New Lawmaker Profile: Deschene

NOTE: This is one of a series of biographical sketches Cronkite News Service is producing about new members of the Arizona State Legislature. Each follows this format and includes a mugshot.

_ Name: Christopher Clark Deschene
_ Chamber: House of Representatives
_ Party: Democrat
_ Profession: Lawyer
_ Hometown: St. Michaels
_ Legislative District: No. 2, which includes Arizona’s northeastern corner extending southwest to Flagstaff, through Coconino County just above Grand Canyon village and into a small portion of Mohave County.
_ Committee Assignments: Natural Resources and Rural Affairs, Water and Energy.
_ Previous or Current Elected Offices: None.
_ Highlights of Community Involvement: Arizona Democratic Party, Apache County Democratic Party Chair, Native American Caucus Chair.
_ Why He Ran: “We needed strong leadership; strong, responsible well-balanced leaders who could bring well-reasoned solutions to the table, and I thought I had that ability.”
_ His focus: “We need a good energy policy for the state that works for the state and allows for renewable energy.”
_ Legislation: Plans to introduce a bill to allow voters in rural communities who don’t have physical mailing addresses to sign primary candidate petitions with a P.O. box address.

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Reported by Alyson Zepeda, Cronkite News Service.

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PHOTOS: Click thumbnails to see full-resolution images and download; caption information is in the file under File>File Info.

Rep. Christopher Deschene, D-St. Michaels