The People in Arizona House Congressional District Five need change.
Change from the MAGA and Freedom Caucus suicide course Andy Biggs would place Arizona and the Nation in if he and his White Nationalist supporters had the power to steer reactionary legislation that would cripple the middle class and take away hard-earned rights from all Americans, especially women, ethnic minorities, and members of the LGBTQ community.
Katrina Schaffner, the Democratic Candidate looking to unseat Biggs and end his tenure of MAGA extremism in Maricopa County’s East Valley and Pinal County western boundaries, is a person looking to, unlike the current Trumpist incumbent, put middle-class and poor families first.
If elected to the House of Representatives this November, this granddaughter of Ukrainian refugees, who came to the United States after spending World War Two being imprisoned to work in Nazi Forced Labor Camps will fight to:
- Protect reproductive freedom and women’s health care.
- Strengthen voting rights.
- Invest to expand the middle class and lift people out of poverty.
- Promote quality and affordable health care for all.
Ms. Schaffner graciously took the time to discuss her candidacy for Arizona CD Five.
The questions and her responses are below.
- Please tell the voters at least three reasons they should vote for you over any Democratic or Republican opponent for the CD Five Arizona House seat.
“I am running for Congress to challenge a system that benefits the top and has left the rest of us behind. It’s time we hold corporations accountable and ensure that everyone is paying their fair share in taxes so we can invest in everyday families. Voters are really tired of status-quo politicians who are putting their own interests above our country and our families. They’re tired of political talking points and candidates flip-flopping their message based on the polls of the day. Our campaign is a growing grassroots movement. Our supporters have come from all different backgrounds and from across the political spectrum because they believe we need a strong candidate who will fight for ordinary people and not corporations. Because I am not a party candidate, I’m willing to hold my own party accountable. So that means when I get to D.C., I won’t let any politician or any lobbyist bully me into voting against the American people.”
“I personally have a trades background and a corporate background. I’ve been a political activist for my entire adult life. So as an activist, I know how federal policy actually impacts our day-to-day lives.”
“I will also fight to strengthen our national security, our Democracy, and build an economy that actually works for all of us, not just the few at the top. Over the years we’ve seen wealth inequality grow. Because we don’t have the political will to actually implement systemic change, right? So, we need better representation. That means we need to elect people who actually care about moving this country forward and not advancing their own political career.”
- What are at least three issues you will be running on in this campaign?
“The three main issues I think right now are national security, Democracy, and economic reform. Now that being said many more issues are the focal point of this election year. Health Care, abortion, immigration, and the border, those are really important concerns. However, the way I see it is these issues are all tied to our economy and what I mean by economic reform is that we have to look at each issue and understand how policy will impact the economy. 500,000 people have filed for bankruptcy due to medical expenses. So, when we talk about health care, we need to understand that the heavy cost burden is financially impacting our families and therefore impacting the economy. The same goes for Social Security and Medicare benefits. Each generation struggles more and more to retire with dignity. If we don’t get a handle on these policies and hold big Pharma accountable for prescription drug costs, we will continue to see each generation work well into their retirement years if they’re even lucky enough to retire at this point.”
“When people feel desperate and lack financial security: What we see is that these folks become more and more radicalized or just disengaged with the political process altogether because they have no hope, and they lack trust in our institutions. So, we really need folks and Congress to understand how all of these issues impact our day-to-day lives.”
On how the Arizona Supreme Court Abortion Ruling Affects the Race?
“The Supreme Court’s ruling is just an outright attack on the health and well-being of all women living in the state of Arizona and the 1864 abortion ban was implemented before Arizona was even a state when women were considered second-class citizens and were unable to vote. I just want to say here that I don’t want to fearmonger. This isn’t a Handmaid’s Tale. We’re not going back to hangers. But I do want to stress just how harmful this ruling is for the well-being of women in Arizona.”
“The first point I want to make is regarding the legal challenges. Right now, this law presents a huge legal challenge for healthcare professionals. And even though Attorney General Mayes has promised not to enforce this law, it’s really not a long-term solution. What we’ve seen in other states is that providers will not perform abortion services because they’re afraid of being prosecuted. And in this situation, here in Arizona, abortion services are punishable for between two to five years. So that means that women in Arizona will now have to travel out of state to get the care they need putting their lives and their finances at risk.”
“Nine out of ten Arizonans support some form of abortion access. So, from a political perspective, we’ve seen Republican politicians who supported this law start to backpedal because they know this is a political liability. This kind of plays into what we were talking about earlier with status quo politicians playing politics with people’s lives and flip-flopping their talking points based on polling. Just recently, Trump stated that there should be a penalty for women who receive an abortion. So, voters really do see through these political games. They want candidates who stand by their values and are consistent in those values.”
“In my race here, Biggs has been consistently pro-life, and he stated in the past that abortion is not healthcare. But after this ruling, he has yet to make any public statement. So, Republicans and even some Democrats, if I’m going to be honest have politicized this, and now, they need to figure out how to pander to their base while backpedaling their previous support for these draconian laws. The good news is we saw this coming. There are organizations like Healthcare Rising and Arizona for Abortion Access who have worked really hard to get this ballot initiative going and we have a lot of volunteers continuing to get signatures and we should see this initiative on the ballot in November. I do expect it will pass but until then women’s and children’s lives and healthcare are at risk.
The third and final point on this is that abortion is healthcare. It’s really important to note that these laws don’t just impact abortion access. Abortion is just one component of reproductive freedom. What we saw happen in Alabama with IVF can happen in any of these states. And it’s Republicans in Congress that killed all protections for IVF. So, we’re fighting for all reproductive healthcare, whether it’s abortion, IVF, contraception, or even proper sex education. To me, this really brings up a larger conversation about our healthcare overall in this country. And since I’ve been on the campaign trail, I’ve had several veterans tell me that Andy Biggs denied their health care claims that they submitted to his office. So, this process is just barbaric in general. Why would we ever allow an elected official to tell us what health care we do and do not need the government just has no right to come between you and your doctor.
In regards to why veterans need to submit claims to their congressional offices: I am still learning the nuances of this process and working with veterans directly. But the way I understand it is in some cases they may need to request help with their VA disability claim and Congressional offices can investigate the status of a claim. Most of the time, elected officials are more than happy to help. But I continue to run into veterans who have shared their stories and frustration with Biggs’ office and that their claims have been denied. Again, the fact that we have a healthcare system that requires veterans to go above and beyond to get the healthcare they need, is barbaric.
Do you support law enforcement?
“Yes, of course. And I want to note here, that it is extremely important to vote for your county sheriff. We have some great candidates running this year and they care about law enforcement properly caring for our communities.”
On immigration. Do you support a secure border with comprehensive immigration reform?
“Yes. Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Absolutely. I think most of us agree on these issues. We have been distracted by MAGA Republicans, especially Andy Biggs, fear-mongering and pushing out a narrative that we are being invaded by “Aliens”. The truth is, it is MAGA Republicans in Congress who killed the Border bill, which also included funding for the fentanyl crisis. This was a conservative bi-partisan bill. Andy Biggs and other MAGA Republicans killed it because they did not want to give Biden a political win. Again, playing politics with people’s lives.”
- Please describe your campaign strategy to reach voters including Independents and disaffected Republicans.
“The first component to this campaign was to actually have a candidate who represents people, not someone who’s pushing the party line or representing a handful of rich donors. and to actually have a platform that resonates with voters across the political spectrum. The reason that Donald Trump did as well as he did in 2016 was because he ran a much more populist campaign when he talked about draining the swamp. It resonated with folks who understand that our politicians do not work for them. He lied. He just wanted to weaken our Democracy to give himself more power. He and his Maga Republicans in Congress are as swampy as they come but the point is that we have a winning platform, and I am only asking for a chance to earn the trust of our communities because change only happens from the bottom up. We will never see change happen from the top down.”
“Our campaign has actually grown quite quickly and we have a team of volunteers who come from all walks of life from across the political spectrum including disaffected Republicans. So while we were collecting signatures to get on the ballot, we focused a lot on building those bridges. Not converting people or attacking anyone for the way they have voted in the past. This campaign has always been about coming together and working across the aisle. Even though we’re not going to agree on everything, most of us understand just how crucial it is to strengthen our Democracy, support term limits, and actually elect quality candidates.”
“Andy Biggs won’t even work within his own party and voters see that we can’t accomplish anything if we don’t work together. In terms of getting our message out there and connecting to voters, we’re going to be focusing our efforts on Independents and unregistered voters in our district. We have some of the fastest-growing ZIP codes in the country with blue-leaning voters. So, we need to ensure that they’re registered to vote and that people understand just how much their vote matters this election year. We’re also going to work very closely with our LDs to share resources and volunteers to help boost turnout for our race, the ballot initiatives, and all the down-ballot candidates. This means a lot of your typical old-school campaigning, canvassing postcard marketing, and so on.”
“The last kind of point I want to make here is that we want to target the average demographic which is young white men in their early 30s. I know a lot of my policy priorities will resonate and everyone so far whom I’ve spoken to within this demographic is very deeply concerned about our Democracy and their daughters’ freedoms.”
“It’s time for a change in our political system and regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, we have to come together to fight for the greater good, strengthen our institutions, and build a government that works for the people and empowers people.”
- Is there anything not covered in the first three questions that you would like the readers to know about you and your candidacy to become the next House Representative from CD Five? Please explain.
“I guess I want people to know I am not a typical party politician. I didn’t spend thousands of dollars on training to learn how to give political talking points. I am out here fighting for real change in our system; fighting to protect our freedoms and our Democracy. I’m putting out policies that I strongly believe in because I know this economy is not working for everybody. I don’t answer to a party or to a lobbyist. Our campaign is really powered by people who just want to see a change in our political system and who want to be better represented. I plan to bring that energy to the halls of Congress where I can continue to advocate for American families and future generations. It’s time to hold corporations accountable and I will always put everyday Families First.”
Please click on the below social media sites to find out more about Katrina Schaffner and her candidacy for Arizona House CD Five.
https://www.facebook.com/Katrina4AZ
https://www.instagram.com/katrina4az