Last Week at the Legislature
April 14, 2024
Hi Friend,
Welcome to Last Week at the Legislature, my weekly report to you on what happened last week in your State House and how I'm representing our community. However, I'm going to back up here for a minute to provide a frame for the big events that happened at the Arizona Capitol this week.
I agreed to run for the legislature in 2019 because we needed everyday people like us, not career politicians, to work together and get things done for all Arizonans. Based on what I hear from all of you, that means
Increasing teacher pay and our investment in our kids' public schools,
Keeping us safe,
Addressing the increased cost of housing, as well as our homelessness, water and climate crises,
Protecting our freedom to vote, and
Preserving our freedom to make our own decisions on when and how to grow our families.
These are the things that government is supposed to do. These are the things that let everyone get their chance to thrive.
I've worked hard to find common ground with folks across the aisle, and will continue to do so. But frankly, after the past four sessions in the State House, it's become abundantly clear that the one-seat Republican majority has no interest in working together for everyday Arizonans.
For too long, Republicans have wielded total control over what bills get heard, what our tax and spending look like, as well as what the rules are. When they don't like the rules, they change them to suit themselves so they can continue to prioritize their own special interests. That means the far right extremists with their book bans and culture war attacks on our schools, teachers, and vulnerable children are running the show.
I know many people have understandably become fed up with how toxic politics have become, throwing up their hands to say, "Democrats are just as bad. They'd do the same thing if they were in power."
I disagree. A one-seat Republican majority has now left Arizonans with an almost $2 billion deficit, left the schools chosen by 90% of Arizona's families with the poorest funding levels in the nation, rolled back the clock to 1864 on women's freedom, and made our beautiful state once again the laughing stock of the country. We can do so much better.
Arizonans deserve a new Democratic majority that will prioritize turning this ship around so that everyone gets their chance to thrive.
To win that majority in November, we NEED YOU! Our LD is bright purple. We have more Independents than Republicans, and more Republicans than Democrats. But because of YOUR help, we've won this seat before.
In fact, if all of us can pull together to elect Deer Valley School Board member Stephanie Simacek to this LD2 House Seat, AND elect me to the State Senate, we can elect that new majority. In fact, we MUST BOTH win in LD2 to get to that new majority.
Stephanie and I are willing to pour our energy into representing you. But to win, your contributions in the form of time AND treasure are essential. If you are upset, concerned, or downright scared about what's happening in our state,
use THIS link to split your donation between Stephanie and me,
use THIS LINK to sign up to volunteer at an upcoming event, and
use THIS LINK to email us and volunteer to host a house party for your neighbors to meet Stephanie and me.
Judy
Representative Judy Schwiebert, LD2
jschwiebert@azleg.gov, JudySchwiebert.com, 602-935-0468
1864 Abortion Ban is the Law of the Land
This past Tuesday, the Ducey-packed Arizona Supreme Court announced their horrifying, insulting decision to allow an 1864 territorial era ban to take effect, making abortion a felony for women and their doctor.
This decision is not only an attack on our freedom, but outright dangerous to our health. Choosing to have an abortion is one of the most personal, life-saving healthcare decisions we can make in a nation built on personal freedom.
Yet this week, our state Supreme Court took that most basic freedom and gave it away to politicians.
Shame on the Republicans who are playing politics with our lives, some of them back-pedaling on their very deliberate work to bring us backward to this dark time. Now that they're seeing that this extremist decision could cost them the election, some Republican politicians are now saying the Court's decision goes too far. Yet they are the same ones who have very deliberately been
actively coordinating for years with far-right extremist groups to ban all abortions
including an intent clause in a more recent abortion law that ensures the 1864 law still applies
sponsoring or supporting repeated "fetal personhood" bills to criminalize abortion
Finally, in the case of one of the loudest Republican voices pretending that he thinks the Court went too far, Rep Matt Gress was a top advisor for the Ducey administration that expanded and packed the Arizona Supreme Court with 5 of the 7 current justices who would make this exact decision.
While Republicans want to roll back the clock on women's autonomy to 1864, a time before women could vote, we will not stand for this attack on our basic freedom in 2024.
We Must Repeal This 1864 Law
Women will die under this 1864 law. I've already heard from constituents who don't want to start a family knowing Arizona prohibits them from making life-saving decisions that are sometimes necessary during pregnancy.
That's why Governor Katie Hobbs called for the legislature to pass an immediate repeal to this antiquated law.
In fact, we already have a 7-word bill that would simply repeal it, HB2677, one I was proud to co-sponsor at the beginning of this session with prime sponsor Rep Stephanie Stahl-Hamilton. Like the vast majority of other Democratic bills, it went unheard this year.
But this past Wednesday all Democrats supported bringing it to the floor for a vote - twice, in fact.
Rather than letting it be heard, though, Republicans made a counter motion to recess and passed THAT motion with a voice vote in which they declared themselves the winners.
There are times that call for us to speak out. To summarize the message of Dr Martin Luther King in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, those who do nothing while witnessing injustice and wrong-doing do worse than those who commit acts of injustice. The privileged have a responsibility to do what they know is right.
So, in that moment, I stood with others to call out the majority for their cowardice in the face of this vital issue. We can certainly differ on how we feel about something but as individual legislators we should at least be willing to make our position public by voting on it.
What did the Republican majority do? Fly off to Kentucky for a bourbon-tasting fund-raiser for their re-election campaigns.
What will I do? I will continue to push for a repeal as well as to support our Governor and Attorney General to make sure that Arizona is not putting women or their doctors in jail for a procedure that is essential to women's health.
Protect Our Rights in the Constitution
We are also collecting signatures for the Arizona for Abortion Access petition that would put an initiative enshrining our fundamental reproductive rights in the Arizona Constitution on November's ballot for voters to decide. Want to sign or help collect signatures? Stop by our LD2 Dems office at 1524 W. Bell Road during our office hours or email us at info@JudyForAZ.com
Office Hours:
Mondays 1-3 pm
Tuesdays 1-3 pm
Fridays, 3-5 pm
Saturdays, 2-4 pm
Arizona's $1.8 Billion Deficit
Something else important also happened this past week at the Capitol. This past Thursday, the Finance Advisory Committee a panel of state and private economists that advises lawmakers on the economy and budget, determined that Arizona now will need $1.8 billion in cuts, down slightly from the $2.2 billion in January.
Among the chief causes of this deficit are
The $30 million in pork given to each Republican legislator last year (like $15 million for the Prescott rodeo).
Republicans, once known as the party of fiscal responsibility have proven themselves to be absolutely irresponsible with our tax dollars.
So, because of the one-seat majority's decisions, Arizona's ability to do its job of educating our children, keeping us safe, maintaining our roads, caring for our most vulnerable, are all at further risk. We face very difficult decisions.
Asking Supt Horne for Answers
After Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne told school districts that their Title 1 money would be reduced by 20%, our Teacher Caucus (Reps Nancy Gutierrez, Jennifer Pawlik, Laura Terech and me), wrote him a letter asking him to please show his work.
The Arizona Department of Education is simply a pass-through agency for federal dollars intended to help school districts meet the needs of children living in poverty. So, Supt Horne's letter telling them they need to plan for 20% in cuts, is alarming.
Some districts have already announced that with these cuts, they will need to cut their summer school programs.
Despite Supt Horne's attack on us, saying that we have no idea how this funding works, when all our letter asked was for answers, we still intend to meet with him to get answers for our communities.
Here's Who I Met This Week
As a proud graduate of ASU, I was happy to help celebrate ASU Day at the Capitol on Monday, April 8, 2024! Among the many schools, colleges and organizations showcasing their work for legislators, ASU Day at the Capitol will feature insight into ASU's new School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering. We also got to sample food from numerous ASU Alumni-owned restaurants. with representatives from Arizona State University.
On Tuesday, Joe Carter and and State President Mary Henderson of the All Arizona School Retirees Association, honored me with their organization's Legislator of the Year award. I am truly humbled to be among their past honorees including Senator Christine Marsh, Representative Jennifer Pawlik, Senator Heather Carter and Representative Michelle Udall.
Also on Tuesday, I was so happy to meet with Arizona Boys & Girls' Club Youth of the Year honorees from across the state. Congratulations, kids! We're proud of you.
On Tuesday afternoon, I met with Maria Murphy from the Arizona School for the Deaf & Blind. They continue to transport students who rely on their services sometimes up to 120 miles per day with completely insufficient funding from the state. This is just one example of the many things we should be addressing in this year's budget.
On Wednesday, local political newsletter the AZ Agenda presented me with their March Madness trophy as their Arizona Political Champion. At the beginning of March Madness, they setup their own Arizona political version of brackets with 64 Arizona politicians in local, statewide and federal positions. The games were all in good fun, and the tasks were a little silly. But they believe it’s important that our elected officials are available to the public and the press, transparent enough to readily forward their emails and that they care enough to explain what they’ve done for their constituents. You can see the video of my final interview with them where subscribers got to vote between me and Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartley for the championship. Thank you to all the voters who helped me triumph with 53% of the vote! (If you'd like to subscribe, you can do so here.)
In my personal life as a member of the Moon Valley Women's Club, I really enjoyed a great luncheon and silent auction at Aunt Chilada’s! It was perfect patio weather, with delicious baked goods for auction, great community and wonderful speakers. A special thank you to Black Mountain Police Chief Matt Siekmann and from Phoenix Assistant Police Chief Charmane Osborn who reported that violent crime is down 3% and property crime is down 20% in our area. Thank you so much to all our police officers!
Join Us at My Birthday Party Next Week!
Saturday, April 20, at 3 pm.
RSVP here for the address in the Lookout Mountain area.
Volunteer for Our Campaign!
I'm so honored to have so many teen volunteers joining our team. They're calling voters to let them know that Stephanie Simacek for State House and Judy Schwiebert for State Senate want to hear their priorities. But we need volunteers of all ages! Please join us! YOu can sign up at the links below.
We need YOU to help elect an Arizona legislature focused on the real issues we face like the teacher, affordable housing, and water shortage crises; keeping our families safe from gun violence; and reducing healthcare and other costs.
We can create an Arizona where everyone gets their chance to thrive. But ONLY with YOUR HELP!
The 3 most important things to do right now are
Join a Group Phone Bank at our office.
Join a Community Canvass. We're knocking doors and getting petition signatures to qualify for the ballot as we listen to fellow voters who want a legislature committed to addressing our shared priorities. Use this link to find a day and time that works for you. We'll buddy you up with someone experienced. We need door knockers and drivers.
Donate to our campaign. We need everyone's help to pay for the staff, literature, and other advertising that are essential to winning this competitive race.
Visit OUR NEW LD 2 Campaign office at 1524 W. Bell Road (in the Discount Tire parking lot, next to the Liberty Tax office). You can still sign school board candidate and the access to abortion petitions there - or make phone calls or write postcards. Also, a notary is available at our office every Friday in April from 3-5 pm.
Make your Voice Heard Next Week!
Read the latest Weekly from Melinda Iyer at Civic Engagement Beyond Voting here. I encourage you to subscribe to their clear, insightful newsletters.
Read the latest Weekly Education Report from Save Our Schools here. In addition to other information, you'll see that Superintendent Horneis now actively withholding funding for low-income schools.
Nominate a Community Builder!
As a lifelong member of our community, I'm so grateful to the many people and local businesses who make it such a great place to live. That's why I'm excited to be partnering with the Bell Road Business Alliance and Stoke Interactive to recognize many of the local Community Builders in our neighborhood.
Check out our website at LD2NPCB.com to learn more about past recipients and nominate your favorite locally owned businesses or nonprofits in LD2. I'm honored to a part of recognizing them in this way for the vital role they play in making our community the safe, thriving, unique place it is.