In 2009, when I made the decision to pursue elected office I was advised in order to gain credibility as a candidate, I would need to follow the traditional avenues and get the blessings of the so called “establishment”. As I reached out, I encountered reactions of it wasn’t my time yet, I had not paid my dues and that there were others who they felt were more ready than me. My nature has always been one of independence and to chart my own path, even if that meant not being accepted. Rather than allowing others to determine my direction, I decided to be the master of my own domain.
As a lifelong resident of Scottsdale, having been raised, attended school and worked here, I was keenly aware of the issues and concerns many people had and how they wanted them to be addressed. It became abundantly clear to me there was lack of leadership willing to be the voice for those opinions and sentiments. The country was in a deep recession with record high unemployment, unprecedented levels of government borrowing, a stimulus package enacted to spur economic growth, the swine flu was infecting thousands and an immigration crisis growing at our southern border.
Having been personally impacted by the effects of the downturn in the economy and beginning to raise a family, I sharpened my focus on the issues and decisions being made that were shaping my community, state and country. That summer, with one of my brothers, I attended a political rally at the Capitol in downtown Phoenix. After seeing hundreds of people, of all ages, come out in the 100 plus degree temperature to make their voices heard I was inspired to become more involved in impacting the direction of my state. Shortly thereafter I entered the race for the Arizona House of Representatives.
I spent the next year and a half attending any meeting or function I could find, to speak with people and listen to them voice their concerns and ideas. From those interactions I developed the foundation and positions of my candidacy. In my first race, there were four men and two women. Unfortunately, as a woman not even 30 years old, I was dismissed and criticized as too inexperienced and not ready for the job. However, I was not deterred by the unfounded and often too personal criticisms and stayed the course of standing up for what I believed was right. I am grateful the voters overwhelmingly responded to my message and for their continued support which enabled me to win all six of my legislative races.
I am honored to have served in the legislature for 12 years, I am a mother of three children plus a fur baby Pomeranian named Wolfie, a native and resident of Scottsdale. My mother is Norwegian born, my father is a second generation Italian and I have four siblings. I have worked as a commercial real estate agent and graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from the W.P. Carey School of Business. In addition to working my way through college, I played rugby for the ASU Women’s Rugby Club team.