Fernando Gonzales

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Fernando Gonzales

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Associate

Pima Community College, 1999

Personal

Birthplace

El Paso, Texas

Religion

Christian

Profession

Business owner

Contact

Campaign website

Fernando Gonzales (Republican Party) ran for election to the Pima County Board of Supervisors to represent District 5 in Arizona. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Gonzales completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Fernando Gonzales was born in El Paso, Texas. He earned an associate degree from Pima Community College in 1999. Gonzales’s career experience includes working as a business owner.

Elections

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Pima County, Arizona (2020)

General election

General election for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5

Adelita Grijalva defeated Fernando Gonzales in the general election for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adelita Grijalva (D)	73.5	56,266
		Fernando Gonzales (R)	26.3	20,179
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	143

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 76,588
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5

Adelita Grijalva defeated Consuelo Hernandez in the Democratic primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adelita Grijalva	67.3	18,834
		Consuelo Hernandez	32.4	9,066
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	73

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 27,973
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5

Fernando Gonzales advanced from the Republican primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Fernando Gonzales	97.7	5,237
		Other/Write-in votes	2.3	122

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,359
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Fernando Gonzales completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gonzales' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Fernando Gonzales has been married to his wife Katie for 47 years and they have lived in Pima County for the past 41 years. He has two married daughters and 7 grandchildren who also reside in Pima County.

Fernando is the son of first generation immigrant farm workers and one of eight siblings that, as youngsters, worked in the cotton fields in Marana and traveled between Arizona and California, working in the agricultural fields.

Fernando recently retired after selling the business he owned for 20 years. Fernando has worked for State, Federal, and County governments and has also worked both in the private and non-profit sectors.

As a business owner and on a personal level, Fernando believes in giving back to the community not only through financial contributions but also by giving of his time through volunteer work. Throughout the years, he has served on a variety of non-profit boards and served as a volunteer for different groups, organizations, and governmental agencies. Today Fernando continues to volunteer, teaching ESL classes to Head-Start program parents. Fernando's love and passion for helping people, especially those less fortunate, has taken him to many of the poorest areas in Mexico.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Poverty: Choking off jobs the way we do, equals poverty. Both Pima County and the City of Tucson have developed reputations for being business "unfriendly." Children are the hardest hit in this area. There is a high rate of poverty among children in Pima County, including the Tucson metro area.
• Infrastructure: Pima County receives $95.5 million from VLT and HURF monies that are designated for roads. The upcoming Pima County budget will be designating $26 million for roads, a reduction from the $36 million designated last fiscal year.
• Budget: Pima County is $1.4 billion in debt. We need to balance the budget and review priorities in Pima County. Pima County has the highest property taxes in the whole state of Arizona

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Poverty: In 2011 Tucson was tied with two other large U.S. metro areas as the sixth poorest in the nation, with a poverty rate of 20.4%, according to data from the Census Bureau. That rate, which was well above the national poverty rate of 15.9 percent last year, was attributed to the region's high unemployment, slow economic growth, low education levels and low-paying jobs. (Source: Inside Tucson Business, by Khara Persad, Cronkite News Service, Sept. 25, 2012) Today one in five families live in poverty.
"Tucson is also, one of the only cities in the Southwest to rank among the worst places to live," the study reports, before ticking off reasons why that's so. "The economy is slow-growing, the property crime rate is crazy there, and the population is transient, making it difficult to establish a strong community." According to the article, 25.2% of Tucsonans are poor, by Wall Street standards.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The majority of my employment history has been in management and supervision. I ran a successful business for 20 years
I also worked in government, private and non-profit organization. I have sound money management and budgetary experience. Pima County has incurred a debt of 1.3 billion dollars and currently is lacking in this area.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Ronald Reagan. He was a man of word and integrity.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The Conservative Heart

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Love to serve: my volunteer experience is a testament to that,

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Represent all constituents regardless of political affiliation.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Love God, Family and people

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

End of the Vietnam war. I was 19.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Working at a grocery store at the age of 9. Was employed there until we moved one year later

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Testament: there are people in the world that rather serve than be serve

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Invisible man

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

My Girl

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Asking for help

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

That the board has ability to make resolutions (laws) that affect the community as a whole. The decisions made in the county are politically motivated.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

No, that's the problem with government today they, are politicians and not business owners so they tend to run the county as a non-profit. Their mentality is that tax payers have deep pockets.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Business experience and common sense.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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