District 18

Nathan Davis (D) Yes

Nancy Gutierrez (D) I was an Independent for years, but became a Democrat after the 2016 election. I knew that we would have to come together in order to fight against the extremists in the other party.

Christopher Mathis (D) I joined the Democratic Party in 2009.

Charles "Charlie" Verdin (D)I registered as a Democrat in 2015 to vote in the 2016 presidential preference election. Prior to that, I was not affiliated with any party.

Nathan Davis (D) Tucson, AZ

Nancy Gutierrez (D) I was born in Flushing, Queens, New York and raised by New Yorkers. We moved to Arizona when I was two years old. I lived in Phoenix most of my childhood with the exception of two years in Nashville. I went to NAU and began my teaching career in 1994 in Scottsdale. After marrying my husband in 1995, we moved several times out of state and landed in Tucson in 2007.

Christopher Mathis (D) Peoria, Illinois. 21 years (in Arizona).

Charles "Charlie" Verdin (D) Houma, Louisiana. I moved to Tucson in January 2012.

Nathan Davis (D)Casas Adobes Neighborhood, NW Tucson

Nancy Gutierrez (D)I live in Tucson, AZ now.

Christopher Mathis (D)Tucson

Charles "Charlie" Verdin (D)I live in midtown Tucson.

Nathan Davis (D)Arizona is on the wrong track, and we must tackle the big issues threatening our prosperity, including underinvestment in public education, inaction on climate change, and attacks on our fundamental freedoms and liberties.

Nancy Gutierrez (D)I'm running for office because, as a teacher, I want to fight for our public education system. My youngest daughter has just graduated from High School, so this seemed like the perfect time to be able to pursue my ambitions of running for office and making positive change in our state.

Christopher Mathis (D) I was appointed to the Arizona Legislature by the Pima County Board last year to fill out the House term of Dr. Randy Friese and want to continue to fight in Phoenix for Tucson values like reinstating women's reproductive rights, fully funding public education, preserving our water resources, protecting voting rights and passing common-sense gun safety laws.

Charles "Charlie" Verdin (D)I'm running because I have two young children who will soon be attending public school. I am determined to see my children get a good education and to be able to live and work here in Arizona for the foreseeable future if they so choose. To that end, I'm focused on funding public education and working to solve our water crisis--two existential problems facing our state.

Nathan Davis (D)Public education, climate change and the immediate water crisis, and expanding healthcare including protecting legal and accessible abortion care.

I will fight to repeal the radical voucher expansion, fully fund our K-12 public schools, create a universal public pre-school system, and provide free community college to every high school graduate.

Arizona is becoming hotter and drier. We must admit and accept that the situation will only get worse and that we cannot continue on with business as usual. I believe that Arizona should adopt policies to reduce carbon emissions from electricity generation to net zero by 2040, drastically increase investment in public transportation, and increase water efficiency in factories, farms, and homes.

Healthcare remains unaffordable or inaccessible for many Arizonans. Throughout this campaign, there are two healthcare issues that voters consistently brought up: high costs of medical care and prescription drugs and the attacks on legal abortion care. Healthcare is a human right. Ultimately, the United States must adopt universal healthcare at a national level. In the meanwhile, the Arizona Legislature should pass laws to support Arizonans who struggle to pay for and access healthcare. Throughout this campaign, I've been clear: abortion care is healthcare. The majority of Arizonans want abortion care to remain legal and accessible. If elected to the Arizona House, I will sponsor or co-sponsor legislation to repeal the territorial era law criminalizing abortion care and the recent 15-week ban and codify the precedent established under Roe into state law.

Nancy Gutierrez (D)Public education is a top priority. It has been systematically destroyed over the past years. Every child in Arizona deserves a quality and equitable education. Our tax dollars belong in public education, not vouchers.

Protecting our rights is another priority. This includes the right to body autonomy, which includes abortion. The government should have no input into what we choose for our bodies. It also includes the right to vote. Voting should be convenient and easily accessible to all Arizonans. We all have a right to be safe at school and in our communitities. I will work for gun sense legislation.

Another priority is protecting our water so that future generations can continue to grow and thrive in this state.

Christopher Mathis (D)Reinstating women's reproductive rights, fully funding public education and preserving our precious water resources though protecting voting rights and passing common-sense gun safety laws are also top priorities.

Charles "Charlie" Verdin (D)Funding public education, investing in water conservation, and voting rights.

Nathan Davis (D)I'm a former public-school teacher, I currently run a small business, and I'm a lifelong Tucsonan and the youngest candidate running for the Arizona House in LD18. I've seen firsthand how the underinvestment in public education has taken a toll on Arizona families. I know the struggles of small business owners to navigate issues related to supply chain disruption and inflation. I know this district well from growing up here in Tucson to walking hundreds of miles during this campaign to speak with voters at their door.

Nancy Gutierrez (D)I think that being a teacher makes me an excellent candidate and sets me apart from my running mates. I have the experience and knowledge to bring to the table and make the change that we need in education. I have first hand knowledge of how these terrible laws effect our public schools. I also think that being married for 26 years and having raised to children gives me a perspective that will benefit me in the House. I've held leadership positions in volunteer organizations and in my schools. I've dealt with many different people over the years and that experience will absolutely help me make connections and work with the other Representatives to accomplish positive change.

Christopher Mathis (D)While we have a number of good candidates, my experience in the Legislature this session sets me apart, especially since there is no other incumbent in the field and we are losing a number of highly experienced Democratic legislators in the Southern Arizona delegation at the end of this term. There is a steep learning curve. I also think my experience as a lawyer, educator and policy analyst is a very good fit for the job.

Charles "Charlie" Verdin (D)I am a successful business owner, and the challenges I've faced while growing my business give me a wealth of experience in confronting complex problems that affect the livelihoods of others. My career has given me experience with working collaboratively to solve problems and negotiating with sometimes stubborn personalities. Also, as someone who grew up poor and worked my way through college with low wage jobs, I have some understanding of what upward mobility can look like as well as a deep appreciation for the value of underpaid labor.

Nathan Davis (D)It comes down to Republican control of the Legislature. The policies that the current majority advanced are out of line with the majority of Arizonans but fall within the scope of the radical agenda of their most far-right voters and doner base. Arizonans don't want vouchers and do want more investment in public education. Arizonans believe that abortion care should be legal and accessible prior to viability. Arizonans want our government to tackle the water crisis head on and invest more in solar and other renewable energy. We need strong Democratic candidates to stand up to the right-wing agenda being pushed by the Republican controlled Legislature and better communication with voters in Arizona to contrast the bills being proposed and passed by the Republicans with Democratic alternatives.

Nancy Gutierrez (D)There is so much divisiveness on the Arizona Legislature. The Republicans have a majority and they don't work with the Democrats very often. I have experience working with divided groups and moving toward consensus. I will use my experience and my listening skills to build a bridge with anyone and everyone who will give me that opportunity. This is too important to give up on.

Christopher Mathis (D)The biggest problem is that too often legislators are not focused enough on finding ways to work together for the benefit of our constituents. We are never going to convince each other on certain issues but there are actually a number of areas that are inherently non-partisan - tackling our water supply challenges is a great example. We made some good progress this session on working together in passing a rare bipartisan budget. We need to build on this going forward while still working every day to make the best case for those issues on which we differ. Listening to each other and working on building personal relationships despite our differences is an important component of this.

Charles "Charlie" Verdin (D)Many people seem to have little interest in state-level politics or the people who run things at that level. And for many politicians, that's just as well since they prefer to operate with as little oversight as possible. However, I think it's important to keep people engaged in the political process; to invite people to participate and keep them informed. I think it's important that all elected officials be transparent and accessible as much as possible, but that's especially true of legislators. A legislator's entire job is to represent their communities, and that means being responsive and engaged in conversation with those communities. We have the opportunity to demonstrate the importance of state politics by highlighting the ability of each person to influence policy.