Opinion: Most Arizona voters say education, water, housing affordability and homelessness are priorities. Why isn’t the Legislature listening?
By Sybil Francis/opinion contributor || The Arizona Republic
Arizona voters were clear about what they want lawmakers to focus on: Education, water and affordable housing.
If you were hired to do a job with clear expectations but didn’t do the work, would you expect a good performance review or a contract renewal?
Of course not.
Would you run a business that had no interest in customer satisfaction?
Probably not for long.
Why, then, do Arizona’s elected leaders, the men and women voters hired to do the people’s work critical to the success of our state, seem to operate under different rules of engagement?
Voters were clear about what they want
Ten months ago, with the primary election season heating up and attack ads and incendiary rhetoric rampant, the Center for the Future of Arizona shared findings of a survey of likely voters, which clearly showed that Arizonans agree more than they disagree about the issues of most importance for our state.
Scoring partisan points and fueling polarization weren’t among them.
The top issues for Arizonans across demographics and political party affiliation include education, water, housing affordability and homelessness. Here are some highlights from the 2022 Arizona Voters’ Agenda surveys:
97% want policymakers to ensure Arizona’s schools have quality teachers and principals, and 72% strongly support increasing teacher pay.
95% support “securing Arizona’s water future and addressing our long-term drought.”
79% say “Arizona must do more to make sure that housing options are affordable and available to middle- and low-income earners throughout the state.”
