Attorney Paul Weich has been very engaged in promoting Democracy and fair elections for the last several years. An attorney, civic activist, and writer (he is the writer “Arizona Politics” on Blog for Arizona,) Mr. Weich has been very involved in educating the community on the current process of redistricting state legislative and US congressional house districts.
He was also involved in attempting to secure enough ballot signatures to support the Invest in Arizona Coalition, stop the spread of Dark-Dirty Money in political campaigns, and halt the Anti-Democratic measures passed by the Republicans at the Arizona State Legislature.
Wanting to continue to serve the public, Mr. Weich has launched a campaign to become a member of the Arizona State House. If elected, he would represent most of the people who currently reside in Legislative District 18 (Tempe, Chandler, Ahwatukee, and Mesa).
If elected, Mr. Weich pledges to work on:
- Preserving democracy.
- Protecting a woman’s right to choose.
- Fully funding public schools.
- Preserving the water supply, combatting climate change, and promoting sustainable clean energy policies.
Mr. Weich took the time to discuss his candidacy for the Arizona State House.
The questions and his responses are below.
1) What are at least two reasons you want to run for a term for the Arizona State House?
• “The continuing attack on our elections is the number-one reason I am running for the legislature. This attack on our democracy can be seen in court cases, the Senate President-ordered “audit,” and laws the legislature passed or considered passing. It is critical that we have people at the legislature fighting for our voting options and elections systems.”
• “Public education funding is the second area of concern for me. I was very involved in the fights against legislation that would expand private school vouchers and take away funding from Prop 208, and testified this past session against a new effort to expand vouchers.”
2) What are at least two reasons voters should elect you over any opponent in the House race?
” I believe my experience as a lawyer and journalist along with my commitment to open-mindedness and collaboration will make me an effective lawmaker. I will be a lawmaker who considers policies from multiple perspectives and works to arrive at solutions that help the people of Arizona. While I will always stand up for my values, I will respect those with different opinions as long as they have the best interests of the people of Arizona at heart.”
3) If elected to the House, what are at least four issues you will focus on in that chamber? There may be follow-ups to this question depending on the original response.
- “Protecting public education.
- Protecting democracy
- Protecting Roe V Wade.
- Developing water and other environmental policies that will allow Arizona to adapt to a changing environment during this climate crisis.”
4) Please explain to the readers what caused your law license to be suspended and the steps you took to address it.
“Several years ago, I was devastated by the tragic and unexpected death of my father. The death and family crisis that followed left me emotionally broken and for a period unable to take care of my legal clients. I failed them and, in my state of mind, also chose not to deal with those lapses. This resulted in a temporary suspension of my law license.
When I stopped trying to hide, my wife, family, friends, Rabbi, and counselors helped me out of the deep rut I was in. I apologized to the clients who I had not properly represented, to my family for the pain I caused them, and to the profession, I have been proud to be a part of. Reinstatement followed, and I rebuilt my professional life and my relationships.
I believe that the financial and emotional struggles my family and I overcame will make me a stronger representative for Legislative District 18. Today, I can truly empathize with people who are going through difficult times, both emotionally and financially. My personal struggles have made me a better, wiser person and have made me more committed than ever to being a compassionate and effective representative for all the people of our district.”
5) Is there anything not covered in the first four questions that you would like the readers to know about you and your candidacy? Please explain.
“We are on the precipice of major damage to our democracy and electoral system. Legislative District 18 has been fortunate to be represented by three Democratic lawmakers who support voting rights and our democratic values. Since two of them will not be returning and Representative Epstein is running for the Senate, I am eager to continue – and hopefully, even further – their excellent work representing the southeast Valley in the Arizona Legislature.”
Please click on the below social media sites for more information on Paul Weich and his candidacy for the Arizona State House.
Twitter: @PaulWeichAZ
Facebook: @PaulWeichAZ
Instagram: @PaulWeichAZ
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