New Lawmaker Profile: Waters

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: Rae Waters
_ Chamber: House of Representatives
_ Party: Democrat
_ Profession: Community Activist
_ Hometown: Ahwatukee
_ Legislative District: No. 20, which includes Ahwatukee, west Chandler and south Tempe.
_ Committee Assignments: Education, Transportation and Infrastructure
_ Previous or Current Elected Offices: Kyrene School District Board, 1998-present.
_ Highlights of Community Involvement: Arizona School Boards Association, National School Boards Association Federal Relations Network, West-Ed education think tank.
_ Why She Ran: “I’ve been involved in advocating for education since the early ’90s … I realized that a lot of the issues we have to deal with at schools come down to what the laws are.”
_ Her Focus: “I’m hoping to make sure we do good things for education and don’t harm education.”
_ A Bill: Plans to introduce legislation to prevent the Legislature from sweeping college tuition away from the universities. “If you write a check for your education or your child’s education, you really don’t want to see the Legislature take it and use it for something else,” she said.

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Reported by Jonathan J. Cooper, Cronkite News Service.

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Rep. Rae Waters, D-Ahwatukee