As a State Representative from LD 27, Deborah Howard Vows to Do Her Damned Job for the People in Her District

After a strong performance in the 2024 elections in Arizona Legislative District (LD) 27, Deborah Howard has decided that the second time is the charm and has declared another run for one of the House seats that serve people in Peoria, Glendale, and Phoenix. ,

A former Republican, public affairs professional in the non-profit, government, and private sectors, and breast cancer survivor, Howard vows to, unlike current Republican incumbents Lisa Fink and Tony Rivera, to listen to her constituents and do the “damned job” for the people in the district. 

If elected, she will work to:

• Fully fund quality public education. 
• Protect and expand civil rights including people’s right to vote and access to the ballot box. 
• Advance an affordability agenda prioritizing lowering the cost of living. 
• Reform Empowerment-Private School Voucher Scholarship Accounts.
• Protect the state’s water supply.
• Support a secure border and comprehensive immigration reform. 

Ms. Howard graciously took time to discuss her candidacy for one of the Arizona State House in LD 27. 

The questions and her responses are below.

Please tell the readers two reasons you would like to run again for an Arizona House seat in LD 27.

“The reasons for running in 2026 are not a lot different from what they were in 2024. I want to stop the extremism at the State Capitol and put an end to the governance of and for the special interests and the billionaires.”

“Secondly, I want to create an Arizona that works for everyone. It’s just so frustrating to watch the slim MAGA majority hijack state government for their own agendas, and it must end. It’s not a lot different from 2024. It’s probably slightly more exaggerated because of the Trump regime 2.0 is also more exaggerated. It’s entirely possible that the Republicans haven’t had an original idea for decades, so everything that they do in Washington, they want to do here in Arizona. And what they can’t do in Washington, they test out here in Arizona first. We just need to put an end to that. And I’m determined to take that conversation to voters.”

What were two lessons you learned from the 2024 elections that will help you perform better in 2026? Please explain. 

“I think the stakes are even higher in this election. What I’ve learned is that I need to take that conversation to more voters in more ways in more channels in as many places as possible. There were some pretty finite boundaries around what we were able to do in 2024, and now, with this longer runway, we’re going to expand on just about everything and refine what we did. They’re going to say, oh, my gosh, she’s still here and look how strong she is.”

What are at least two reasons voters should choose you over your Republican opponent? 

“It gets back to the reason why I’m running, which is basically to stop the extremism and advance an agenda that serves the interests of all Arizonans. The two incumbent Republican Representatives are failing in that regard. They are both culture war activists as well. Lisa Fink uses parental authority to advance a White Christian Nationalist agenda and conspiracy theories. She remains an election-denier. We just need somebody who’s paying attention to real, honest-to-goodness issues that affect Arizonans and their daily lives. And then Tony Rivero might present himself as an old time chamber-of-commerce Republican, but he is not. He authored of the Axon bill. I’m not a Scottsdale citizen, so I’m not making a judgment about whether Scottsdale should do this or that. But taking state control over local politics is certainly not small government conservatism. It usurps the authority of locally elected officials in Scottsdale and takes away the right of voters to have a referendum. That is just wrong. This is not how government is supposed to work.”

“These are just examples that show the incumbents are not really interested in governing for regular Arizonans — those who are just trying to live their lives, support their families, go to work, go on vacation, and do normal things. They’re advancing an agenda for  billionaires, conspiracy theorists, election-deniers.

“So, that’s why I’m running: to advance an opportunity agenda for working people.”

What are these two issues we’ll be running on in the 2026 election cycle? 

“Two issues are superior to all others in my mind. Quality public education and civil rights, including the right to vote. I see these two issues as two pillars that uphold the function and promise of our democracy. So, I’m going to do everything possible to make sure that we have quality public education available to every student in the state in every community. I just think that’s the fundamental job of government. I know the state legislature really only has one job, and that’s to pass the budget. Core to that is to make sure that quality public education is accessible, and we’re simply failing at that. And voting rights are the other aspect of this. Elections and voting are under attack from the county level to the White House. Everybody says they want integrity in our elections. Too often, for Republicans, that means limiting access to the ballot.  The idea that there is widespread voter fraud has been debunked over and over and over again. And over again! And yet that continues to be an agenda item of MAGA. It is essential that we hold on to those pillars of democracy.”

“And then I want to advance an opportunity agenda that makes a difference in the lives of Arizonans. The Arizona State Legislature can make housing more affordable for you. The Arizona State legislature can make healthcare more accessible to you and more affordable to you. The Arizona State legislature has the power to make sure you have food aid-SNAP program funding. That your child has school lunches. The Arizona State Legislature can make your life better. Right now, the MAGA-Republican leadership is not using its power to serve families and communities. They are advancing a different agenda that does not serve the average Arizonan family. I want to change that.”

ESA (Empowerment Scholarship Account) reform.

“We have to reform the program that is being abused and that is bankrupting our state, at the expense of P-U-B-L-I-C schools. There’s no other way out of this mess. We can’t continue to give money to families who’ve always sent their kids to private schools, by siphoning funding away from our public school system and expect public schools to sustain themselves. That’s ridiculous, and it’s contrary to the principles of democracy. You know what makes private education, private? They don’t use public funds. That’s pretty simple. This is not a hard concept for people to get.”

“With the recent fight over funding for the Developmental Disability program serving children with developmental disabilities, there was a lot of conversation and linking of arms with the disability community. One question came up about the voucher program: ‘Are you really against ESA vouchers for our families?’  Absolutely not! That’s exactly who they’re intended for. But what’s happened is the school voucher program has been expanded to such a degree that it is now nearly inaccessible to the families for whom it is most necessary. And who were the original, intended beneficiaries. They are now caught in this vice of the MAGA majority. On the one hand giving away public school resources to private, religious school families, so that they themselves now don’t have access to the special school opportunities that their children actually need. And for whom the program was intended. And oh also, now we’re going to cut funding for care as well. Truly malicious.”

Protecting the state’s water supply. 

“We have to do it. I mean, we live in the desert for heaven’s sake. I’m kind of stunned that there are as many people who live here as we do. It’s a testament to the absolute brilliance of the long-term policies put in place decades ago about how to manage water in the desert for a growing metropolis… It’s been remarkably successful. It’s time for a renewed long-term plan. We’re at the point where it needs to be renewed. This shouldn’t be controversial.”

Immigration. 

“We are a sovereign nation, and of course, our borders need to be secure. We need to have people at the border protecting us from criminal activity and certainly from drugs coming in. (And by the way, Mr. President, if you’re reading this: the Fentanyl issue, is not on the Canadian border.) We absolutely have to have border security on that front.”

“And, at the same time, we absolutely need to have a humane system where we don’t keep changing the rules on people who have come here in good faith. Who, in many cases, have lived here for decades, are vital members of our community, are the essential workers in our economy, and contributors to the cultural wealth of our state and the nation.  I have an immigration story. (My great-grandparents! I know when they came to the United States. They came from what was then Prussia in the prelude to World War I.) Everyone living here, save American Indians, has an immigration story.”

“I understand and completely appreciate the motivation to go in search of a better life for yourself and your family, and we need to respect that. I think the Trump regime is despicable on this issue. They are abusing their own system. They are abusing the trust of the courts. They are abusing the trust of people who are complying with the law.”

“And they are in a position to do this because the U.S. Congress just did not do its job on this issue. For decades now. I remember Senator McCain when he was running for president, basically having to back off his own immigration reform bill because voters were just being wrapped up about this issue. What I want to say to Congress now is, do your damn job! I don’t care if somebody gets pissed off at you. That’s what you’re there for. Do your damn job.”

That is of one of my mantras in life. Life would be so much easier if people just did their jobs. Even when it is hard.”  

Please explain at least two ways you will improve your voter/ media outreach compared to the 2024 election cycle. 

“We have more time, so we can do more, and do it better. More and better, that’s the theme. Last cycle, people met me for the first time as a candidate. Now we can build on those initial conversations and relationships. We’ll reach out to more voters, in more places, and through more media channels. That the plan. People are curious about my journey from Republican, to independent, to proud Democrat today.”

“We will grow and turn out our Democratic base, engage new and occasional voters motivated to vote to put an end to the extremism, and then persuade open-minded Independents and like-minded Republicans who just want somebody to go to the Capitol and do their damn job.”

“I’m a workhorse, not a show horse.  I’m the person who’s going to go to the legislature and do the damn job. That’s the platform. I’ll do the job.” 

Is there anything that covered in the first five questions you would like to readers to know about your candidacy for the Arizona State House in LD 27? Please explain. 

“Well, I do want to tell you that I’m really proud of our campaign in 2024. One of the things that I was really struck by, was this campaign overall between what I raised and what was contributed through allies like the State’s Project, the Governor’s political support, and the ADLCC was over half a million dollars. And the return on investment for those dollars was far higher in this district than in other competitive districts like LD 4 and LD 13. I was one of only two candidates whose competitive districts actually improved our voter performance over 2022. We did really damn well and so I’m really proud of that. And thankful for the support of volunteers and LD27 voters.”

“And I will say this of LD 27 voters: they might be the most mavericky of Arizona mavericks. They supported the Arizona abortion access initiative at 59 percent, and then they also elected Lisa Fink, who is anti-abortion and pro-life, and is open to basically undoing everything that the voters just passed. So that kind of goes back to your very first question about why I’m running. I running and campaigning to have that deeper conversation with voters. Who they elect to the state legislature impacts their lives in 1,000 different ways. And right now it is not really serving their interest.  It’s my job as a candidate to make that case to voters.”

“I want to add a comment about the competitiveness of LD27. Secretary of State Adrian Fontes actually carried this District in 2022. And Senator Mark Kelly improved his performance in this district in 2022, over 2020. And Senator Ruben Gallego came within a single point of carrying this district. The big point I want to make is that this District is absolutely flappable. We’ve made progress from 2020 to 2022 to 2024. In 2026 we can finish the job. LD27 is ready to turn blue. I am going to do everything in my power to help make that so. And when we do that, we will have a Democratic majority at the State House of Representatives, and then we can actually start working to serve the Arizonans who deserve it.”

Please click here to find out more about Deborah Howard and her campaign for one of the State House Seats in Arizona’s LD 27.