Spain, Steve

Meet the Candidate

Running For:
Board of Supervisors
District:
1
Political Affiliation:
Republican
Phone:
(520) 305-9469
Age:
42
Occupation:
IT Management
Education:
UofA Graduate
Family:
I am a husband and father, and I have a large extended family here in Southern Arizona
Religion:
Catholic
Biographical Info:

Native to the Tucson area, I love my desert home and strive for rationality and accountability in our county. The budget deficit in Pima County is crippling, and the current Board of Supervisors has caused it to mushroom in the last four years, with nothing to show for it. During the worst economic inflation of my lifetime, they have thrown away billions of dollars and have continually increased the tax burden on us. It will be my privilege to serve our neighbors as we support public safety, address the staggering county debt load, and work to roll back the county’s painful taxation.

Statement:

Pima County needs a rethink: We’ve spent nearly two billion dollars a year in Pima County alone, much of that on failed pandemic policies that remained in force long after they should have been lifted, and on programs that have kept our porous border open to dangerous child trafficking, fentanyl, and criminal cartel activity: Pima County is directly financing the antithesis of public safety. And they’re doing it on the backs of low- and fixed-income neighbors who deserve better. In fact, the Board of Supervisors has performed so poorly that, at a recent meeting, the Chairwoman, who is a member of the majority that has created this mess, even acknowledged the painfully regressive tax structure they have created! We now have a massive new pile of debt to repay, with interest, and the increasing taxes to prove it. I offer a fiscally responsible perspective and a strong aversion to public debt; I am prepared to work for solutions to leave Pima County better off at the end of my first term than it was at my start, as opposed to the disastrous board that has left us deeply in debt with no end in sight to the wasteful deficit spending. I am proud to run to see District 1–and all of Pima County–thrive and succeed. I am excited to be able to serve my neighbors and friends in making our beautiful desert home safer, more prosperous, and cleaner, all while cutting waste and making it less burdensome to call this county home.

Survey

Response Legend

  • SSupports
  • OOpposes
  • *Comment
  • −Declined to respond
  • †Declined to respond, Position based on citation

Question Response Comments/Notes
1. Providing benefits and services such as free housing to undocumented migrants at taxpayer expense. O* This is a symptom of a bigger problem, one that imperils public safety. We need security, not mass migration funded with interest due.
2. Allowing all parents to use tax credits and taxpayer funded empowerment scholarship accounts to enable their children to attend any private school, homeschool, or online academy of their choice. S* Every parent deserves a choice in education for their precious ones.
3. Interpreting the 2nd Amendment as protecting an individual’s right to keep and bear arms. S* The Bill of Rights could not be more clear; defense of self and safety is a fundamental right that shall not be infringed.
4. Using taxpayer funds to support any organization that performs, promotes, or provides referrals for abortion. O* Government has no business funding individuals in this manner.
5. Amending the Arizona State Constitution to grant a fundamental right to every individual to an abortion. O* Our Constitution, in Article 2 Section 2, reminds us the duty of government is protection of individual rights. This would be in direct conflict.
6. Providing tax breaks to certain industries over others. O* We are better off letting the free market decide what industries work best here, not government. Lower taxation overall fosters a better economy.
7. Adding "sexual orientation," "gender identity," or "gender expression" to the protected classes of race, religion, age, sex, and ancestry in nondiscrimination ordinances. −
8. Allowing parents to seek professional counseling for their minor child with same-sex attraction or gender identity issues. S* It is a parent's obligation to seek the best for the child; the parent deserves the option, not the state.
9. Enhancing penalties for leading and participation in organized retail theft rings. S* We all suffer courtesy organized theft, to the point grocery store entrances now have traps that make shopping feel like an interrogation.
10. Permitting individuals and businesses to not provide services or promote ideas that violate their moral or religious beliefs. S* Let the free market decide if a business that adheres to its owner's values can succeed, not the state.