Olson Hopes To Return To Arizona Legislature With LD10 Run

Olson Hopes To Return To Arizona Legislature With LD10 Run

by | Feb 23, 2024 | News

By Daniel Stefanski |

A familiar face may be returning to the Arizona Legislature.

Last week, former state legislator and Corporation Commissioner Justin Olson announced his candidacy for the Arizona House of Representatives in Legislative District 10.

In a statement posted to his Facebook page, Olson explained that he would be running for the seat being vacated by Representative Barbara Parker, who would be serving on a church mission with her husband in 2025.

Olson stated that Parker reached out to him to initiate a conversation about his candidacy and to offer “her full support and endorsement” should he accept. He also shared that Representatives Justin Heap and Senator David Farnsworth also gave him “overwhelmingly statements of support.”

The former East Valley Legislator took a trip down memory lane to recount the start of his tenure in the legislative branch as well as what he was able to help accomplish as a member. Olson said, “When I first ran for the Legislature, Arizona faced a $3.6B budget deficit and the record unemployment levels of the Great Recession. I ran promising to fight for fiscal responsibility and economic growth while championing the conservative policies across the board. In my six years at the Capitol, my successful legislation cut taxes, balanced the budget, eliminated job killing bureaucratic red tape, defunded Planned Parenthood and Obamacare in Arizona, expanded school choice, funded public safety, and much more.”

During his time in legislative office, he earned the following ratings and awards: A+ rating from the NRA “Champion of the Taxpayer” by the Arizona Republican Party, a “Friend of the Family” by the Arizona Family Project, “Legislator of the Year” by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, and “The Free Market Champion of the Year” by The Arizona Free Enterprise Club.

The veteran Arizona Republican underscored the importance of keeping the East Mesa seat in reliable conservative hands, saying, “Once again, Arizona faces a budget shortfall. Arizona’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee forecasts a $835.2M deficit for the current fiscal year and $878.9M for next year. With a one vote majority in both the House and the Senate and a Democrat Governor in the Executive Tower, it is critical that our Legislative District replaces Barbara with someone that will continue her conservative efforts.”

Olson asked for the vote of Legislative District 10 voters, writing that he would “continue these important efforts of advancing freedom, faith, and family, and standing up for common sense conservative principles like secure borders, the rule-of-law, the second amendment, and the right-to-life.”

The Arizona Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.

Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.

Bowers Ignores ‘Character Attacks’ After Censure By AZGOP Executive Committee

Bowers Ignores ‘Character Attacks’ After Censure By AZGOP Executive Committee

by | Jul 21, 2022 | News

By Terri Jo Neff |

Arizona Speaker of the House of Representatives Rusty Bowers has been censured by the executive committee of the Republican Party of Arizona, it was announced late Tuesday evening. 

Bowers will no longer have any formal state GOP support as a member of the Republican Party in part due to his purported “general disregard for Republican Party Leadership at the precinct, legislative, county, state, and federal levels,” according to a statement released by the AZGOP on Wednesday.  

“Rusty has failed in his specific actions, including co-sponsoring Democrat-led bills and refusing to work with the most conservative legislative body in 10 years during arguably one of the most critical sessions in Arizona history,” the statement reads. “This goes much further than any policy disagreement and acknowledges his failures in his capacity as Speaker to implement stout conservative legislation.”

The censure vote came less than two weeks before the Aug. 2 Republican Primary Election in which Bowers is being challenged in the newly redistricted Legislative District 10 encompassing much of Mesa. It also came less than one month after Bowers testified in Washington DC about his communications with former President Donald Trump after the 2020 General Election. 

The executive committee is comprised of more than 80 registered Republicans, including the AZGOP’s elected officers, three members from each of the 15 county committees, 27 at-large members based on Arizona’s nine Congressional districts, and others.  The number of votes cast has not been released, but the state party’s bylaws allow for a quorum based on only one-third attendance provided eight different counties are represented.

According to the AZGOP statement, it is the state party’s duty to hold elected officials within its party “responsible and accountable.” The executive committee further calls on  Republicans in the new LD10 “to contemplate a similar censure,” while encouraging “all registered Republicans to expel him permanently from office in the impending primary election.”

Bowers, who is being primaried by David Farnsworth, spent Wednesday ignoring what he called “baseless character attacks, choosing instead to focus on highlights of his tenure as House Speaker. Such as the most expansive school choice options in the country signed into law earlier this month.  

The censure action prompted mixed reactions, although the majority of Arizona’s lawmakers remained on the sidelines.