REPLACING:

Ruben Gallego [i]

WORK HISTORY:

Phoenix City Council (Councilmember, District 7); Mission 2020 (Principal Adviser); United Nations (Senior Program Management Officer for Climate Summit Team, Executive Office of the Secretary-General); Mission 2020 (Deputy Policy Director for Global Climate Action Summit); Mission 2020 (Strategy Coordinator); United Nations (Project Coordinator / Special Assistant for the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth); United Nations (Director of Climate Action 2016, Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General); United Nations (Climate Strategy & Communications Consultant, Executive Office of the Secretary-General); United Nations (Special Assistant to the Senior Adviser on Partnerships, Executive Office of the Secretary-General); Stanford University (Research Assistant for the Working Group on Refugee Rights); News Deeply, Inc. (Chair of Syria Deeply on Campus); Office of U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Intern); Southwest Speech & Debate Institute (Public Forum Debate Coach); Hoover Institution (Research Assistant for the Iran Democracy Project); Arizona Democratic Party (Field Organizer) [ii]

EDUCATION:

MPhil, University of Cambridge; BA, Stanford University; Diploma, Chaparral High School [iii]

CAMPAIGN ON:

Restoring Reproductive Rights; Protecting Our Democracy; Ambitious Climate Action; Housing Affordability & Reducing Homelessness; LGBTQ+ Equality; Strengthening Unions & Workers Rights; Economy for All; Immigration; Education [iv]

ON THE ISSUES

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

Ansari is dedicated to protecting reproductive rights and criticized the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, calling it an “attack” on women’s rights and their bodily autonomy. [v] [vi] As a member of the Phoenix City Council, she helped pass an ordinance to direct the Phoenix Police Department to make Arizona’s abortion laws “its lowest priority for enforcement to protect doctors, nurses, pharmacists and patients from arrest for practicing and receiving basic healthcare,” according to her campaign website. [vii] In Congress, Ansari will support the Women’s Health Protection Act and the Secure Access for Essential Reproductive (SAFER) Health Act, and work to codify Roe to “enshrine it as a fundamental right once and for all.” [viii] [ix] [x] [xi]

IMMIGRATION & BORDER SECURITY:

Ansari is the daughter of immigrants and argues migrant families “should no longer be treated as political pawns.” [xii] She has long supported immigrant communities and helped create the Office of Refugee Support to help families access employment, healthcare, and housing services as a member of the Phoenix City Council. [xiii] She believes DACA recipients need continued support, but has advocated for a “holistic and comprehensive” approach to immigration reform. [xiv] In Congress, Ansari will work to make legal counsel for refugees and immigrants more accessible and pursue legislation that creates a path to legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants, including essential farmworkers, temporary protected status recipients, and DREAMers. [xv] She will also support the American Dream & Promise Act, the American Families United Act, the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, and the New Deal for New Americans Act. [xvi]

ECONOMY & JOBS:

Ansari wants to build an economy that benefits everyone and has advocated for replacing “our trickle-down economy with one that focuses on strengthening the middle class and expanding economic mobility.”[xvii] She supports increasing the federal minimum wage and worked to raise wages for thousands of city employees and voted to pass a prevailing wage ordinance as a member of the Phoenix City Council.[xviii] Ansari also supports expanding resources for small business owners, standing up to “greedy corporate interests,” cracking down on price gouging, and preventing corporate monopolies and mergers “that give too much control to too few and harm consumers.” [xix] Notably, she also wants the U.S. to be a leading voice in blockchain and cryptocurrency innovation. [xx] Ansari believes labor unions “uplift the middle class and help the working class build economic power,” and that strengthening workers’ rights “is fundamental to building an equitable economy.” [xxi] Ansari believes collective bargaining is “a vital mechanism for economic progress” and will work to pass the Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would expand various labor protections related to the right to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace. [xxii] [xxiii] In Congress, she will work to uphold labor laws, ensure community workforce agreements, and pass the Equal Rights Amendment. [xxiv]

TAXES:

Ansari supports keeping taxes low for working families and senior citizens, while making sure the wealthy pay more “to invest in vital public services.” She has advocated for a “comprehensive tax system that benefits working people and ensures the top 1%, Wall Street, and large corporations pay their fair share.” [xxv]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

In Congress, Ansari will advocate for fully funding the Violence Against Women Act. [xxvi]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

According to her campaign website, Ansari is a “climate policy expert” and has pushed for international solutions to climate change through her work at the United Nations. [xxvii] As a member of the Phoenix City Council, Ansari helped pass the city’s Climate Action Plan and the Transportation Electrification Action Plan, as well as created the first Office of Heat Response & Mitigation in the nation. Ansari, who believes climate change is the biggest threat to international security, supports the Green New Deal and will advocate for policies that accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, increase investment to climate resiliency projects, and create jobs that help grow a greener economy while providing for a “just transition” for the millions of workers currently employed by the fossil fuel industry. [xxviii] [xxix] [xxx]

FOREIGN POLICY:

Ansari believes Iran poses “a multitude of grave security threats” to Israel’s existence and supports a two-state solution. [xxxi] While she has vowed to support continued military aid to Israel “without additional conditions,” Ansari is also committed to “ensuring peace, security and democracy for the Palestinian people. [xxxii] [xxxiii]

HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

Ansari has advocated for expanding access to affordable, high-quality healthcare, which she argues “is one of the most effective ways to reduce disparities in access to care, particularly for women of reproductive age and transgender and nonbinary people.” [xxxiv] She supports Medicare for All and will work to expand the ability of Medicare to negotiate prices for more prescription drugs. [xxxv] In Congress, Ansari will support the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act aimed at addressing the maternal health crisis. [xxxvi]

DEMOCRACY:

Ansari believes democracy “is under attack” and has argued we must “do everything to fight against the forces trying to disenfranchise the voices of everyday Americans.” [xxxvii] In Congress, Ansari will support the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation that would combat voter suppression and restore the strength of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. [xxxviii] [xxxix] [xl] She also supports ending the filibuster, prohibiting members of Congress from stock trading, creating new regulations to prevent former members of Congress from becoming lobbyists, and expanding the U.S. Supreme Court. [xli]

SOCIAL ISSUES:

In Congress, Ansari will advocate for a Transgender Bill of Rights, which would, among other provisions, secure the right to bodily autonomy and ethical healthcare for transgender and nonbinary people. [xlii] She also supports both the Equality Act and the Respect for Marriage Act, and would work to ban conversion therapy. [xliii]