Jerry Lewis (Arizona)
Jerry Lewis was a Republican member of the Arizona State Senate representing District 18 from 2011 to 2013. He was elected in the November 8, 2011, recall of incumbent Sen. Russell Pearce (R). It was the first ever recall of an elected state official in the state's history.[1]
Lewis was a candidate for District 3 of the Mesa City Council in Arizona. He was defeated in the primary election on August 30, 2016.
Biography
Lewis' professional experience includes working as superintendent of a statewide charter school organization, certified public accountant and Senior Manager for the accounting firm Deloitte and Touche.[2]
Committee assignments
2012
In the 2012 session, Lewis served on the Border Security, Federalism and States Sovereignty Committee.[3]
Campaign themes
2012
On his website, Lewis outlined four main issues of his campaign:[4]
Education
- Excerpt:"I don’t necessarily believe in more money for education, I believe in more money for teachers who perform well. Great teachers produce great results! Our policies and resources must be aligned to attract and retain the best teachers. Arizona should get the biggest bang for its education buck."
Economy
- Excerpt:"As your State Senator, I will work to make Arizona’s business climate conducive to job growth and expansion by working with business and government leaders to restore Arizona’s and Mesa’s positive image and reducing or eliminating unnecessary government intervention and regulation."
Budget/Taxes
- Excerpt:"I believe in local control. Taking away state shared revenues, changing impact fees, and controlling that which cities do with public safety, law enforcement and unfunded mandates merely passes the budget crisis down to those who are in less of a position to deal with it."
Immigration
- Excerpt:"I stand for the rule of law and am not for open borders. The federal government has the responsibility to secure our national borders and create manageable and meaningful immigration policy."
Presidential preference
2012
Jerry Lewis (Arizona) endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[5]
Elections
2016
The city of Mesa, Arizona, held elections for mayor and city council on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on August 30, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 1, 2016. Three of the six city council seats were up for election.[6] Ryan Winkle defeated Jerry Lewis in the Mesa City Council, District 3 primary election.[7]
| Mesa City Council, District 3, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Ryan Winkle |
54.42% | 4,235 |
| Jerry Lewis | 45.58% | 3,547 |
| Total Votes | 7,782 | |
| Source: Maricopa County Recorder, "Election Results," September 9, 2016 | ||
2012
- See also: Arizona State Senate elections, 2012
Lewis ran in the 2012 election for Arizona State Senate District 26. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 28, 2012. He was defeated in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ed Ableser |
54% | 26,051 | |
| Republican | Jerry Lewis Incumbent | 40.3% | 19,442 | |
| Libertarian | Damian Trabel | 5.7% | 2,747 | |
| Total Votes | 48,240 | |||
2011
Lewis announced his candidacy against Pearce on July 27, 2011, promising to run a positive campaign devoid of personal attacks.[10] On August 18, Lewis submitted 1,187 signatures to qualify for the ballot, nearly double the 621 required.[11] The election took place on November 8, 2011.
When asked why he was running Lewis stated, "I've been a resident of the district and the state for nearly 30 years. We bought our home here, raised our kids here and plan to stay here. Like those who recruited me, we love Mesa and our neighbors across District 18 and want to make sure that we restore a positive image and are represented in a way that best portrays our shared values."[12]
Certified election results show Pearce lost to Lewis. The county had to verify the results, then they had to be certified by the Secretary of State's office along with the Governor and Attorney General, which took take place November 21.[13][14]
| Recall of Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce, 2011 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Russell Pearce Incumbent | 43.5% | 10,121 |
| Jerry Lewis |
55.1% | 12,812 |
| Olivia Cortes (withdrawn) | 1.2% | 277 |
| Write-In Candidate | 0.2% | 57 |
| Total Votes | 23,267 | |
Scorecards
Goldwater Institute
The Goldwater Institute releases its "Legislative Report Card" annually for all Arizona legislators. This report card tracks how legislators voted on key votes and assigns them a letter grade based on how closely their votes agree with the Institute's positions. The primary values emphasized in the ratings are whether votes expand or restrict liberty.[15]
2012
Lewis received a score of 60 out of 100 in the 2012 report card for a grade of B- according to the Goldwater Institute’s grading scale. He did not receive a score on the 2011 report card because he was not elected until November of that year. Lewis’s 60 in 2012 was tied for the 18th highest grade among all 30 Arizona State Senators.[15]
Additional reading
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Jerry Lewis' Arizona Senate. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Arizona State Legislature
- Arizona State Senate
- Arizona Senate Committees
- Arizona state legislative districts
External links
- Official campaign website
- Arizona State Legislature - Sen. Jerry Lewis
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Jerry Lewis on Facebook
- Jerry Lewis on Twitter
Footnotes
- ↑ Yuma Sun, "State Supreme Court will decide Pearce recall case," August 31, 2011
- ↑ Jerry Lewis for Senate, "About," accessed October 14, 2011
- ↑ Arizona State Legislature, Border Security, Federalism and States Sovereignty membership, Fiftieth Legislature - Second Regular Session
- ↑ Jerry Lewis for Senate, "Issues," accessed October 14, 2011
- ↑ Mitt Romney for President, "Mitt Romney Announces Support of Additional Arizona Elected Officials," February 2, 2012
- ↑ City of Mesa Clerk, "Election Information," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ Mesa, Arizona, "Candidates," accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "2012 Primary candidate list," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑ C-SPAN/Associated Press, "August 28, 2012 Primary Results - Arizona," accessed August 28, 2012
- ↑ My Fox Phoenix, "Lewis Announces Candidacy in Recall Election," July 27, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ Arizona Republic, "Jerry Lewis files signatures to run against Russell Pearce," August 19, 2011
- ↑ Arizona Republic, "Into the mind of Jerry Lewis," September 2, 2011
- ↑ The Arizona Republic, "Recall canvass sets stage for Lewis to take oath," November 21, 2011
- ↑ The Arizona Republic, "Russell Pearce on verge of historic loss in recall," November 8, 2011
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Goldwater Institute, "2012 Legislative Report Card for Arizona's 50th Legislature, First Regular Session," August 15, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Russell Pearce |
Arizona State Senate District 18 November 22, 2011–2013 |
Succeeded by John McComish (R) |
 |
State of Arizona Phoenix (capital) |
|---|---|
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