The ideas below reflect my policy positions and legislative priorities. While the executive branch governs and makes promises, legislators work collaboratively to shape, debate, and pass laws. These are not guarantees, but clear statements of where I stand and what I will work toward.
Core Pillars
Labor
Worker productivity is ever-increasing while wages remain stagnant. Empowering workers with increased rights on the job, including the right to organize, will allow Arizonans to thrive and live a life of dignity.
- Affordable, Accessible Childcare
- How can families thrive when they need to work, yet childcare costs tens of thousands of dollars? Hand-in-hand with implementing transitional benefits, the state must invest in childcare services statewide to ensure there is no waitlist and working families can afford to work.
- Abolish the Subminimum Wage
- Tipped and disabled workers are still paid a subminimum wage in Arizona, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and poverty. It’s time to abolish this outdated system and ensure fair, equal pay for all workers.
- Paid Maternity & Paternity Leave
- New families should not have to choose between bonding with their child and keeping a paycheck. Thirteen states already have paid family leave laws. It’s time for Arizona to step up for its people and do the same.
- Collective Bargaining for All Employees
- The right to organize is essential to democracy. Current Arizona law prohibits many workers from collectively bargaining for better wages, benefits, and more. I support collective bargaining rights for all workers. Union workers earn more, have better benefits, and face less exploitation. When workers bargain, everyone benefits.
- Statewide Heat Protection Standards
- With triple-digit heat records being set just about every year, it is a travesty that our legislature hasn’t acted to protect workers from heat-related injuries and death. I support laws that will ensure workers can earn a living without needlessly risking their lives.
- Repeal “Right-to-Work” Laws
- Arizona’s so-called “right-to-work” laws suppress wages and weaken unions by reducing their available funds. Workers in right-to-work states earn about 3.1% less than in free-bargaining states. Repealing this law will strengthen collective action and boost wages for all Arizonans.
Education
Arizona’s education system must work to serve all students, funding should to go schools that are required to do so. Our state’s constitution explicitly states that university instruction should be “as nearly free as possible”; decades of state budgets and tuition rates would suggest otherwise. It’s time the state makes investments in our future.
- Fund K-12 and Higher Education
- Arizona’s schools rank near-bottom nationally in per-student funding. This is unacceptable. I support transformative investments in K-12 and public colleges to raise teacher pay, reduce class sizes, and expand services. Education is a human right and civic necessity, not a budget afterthought.
- Free School Lunch for All Students
- Hungry kids can’t learn. Free school meals remove stigma and ensure every student can focus on their education, not where their next meal will come from. Universal access supports health, equity, and academic success.
- Repeal the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL)
- The AEL is a formula that restricts public school district expenditures based on an outdated formula from 1980. This limit does not apply to charter schools and results in our public schools having to cut spending even if they have the money. That is, unless the legislature waives the limit with a 2/3rds majority, which has been a battle every year. This chaos must end by the legislature referring a repeal to voters.
- End Universal Private School Vouchers
- Public funds should support public education. Universal ESA vouchers drain resources from public schools and redirect them to unaccountable private institutions. I support maintaining vouchers only for students with disabilities whose needs aren’t met in public systems and other options are exhausted. Every child deserves a well-funded, inclusive public education.
- Public funds should support public education. Universal ESA vouchers drain resources from public schools and redirect them to unaccountable private institutions. I support maintaining vouchers only for students with disabilities whose needs aren’t met in public systems and other options are exhausted. Every child deserves a well-funded, inclusive public education.
- Stipends for Student Teachers
- Arizona’s teacher shortage is severe. Offering stipends for student teachers will ensure that they have the funds and support needed to receive their certificates and serve our communities. Teaching is skilled, essential work—and no one should have to go into debt to do it.
Environment
We have the power to improve our environment for all. Not just the natural environment, but where we live, work, and communicate.
Our Shared Environment
- Anti-Surveillance Laws
- Mass surveillance by government and private actors threatens civil liberties. Cities and towns across America are opting into surveillance systems that track your every move and put them into a national database accessible without any warrant. I support strict limits, oversight, and transparency on surveillance technologies.
- Public Housing
- We need bold housing solutions. I support publicly developed and professionally managed mixed-income housing. These homes remain permanently affordable, inclusive, and community-oriented. When private sector tools cannot fully meet the needs of Arizonans, public options must step in to serve the people.
- Community Response Teams
- Our militarized police are not trained or fit to respond to every situation. Funding community response teams of trained social workers and other professionals will create safer communities and save lives.
- Investing in Public Transit & Multimodal Options
- Many cannot afford the hundreds or thousands of dollars it costs every month to operate a motor vehicle, and they should not be forced to. Investing in multimodal & public transportation options for rural and urban Arizona will enable greater freedom of movement for all.
- Tax Second & Vacant Homes
- A tiered surcharge by assessed value on non-primary residences and vacant homes will provide an economic push to return homes to those who actually live in our communities. A tiered structure will ensure that the family cabin is treated differently that someone’s third mansion. Due to past legislation, this will require the legislature or voters bring it to public vote.
- Rural Food Access
- Food deserts are an ever-increasing problem in rural Arizona, where people have worse health outcomes due to the lack of quality, nutritious food available to them. Arizona must work to fill this gap through incentivizing co-ops, working with nonprofits, and supporting municipality-owned options. We will do this by offering grants for viability studies and, if deemed viable, grants and zero-interest loans to get it going.
Our Digital Environment
- Digital Privacy Protections
- Tech companies harvest and sell your data with few restrictions. I support laws that give Arizonans full control over their digital information. Privacy is a right, not a product to be sold.
- Freedom from Algorithms
- Social media algorithms are designed to expand echo chambers and divide our communities. I support laws that will require social media companies to allow users to opt out from algorithmic feeds.
Our Natural Environment
- Localized & Individualized Climate Resilience Grants
- I support the creation of flexible, community-driven grants for individuals, small towns, and tribal governments to fund climate adaptation projects: rainwater harvesting, home weatherization, traditional land stewardship, fireproofing, and beyond. These grants should be easy to access, locally designed, and respect Indigenous ecological knowledge. Climate action must be bottom-up, not one-size-fits-all. Resilience starts where people live.
- Statewide Testing for PFAS (Forever Chemicals)
- For decades the EPA incentivized “sludge fertilizer”, left over from sewage treatment, to save resources. As a result of that policy, up to 70 million acres of farmland may be contaminated by forever chemicals, ending up in our food supply and bodies. The state must immediately test all farmland that has used this fertilizer to effectively respond for the health of all Arizonans.
- Rural Water Management
- Rural Arizona faces water scarcity and contamination, especially in tribal communities. I support stronger groundwater regulation, investment in rural water infrastructure, and full tribal consultation. Water is life—and access should never depend on zip code.
- Land Stewardship for the Next Generation
- Climate change, sprawl, and corporate development threaten Arizona’s land. I support sustainable agriculture, open space preservation, and climate-resilient development. Our land must remain livable for future generations.
Democracy
The power belongs to The People, and our elections must provide them the greatest voice possible in government.
Brendan’s Other Ideas for Arizona
More Ideas for Arizona
- Progressive Taxation to Fund Public Goods
- Arizona’s tax system is skewed to benefit the wealthiest and largest corporations. I support a progressive structure where those at the top contribute their fair share. These revenues will directly fund education, water infrastructure, housing, and healthcare. Our public institutions should serve the many, not subsidize the few.
- Fix Benefit Cliffs and Improve Public Services
- Many public benefits like SNAP, Child Care Assistance, and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) trap people in poverty by cutting off support the moment they earn slightly more. This creates a punishing “benefits cliff” that discourages work and upward mobility. By implementing transitional benefits that phase out gradually as income rises, we can support families as they move toward stability, rather than pulling the rug out from under them. This approach promotes true economic mobility and lasting prosperity.
- End Private Prisons
- Profiteering from incarceration is not only immoral, but those very prisons use their profits to lobby our government to impose policies that increase incarceration rates. They are not good for our communities and should be abolished.
- Codify Tribal Consultation
- Current tribal consultation requirements are enacted through executive orders from the governor, which means they can be signed away as easily as they were signed in. Codifying tribal consultation into law will give it expanded protection and must include seats on state boards and committees.
- Right to Repair
- Manufacturers lock consumers out of fixing their own devices, vehicles, and appliances. They charge hundreds or thousands of dollars for what an independent repair company can do for much cheaper. If you can’t fix it, do you really own it? I support strong right-to-repair laws so people can fix what they own, support local repair shops, and reduce waste.
- Implied Warranties
- Low quality products and planned obsolescence have stuck Arizonans with items that do not last like they should. No one should buy a home or product that breaks down immediately without recourse. I support state laws guaranteeing that goods and new homes meet minimum quality standards. Protecting buyers strengthens consumer trust and discourages bad business practices.
- Connect Arizona via Rail
- Tucson, Phoenix, Prescott, and Flagstaff. The first two are already in the works. Arizona should be ambitious in its pursuit of electrified inter-city rail service.
- Renew our Power Grid
- Interest groups for too long have been pumping the brakes on a green energy transition. Renewables are cheaper, have fewer emissions, and give us energy independence. The state must rapidly invest in renewable energy sources and support its growing industry.