Our interest at the AZ NOW PAC is to focus our efforts as locally as possible. We have made our best effort to contact every candidate running for AZ state, county, city and school board office. So far, we have sent an invitation to apply for endorsement to over 800 candidates – from all political parties.
For AZ candidates who identify with our six core issues, which are 1) reproductive rights & justice, 2) economic justice, 3) racial justice, 4) ending violence against women, 5) LGBTQIA rights, and 6) equal rights for women, they then choose to fill out our questionnaire. The questionnaire includes 25 questions about the candidate’s positions. These are not necessarily questions about specific bills, but rather overall values and concepts. The candidates indicate their level of support for each on a scale from 0-5. Most candidates also include optional comments explaining their rating.
As for the questions we ask, there are four questions about reproductive rights including candidates’ views on access to abortion and contraception. Questions in the economic justice category include questions about addressing the longstanding pay inequities women face, earning a living wage, taxation of feminine hygiene products, access to daycare, paid family leave, admissions policies that benefit people from households with less financial resources than others, and the candidates’ stance on right to work laws.
In the racial justice category, we include questions about the candidates’ positions on for-profit prisons in Arizona, the use of educational vouchers for private schools, barriers to voting, teaching accurate U.S. history, the southern border, and policies to address disparities in maternal and infant health. For issues around ending violence against women, we ask about policies to reduce domestic and sexual violence including background checks, to address the high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women in AZ, and climate change.
For LGBTQIA rights, we ask about the candidates’ position on policies that reduce discrimination related to sexual orientation. And for Equal Rights for Women – our primary focus right now is on ratification of the ERA in Arizona.
After the candidates submit their questionnaire, our PAC committee reviews their answers and discusses the candidates. If we have questions or need clarification, we will either call the candidate or set up an interview depending on how many questions we have. We do also consider the candidate’s resume, prior voting history and actions. Once everyone on the committee is clear on their decision – in one direction or the other – we vote whether or not a candidate should be endorsed. We do discuss if we believe the candidate will stay true to these values if elected.
Ultimately, our goal is to have candidates elected throughout Arizona who believe in women’s equality, believe women should be free to make their own decisions, share the values of NOW, and are committed to making Arizona a better place for women to live, work, and reach their greatest potential.
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