PPAA’s 2020 Candidate Endorsements: Communities in Pain

The sadness and pain felt by communities all across America - particularly Black communities - in recent weeks is a stark reminder that we need elected leaders committed to making lasting systemic change. Two of our endorsed candidates, House Minority Leader Charlene Fernandez and Representative Reginald Bolding, understand that leadership is based on listening, and they have been listening and acting on the needs of Arizonans since 2014. Our state needs them now more than ever.

Charlene Fernandez, representing the 4th Legislative District, encompassing Yuma County and stretching from the border all the way up to Gila Bend in Maricopa County, has been using public policy to improve the lives of Arizonans for several decades. While Representative Fernandez was first elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2014, she has been serving southwestern Arizona for far longer. Prior to being elected, she served Congressman Ed Pastor coordinating constituent services, during which time she led the effort to bring a Veteran’s Administration facility to Yuma County. She later worked for Congresswoman Janet Napolitano to liaise with the Environmental Protection Agency and  ensure safe standards of air and water quality in Arizona. Throughout this time, Fernandez was serving on the Yuma Union High School Board. She has been among the fiercest advocates for public education in Arizona, and is now the House Minority Leader for the Democratic Caucus.

Rep. Fernandez has fought against harmful initiatives that attempt to limit sexual assault victims’ ability to report their traumas. In 2017, she helped usher the creation of the Arizona State Legislature’s LGBT Caucus. The Democratic Caucus needs Rep. Fernandez’s sturdy hand on the wheel--re-elect her for strong leadership in Phoenix!

Reginald Bolding, representing southern Phoenix in Arizona’s 27th Legislative District, has dedicated his life to the improvement of society through public policy. At the age of 28, Representative Bolding was first elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2014. Rep. Bolding served as the ranking member of the Education Committee, served on the Ways and Means Committee, and during the 2018 session, Bolding became the House Minority Whip, as well as chairing the Arizona Black Legislative Caucus. In addition to serving the 27th District, Bolding is a member of the Phoenix Community Development and Review Committee, and sits on the Boards of Directors of the Children’s Museum of Phoenix and Leading for Change.

In the past year, Representative Bolding helped introduce H.B. 254, which mandates for the additional training of staff in all Arizona healthcare facilities to prevent neglect and abuse, particularly sexual abuse and violence. We need his voice now more than ever in the state House.