The race to succeed Ruben Gallego in Arizona House Congressional District Three is centered around two major candidates.
One of them is former Phoenix Councilwoman and Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari.
The youngest woman to serve on the Phoenix City Council, Ms. Ansari has distinguished herself as a champion of reproductive freedom, affordable housing, and clean energy sustainability/combatting extreme heat.
On the sustainability front, Ms. Ansari has been a mover on that issue since her time as an advisor at the United Nations.
She also took the lead in enacting Phoenix’s Climate Action Plan.
If elected to the House of Representatives, she will focus on:
- Protecting Reproductive Freedom.
- Pursuing Medicare for All.
- Increasing funding for public education and affordable housing.
- Continuing to combat the climate crisis and promote clean energy sustainability alternatives.
Ms. Ansari graciously took the time to discuss the status of the primary campaign.
The questions and her responses are below.
- How would you assess your chances for victory in the July primary? Please give us at least two reasons you feel that way.
“As the former Phoenix Vice Mayor and City Councilwoman, I feel good about my chances for victory in July. I’ve represented this area for the last four years and have delivered on all of the progressive promises I made when first running for office amidst a global pandemic. From protecting women and doctors after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade to helping our community’s most vulnerable mitigate the extreme heat brought about by climate change, we have never stopped fighting for the people of our community. That’s why I’ve been endorsed by Arizona teachers, firefighters, unions, and pro-choice leaders.”
“At this moment, Arizona needs a leader who understands the urgency of the moment and gets things done. I have the experience, work ethic, tenacity, and character to run a winning campaign and pass policies that will tangibly improve the lives of residents. That’s why I’m running and will be the next Congresswoman from Arizona’s 3rd district.”
- With regards to policy issues, what are at least two areas voters have been bringing up to you when visiting them at their door or town hall/campaign events? Please explain.
“The biggest issues I hear from Phoenix residents are abortion rights, threats to our democracy, climate, and rising costs.”
“I’m staunchly pro-choice/pro-abortion. In 2022, after the gut-wrenching overturning of Roe V. Wade, the Phoenix City Council voted 6-2 to direct its police department to make state abortion laws its lowest priority for enforcement. I was crucial in drafting, approving, and securing votes for the resolution to ensure that we stopped the process of criminalizing anyone who sought out any abortion in our city. As a Congresswoman, I will continue to fight for equitable & accessible reproductive healthcare for all.”
“After the devastating Arizona Supreme Court ruling that came down in early April, our campaign released a comprehensive Reproductive Rights and Women’s Health Policy Plan outlining solutions I will pursue at the federal level & hosted an event to discuss with providers. These include:
- Codify a Woman’s Right to Abortion
- Reduce Disparities in Women’s Healthcare Access, Quality, & Outcomes
- Enact Medicare for All”
“Inflation and cost of living are out of control and too many Arizona families are being left behind in this economy. Arizonans deserve good jobs with quality wages and stronger benefits, and I have proudly and consistently fought on behalf of workers. As a Councilwoman, I’ve successfully raised wages for firefighters, bus drivers, and city employees. In Congress, I’ll continue to fight for families by advocating for affordable education and affordable housing.”
“At its core, I believe that homelessness is a housing issue. As a result of Phoenix’s 155,000-unit housing shortage, rents and mortgages have increased exponentially, and the number of unhoused individuals along with it. This is why, as a Councilwoman and Vice Mayor, I’ve helped direct more than $120 million in funding to build new emergency shelters and been one of the only city leaders in Arizona to call for statewide zoning reform. I am currently spearheading efforts to expand housing options in Phoenix and working on a new homeless shelter in my district. As a Congresswoman, I will prioritize bringing back more federal funding to Arizona for affordable and attainable housing, behavioral health, and drug rehabilitation.”
“The climate crisis is the defining issue of our time, and I have dedicated my entire career toward advancing solutions to address it. I previously served as a senior climate advisor at the United Nations, and as a Councilwoman, I helped pass the city’s first-ever Climate Action Plan. I also chaired the Mayor’s Ad Hoc Committee on Electric Vehicles, passed one of the most ambitious fleet transition plans in the United States, and established an office dedicated to heat response and mitigation. I intend to take this experience to Congress and be one of the country’s foremost leaders on climate.”
- Tell the readers about the composition of your ground/get-out-the-vote operation for the primary and, if you prevail, the general election in November.
“After knocking over 100,000 doors in my City Council race, I know how important a get-out-the-vote operation is. That’s why we started our ground game on Day 1 and our team has knocked over 80,000 doors before voting starts next week. I plan on continuing this effort in our district after the primary to make sure we can turn Arizona blue and deliver a back-to-back win for President Biden and Vice President Harris. Arizona’s Third Congressional District is one of the lowest turnout districts in the country and if we keep our ground game strong through November, the votes to keep Arizona and the White House blue could be here in Phoenix and Glendale.”
- Is there anything not covered in the first three questions that you would like the readers to know about your primary campaign for Arizona House Congressional District Three? Please explain.
“I began my career in 2014 as an advisor in the Executive Office of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, where I served on the climate team that helped deliver the historic Paris Climate Agreement. I later went to work with the Office of California Governor Jerry Brown as deputy policy director for the Global Climate Action Summit and as a senior policy advisor to UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutierres. As a Councilwoman and Vice Mayor of the fifth largest and fastest growing city in the country, I have championed housing affordability, climate action, reproductive freedom, wages and worker’s rights, and education – with proven results. Other candidates in this race do not have a public service record from a local to a global level.”
Please click on the link here to research Ms. Ansari’s and her positions on the issues at her campaign website for the race for the Democratic Party nomination in Arizona Congressional District Three.
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