DEMÓCRATA | DISTRITO 11

I believe that people deserve a government that is trustworthy, accessible, and will work for them.

JoAnna Mendoza

Restoring Public Trust in Our Government

Prior to running for State Senate, I worked as a congressional staffer in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. It was there that my eyes were opened to the variety of issues facing people in District 11. I realized folks were in worse shape than I remember being in when I grew up in a nearby community. Due to the absence of leadership from State Legislators, coming to a Congressional office became the first stop for many folks in need of help. The system shouldn’t work only for a select few or for the government itself; it should function for the people it was designed to serve.

As someone who spent my life in service to our country and our communities, I believe that people deserve a government that is trustworthy, accessible, and that will work for them. We need to repair public trust in our government. The problem with the system today is that we have elected officials who abuse their authority and don’t use their power to serve others. For too long the elected officials in our District have been absent and their failure to serve our communities has become clear. As State Senator, my first order of business will be to transform the government we have into the responsible and responsive government that our District needs.

Moving forward, we cannot continue to operate with an “us versus them” mentality. The division in our state and in our country is harmful. We must take control of the State Legislature, but we cannot turn around and treat others the same way they’ve treated us. An eye for an eye approach doesn’t get us anywhere. I will always live my values and work to improve the lives of the people of Arizona by fighting for public education, accessible and affordable healthcare, protecting our natural resources, and equality for all Arizonans. There are many in the current majority who I will never see eye to eye with, but I believe we can find common ground and shared values with those across the aisle. The ultimate goal is improving the lives of the people who we represent and that should always be our focus. We need to find a way back to developing bipartisan solutions rather than fighting over Party lines. 

ETHICS & INTEGRITY

My first order of business, will be to transform the government we have into a responsible government you can trust.

COMMUNITY 

ENGAGEMENT

I will ensure the people of District 11 have access to speak with me to share concerns and valuable insight about the District's needs.

POLITICAL COURAGE & CIVILITY

I will place principles over politics with the interests of the people and district first. I will make it a point to meet with all legislators in order to get stuff done!

ACTION ORIENTED SOLUTIONS

I will place a priority on solving problems while focusing on creating solutions that are viable and implementable.

ETHICS & INTEGRITY

• I pledge to uphold, promote, and demonstrate the highest standards of ethics through my own example as an elected official. 

• I will be honest and transparent in my actions.

• I will use the power and authority of elected office only for the service of my constituents and Arizona.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

• I will make myself accessible to all constituents.

• I will post my daily schedule during the legislative session.

• I will improve democratic dialogue by:

  • Holding monthly town halls: State Senate on Your Street (virtually, until it’s safe to meet in person)

  • Conducting meaningful surveys with constituents

    • What matters to you most survey

    • Constituent satisfaction survey

  • Establishing a constituent relationship management database to capture constituent concerns and legislative feedback

POLITICAL COURAGE & CIVILITY

• I will meet with a Member from another Party one-on-one at least once a month

• I will join colleagues on both sides of the aisle on at least one piece of substantial legislation each year, and co-sponsor additional pieces.

• Supporting efforts to (re)build cross-partisan professional relationships between Members of the State Legislature committed to civility and working across the aisle.

ACTION ORIENTED SOLUTIONS

• Establish an Ethics Committee for the purpose of holding elected officials accountable for their actions while in office by investigating unethical behavior.

  • SB 1068 was introduced in the Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session, 2020

• Pass a resolution that records Arizona’s support for overturning Citizens United.

• Ban donations from public service (utility) corporations and their connected PACs to political campaigns.

  • SB1481 was introduced in the Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session, 2020 

• Keep former elected officials and government staffers from lobbying their former colleagues.

• Strengthen the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission by giving it more oversight and authority to enforce campaign finance laws, such as those requiring any group spending money to influence campaigns to publicly disclose which candidates they are supporting or opposing and how much they are spending.

• Reform our campaign finance system to ensure that public funding is available at various levels of government.

• Enforce that Members of the State Legislature maintain separate social media accounts for their elected office and campaigns.