First elected in 2020 to the Arizona State House in the now former Legislative District (LD20), educator Judy Schwiebert has worked to increase investments in public education, workforce development, and the arts.
Running to serve in the House again in the new LD 2 (along with State Senate candidate Jeanne Casteen), Representative Schwiebert wants to continue working to ensure that every Arizonan can thrive. Her priorities include protecting our essential freedoms to vote as well as to make our own reproductive healthcare decisions, investing in public schools from preschool to universities, addressing the urgent need for more affordable housing and healthcare, and addressing the severe water shortage crisis.
Representative Schwiebert graciously took the time to respond to questions about her candidacy.
The questions and her responses are below.
1) What are at least two reasons you want to run for another term in the Arizona State House?
“First of all, I ran because as a mom, grandma, and teacher, it breaks my heart that children in almost a third of Arizona classrooms have no permanent qualified teacher. That’s a disaster for all of us. Employers need a strong, educated workforce, and we all do better when we have the doctors, lawyers, teachers, tradespeople, and other workers we need for a thriving community.
With $5.3 Billion in discretionary revenue this year, I’m proud to have helped negotiate for an additional $1 Billion in our state budget for public schools without raising taxes on anyone. This investment will allow schools to begin increasing teacher salaries, reducing class sizes, expanding career and technical education programs, and providing better assistance to special education and low-income students. It doesn’t solve the problems that have built up from the many years of the majority’s failure to properly invest in our students, but it’s a good down payment.
I’m running for re-election because we need legislators who will ensure that we continue to make these much-needed investments on behalf of the vast majority of families who choose their public schools. Otherwise, we’re left with a legislative majority that throws our taxpayer dollars down the toilet by expanding vouchers that force every day Arizonans to subsidize tuition for wealthy families at private schools that don’t have to provide information about what they’re teaching or whether students are even learning anything.
Secondly, I’m also running for re-election because we need leaders who will focus on addressing the real issues our families are facing. We face multiple crises, including a teacher, water and affordable housing shortage.
Instead, the current majority has wasted much of the past two years focused on culture war issues that drive us apart. We shouldn’t have to face their relentless attacks on our freedom to vote, on LGBTQ+ youth, and even on our right to privacy with laws that now give politicians control over our most personal decisions about our bodies. What’s next? Instead of letting extremists run roughshod over our freedoms, now more than ever, we need a new majority in the state legislature that will work together on real solutions to the real issues we face.”
2) Please tell the readers what have been at least two proud accomplishments for you in the last legislative session.
“First, with over 700,000 working-age adults in Arizona who have yet to earn a high school diploma, I’m enormously proud to have had my Workforce Development proposal included in this year’s budget. Over the past two years, I’ve worked across the aisle to better invest in our community college co-enrollment programs. They allow adults to earn their high school equivalency diploma AND an industry certification or associate’s degree at the same time. They also provide the wrap-around services like career counseling, transportation, and childcare that adults need to succeed.
It’s a win that will allow people to lift themselves out of poverty, provide employers with a strong, educated workforce, and ultimately benefit all of us.
Second, early childhood education is crucial to providing a foundation for life-long success. So, I was deeply honored to have the chance to direct almost $1 million in federal funding to two preschool organizations based in the North Valley. One, A Stepping Stone Foundation, provides literacy intervention for at-risk children and families that helps educate two generations at once. The other, Arizona Early Childhood Alliance, provides leadership that improves early literacy and strengthens children’s access to quality childcare and preschool experiences. I know this wise investment will impact the lives of not just many children and families – but ultimately all of our lives.
Finally, as a co-founder of Theater Works in the West Valley, I know firsthand the enrichment and connection that the arts bring to our communities. So I’m really thrilled that this year’s budget included a $5 million investment in arts funding. Last year, I co-sponsored a bill with Rep. Daniel Hernandez to get that $5 million to the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Ultimately, the Governor provided federal funds, but made no statewide commitment. But this year, my colleague Rep. Marcelino Quinonez, really took up the cause. Neighboring states all invest far more in the arts, so I really hope that Arizona will make that $5 million (at least) an annual investment. Not only is it important for the quality of life for all of us who live here, but it’s a great economic engine that helps benefit our tourism industry and entire economy.”
3) Please tell the readers what have been two regrets you have had from the last legislative session.
“The first is the universal voucher expansion scheme I mentioned earlier. It’s devastating to know that it will drain much of that billion dollars we put into the education bucket right back out through a big hole in the bottom. Middle class taxpayers already pay more than their fair share in taxes. Now, under this voucher expansion, we have to subsidize private school tuition for the wealthiest among us. Public schools accept every student, as they should. Private schools can cherry pick the students they want and can be selective about the students they let in, especially around categories like race and ethnicity. Another real disappointment is what has been billed as a “flat tax.” In reality, it’s a tax give-away to the wealthiest Arizonans. While citizens referred it to the ballot last summer, the governor did a work around in the courts this spring, so I think it probably slid by a lot of Arizonans. The nonpartisan Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) projected that the wealthiest Arizonans will receive over $350,000 in tax cuts annually, while typical families will save about $49. I believe everyone should pay their fair share. While Republicans celebrate a tax cut for their wealthy friends, this plan makes the tax burden fall even more heavily on low and middle income families.”
4) What are at least two reasons voters should elect you over any opponent in the legislative race?
“First of all, Arizonans deserve lawmakers who respect them. But right now, instead of respecting our choices, the current majority is attacking our most fundamental freedoms. They’re attacking our freedom to vote, restricting speech in our classrooms, banning books, and this past session denied women their freedom to make their own most personal decision about abortion.
We need a new majority that will prioritize finding solutions to the very real problems so many Arizonans are facing. The skyrocketing rents and home prices driven up largely by out of state investors; an existential water shortage crisis that requires our immediate, sustained attention; affordable healthcare for our children, families, and elders that doesn’t leave people bankrupt or without care altogether. We have a teacher shortage crisis that’s a disaster for all of us. That’s not to mention the mental health crisis that’s leaving too many children depressed, and increasing numbers of people with untreated mental health issues living on the streets. And we need to ensure the safety of our community with common sense gun safety measures.
In short, we need responsible adults in the legislature who will focus on the real needs of everyday Arizonans. I hope people will vote for me because I’m standing up to work together, including with cities, counties and experts in the field to create better opportunities for every Arizonan.”
5) If re-elected, what would be at least four issues, you will focus on in the legislature?
Affordable Housing: We need a multi-pronged approach to addressing this crisis. That includes investing in the Housing Trust Fund, working in cooperation with cities to increase a greater supply of affordable housing, and putting a cap on out of state corporations’ ability to come in and drive up rents and home prices.
Public Education: We need serious investments in our public schools, and that means from Pre-K all the way through our universities right now. Universal preschool is a smart investment that will provide a foundation for every child to succeed, whatever their zip code. And though our state constitution says a university education should be as nearly free as possible, the current majority’s failure to invest in our state universities has led to soaring tuition despite what our constitution says. Arizona spends more money on private prisons than it does on all three universities combined. That’s shortsighted.
Mental Health: Arizona has the worst student-counselor ratio in the nation. So, even with Superintendent Hoffman’s use of federal relief money to help schools hire more counselors, as a state we need to make that funding – and more – on-going. COVID really drove home the importance of addressing mental health for all of us. We’re facing an epidemic of unaddressed addiction and mental health issues that are leading to more and more homeless people on our streets. It behooves all of us to invest in mental health treatment, that will help us decrease homelessness, decrease crime, and benefit our economy.
Water Shortage Crisis: This past session we made an important investment in our water infrastructure, but that shouldn’t lull us into the sense that we’ve solved the problem. Climate change continues to exacerbate the shortage, and it will take enormous on-going support to make sure Arizona remains livable.
Do you favor the expansion of Kids Care?
“I am in favor of expansion. At a time when healthcare is just not affordable and too many kids go without basic healthcare, it just makes sense to provide a sliding scale where parents pay what they can based on their income. A healthy community is one of the foundations for a thriving economy.
Are you in favor of funding the police?
“Yes, the police are a vital component of public safety AND because everybody in our community deserves to be safe, we need a multipronged approach. That means that we need to invest in more social workers, more mental health treatment, and we need to make sure police officers are receiving the training they need to recognize the unconscious biases we all face. I want to make sure that not only I want to make sure that every person regardless of age, race, or gender is and feels safe in Arizona. There has been just too much evidence over the years that is not always the case. We must do better.
What are your thoughts on comprehensive immigration reform?
“I do support comprehensive immigration reform. So many people are fleeing from violence. While we rightfully welcome people from Afghanistan and Ukraine who are fleeing violence in their countries and treat them with the sympathy that they deserve, we are not treating people fleeing from similar violence and terrorism in Central American countries with that same sympathy. We should treat all asylum seekers with the same respect that they deserve.
We also need to make sure that we are clamping down on drug cartels and crime that might come across the border. I do not support a border fence because people will be able to continue to walk around that fence. We live in the 21st Century. We have technology. There are lots of ways that we should implement border security that really make a lot more sense.”
But all of that points to the fact that our immigration system is broken and we need to do better. In the meantime, we’re missing out on the contributions of young people brought to this country as young children because we have laws that prevent them from reaching their full potential. This is their home, too. The only one they’ve known – and we need their contributions now more than ever.
Please click on the below social media sites to find out more about Representative Schwiebert and her candidacy for re-election to the Arizona State House.
https://www.facebook.com/JudyForAZ/
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