Where Arizona House candidates Judy Schwiebert and Christian Lamar stand on key issues

Voters have until Nov. 8 to choose who will fill the 60 open seats in Arizona's House of Representatives, where election winners will go on to craft policies around issues ranging from voting rights to abortion over the next two years.

In Legislative District 2, a district in northern Phoenix that leans slightly Republican, three candidates are vying for two open House seats in a race that is among the most competitive this year.

Democratic incumbent Judy Schwiebert is up against Republicans Justin Wilmeth — who hopes to secure a second term in the Legislature — and Christian Lamar, whose top priorities include overturning the results of Arizona’s 2020 presidential election.

Both Wilmeth and Schwiebert have served as state lawmakers since 2021. Lamar is a political newcomer who was convicted of domestic violence in 2015 and has worked in Information Technology for more than two decades.

Residents must register to vote by Oct. 11 and can check their registration status on the Arizona Secretary of State’s website. Those who vote by mail should send in their ballot by Nov. 1 or drop it off at a voting location by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 8.

The Arizona Republic asked House candidates in Legislative District 2 to share their views on key state issues to help voters decide whom to elect. Wilmeth did not provide answers after repeated requests.

Top priorities

If you are elected, what will be your top priority while in office, and what would you do about it?

Schwiebert (D): When I am elected, my first priority will be to ensure that every student in Arizona has a permanent qualified teacher in their classroom. To help attract and retain teachers for this vital career, we must treat them with the respect they deserve as highly educated professionals, raise their pay to at least the national median, and reduce class sizes. My colleagues and I have developed a five-point plan to Invest in Arizona’s Children that can be found here.

Lamar (R): My top priority list is already listed at the first page of my website: ban Dominion machines, ban duplicate ballots, decertify/nullify Biden's 2020 AZ electors, require in-person verification for failed ballot signatures, order AZ Secretary of State to publish number of ballots who don’t have proof of US citizenship, require body cams for all election workers & officials for further transparency, allow photos/videos of any election worker inside polling places, voting precincts & election offices.

Education

Public schools received a $1 billion budget increase this year that's expected to raise Arizona’s ranking from 48th to 45th in per-pupil spending. How do you see the level of current public school funding in Arizona: Too little, too much or about right? Should the Aggregate Expenditure Limit be raised, allowing schools to spend the extra money?

Schwiebert (D): The $1 billion in additional spending is a good start for our public schools, but Arizona is in a deep hole, and substantial, sustained increases will be required to address the teacher shortage crisis that has left one-third of Arizona students without a permanent qualified teacher. That’s a disaster not only for these students and their families but all of us who want to live in a safe and thriving community. Our very first step must be to lift the 1980-era aggregate expenditure limit or schools will not even be able to spend the increase the Legislature already provided.

Lamar (R): Already too much & we need to redirect the current funding to help students who are US citizens. We are funding aliens in our state within our school district budgets. Absolutely ridiculous.

Do you support the school voucher expansion that passed this year and would you seek to modify it?

Schwiebert (D): I opposed the universal voucher expansion bill when it came for a vote in the state House in June and I continue to oppose sending taxpayer dollars to academically and financially unaccountable private schools. We have a responsibility to ensure that every child receives the great education they deserve. Draining almost a billion dollars a year from public education, especially when the parents of 95% of Arizona’s children choose our public schools is making matters worse. I have been actively collecting signatures on the Stop Voucher Expansion petition to allow voters to decide how they want their tax dollars spent.

Lamar (R): Yes. We need to continue to provide parents as many options as possible for school choice.

Elections and voting rules

Do you think there are significant problems with the state’s election system and, if so, what are they and how would you try to fix them?

Schwiebert (D): We all care about election integrity. Our neighbors who serve as election experts are Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and folks of other parties who come together to put election integrity ahead of party allegiance as they have always done. The many accusations of fraud against them and our long-respected, well-run voting system have failed to produce any evidence. I am passionate about keeping our elections secure and protecting our voting freedoms. Our state and nation are stronger when every qualified voter can vote safely and securely without undue obstacles that might silence their voices.

Lamar (R): Yes, ban Dominion Voting Systems, ban duplicate ballots, decertify/nullify Biden's 2020 AZ electors, require in-person verification for failed ballot signatures, order AZ Secretary of State to publish number of ballots who don’t have proof of US citizenship, require Body Cams for all election workers & officials, for further transparency, allow photos/videos of any election worker inside polling places, voting precincts & election offices.

Do you support mail-in voting?

Schwiebert (D): Yes. Like the vast majority of Arizonans, I choose to get my ballot in the mail so I can take my time with it and conveniently mail it back. I also appreciate that voters can sign up to receive text notices from the County Recorder, informing us when our ballot has been received, verified, and counted. No one should be forced to stand in long lines in hot temperatures to cast their ballot. Vote by mail and voting centers convenient to every voter in the state allow citizens of every age, background, and ability to vote safely and securely.

Lamar (R): Mail-in voting causes massive voter fraud i.e. 2000 Mules. The counties won't even maintain video surveillance to ensure the AZ election law is being followed and that no ballot harvesting occurs.

Do you believe that the Legislature has plenary power, or should obtain the power, to overturn elections?

Schwiebert (D): Absolutely not. It is the sacred right of voters to decide who they want to elect as their leaders. It’s a freedom that generations of patriotic men and women have died to defend. The Legislature should not have the power to overturn the will of the people and decide elections.

Lamar (R): Yes. The appropriate venue for any issue in regards to our elections is the Legislature and the US Supreme Court has upheld the power of the Legislature in past decisions.

Water resource management

What should the state Legislature do to best manage future cuts to the CAP water supply and the possibility that the drought may not end or get worse?

Schwiebert (D): It’s essential to all of us that we take immediate steps to conserve water. If the tap runs dry, so does our economy (to say nothing of our way of life). Yet, Republicans have been giving away millions of dollars of our water to a foreign corporation to export back to Saudi Arabia to feed their livestock. That’s outrageous and we must stop it immediately. We should be incentivizing farmers to transition from flood irrigation to other proven water-saving methods, and incentivizing all Arizonans to use more efficient plumbing fixtures, harvest rainwater, transition to desert landscaping, and more.

Lamar (R): AZ has large reserves of water which are unused. AZ also refuses to secure its border or defund aliens out of the budget, which causes population increases. We need to work with stakeholders and secure our border before we start spending more money on water infrastructure and technology.

Social issues and immigration

Are there particular cultural issues you would feel compelled to take a stand on — i.e., abortion, LGBTQ, critical race theory, or corporate environmental, social and governance measures — and what would be your position on them? How would you balance personal freedoms with your stance on these issues?

Schwiebert (D): Politicians have no business in our personal business. That includes having the right to make our own decisions about our bodies, including the right to abortion. With the repeal of Roe, Arizona is left with laws that could prevent a doctor from even assisting women experiencing a miscarriage until they were close to death. I also support the freedom for all of us to love and marry whomever we choose. As a state legislator, I will sponsor and/or support legislation protecting our bodily autonomy and the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.

Lamar (R): I believe marriage is between one man and one woman. Many people disagree and it’s OK to agree to disagree. With that said, many faith believers & those who believe in traditional male/female genders have found themselves under attack in the United States since the 2015 Obergefell v Hodges U.S. Supreme Court decision. I list 10 (mostly liberal) sources on how legalizing gay marriage allowed transgender identity expansion in the issues section from a link at my website. When the city government is willing to fine a Christian business owner $2,500 with 6 months in jail due to the owner’s religious belief, when school boards are being pressured to adopt transgender curriculum, when state legislatures are passing transgender curriculum as law, when men are taking over women’s sports or when a Christian baker has been sued three times by the same activists in his state; I would say it’s no longer about civil unions. I will fight to secure the God-given rights, values, principles & beliefs of Arizona/American citizens.

Margaret Sanger was a racist who wanted to sterilize and exterminate babies living in the United States. Sanger started abortion/birth control clinics in the United States and even convinced pastors to allow her to persuade congregations to soften on the issue. For decades, year after year the Democratic Party has not only hid these facts, but openly lied about it. Margaret Sanger is the founder of Planned Parenthood. Countless amounts of Democrats have accepted campaign donations from Planned Parenthood. Not until 2020 did Planned Parenthood admit these facts about Sanger being a racist and therefore Democrats began to distance themselves from PPFA. I do not and will not support abortion. I am 100% pro-life.

Unfortunately, in today’s times, education has been turned into a political weapon being used by the left to leave our children behind, and set them up for failure. NO Critical Race Theory, no 1619 project, no Social Emotional Learning or any other schemes to indoctrinate any children. We need to do everything we can to put our children first. The priority should be how our children perform in math, reading, science, English, history and listening to parents. Nothing else. I will continue fighting for parental rights & our children’s future to give every child the best education possible.

What, if anything, should the Legislature do to address immigration and border issues? 

Schwiebert (D): While immigration is a federal issue, state legislators have an important role. First, we should be urging U.S. leaders to fund 21st-century technology to stop crime from crossing the border in any direction. But we should also be moral leaders who stand up for the principles represented by the Statue of Liberty. The asylum seekers following our nation’s legal process for seeking safety should be treated with respect, and we should support creating a pathway to citizenship for our hard-working immigrant neighbors and students who have been paying taxes and contributing to our community for years.

Lamar (R): Defund aliens out of the AZ budget: no tuition, no food stamps, no housing, no other DES funds & no school district funds appropriated for aliens. Finish the wall, which drives down illegal traffic by 90% according to testimony under oath by the U.S. Border Patrol and our sheriffs. Work with stakeholders: sheriffs, tribal lands, national guard, state militias, Department of Public Safety, deputized citizens, the governor & the federal government to find out all that is needed to secure our border.

Economics, state spending

Do you think the Legislature should try to help ease inflation in Arizona, (metro Phoenix’s inflation rate is No. 1 in the country), and how should lawmakers do that?

Schwiebert (D): Corporate price gouging and war profiteering have created soaring inflation that is devastating everyday Arizonans. Yet instead of easing inflation for everyday working families, the Republican majority has focused on prioritizing those at the top. Tax loopholes allow the majority of corporations to pay the minimum of $50 in state income tax, and this past year, they gave away $2 billion in annual state revenue to the wealthiest Arizonans. We need legislators who will prioritize our local businesses and the everyday people of our state so we can build a strong economy that works for all of us.

Lamar (R): Yes, Eliminate the gas and rental tax. Secure the border and defund aliens out of the budget.

State revenues produced an estimated $5 billion surplus this year. If the trend toward budget surpluses continues, what would you do with the surplus funds?

Schwiebert (D): We should be investing our tax dollars back into long-ignored working families in Arizona families by creating policies that reduce healthcare costs, make housing more affordable, address the water shortage crisis, repair our roads, bridges, and other infrastructure, and ensure public safety for every Arizonan. All of those are in addition to the vital investments needed in K-12 education, community colleges, and universities, which provide the very foundation for a safe, thriving community for all of us.

Lamar (R): Eliminate the state tax.

Reach Sam at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @KmackSam.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona House: District 2 candidates Judy Schwiebert, Christian Lamar