Teri's Agenda

• Water in Arizona is reaching a critical point right now that many in the public do not realize the real crisis happening. Arizona is needing to quickly, and immediately, implement a long term solution to water preservation as water in the Colorado River, Lake Powell, and Lake Meade are reaching all time lows. Arizona is also part of the 7 state basin Colorado River plan but is the second to last of the states receiving the least. Lake Powell and Lake Meade are reducing in water annually at all time lows. Arizona cannot rely on these sources exclusively anymore and we need to address now what to do. I will put in emergency orders for water conservation in the state similar to other states such as Nevada who is one of the leading states in water conservation now. I will implement and review Nevada’s current water conservation methods to implement in Arizona as there are working blueprints in other states similar to Arizona that can work here. Nevada is a similar state as Arizona regarding the Colorado River crisis and similar weather and how they are creating long term solutions to reusing and conserving water and building conservation plants to have. Nevada states Nevada as a state is “drought resistant” with these plans in place. Arizona has reviewed plans for desalination water plants in Mexico and approval for 5.5 billion dollars was given for the plan to have water funneled through Mexico through systems and tunnels to Arizona in a desalination process. Following approval of this plan it was later dropped due to legislatures questioning the process through ecosystems that they believed could be harmed (despite the plant developers stating this will not occur) https://www.enr.com/articles/55659-arizona-advances-55b-mexico-desalination-plant-proposal. Now, Arizona is reviewing how to work with California to purchase more of their Colorado River water. One idea for this too, is that Arizona could help fund California’s current desalination plant as a short term solution in purchasing the Colorado River water while coming up with a plan for a long term solution in Arizona. The problem, I think, with Arizona purchasing water from California’s right to Colorado River water is this is not a long term solution but still a short term solution. We need plants for water conservation occurring in other states that supply their water outside of the Colorado River and other sources of water running low to supply Arizona long term. I will review where the 5.5 billion dollar fund approval is, why it stopped, and how to start a plan now to ensure water sustainability long term in Arizona. Fighting lawsuits for water conservation of depleting sources is not a long term solution either. I want Arizona to have its own plan outside of the other current conservation methods and plants operating that creates a "drought resistant” plan in Arizona, too. These plants can take up to 10-20 years, therefore, I will review short term plans such as buying colorado river from california while our current long term plan starts. Immediately these areas need to happen as Arizona is growing fast and our water cannot keep up with it. I will also address water through data center plants and ensure that data centers are paying taxes to build, have greater restriction on building, and review their water sources being used. Finally, I will immediately change the tax cuts to data centers making the data centers pay their way, have greater parameters to building, and energy resource use by the data centers paid by them to extend and/or operate.  

• Expand interstates for corridor partnerships to ensure safe roads and safe actions..

• Incentivize efficiency upgrades: tax credits and/or rebates.

• Promote renewable energy: Develop solar and wind infrastructure to climate and energy.

• Ensure utility companies are not placing unnecessary costs onto the consumers.

• Support companies that complete energy audits for free or low cost.

Arizona public schools are failing today and the ESA program is being attacked as the culprit. I want to extend a greater audit in all school choice options, including public, charter, and ESA. Arizona is a leader in the country regarding school choice being now universal K-12. The ESA and voucher program are now under major political scrutiny as they are being attacked as the causation to public schools lacking in funding. While ESA is a program that has grown beyond what was originally planned to be, the program does not cost tax payers more money, but it arranges the allocation of funds differently. What is interesting is most do not realize that if ESA reduces or goes away tax payer will actually pay more, by millions annually. The reason is because the ESA program is actually less money then charter or public schools. Allowing families to make a choice about their child’s school program is important to so many families. I think the main reason people are upset is because the false narrative in the media regarding the funding and public schools failing. However, the literature and research supports that there is much more fraud and misuse of funding in the public and charter schools then there is in the ESA program. In fact, the ESA program as much stricter guidelines of reporting where the public and charter schools do not. For instance, before the voucher and ESA programs expanded in 2022, in 2019 and current enrollment in public schools was decreasing and increasing was chart public schools. Despite this fact, school districts continued to add more and more schools and buildings. Now, there are buildings and schools closing, yet, as a business model the business (i.e., school) grew faster than the demand. In business, you do not expand when prior years show expansion could bankrupt your business. This is essentially what many districts did. Now closures are happening, but it was already hypothesized before this. So billions of tax payer funding was placed into new buildings that are now vacant and sitting property of over 12 billion estimate. It costs Arizona taxpayers the most to send their kids to public schools versus charter or ESA or another optional program. Now we have billions of dollars of empty building and real estate in Arizona due to schools closing. The other reason why schools are closing is because cost of living and inflation in Arizona. Families are moving away from the expensive districts to different states or different areas of Arizona thus the students do not exist to go to those schools and since 2007 the birth rates in Arizona have decreased making school age children less available to attend. Then we have the expanded school choice program in 2022 which further removed children from public school districts to choose a private or home school. Literature does show that as fluctuation of the ESA and public school choice changes decrease and children stick to one over the other that tax payer dollars will decrease. One area that needs to happen in all programs is that when a student moves from one program to another the money needs to go with the child to that new school. What is happening now is the money does not go into the school and then this costs the school more money per the student not originally accounted for. This would reduce spending of students too. Further, we need accountability in spending in all tax payer dollars for school spending. This means that even when a student goes to a private school that school who accepts the funds needs to be transparent about the spending, too, or they do not get to utilize tax payer dollars. 

I will review executive board and higher up educator salaries to review national average to state average and reduce or increase and do the same for teachers and public school staff. ESA oversight and funding review to examine how funding for ESA impacts public schools and how ESA programs are reviewed for student scores and learning to meet standards of the state. I will address funding happening to the “Results Based Funding” (RBF) that rewards schools for letter grade performance. This reward system needs to take into account, more, the schools in economically disadvantaged districts and reward in ways that ensures the low performing schools are better supported. Right now the districts heavily receiving the funds include school districts in esteemed economic standing. I will address the auditor general reports that most recently (2025) show that there is a misuse of nonoperational spending of over 9 million dollars and why. Greater accountability needs to happen to spending in public school spending and dollar allowance. I will require the public school systems to publicly share where tax payer dollars is going including tax payer dollars going to ESA programs and spending, keep identifying parent/child information private. A reform of Arizona schools needs to happen to protect ESA and also protect and support public schools. Both systems, I believe, are capable of running simultaneously without hurting either one. The increase in per pupil spending in Arizona is below the national average, as it is, and I will review this. Arizona is low because Arizona places lower taxes in sectors funding school systems. I will review the all school choice programs for fraud and misuse of funds and make immediate changes. Again, I believe all programs can work together for accountability to tax payers and the state and create a very healthy and promising future for our children. Finally, there is some evidence to suggest that over the years the formula being used by the school education system in Arizona continues to inflate actual cost of school, increasing every year the amount coming in despite enrollment decrease. There is evidence to support that there is a surplus of money that within the school education system that is not being utilized by the districts. I will figure out where this money is and why it is being held back from going to pay teachers salaries higher and student education.

• Mandate transparent district audits; cap non-instructional spending.

• Review salaries of teachers and public administrative staff in schools to ensure fair salary profiles are being implemented with state reviews.

• Funding to provide counseling services within public school settings.

• As a state, many of our state agencies are performing below standards per the Auditor General Reports. I will focus on state agency reform to ensure the agencies not performing to standard for the public per the auditor general reports are addressed immediately to address the deficiencies that are harming the community, agency, and staff in the agencies working under the director leadership. Audit extensively in agencies regarding fraud and misuse of funds, putting immediate action in place to stop the fraud that is wasting taxpayer dollars and harming the public. State agencies serve the community and public and it is my belief that these agencies are miserably failing the people they are set to serve. This also means addressing the medicaid funding throughout the state and treatment centers. I will stop the fraud immediately. There is absolutely no reason why the fraud continues out the door of medicaid other than we have a system that continues to intentionally fail. We have to stop this, prosecute those who committed fraud, and let free those who are innocent caught in the net. Providers and patients are suffering. Our most vulnerable in Arizona, suffering. Homelessness is a continued crisis and with treatment facilities and providers going out of business daily we will continue to see a huge increase in the unsheltered. People suffering with drug and alcohol addiction are forgotten and our government failing them miserably. I will protect the most vulnerable and treat them with dignity while also protecting the people who are not safe in neighborhoods where drug addiction and homelessness is rampant. Protecting the unsheltered is protecting the community on a whole. 

• Have an immediate review of all excluded, suspended, and terminated providers from 05/15/2023 to current date of taking office to ensure proper, judicial, and fair processes occurred in cases.

• Immediately review active AHCCCS providers who are pending payments for more than 30 days to remit payment or work with the provider to ensure remittance in a timely manner to treatment provision takes place.

• Review funding for DES and ALTCS for rule adjustments and audits.

• Ensure funding for DDD children and adults is supporting families and the person. Transparency with families and people regarding funding with enough time to plan if changes will happen. Create permanent programs and funding flow to protect, with guidelines to reduce/eliminate fraud happening in the system.

• AHCCCS AMPM Polices to be reviewed, audited, and updated (as recommended) to ensure treatment across treatment settings is fair and sustainable for the community.

• Immediate change and review of the AHCCCS assessment tool developed for DDD children and adults with a likely renewal and change to the process based on expert audit and development.

• Freeze discretionary spending at AHCCCS, DES, ADE until reconciliations complete.

• Enact agency integrity laws modeled on Arizona Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLBC) audit standards.

• Seek federal recovery of misused Medicaid and COVID funds.

• Create a permanent Office of Inspector General for State Operations reporting directly to the legislature.

• Publicly release all audits and contract data in a searchable transparency portal.

• Implement auditing systems to ensure integrity is met and kept.

Arizona’s cost of living and inflation index is 2x the national average goal (2% inflation to meet standards of living and wage increase) and above the national average of 3.8% that is also higher than the goal of inflation for the nation. As a result, Arizona is not affordable for many to live, eat, or put gas in their car without multifamily living, multiple jobs, and/or both. Arizona grew so fast that inflation grew with it as supply did not meet demand. This was coupled by an ongoing water crisis and drought Arizona is in and a moratorium of construction. Affordability/cost of living is not at the bottom of this list because it is least important but instead is at the bottom because I believe that when we address the areas above (water, school funding, fraud and agency reform) we will automatically begin to address the affordability and cost of living crisis happening in Arizona, too. We need to be able to reduce utility cost for residents, slow and reduce inflation in Arizona while increasing minimum wage, create opportunities for people in Arizona to live within their means without having to work multiple jobs to afford groceries and gas. I will address gas price inflation that can occur easily in the state of Arizona with gas station owners with the right to increase or decrease their cost at will. I will implement rebate programs, more that what already exists, to farmers market vendors and buyers, teachers, public servants, and first responders to address the overwhelming need to meet demand and supply to people serving our state and community. I will create rebate programs for removing grass and implementing desert landscape and low water usage in homes (again, enhancing what is present already in these setups). I will also create city structures that support shorter commutes and utilize current vacant buildings for low cost community living. Shelters and those who are homeless will have more resources, support, and attention to options to help them have safe housing, food options, and childcare support. I will also review, further, New Mexico’s universal childcare program that is no cost to the public to implement in Arizona in a short term plan and step up agenda to full cost covered 0-K grades. Taxing data centers and implementing this tax money to cost of living expenditures and changes will be reviewed as well as use of data center tax money being used for public school systems. 

• Ensure border patrol are supported in the needs of their work and job performance for drug trafficking stop.

• Audit all welfare recipients for citizenship verification (ending self-attestation loopholes per A.A.C. R9-22-1300).

• Border control and legal immigration supported

• Create options for easier residency and citizenship for families and people who have been in Arizona illegally but have not committed criminal acts of any type.

• Expand shelters throughout Arizona and ensure safety.

• Utilize vacant building across the state to provide housing and safety.

• Increase resources in communities with high crime rates to improve safety.

• Increase behavioral health services and crisis services in impoverished communities that have increased substance abuse issues.

• Make crisis workers more available in the communities where crime is higher.

• Place mental health clinics in or near shelters to provide crisis services on hand at the site.

• Ensure reentry programs are safe and provide a program of integrity that is high standard to help released prisoners to reestablish in the community; programs will complete audits on program outcome.

• Programs that help motivate a step forward from homelessness to transitional living homes and stability.

• Increase teacher and educator pay

• Create rebate programs in rural counties and cities to provide for workers cost of living decrease and support.

• Pass policy to increase job growth.

• Align education and work skills so each complement each other and help the worker towards career development.

• Help mid-career workers retain their positions by focusing on barriers that can impede their work performance (i.e., child care, transportation, technology)

• Empower rural workforce by creating jobs in rural areas and/or promoting community investment.

• Build infrastructure and create resources in rural areas so technology is more accessible.

• The American people are important and should be treated fairly and with dignity in the state of Arizona.

• American people will not be discriminated against; develop a statewide anti-discrimination law that will protect all people throughout the state.

• Marriage

  • Is a personal choice for each person.

  • Christian faith - Jesus makes it clear that choice (right and wrong) is the person’s. Marriage is a choice. Creating a response by making it man and woman only (again) will backfire and create hate. Jesus tells us not to hate but to love all people.

• “No Hate” laws will be created, maintained, and enforced across the state to ensure all people are treated fairly and judicially.

• Public sports to be gender specific or unisex, the right of private sports to define this.

• Professional sports will be sexual orientation at birth unless it is a unisex sport.

• Material in schools will be eliminated that promote sexual activity between any person(s) unless a formal classroom teaching on sexuality or title of like is being taught by an educator in a formal manner.

• Create a universal free childcare program for all Arizonan’s to engage in 0-K children grades.

• Support local businesses through tax credits and grants that provide access to childcare and ride share.

• Support transitional homes that provide work and living programs for mothers and with children.

• Support reunification in families through court and DCS operations oversight.

• Ensure court fidelity and judge integrity in parent-child custody cases.

• Reduce workplace discrimination against families needing maternity leave including father.

• Maintain the 2nd amendment right to bear arms.

• Maintain gun laws in Arizona to ensure safety of the public.

• Support legislation that requires background checks on private gun sales in Arizona.

• Support legislation that requires state-level firearm registration requirements.

• Support bills for gun safety increase statewide.

• Streamlining environmental review process.

• All construction to occur

• Create fair opportunity for construction companies to bid for work.

• Create jobs through construction and worksite options in Arizona.

• Policy support for economic security and safety.

• Workforce development, equal opportunity, and growth.

• Increase opportunity for workforce training.

• Increase opportunity for entry level job placement and training.

• Create a program for low income populations that provide skill training towards job attainment.

• I am Pro Life.

• Pro Life represents that the baby in the womb regardless of age is a human being and should not be aborted electively in any circumstance unless medically necessary.

• I will not repeal the law that is in place currently that the voters of Arizona voted on for the current abortion law in place. If change comes it will be through the voters again, not through a focused appeal of the current decision by voters.

• I do not believe eradicating abortion is safe as this can create unsafe situations for our society as a whole, and the mother (much research aligns with this); yet allowing abortion up to 24 weeks is allowing the removal of a fetus that 60-70% of the time can survive the birth (https://healthcare.utah.edu/womens-health/pregnancy-birth/preterm-birth/when-is-it-safe-to-deliver). However, there needs to be medical necessity and no federal monies spent on elective abortions.

• Improve and expand on educating the public, easier access to contraception, and adoption easier to navigate need to be the focus to reduce abortions. This aligns with research that states 67% of women who had an abortion later “attributed more negative mental health outcomes to their abortions” (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10257365/)

• I believe that medical necessity is at times needed and warranted and by taking this away from public policy we can harm the mother.

• Medical necessity to abortion will be protected. This means that in Arizona doctors and medical staff are protected from doing an abortion as long as medical necessity met.

• Federal monies should never be spent on elective abortions in states where abortion is legal and allow for elective abortions to occur.

• When not medically necessary, the choice of the mother to abort should be without federal tax payor dollars. This should be maintained as an elective procedure.

• Collaboration with leadership and representatives throughout the state and country will be sustained.

• A united front will be carried across the state and country with a focus on the issues not the “politics” of the issue.

• The people of Arizona will be considered the most important focal point of leadership development and decision making.

• Teams will be treated fairly and equally.

• Implement Zero tolerance of public servant employees to mistreat the public and/or collude with other government to undermine person rights.

• Launch a Governor’s Integrity Task Force to oversee AHCCCS, DES, and ADE financial controls.

• Enforce performance-based budgeting; eliminate DEI mandates and redundant environmental grants.

• Training to agencies regarding policy updates.

• To ensure individuals and organizations are held accountable for their actions.

• Making no ties with stake holders in ways the promotes or changes the decision making model in the political event(s) and policies.

• Deter behavior from continuing to occur by ensuring laws and statutes are in place to keep individuals law abiding.

• Hold any and all people accountable for their choices regardless of the person or entity.