Tag: Bob Worsley

Arizona Republican Assembly Scores Arizona Lawmakers

On By AZ ConservativeIn Conservatism, LegislatureLeave a comment

The Arizona Republican Assembly has posted its ratings of all the Republicans in the state legislature. The criteria is based on whether or not office holders …

1) Support the U.S. Constitution; 2) Support Republican Party Platform; 3) Support individual / private sector empowerment over government empowerment; 4) Support national security (including illegal alien issues); 5) Their actions reduce government spending; 6) Their actions reduce tax rates in general; 7) and will have a significant impact.

Here’s a list of ratings of Republican members of the Arizona House of Representatives, as calculated by the Arizona Republican Assembly:

2015 Final Scorecard

passing grades

NAME                          Dist.              Score

Kelly Townsend          16               87.89

Bob Thorpe                    6              86.21

Anthony Kern              20               85.85

Vince Leach                 11              85.83

Mark Finchem              11              85.78

Justin Olson                 25              85.43

Steve Montenegro       13              85.35

Jeff Weninger              17               85.21

“Rusty” Bowers              25              84.90

Darin Mitchell                13               84.43

Brenda Barton                6               84.32

Warren H. Petersen      12               84.30

David W. Stevens         14               84.30

Phil Lovas                     22               84.24

Edwin Farnsworth         12               83.50

Sonny Borrelli                 5               83.26

David Livingston           22               83.21

Rick Gray                      21               83.01

David M. Gowan Sr.     14               82.99

“J.D.” Mesnard             17               82.78

Karen Fann                    1               82.56

Noel W. Campbell          1               82.33

Jay Lawrence               23               82.05

Jill Norgaard                 18               81.89

Tony Rivero                  21               80.57

Thomas Shope               8               80.12

FAILING GRADES

John M. Allen               15               78.78

Doug Coleman             16               78.39

Paul Boyer                   20               76.82

Regina Cobb                  5               76.44

John Ackerley                 2               75.63

Michelle R. Ugenti        23               74.73

Franklin M. Pratt             8               71.56

Bob Robson                  18               71.18

Kate Brophy McGee      28               69.58

Heather Carter              15               64.85

SENATE

PASSING GRADES

NAME                          Dist.              Score

David Farnsworth       16               86.01

Gail Griffin                   14               85.77

Judy Burges               22               85.33

Andy Biggs                 12               85.14

Steve Smith                  11               84.85

Steve Yarbrough          17               83.64

Kimberly Yee                20               83.43

Kelli Ward                       5               81.97

Sylvia Allen                    6                80.94

John Kavanagh            23               80.16

Debbie Lesko               21               80.10

FAILING GRADES

Bob Worsley                25               78.66

Adam Driggs                28               78.23

Nancy Barto                 15               78.22

Don Shooter                 13               77.80

Jeff Dial                        18               72.15

Steve Pierce                  1               53.54

State Senator Farnsworth Wins Goldwater Legislator of Year Award

On By AZ ConservativeIn Arizona, Friend of the Taxpayer, LegislatureLeave a comment

By Tom Jenney, President of American For Prosperity-Arizona

Arizona State Senator David Farnsworth is the highest-scoring legislator on this year’s Americans For Prosperity-Arizona’s 2015 Legislative Scorecard, and will receive AFP-Arizona’s Barry M. Goldwater Legislator of the Year Award.

The scorecard assigns weights to over 300 bills according to their projected dollar impact to Arizona taxpayers, consumers and producers, with $1 million equaling one point on the scorecard. AFP-Arizona’s 2015 Legislative Scorecard assigns the heaviest weight to the budget bill crafted by Governor Doug Ducey and legislative leaders.

The budget passed March 7 is in many ways the most fiscally conservative state budget we’ve seen in at least two decades. By making over $300 million in spending reductions, Gov. Ducey and the legislators who voted for the budget have put the state on track to achieve a structurally balanced budget by 2017, so that government will be made to live within its means – just like our families and small businesses do.

Perhaps most importantly, the budget is designed to eliminate administrative waste in school districts and focus more money into our classrooms to help teachers and students boost academic achievement.

First-year Governor Ducey earned the designation of “Friend of the Taxpayer” on the 2015 Scorecard – the first time a governor has earned a good rating from the group since the Arizona chapter of AFP launched in 2007.

Also heavily weighted on the Scorecard are bills that will bar state agencies from using personnel or resources to enforce ObamaCare, attempt to reform abuses in the state’s Medicaid program, put roadblocks in front of the EPA’s efforts to hurt affordable energy generation in Arizona, expand school choice scholarships for children, remove burdensome regulations on ridesharing services, abolish the state’s “Inflation Tax,” and allow patients to order lab tests directly without having to have them prescribed by physicians. As it has done in past years, AFP-Arizona also grades legislators and the governor on missed opportunities: important reform bills that are prevented from reaching floor votes in the House or Senate.

Of course, many special interest groups are not happy with this year’s budget and legislative session:

  • The school district bureaucrats who steal money from the students and front-line teachers in our classrooms hate the fact that the budget reduces spending on administrative bureaucracy – even though the budget provides a net increase in K-12 classroom spending. The bureaucrats don’t want you to know that our school system in Arizona already spends over $9,400 per student each year, or that there has been a nearly 20-percent increase in general fund spending in K-12 since 2010. Your school district officials also don’t want you to know that on average they have routinely failed to put more than 53 percent of available dollars into classrooms (and even that figure is inflated).
  • The educrats who waste taxpayer money and student tuition dollars at our community colleges and universities are screaming about the $100 million in reductions to higher education budgets – even though the cuts reduce total university revenue by only two percent.
  • The corporate crony capitalists are going to miss the $75 million that has been taken away from the Arizona Commerce Authority’s corporate-welfare slush fund.

In the coming months, the big spenders will continue to wail and moan and spread false information to you and your neighbors. And some of your neighbors will complain to their elected officials. That is yet another reason why you need to thank your elected officials for supporting the responsible budget.

Hero of the Taxpayer Award Winners

Sen. David Farnsworth, Score: 93

Sen. Judy Burges, 93

Sen. Sylvia Allen, 92

Sen. Steve Smith, 91

Rep. Warren Petersen, 91

Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, 91

Rep. Steve Montenegro, 90

Rep. Anthony Kern, 90

Rep. Darin Mitchell, 90

Sen. Debbie Lesko, 90

All the top 10 lawmakers are Republicans. Not a single Democrat earned anything remotely close to a “friend of the taxpayer” honor. Virtually every Democrat in the legislature ranked as “Needs Improvement,” “Friend of Big Government,” or “Champion of Big Government.”

State Sen. Bob Worsley is one of the least friendly Republicans to taxpayers and ranks cumulatively as a “Friend of Big Government,” though he did better this year.