P. Ben Arredondo
P. Ben Arredondo is a former Democratic member of the Arizona House of Representatives. He represented the 17th District from January 10, 2011, until his resignation on October 5, 2012. He also served on the Tempe Elementary School Board and Tempe City Council.
Biography
Arredondo earned his B.S. in elementary education/physical education and his M.A. in health/community safety from Arizona State University. His professional experience includes working as a teacher, football coach and wrestling coach at Mesa High School.
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Arredondo served on these committees:
- Government Committee, Arizona House of Representatives
- Higher Education, Innovation and Reform Committee, Arizona House of Representatives
Elections
2010
Arredondo and incumbent Ed Ableser were unopposed in the August 24 primary. They defeated Republicans Donald Hawker and Steve May, Libertarians Cristian Dumitrescu and Damian Trabel, and Green Party candidate Haryaksha Gregor Knauer in the November 2 general election.[1]
| Arizona House of Representatives, District 17 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 P. Ben Arredondo (D)
|
22,458 | |||
| Ed Ableser (D)
|
21,153 | |||
| Donald Hawker (R) | 14,277 | |||
| Steve May (R) | 14,048 | |||
| Damian Trabel (L) | 1,638 | |||
| Cristian Dumitrescu (L) | 1,429 | |||
| Haryaksha Gregor Knauer (G) | 1,260 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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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.[2]
2012
Arredondo received a score of 37 out of 100 in the 2012 report card for a grade of F+ according to the Goldwater Institute’s grading scale. This score was 12 higher than his score on the 2011 report card. Arredondo’s score in 2012 was tied for the 56th highest grade among all 60 Arizona State Representatives.[2]
Noteworthy events
Fiesta Bowl scandal
Arredondo was one of 29 Arizona legislators (20 Republicans and nine Democrats) who accepted illegal gifts from the Fiesta Bowl in the form of all-expense paid trips and free football tickets. He ranks fourth in the amount received, $13,678, with over $11,000 in tickets to various bowl games.[3]
Federal indictment charges
On May 16, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice issued an indictment against Arredondo, charging him with bribery, fraud, attempted extortion and making false statements. According to the indictment, between February 2009 and November 2010, Arredondo accepted and solicited things of value from undercover FBI agents posing as representatives for a company seeking to acquire property owned by the city of Tempe for real estate development. The charges allege that Arredondo received over $6,000 in tickets for sporting and other events, in exchange for which he agreed to use his power as a city councilman and member of the Arizona House of Representatives to help them acquire the property.[4]
Senate Democratic Leader David Schapira called for Arredondo's resignation.[4]
Arredondo's lawyer issued a written statement, saying,
| “ | Suffice to say, we see the facts very differently from the government, but we will do our talking in court. What we will say though is that Ben Arredondo has dedicated his life to the city of Tempe, Maricopa County and the state of Arizona, having served as a teacher, a football and wrestling coach, a city councilman, a county supervisor and a member of the Arizona House of Representatives. He has done many, many good things over his years of service and these allegations do not change any of that.[5] | ” |
| —Lee Stein[4] | ||
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Arredondo has a wife, Ruthann.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "P. Ben + Arredondo + Arizona + House"
See also
- Arizona State Legislature
- Arizona House of Representatives
- Arizona House Committees
- Arizona state legislative districts
External links
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "General election results," accessed December 13, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Goldwater Institute, "2012 Legislative Report Card for Arizona's 50th Legislature, First Regular Session," August 15, 2012
- ↑ Azcentral.com, "Fiesta Bowl fiasco a bipartisan affair," July 1, 2011
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 KPHO, "AZ legislator faces federal indictment charges," May 16, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Schapira |
Arizona House, District 17 2011–2012 |
Succeeded by NA |
