Kirk Adams (Arizona)
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| Kirk Adams | |
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| Basic facts | |
| Role: | Former chief of staff |
| Location: | Arizona |
| Affiliation: | Republican |
| Education: | •University of Phoenix |
| Prior Experience | |
| Doug Ducey gubernatorial administration, 2015-2018 • Arizona state representative, 2006-2011 | |
Kirk Adams is a former Republican political aide and politician in the state of Arizona. Adams served as the chief of staff for Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) from January 2015 to December 2018. He resigned December 14, 2018. Adams said he was "looking forward to new opportunities outside of state government."[1]
Adams is former Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives, representing Arizona House of Representatives District 19 from 2006 until 2011. He served as House speaker from 2008 to 2011, when he resigned to run to represent the 5th Congressional District of Arizona.
At the time of his resignation as chief of staff, Adams was a partner with The Adams Agency, an insurance company in Arizona.[2]
Career
Education and early career
After graduating from the University of Phoenix in 1999, Adams worked with his insurance company, The Adams Agency.[3]
Arizona House of Representatives
Adams was a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives. He represented the 19th District from his appointment in March 2006 until April 2011. He also served as Speaker of the House from 2008 to 2011. Adams resigned on April 28, 2011. He vacated his seat and position as House Speaker in order to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. In Arizona, candidates must resign from the legislature prior to raising any campaign money for a Congressional race.[4]
For more on his career in that legislative body, see below.
Americans for Responsible Leadership
- See also: Americans for Responsible Leadership
During the 2012 election cycle, Adams served as the president of Americans for Responsible Leadership, a nonprofit organization that opposed the Arizona Sales Tax Renewal Amendment, Proposition 204, a ballot initiative concerning taxes.[5]
Doug Ducey chief of staff
In December 2014, Gov. Doug Ducey (R-Ariz.) announced he had selected Adams as his chief of staff for his gubernatorial administration. In August 2015, Adams told the Phoenix Business Journal of the economic work he and the Ducey administration had aimed to implement, saying, "We’ve made some major policy decisions that created a significant national buzz about Arizona. Take Uber. When we went to the National Governor’s Conference, Democratic and Republican governors and staffers were asking us how we solved a problem many states are facing. Arizona was seen as a leader in innovation. We do not want state regulations to stand in the way of innovation. What we did for ride-sharing has been noticed. We have a reputation as being friendly to the sharing economy."[6]
Adams resigned as Ducey's chief of staff on December 14, 2018.[1] He was succeeded by Daniel Scarpinato.[7]
Chief of staff
- See also: Gubernatorial chiefs of staff
In 2017, Ballotpedia identified Kirk Adams (Arizona) as a gubernatorial chief of staff. A chief of staff is the lead staff member of an administration and is responsible for implementing the governor's agenda.
The role is both a managerial and advisory position, although specific duties vary by administration. The chief of staff typically has the following responsibilities, according to the National Governors Association (NGA):[8]
- Control access to the governor and manage the governor's calendar;
- Monitor the flow of information to the governor on policy issues;
- Oversee gubernatorial Cabinet and staff; and
- Manage and communicate the governor's policy agenda to the state legislature and the public.
In terms of policymaking, the NGA notes that a chief of staff is responsible for bringing policy and communications together: "The chief is responsible for overseeing the development of the governor’s policy agenda. The policy director or advisor is typically responsible for shaping the general concepts and specific details of the agenda with input from the communications director, policy staff and cabinet members. The chief often must take charge and bring the pieces together coherently."[8]
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Adams served on the following committees:
- Rules Committee, Arizona House of Representatives
- Audit Committee, Arizona State Legislature
- Border Security Advisory Committee, Arizona State Legislature
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Adams served on this committee:
Issues
Sponsored legislation
Adams' sponsored bills include:
- HB 2073 - state equalization property tax repeal
- HB 2630 - school districts; personnel contracts
For a full listed of sponsored bills see the House website.
Elections
2012
Adams ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Arizona's 5th District. He was defeated by Matt Salmon in the Republican primary on August 28, 2012.[9][10]
2010
Adams won re-election to the 19th District seat in 2010. He and Justin Olson won the August 24 primary election. They then defeated Democrat Kit Filbey in the November 2 general election.[11][12]
| Arizona House of Representatives, District 19 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 Kirk Adams (R)
|
33,972 | |||
| Justin Olson (R)
|
31,513 | |||
| Kit Filbey (D) | 19,866 | |||
| Arizona House of Representatives, District 19 Republican Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Justin Olson (R)
|
10,783 | |||
| Kirk Adams (R)
|
10,722 | |||
| Scott Perkinson (R) | 8,646 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Adams and Rich Crandall were elected to the 19th District Seat in the Arizona House of Representatives, defeating opponent Kathy Romano (D).[13]
Adams raised $75,947 for the campaign, Crandall raised $58,879, and Romano raised $66,780.[14]
| Arizona State House, District 19 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Rich Crandall (R)
|
44,693 | |||
| Kirk Adams (R)
|
41,247 | |||
| Kathy Romano (D) | 28,922 | |||
Campaign themes
2012
Adams' campaign website listed the following issues:[15]
- Job Creation/Economy
- Excerpt: "As a small business owner, I know how jobs are created and how they are destroyed by bad policies and over-regulation. As Speaker of the Arizona House, I focused on protecting small businesses, keeping government off their back so they could grow and bring more wealth and jobs to our community."
- Government Spending
- Excerpt: "As the father of six children, I am acutely aware of the impact wasteful spending and the national debt will have on future generations. As our 14. 5 trillion dollar grows each day, my children are saddled with more and more debt, and they haven’t even begun their working years."
- Healthcare
- Excerpt: "Our healthcare system must be reformed, but the president’s healthcare bill is not the answer. Obama’s health care law takes control over health decisions away from patients and doctors—where it belongs—and puts it in the hands of federal bureaucrats and Washington politicians."
- Family & Life
- Excerpt: "Strong families are fundamental to a strong society. Government policies that weaken families must be repealed. During my time in public service, I have consistently defended traditional values and fought for policies that encourage strong families."
- Border Security
- Excerpt: "One of the constitutional responsibilities of the federal government is to provide national security, which includes border security. Talk about securing our border is popular during election time, but I have an actual record of accomplishment."
Campaign donors
2012
Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 elections season. Below are Adams' reports.[16]
| Kirk Adams (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[17] | April 15, 2012 | $267,252.70 | $133,313.34 | $(105,039.78) | $295,526.26 | ||||
| July Quarterly[18] | July 15, 2012 | $295,526.26 | $61,636 | $(194,863.82) | $162,298.44 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[19] | August 16, 2012 | $162,298.44 | $107,591 | $(163,804.36) | $106,085.08 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $302,540.34 | $(463,707.96) | ||||||||
2008
Below are Adams' top five campaign contributors in the 2008 election:[20]
| Contributor | 2008 total |
|---|---|
| Home Builders Assoc of Central AZ | $900 |
| Sandra L Gibson | $690 |
| Bev Hermon | $590 |
| Stuart Goodman | $590 |
| Salt River Valley Water Users Assoc | $500 |
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
When he was chief of staff, Adams and his wife, JaNae, had six children.[21]
See also
- Doug Ducey
- Arizona State Legislature
- Arizona House of Representatives
- Arizona House Committees
- Arizona state legislative districts
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Campaign website
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006
- Facebook page
- Twitter feed
- YouTube channel
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Office of the Governor Doug Ducey, "Kirk Adams Announces His Departure As Governor Ducey's Chief Of Staff," November 26, 2018
- ↑ The Adams Agency, "Contact Kirk Adams," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Kirk Adams," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Arizona Capitol Times, "Adams resigns from Legislature to run for Congress, Tobin steps up to House speaker," April 28, 2011
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "What’s Behind The Arizona Dark Money Group Spending Millions In California?" October 25, 2012
- ↑ Phoenix Business Journal, "What it means that Arizona is open for business," August 27, 2015
- ↑ Office of the Governor Doug Ducey, "Governor Ducey Selects Daniel Scarpinato As New Chief Of Staff, Gretchen Conger To Serve As Deputy Chief Of Staff," November 26, 2018
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 National Governors Association, "The Many Roles of the Governor’s Chief of Staff," accessed April 20, 2021
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," August 28, 2012
- ↑ Associated Press, "Primary results," August 28, 2012
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "2010 Primary results," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "General election results," accessed December 13, 2013
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Official 2008 General election results," accessed April 7, 2014
- ↑ Follow The Money, "Arizona House spending, 2008," accessed April 7, 2014
- ↑ Campaign website, Issues
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Kirk Adams Summary Report," accessed August 23, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Kirk Adams April Quarterly," accessed August 23, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Kirk Adams July Quarterly," accessed August 23, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Kirk Adams Pre-Primary," accessed August 23, 2012
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 contributions," accessed November 20, 2014
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed June 2, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Arizona State House District 19 2006–April 28, 2011 |
Succeeded by NA |
