michael Flynn and a figure
whose head is a large Q marching and
preparing to step on miniature figures
labeled as globalists, Marxists and
traitors." |
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Jul. 6, 2020 |
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Sen. Leach Shares Fake Anti-Marijuana Meme |
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"Sen. Vince Leach, R-Tucson,
shared a meme Monday afternoon from a parody group,
but it appears the senator may not have been in on
the joke. [...] Under benefits, listed are several
synonyms for “none” while the risks include deadly
communicable diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria and
leprosy. The group from which the meme comes from
says it strives to eradicate marijuana from the
“entire planet” among other lofty goals." |
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Jul. 22, 2019 |
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Arizona Bill Putting More Requirements On Initiative Petition Circulators Advances |
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"this
isn’t the first bid by
Leach,
backed by business interests that tend to
oppose voter-crafted ballot measures, to
impose new regulations." |
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Mar. 6, 2019 |
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Battle Lines Drawn In Arizona Gay Discrimination Case |
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"Supporting the two owners of
Brush & Nib Studio: 26 members of the Arizona
Legislature — including [...] Representative Vince
Leach" |
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Dec. 24, 2018 |
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AZ’s Worst Legislator: Vince Leach, Not A Servant Of The People
In LD 11 |
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"Leach has sponsored ideas such as:
Protecting Dark Money contributors, Overruling local election
results and ballot initiatives, such as whether local towns can
prohibit plastic bags in stores, Opposing a woman’s right to
choose and Allowing taxpayer money to help students choose
private religious schools." |
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Jun. 11, 2018 |
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Center
for
Arizona
Policy |
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2018
Candidate
Questionnaire |
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Position Sought:
State
Senate
LD-11 |
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4: Adding “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” or “gender expression” to the protected classes of race, religion, age, sex, and ancestry in nondiscrimination law. |
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| Candidates'
Position: Oppose. |
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9: Protecting a parent’s right to seek professional counseling for their minor child with same– sex attraction or gender identity issues to help them reach their desired outcome.* |
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| Candidates'
Position: Support. |
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*
This is in reference to the
dangerous and disproven
"Reparative Therapy". |
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Legislators Who Pushed APS’ Agenda Against Renewables Got Rewarded With Campaign Contributions, New Filings Show |
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"A few months before receiving $2,000 from the
Pinnacle West PAC, Republican Sen.
Vince Leach introduced APS-backed
legislation which would limit financial penalties for utilities who
fail to meet renewable energy standards. APS acknowledged writing
the legislation with Leach. The bill passed on party lines with
unanimous Republican support in both chambers." |
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Jul. 12, 2018 |
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Representative Vince Leach Brags About Being ALEC's |
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“Legislator Of The Week" |
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"Republican Representative Vince Leach (LD 11)
sent out a press release on Wednesday announcing that the
corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has
picked him as their “Legislator of the Week.” In his release Leach
writes, “For decades ALEC has been the flagship organization at the
state level fighting to promote free markets, low taxation, and
federalism.” |
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In fact, ALEC is a front organization that allows
corporations and politicians to scheme behind closed doors on ways
to create and rewrite state laws. These “model bills” are often
created only to benefit huge corporations or advance politicians’
own special interests. ALEC has been behind efforts to privatize
schools, disenfranchise voters, attack worker’s rights, and more. |
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“Representative Leach may see this a badge of
honor to brag about, but there’s nothing honorable about being
associated with an organization that helped create such awful
policies as the anti-immigrant law SB1070 in Arizona, and exists
mainly to serve the interests of corporations and donors,” said
Josselyn Berry, Co-Director of ProgressNow Arizona. |
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Representative Leach has long been involved with
ALEC, with his financial disclosure forms showing that the
organization regularly pays for him to be wined and dined at
conferences all over the country. A report from March 2018 shows
Representative Leach is a current member of ALEC, along with
numerous other Arizona legislators and even lobbyists from APS and
The Goldwater Institute." |
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May 31, 2018 |
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Rep. Vince Leach Hiding Secret Emails With APS About Its Dirty Bill |
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Apr. 24, 2018 |
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ALEC Legislator
Fast Tracks A Bill To Block Local Campaign Finance
Ordinances In Arizona |
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"A state bill that would ban
cities and counties from requiring dark money groups
to disclose their donors is moving rapidly through
the Arizona state legislature. HB 2153 would make it
illegal for localities to require tax exempt
organizations to disclose donors and register as
political action committees. The bill introduced by
Rep. Vince Leach (R-11)" |
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Mar. 29, 2018 |
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New Arizona Law Aims To Buck Clean Energy Ballot Plan |
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"APS
worked with bill sponsor Rep.
Vince Leach,
R-Tucson" |
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Mar. 23, 2018 |
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Tempe Voters Pass Dark Money Ban: Your Move, Arizona Legislature |
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"The bill was introduced by
Vince Leach, a Republican from Tucson, and is backed
by the
Goldwater Institute, which has argued that
maintaining donor privacy is essential for
protecting free speech. Supporters argue that
publicizing the identity of donors could have a
chilling effect" |
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Mar. 14, 2018 |
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Arizona Lawmakers Who'll Make Your Jaw Drop:
No. 2: Rep. Vince Leach |
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"This Tucson
Republican is the front man for the stinkiest of a bucketful of stink bombs
aimed at undermining your constitutional
right to make laws at the ballot box:
Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s
House Bill 2404" |
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Mar. 30, 2017 |
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Lawmakers Want Ballot Initiatives Dead, Dead, Dead |
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"The Republicans who control
the Arizona Legislature want to remove you from the
democratic process. They want to render you
politically powerless. It’s that simple. They have
the nerve to call this “reform.” The idea is to make
it essentially impossible for regular citizens to
get an initiative on the ballot. That way, our
elected officials are the only ones who get to make
laws. There are several bills in the Legislature
that would wipe you off the political map. One is
sponsored by Rep. Vince Leach. House Bill 2404 is a
death warrant for direct democracy." |
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Feb. 6, 2017 |
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Center
for
Arizona
Policy |
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2016 Survey
Questions For
Arizona Candidates |
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Position Sought:
State
Representative LD-11 |
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Question
4:
Adding "sexual orientation,"
"gender identity," or "gender
expression" to the protected
classes of race, religion, age,
sex, and ancestry in
nondiscrimination law. |
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Candidates'
Position:
Oppose. |
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Question
6:
Prohibiting government from
discriminating against an
individual, organization, or
small business based on their
beliefs about marriage.* |
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Candidates'
Position:
Support. |
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Question
10:
Implementing policies to allow
students and faculty to use the
restroom, locker room, and
shower room that aligns with
their gender identity. |
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Candidates'
Position:
Oppose. |
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*
Discriminatory "Religious Freedom" laws. |
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Bill Would Save Just One Phoenix Lawyer $145,000 |
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"State legislators rejected a
bill last year crafted specifically to help a
Phoenix lawyer and real-estate investor avoid paying
$146,100 in county fees. The same legislation with
the same wording and the same benefits to the same
real-estate investor was reintroduced in the Arizona
House of Representatives this month and is once
again up for a vote. [...] The bill's sponsor,
Republican Rep. Vince Leach, of Pinal County, said
in testimony at the state Capitol this week that the
new legislation was unrelated to last year's." |
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Feb. 26, 2016 |
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Legislators Thumb Nose At Voucher Accountability |
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"Arizona’s voucher system is
copied – with several hugely consequential
exceptions – right from the playbook of the American
Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC, as it is better
known, draws up “model” legislation backed by
conservative legislators and corporate lobbyists.
One of their model laws is for what they call
“education savings accounts.” The bill now under
consideration by the Legislature that seeks to make
all students in the state eligible for the program
is backed by lawmakers who themselves are backed
heavily by the American Federation for Children
(AFC), which is in the business of supporting school
choice in general and vouchers in particular. AFC
showered Arizona legislative candidates with
$300,000 in independent expenditures in the 2014
elections. The beneficiaries included 10 of the 28
legislators who sponsored either the House, Senate
or both versions of the universal voucher
legislation. The organization spent [...] $9,000
apiece for Vince Leach and
Steve Smith" |
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Feb. 21, 2016 |
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Center
for
Arizona
Policy |
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2014
Candidate
Questionnaire |
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Position Sought:
State
Representative
LD-11 |
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9: Arizona’s voter-approved constitutional definition of marriage should be defended to the fullest extent legally possible. |
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| Candidates'
Position: Support |
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| Question
11: Adding “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” or “gender expression” to the protected classes of race, religion, age, sex, and ancestry in antidiscrimination law. |
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| Candidates'
Position: Oppose |
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15: Protecting individuals and businesses from being required to provide services or use their artistic expression in a manner that violates their moral or religious beliefs.* |
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| Candidates'
Position: Support |
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*
Discriminatory "Religious Freedom" laws. |
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