PRESS RELEASE: PRESS RELEASE: Reagan appointee, Breast Cancer Survivor, and Community Activist Deborah Howard Announces Run for the Arizona Senate in LD27

Democrats Look To Expand Legislative Map 

PHOENIX, AZ – Deborah Howard has filed for the Arizona State Senate in Legislative District 27. Howard is a community activist, former Republican political appointee at the U.S. Department of Labor, and breast cancer survivor. She will likely face Representative Kevin Payne who has filed to run for the Senate, running to switch chambers from the House to the Senate.

“I’ve advocated for opportunity and fairness throughout my life” said Deborah Howard.  “As State Senator, I will advocate for the opportunity of every Arizonan to participate fully in the economic, social, cultural and political life of this state. No matter where we were born, our religion, or the color of our skin, we all deserve a government that seeks solutions that work, not for some of us, but for all of us.” 

Representative Kevin Payne has been steeped in numerous corruption and ethics scandals, introducing legislation to give loopholes to his food truck business. In 2021, Payne faced an ethics complaint after referring to non-binary people as “it.”

“Extreme, corrupt Republicans like Kevin Payne are are exactly why voters mistrust Republicans leaders,” said Executive Director of the ADLCC, Elsa O’Callaghan. “Republicans' gross mismanagement of the legislature, and their careless disregard for taxpayer dollars will come to an end in 2024.”

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