Lauren Kuby
Lauren Kuby (Democratic Party) is a member of the Arizona State Senate, representing District 8. She assumed office on January 13, 2025. Her current term ends on January 11, 2027.
Kuby (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Arizona State Senate to represent District 8. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Kuby completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Lauren Kuby was born in Brockton, Massachusetts. She earned a high school diploma from Walt Whitman High School, a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago in 1980, a graduate degree from Arizona State University in 1992, and additional education from Arizona State University in 1991. Her career experience includes working as a scientist and in local government. She has been affiliated with Climate Power, the Tempe Women’s Club, and Local Progress.[1]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Committee assignments
2025-2026
Kuby was assigned to the following committees:
Elections
2024
See also: Arizona State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Arizona State Senate District 8
Lauren Kuby defeated Roxana Holzapfel in the general election for Arizona State Senate District 8 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Lauren Kuby (D)  | 60.6 | 53,111 |
 | Roxana Holzapfel (R) | 39.4 | 34,528 | |
| Total votes: 87,639 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 8
Lauren Kuby defeated Ivan Pemberton in the Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 8 on July 30, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lauren Kuby | 99.9 | 14,762 |
| Ivan Pemberton (Write-in) | 0.1 | 13 | ||
| Total votes: 14,775 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Melody Hernandez (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 8
Roxana Holzapfel advanced from the Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 8 on July 30, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Roxana Holzapfel | 100.0 | 9,366 |
| Total votes: 9,366 | |||
| = 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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Endorsements
To view Kuby's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Kuby in this election.
Pledges
Kuby signed the following pledges.
2022
See also: Arizona Corporation Commission election, 2022
General election
General election for Arizona Corporation Commission (2 seats)
Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers defeated incumbent Sandra D. Kennedy, Lauren Kuby, and Christina Gibson in the general election for Arizona Corporation Commission on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kevin Thompson (R) | 26.0 | 1,190,555 |
| ✔ |  | Nick Myers (R) | 26.0 | 1,189,991 |
 | Sandra D. Kennedy (D) | 24.8 | 1,133,292 | |
| Lauren Kuby (D) | 23.2 | 1,061,021 | |
| Christina Gibson (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 420 | ||
| Total votes: 4,575,279 | |||
| = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Nathan Madden (L)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Arizona Corporation Commission (2 seats)
Incumbent Sandra D. Kennedy and Lauren Kuby advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona Corporation Commission on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sandra D. Kennedy | 54.1 | 488,559 |
| ✔ | | Lauren Kuby | 45.9 | 414,237 |
| Total votes: 902,796 | |||
| = 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 Arizona Corporation Commission (2 seats)
Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers defeated Kim Owens in the Republican primary for Arizona Corporation Commission on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kevin Thompson | 38.2 | 419,807 |
| ✔ | | Nick Myers | 33.1 | 364,084 |
 | Kim Owens | 28.7 | 315,666 | |
| Total votes: 1,099,557 | |||
| = 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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Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Arizona Corporation Commission (2 seats)
Nathan Madden advanced from the Libertarian primary for Arizona Corporation Commission on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Nathan Madden (Write-in) | 100.0 | 216 |
| Total votes: 216 | |||
| = 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 finance
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lauren Kuby completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kuby's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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As a councilmember, I spearheaded Tempe's climate action plan and drove innovation in water conservation, solar-energy adoption, animal welfare, worker protections, and campaign-finance reform.
As a Senior Global Futures Scientsits at ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, I engaged communities in climate solutions. I also led the University’s Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family, where I worked to craft solutions leading to healthy communities.
I am a graduate of the University of Chicago and received a master's degree in Pubic History from ASU. My husand Mike is a transportation geographer and we raised our two daughters, Nora and Olivia, in Tempe. Nora is an optometrist in the Valley and a new mom; Olivia manages communications for the WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury.
I'm a tested leader running to represent Legislative District 8 – a progressive district that includes North and Central Tempe, a little sliver of West Mesa, parts of Phoenix and South Scottsdale and the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community.- I’m a newly minted grandmother who believes that the decisions we make today must not come at the expense of future generations.
I'm an ASU Global Futures Scientist who will bring the expertise of our universities and the wisdom of diverse communities to the State Senate.
It’s time for the Legislature to follow the lead of our cities and universities and embrace clean energy, water conservation, and a just transition from fossil fuels for Indigenous communities.
The time to act is now. - I’ll work to protect our reproductive rights and increase access to healthcare for the most vulnerable communities in our state. Our children cannot grow up in a state where their freedoms are restricted and their lives endangered.
- I am a proud union member and will sponsor worker-friendly legislation, including prevailing wages and Project Labor Agreements, to grow the middle class. Our current Legislature priortizes millionaires and corporate interests over Arizona's workers and working families.
I’m a proven, progressive leader who will:
• Champion Climate Action
• Fight for Abortion Access
• Protect Public Education
• Ensure Protections for Workers
• Advance Affordable Housing
• Strengthen Voting Rights
I do not take contributions from corporate special interests, lobbyists, and fossil fuel interests as elected officials should rise above monied interests to represent the people.
As a student of history, I recognize that everyone brings their own biases and lived experiences to their work. Elected officials need to listen to other perspectives, but maintain your integrity and not shift with the wind.
I want Rory to know that, in her grandma's "third act," I tried to make a difference, that I fought for her reproductive freedom and for climate solutions.
Back in 1958, when I was a baby, my parents volunteered in John F Kennedy’s US Senate campaign. One day, alone in the campaign headquarters in our small town, JFK breezed in. No entourage, just the candidate.
My parents were stunned and star struck. My dad, Joe, offered up coffee, but there was no coffee shop to be had in rural New England in those days. He ran home to brew coffee – in a percolator! While he waited the 45 minutes, JFK shared with my mother, Mary, how much he missed his baby Caroline on the campaign trail.
He held me, did the “gitchy-gitchy-goo,” and bounced me on his knee. My mom was spellbound, and I was imprinted. From that day on, my parents foretold that I would be the political one in our large family of 6 kids. And that’s exactly what happened. I’ve been knocking doors since I was 12.
But more formative for me, was a volunteer job I had as a teenager. In 1972, I served as Presidential candidate George McGovern's Youth Coordinator for Suffolk County, Long Island. I was 15 and inspired by his grassroots campaign, immortalized in the documentary, "One Bright Shining Moment."
"Water is life" and our historic drought is an environmental and economic challenge for the entire state. In rural Arizona, we have wells that are drying up, and our tribal communities lack access to drinking water.
Arizona is on the frontline of the climate crisis. We face not only a Megadrought but the threats of extreme heat, poor air quality, the increased frequency and intensity of wildfires, flooding, and our failure to address the just transition away from fossil fuels.
Instead of addressing these challenges head-on, our Legislature has enacted budget-draining policies -- such as ESA vouchers and the flat tax -- that take away valuable resources that could enhance public safety and save lives.
Local control is a long-treasured value in Arizona, and the Legislature should not be following orders from corporate special interests, but rather listening to residents, communities, and the cities they were elected to represent.
Congressman Greg Stanton
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego
Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega
Corporation Commissioner Anna Tovar
State Senator Mitzi Epstein
Arizona List
Arizona Chapter, National Organization of Women
Arizona Nurses Association
Arizona Technology Council
Communications Workers of America
Jane Climate PAC
Lead Locally
Save Our Schools
Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Chapter
UA Local 469
United Food and Commerical Workers, Local 99
Unite Here! Local 11
Working Families Party
- Natural Resources, Energy & Water
- Government
- Elections
- Municipal Oversight & Elections
- Health and Human Services
We need ethics reform -- there are more utility lobbyists than there are legislators in Arizona and they have an undue sway over energy and water policy, for example.
We need to shine the light on the corrosive influence of money on our politics and public policy.
Extremists in the Legislature have weakened Arizona’s Voter Protection Act, complicated the ballot initiative process to make it prohbitively expensive and difficult, and passed voter-suppressive laws. As a result, Democrats have been forced into a defensive position on voting rights.
I am committed to strengthening the ballot initiative process and maintaining Arizona's status as a leader in voting access.
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.
2022
Lauren Kuby completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kuby's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Lauren is a longtime Tempe changemaker with a track record of putting people first and getting things done. She has led reforms in pursuit of social, economic and environmental justice, spearheaded a Tempe ballot initiative to drive dark money out of politics and created the Tempe Sustainability Commission, which empowers residents to have a say in their city’s climate policy.
Lauren holds a position at the Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family. She served on the board of the nonpartisan Arizona Municipal Water Users Association from 2015 to 2020.
Lauren has a master’s degree in public history from ASU and a BA from the University of Chicago, where she met her husband Mike, an ASU geographer. They ran a small business together and raised six dogs and two daughters in Tempe.
- Hold Utility Monopolies Accountable
- Expand Rooftop Solar
- Just and Equitable Transition Off of Coal and Fossil Fuels
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.
Campaign website
Kuby’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Lauren Kuby is a pro-solar consumer advocate who is out to stop corruption at the Corporation Commission.
While the utilities talk a big game about investing in renewables and doing what’s right for the customer and the environment, consumers know that talk is cheap. We need the Corporation Commission to hold utility monopolies accountable for their actions and inactions. Are utilities actually investing in the least-cost, environmentally conscious assets, or are they continuing to invest in costly and pollution fossil-fuel generation for short-term profit? We need regulators who will look out for the ratepayers, not utility shareholders. As commissioner, I will be a corporate watchdog and a consumer champion. Over 15 years ago, the ACC implemented a visionary energy policy that expanded Arizona's renewable energy goals from 1% to 15%. The policy required APS, TEP, and UNSE to reach 15% by 2025, but each utility surpassed that amount a few years ago. Today, an ambitious renewable energy policy makes more economic and environmental sense than ever before. Did you know that, when paired with batteries, renewable energy costs beat both coal and gas while providing the same service? Don’t believe the rhetoric you hear from climate deniers. In Colorado, utilities are required to get competitive bids before building new power plants. Even back in 2016, solar plus storage won a bid for a major new power plant project over a gas proposal at the unheard-of low price of $0.03/kWh! There’s no time left to lose in our efforts against climate change. As we battle more intense and more frequent wildfires, longer droughts, and extreme heat due to climate change, renewables plus storage will help us decrease carbon, methane, and other greenhouse gas emissions. Also, renewable technologies use and waste far less water, a critical concern here in the West, where we are experiencing an historic drought. Investing in renewables today will help our children and grandchildren enjoy a habitable planet and a livable future. Unfortunately, the corporate monopoly utilities do not act with this sense of urgency.
Rooftop Solar Phoenix has over 300 sunny days a year, Yuma has 320 sunny days a year, and Flagstaff has 260 sunny days a year. Arizona is the sunniest state in the nation. Yet monopoly utility companies are intent on killing rooftop solar and denying our freedom to put solar on our property. Rooftop and other distributed solar make sense and cents!
We can empower all Arizonans to take advantage of one of our state’s most abundant, inexpensive, and reliable resources — the sun! As your Commissioner, I am committed to expanding solar opportunities for everyone – including those who live in apartments, condo, or townhouse, or in a home with a rooftop unsuitable for solar panels.
Energy Efficiency Energy efficiency lowers utility bills, cuts pollution, improves health, and saves energy and water. It’s a no-brainier – one of our best resources to fight climate change. Energy efficiency provides even greater benefits to households that are limited income or energy burdened. As Commissioner, I will focus on cutting energy costs, improving health, and fighting climate change with energy efficiency, especially in households and small businesses that are limited income or energy burdened. Over the last decade, the Corporation Commission’s energy efficiency standard, and the resulting efficiency programs offered by APS and TEP, have saved ratepayers more than $1.4 billion, avoided the need to construct 14 gas combustion turbines, saved more than 15 billion gallons of water, and enabled more than 40,000 jobs. The ACC recently had an opportunity to update the energy efficiency standard that would have required regulated utilities like APS and TEP achieve 35% savings by 2030 through new programs that include traditional energy efficiency, demand response, and innovative technologies. However, due to partisan politics, the rules failed to pass and Arizonans lost out on enormous opportunities to save energy and billions of dollars. According to the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, an updated standard would save ratepayers billions more, avoid additional fossil power plants, improve public health outcomes, and create tens of thousands of more jobs. Energy efficiency is our “least cost” energy resource, but it’s so much more than that. In addition to the benefits listed above, it provides enormous health and safety impacts by reducing the risk of respiratory illnesses, heart disease, allergies, extreme heat and cold impacts. These benefits are especially true in limited-income and energy-burdened households. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, only a small percentage of these households receive energy-efficiency assistance.
For our indigenous and rural communities to thrive, the Corporation Commission should have a process that governs utilities when they close coal plants. A just and equitable transition should be part of any plant decommissioning process and we need utility and state investment for those communities suffering from plant closure. Coal-fired power plants across the country are closing, largely due to economics. It costs more to continue running coal plants than to replace them with new wind or solar plants. Just in the past decade, most coal plants serving AZ have proven uneconomical. The Navajo Generating Station, which brought cheap and plentiful electricity and water to Phoenix, Tucson, and other Arizona cities during the 20th century, closed in 2019. The Cholla Generating Station near Winslow closed 1 of its 3 units in 2020 and will fully retire in 2025. although some argue it is already uneconomical and costs ratepayers millions. The Four Corners Power Plant on the Navajo Nation is downshifting to seasonal operations and will retire in 2031. Coal plants can be the largest employer in a region, and plant closures can devastate the towns and counties that host them. Over decades, supportive economic, social, and other systems were structured around energy resource production and generation in rural Arizona. When plants close, tax revenues precipitously decline, schools close, and unemployment skyrockets. A “Just and Equitable Transition” toward a 21st-century, clean-energy system recognizes the value that Arizona’s indigenous and rural communities have provided to our state’s energy system over the last century. Arizona cities grew and thrived using the water, land, and natural resources of these places. We owe them our gratitude and commitment to invest in resident-led transition.
Water is Life. The Arizona Corporation Commission must incentivize greater water conservation from the 300+ private water companies it regulates. These non-municipal water utilities across our state are lagging behind municipal utility companies and need to catch up – fast. Science tells us that we are in the 21st year of a megadrought, the worst in 1200 years. The ACC needs to ensure that the water companies it regulates are responding appropriately to the historic drought, especially those who either operate outside of Active Management Areas or rely upon the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD). It is the wild west outside of AMAs today, with zero regard for the sustainability of aquifers. Within areas dependent on the CAGRD, costs are spiking on ratepayers in order to fulfill water supply commitments in the face of growing demand and diminished supply. I have serious concerns about the long-term viability of the CAGRD and the resulting impacts on ratepayers of private water companies. In addition, there are significant water quality issues across Arizona (especially in rural areas) that the ACC should address. Arizona has built our cities by extracting from our coal communities in sovereign nations and rural areas. We have polluted the land, water, and air and have a moral obligation to lead a “just transition” to protect these natural resources, including water. And it is the residents of the impacted communities that should lead this transition.
"What does the Arizona Corporation Commission do?" I hear this question repeatedly as I travel the state. And when people have heard of the ACC, it’s usually because of the many scandals from past Commissioners. We need to restore trust and integrity to the Commission. All too often, our regulated utilities easily get one-on-one meetings, private phone calls, and emails and text messages with our elected Commissioners while ratepayers have limited opportunities to have their perspectives and concerns heard. The voices corporate utilities are heard loud and clear. I’m running for a seat on the Corporation Commission to help Commissioners Sandra Kennedy and Anna Tovar continue to clean up the Commission. I’m running to restore trust and integrity to the “fourth branch” of government, one fo the most powerful branch of government that no one’s ever heard of. To turn from a Corruption Commission to a Consumer Commission requires a significant increase in two things:
Our government should work for the people, not corporations. As I’ve spoken to voters across the state, in both rural and urban areas, I've found that Arizonans want a better understanding of the Commission’s real-life impacts on their lives. People also want to know how their voices can be heard – voices just as loud as the voice of a corporation. Once in office, I will prioritize clear and effective communication with my constituents – to all the ratepayers of Arizona. I will work to establish offices in locations throughout the state – beyond Phoenix and Tucson. The work of improving our government is continuous and needs all of our help. Let’s get started![2] |
” |
| —Lauren Kuby ’s campaign website (2022)[3] | ||
Campaign finance summary
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Scorecards
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Arizona scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Arizona State Senate District 8 |
Officeholder Arizona State Senate District 8 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 22, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lauren Kuby ’s campaign website, “Issues,” accessed September 23, 2022
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Juan Mendez (D) |
Arizona State Senate District 8 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
