David Schweikert (born March 3 , 1962 in Los Angeles, California) is an Arizona Republican politician and real estate entrepreneur. He served two terms in the Arizona State House of Representatives (1991–1994), was chairman of the state Board of Equalization (1995–2004), and was the elected Maricopa County Treasurer (2004–2007). He was a runner up in a primary contest (1994) for the U.S. House of Representatives, and an unsuccessful candidate in a general election (2008) for Arizona's 5th congressional district ; he intends to run again in 2010.
Biography
Schweikert grew up in Scottsdale with his adoptive parents and two adoptive siblings. He graduated from Saguaro High School there (1980), then earned a BA (finance and real estate, 1985) and MBA (2005) from the ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business. David and his wife Joyce live in Fountain Hills where they run Sheridan Equities LLC, a real estate business.
Mr. Schweikert was elected to the Arizona State House of Representatives for District 28 in 1990, and reelected in 1992. He represented Scottsdale and Fountain Hills. He arrived in the wake of the AzScam scandal, and was a committee chairman as a freshman and majority whip in his second term.
He ran in the September 13, 1994 primary for the Republican nomination in what was then the 6th congressional district. (It resembled the 5th district formed after the 2000 census, but also included Flagstaff, and the Navajo reservation. The old 6th district, established in 1992, included almost all the northern part of Arizona: Apache, Coconino (part), Gila, Graham (part), Greenlee, Maricopa (part), Navajo (part), and Pinal (part) counties.) He came in second (45% to 21%) to J.D. Hayworth, who then defeated incumbent Karan English in the general election. After that defeat, he took time to reconsider. “I left feeling sorry for myself — I have all this campaign debt I have to pay for, I have to rebuild my business, I screwed up a relationship because I was running,” Schweikert said. He reoriented himself with travel to Calcutta, the Philippines, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, and Serbia, among other destinations.
He is a former chairman of the Arizona State Board of Education. There was speculation in 1999 that Arizona Governor Jane Dee Hull might appoint Schweikert to the Arizona State Corporation Commission. Instead she appointed him chairman of the Arizona State Board of Equalization, a full time job. As chairman of the State Board of Equalization, Schweikert oversaw billions of dollars in valuations and tax protests from Arizona citizens and businesses.
He was appointed Chief Deputy Treasurer of Maricopa County in 2004, and was elected Treasurer the same year. He resigned in 2007 to run for Congress again.
He plans to seek the same seat in 2010.
Political views
On fiscal responsibility
This excerpt taken from his 2008 campaign website:
"In 2006, Republicans lost the majority in Congress because they ceased being the party of fiscal responsibility. Now that Democrats are in control, things have only become worse. Our federal government continues to spend money it doesn’t have and wastes billions of our tax dollars every year on questionable spending. The complete lack of fiscal responsibility coming out of Congress needs to stop.I have been a fiscal conservative my entire career. I believe that it is possible for government to spend your tax dollars frugally; unfortunately, most of those in government don’t want to do that.
As your next Congressman, I will work to bring about a culture of fiscal responsibility in Congress. More specifically, I will push to limit the growth and size of government. I will work to eliminate the terribly irresponsible and corrupting practice of earmarking or pork barrel spending. Most importantly though, I will not vote to burden our future generations with debt by supporting spending money we don’t have.
On illegal immigration
Schweikert argues that the state's immediate objective must be to secure the border against smuggling and illegal immigration. After it is "truly secure," lawmakers can proceed to establish a "common sense temporary guest worker program to enable businesses to obtain the employees they need." Additionally, Schweikert firmly opposes amnesty and "sanctuary cities."
On the Iraq War
This excerpt also taken from his 2008 campaign website:
"The battle we are fighting against global terrorism is one we cannot afford to lose. I firmly believe that we must remain completely committed to winning this war. This is a battle that will determine the future course of our great nation and the world. We simply cannot afford to allow terrorists to jeopardize our security at home or abroad.
In Congress, I will push to make sure that our intelligence agencies, our military, and our state and local law enforcement agencies have every necessary resource to fight this battle. Only with a firm commitment and an unyielding sense of resolve will we be able to eliminate the threat that terrorism has brought to our country. I believe this is a battle that can be won and will be won with the right dedication and support from both citizens and our government."
2008 House election
Schweikert won a six way Republican primary election September 2, 2007 with 29.50% of the vote, compared to 27.38% for his nearest rival, Susan Bitter-Smith. He lost the general election to freshman incumbent Democrat Harry Mitchell, 43.57% to 53.16%. Schweikert raised $1,421,599 for the general, of which 19% was his own money and 6% came from PACs. Mitchell used none of his own money and raised $2,437,569, of which 36% was from PACs.
Several organizations endorsed David Schweikert for the 2008 election, including the primary election: Club for Growth , the Arizona Police Association , Arizona Right to Life , and the Arizona Medical Association . Schweikert later blamed his defeat on the very bitter primary fight that preceded it.
He received the support of Club for Growth for his commitment to lowering taxes and reducing government spending. "We are pleased that the Club for Growth has endorsed our campaign," said Schweikert. "Our message is that common sense, pro-growth tax reform is essential to the future of our country." Former Congressman Pat Toomey, its president, stated, "It is clear that David Schweikert is a tireless defender of taxpayers who will continue to fight for taxpayers in the U.S. Congress." The Club for Growth supported his 2008 primary campaign with more than half a million dollars of bundled contributions and independent expenditures.
The Schweikert campaign credits the endorsement from the Arizona Police Association --which includes Chandler, Mesa, and Tempe law enforcement agencies, as well as the National Border Patrol Supervisors Association—to "David’s fight to limit liability for public safety professionals as victims of frivolous lawsuits and his strong stance on fighting the crime associated with illegal immigration."
Schweikert was likewise offered the endorsement from Arizona Right to Life for his strong convictions on the issue of preserving unborn life. Adopted as a child, he now recounts on his website, "With my own personal story of being born in an unwed mother's home and later in my life meeting my birth mother and father, it has given me personal appreciation for the importance of this issue. Without the compelling conscience of my own mother, I would not be here today."
In response to his support from the Arizona Medical Association , Schweikert commented, "I am very excited to have the support of doctors in our campaign to bring real change to Congress... It’s time for real tort reform that protects our doctors from frivolous and costly lawsuits from trial lawyers who are coincidentally, big supporters of Harry Mitchell.”
Citizens Against Government Waste's political action committee endorsed him in October 2007.
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona, 2008#District 5
- United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona, 2010#District 5
References
- ^ a b c d Giblin, Paul (November 4, 2007). "Ex-county treasurer to run again for Congress". East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Arizona: Freedom Communications Inc) . http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/101257 . Retrieved 2009-04-20 . "In a real sense, losing improved his life, Schweikert said. Until then, he ran a real estate business, but threw most of his time and energy into politics. Suddenly, at 32, politics were out. He began traveling, starting with a trip to Calcutta, India. “I left feeling sorry for myself — I have all this campaign debt I have to pay for, I have to rebuild my business, I screwed up a relationship because I was running,” Schweikert said. Since then, he’s traveled to the Philippines, Myanmar and Serbia, among other destinations. “In many ways, the travel kind of helped change my perspective” he said." ...
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