Know your politicians
So you know who to blame … All those sleeping say “Aye."
At one of the largest Democratic clubs in Tucson on Monday night, state Reps. Oscar De Los Santos and Nancy Gutierrez outlined their top priorities for the legislative session.
The two — who serve as Democratic leader and assistant leader in the House — told the crowd at the Democrats of Greater Tucson that they want to lower healthcare costs, take on the root causes for a lack of affordable housing and address universal vouchers, which have turned the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) into a billion-dollar program.
Tucson Democrats are gearing up for a fight with some of the state’s most powerful industries, including privately owned utilities like Arizona Public Service and Tucson Electric Power, home builders and the Arizona Multihousing Association, not to mention the various powerful groups supporting ESAs throughout the state.
And as we gear up for another legislative session full of tough battles, we thought this would be a good time for a quick refresher on the men and women who represent the Old Pueblo at the Legislature.
Legislative District 17, which includes the northwest corner of Pima County as well as some small sections of Pinal and Cochise counties, is one of the few split districts in the state — it’s represented by two Republicans and one Democrat.
Republican Sen. Vince Leach has served in the Legislature since 2015, and the retired businessman is best known as an old-school conservative fiscal hawk who sits on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. He has often beefed with the MAGA wing of his caucus, and he lost a 2022 primary to MAGA Republican Justine Wadsack before coming back to beat her and reclaim his seat in 2024.
Republican Rep. Rachel Keshel has made a name for herself as a Turning Point acolyte and outspoken election denier. She was first elected in 2022 as Rachel Jones, but met her now-husband, prominent election conspiracist Seth Keshel, at an Arizona committee hearing about election integrity.
Democratic Rep. Kevin Volk, a small business owner, is still in his first term as the lone Democrat in LD17. He narrowly defeated an incumbent Republican in 2024, turning this once red district purple. He sits on the Appropriations and Public Safety & Law Enforcement committees.
Legislative District 18 covers midtown and part of the Tucson foothills, and includes some of the most liberal parts of Tucson.
Democratic Sen. Priya Sundareshan, an attorney who taught natural resources law at the University of Arizona, has quickly become one of the go-to voices on water and environmental issues since winning a seat at the Capitol in 2022. And she climbed the ranks quickly — even though she’s only a sophomore at the Capitol, her colleagues elected her as the Senate Democratic leader
Democratic Rep. Nancy Gutierrez is a former teacher who has used her knowledge of the classroom to push pro-public school legislation from her perch on the Appropriations and Education committees. She was first elected in 2022.
Democratic Rep. Chris Mathis, a lawyer who teaches health care law at the University of Arizona, was first appointed to a seat in the state House in 2021 and has won reelection twice since then. Besides holding a law degree, he has also earned his Master’s in Public Administration and a Master’s in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. He’s also the husband of former Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission Chair Colleen Mathis.
Legislative District 20 covers a large portion of Tucson’s westside, as well as downtown Tucson and a portion of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
Democratic Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales has spent roughly two decades in the Legislature and is term-limited in her LD20 Senate seat after this year. A former member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Council, she has long been an advocate for improving education and healthcare and lobbied for the rights of children and women.
Democratic Rep. Alma Hernandez, an attorney who has been a member since 2019, is among a handful of Democrats in the House who have clashed with their own party. She’s part of the influential Hernandez family, which has sent three lawmakers to the state House, including her brother, former lawmaker Daniel Hernandez, and her sister, Consuelo Hernandez. The trio operates Hernandi Group LLC, which has grown into a powerful lobbying and political strategy business.
Democratic Rep. Betty Villegas is a retired school teacher who has spent a lifetime working on affordable housing issues in Pima County, including a brief stint as a Pima County supervisor in 2020. She was first appointed to her seat in the state House in 2023, and she won reelection the next year.
Legislative District 21 covers the eastern edge of Pima County and stretches into Santa Cruz and Cochise counties.
Democratic Sen. Rosanna Gabaldón serves as the Senate Democratic whip, and she has been a member of the Legislature since 2013. Before that, she served on the Sahuarita Town Council, and she has long advocated for rural Arizona.
Democratic Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, a Presbyterian minister who has served in the Legislature since 2021, has been a leading voice on abortion rights at the Legislature, spearheading the effort to protect abortion rights after the fall of Roe v. Wade. You might also remember when she hid some Bibles that were in a lounge at the state Capitol as a prank and statement about the separation of church and state, earning her a censure from Republicans.
Democratic Rep. Consuelo Hernandez, who is also the president of the Sunnyside Unified School District, has been a member of the Legislature since 2023. She is the youngest sibling of Alma and Daniel, and the latest Hernandez to take a seat at the state Capitol, where — like her siblings — she often clashes with the more liberal wing of her party.
We mentioned yesterday that the Pima County Board of Supervisors was considering moving its meetings from 9 a.m. to the evening to break up the long days and enable more citizens to attend.
Supervisors pulled the trigger on that idea at yesterday’s meeting, but not before debating possible implications of that move, including what happens if the meetings stretch past supervisors’ bedtimes.
“Can we get a legal opinion of whether two supervisors being asleep at the meeting is a lack of quorum?” Supervisor Matt Heinz asked, before supporting to move the meetings to evenings.
If we catch your politicians napping, we’ll be sure to snap a pic.
Rep Stephanie Hamilton is about much more than hiding bibles and abortion. She is a tireless fighter for public schools and has become quite an expert in water policy. And she is a very nice and honest person. Let's be more positive.
Thank you, TA & Joe F, for this very helpful rundown.
•Am interested to know more about 2 Dem Reps clashing with the more liberal Dems! Esp as 1 is from my LD 20. I prefer the more liberal side; to me, they are the real Dems, not DINOs.
•Also, as you likely realize, the typo R after Sen. Sundareshan's name needs a correction asap.