Editor’s note: Republican Senate candidate Gail Griffin did not respond to the PRT’s candidate’s questionnaire.
Residence: Sierra Vista
Education/licenses/certifications/military: BA, UCLA
Recent employment: Retired, previously Real Estate Broker/Owner Karp Properties LLC (Cochise County), WinResources Computing (Carlsbad, CA)
Community organizations/activities: 2015 President of Southeast Arizona Assoc. of Realtors and Southeast Arizona Multiple Listing Service. Board of Directors of SAAR & SAMLS 2013-1015
Previous Public Office / Service: City of Sierra Vista Planning & Zoning Commission 2016-017. Ran for State House in 2018, and State Senate in 2020 & 2024
What qualifies you to serve as state senator for District 19?
My 50 plus years as a business owner provides me with the background the understanding of the budgets and finances. As an prior owner of a business with over 50 employees and a $2.5 million annual payroll, I know how government impacts small business as well as how working families navigate everyday challenges.
What are your top priorities (no more than 3) if elected to the legislature?
- Real term limits for the state legislature. (limit of 12 years of service)
- Invest in public schools & overhaul the ESA (private school) voucher system to return it to its original intent
- Protect Arizona’s local water resources through enhanced regulation
Do you believe current state funding for traditional public schools is adequate?
No! There are structural issues with state funding because of bad tax policy with too many tax breaks to corporate special interests. The Ducey “flat income tax” is a huge tax break to the wealthy and should be revisited. Vouchers also syphon off tax dollars from the public schools. We need multi-year budgeting for schools.
Given that rural school districts cannot tax their ratepayers enough to repair, renovate or replace aging facilities, what do you propose to provide our children and teachers safe and adequate facilities that are critical to improving educational outcomes?
Local bond overrides are not the solution to capital expenditures. The state legislature has consistently underfunded (I believe contrary to actual statute) the building fund for schools. A change in the state legislature would change budget priorities. It’s been too easy in the past to take money from capital improvement fund because it isn’t “money in the classroom.”
What reforms, if any, are needed to the state’s ESA Voucher program?
I believe the only way to keep the program is to start over. This program should not have been expanded, after voters rejected that approach two times. If we are stuck with the program, means test it. But $150,000 income is way too high a level of income. Let’s get the number down to middle class levels. Of course, all voucher spending should be audited, and any educational organization that receives voucher funds should be required to file business plans and curriculum. I am not attacking home schooling, but we have all sorts of requirements for other programs that use tax dollars, how come no oversite for vouchers?
What changes, if any, do you support to Arizona’s early voting-by-mail system, which is currently used by a large majority of voters?
Early voting and vote-by-mail have been used for over 20 years in Arizona with no significant fraud or difficulties by 80% of voters. I want to go back to the Permanent Early Voting List (PEVL) rather than the Active Early Voting List (AEVL). I also want more locations for in-person early voting. (Cochise County only has only 1). Early voting should go through the last weekend before the election.
What specific legislative actions do you support to protect Arizona’s groundwater supply, especially in rural areas?
We need to start with actual data and science to ascertain where we are on water
resources. We know that parts of Cochise County are already in crisis. We need to
give ADWR the power to monitor industrial wells and all new well permits. Current law
forbids monitoring. Private well owners should be encouraged to provide data to the
ADWR. The state should fund monitoring equipment for private wells. State law
needs to be updated to put penalties for over pumping in AMAs. The state should
consider limiting the number of wells on large industrial agriculture tracts. I am
opposed to any new mining operations in Santa Cruz, Pima and Cochise Counties.
Do you believe bipartisan governance is possible in the current polarized climate? If not, how can meaningful legislation be passed in the current environment?
Reforms like real term limits and ranked-choice voting could help encourage compromise in our state legislature by getting less partisan elected officials. I’m a believer that there are too many performative bills offered each session to make legislators look like they are doing something. I think less is more and we can spend time solving problems instead of getting media coverage. A good idea is to get to know the people with whom you work. I will listen to everyone.