Stephanie Rimmer
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Stephanie Rimmer (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Arizona's 6th Congressional District. She lost in the Democratic primary on August 4, 2020.
Rimmer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Rimmer's professional experience includes working as an internal trade representative, journalist, and public relations professional. She earned her bachelor's degree from Washington State University in 1995.
Rimmer has been affiliated with the following organizations:
- Scottsdale Chamber
- Arizona-Mexico Commission
- Women in International Trade
- UN Global Compact Network
- National Small Business Association Leadership Council
- Scottsdale Schools
Elections
2020
See also: Arizona's 6th Congressional District election, 2020
Arizona's 6th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 4 Republican primary)
Arizona's 6th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 4 Democratic primary)
General election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Democratic primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
2020
Video for Ballotpedia
Video submitted to Ballotpedia
Released April 18, 2020
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Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Stephanie Rimmer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Rimmer's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Stephanie Rimmer is a Scottsdale Business Owner and 25-year resident of the NE Valley. A lifelong public servant, Stephanie was honored as a 2016 Phoenix Chamber ATHENA Award Nominee for her dedication to public initiatives that protect our water, promote conservation, enhance education & promote equity. The former spokesperson for the Clean Elections Institute, Stephanie is committed to passing campaign finance reform at the federal level. Her campaign is dedicated to improving the future for everyone by expanding Medicare, funding universal pre-k, making college affordable and growing jobs in sustainability. Stephanie is a member of the Scottsdale Chamber, Arizona-Mexico Commission, Women in International Trade and serves on the Leadership Council for the National Small Business Association. She is currently a foster parent, previously served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate and served three Arizona Governors: Jane Hull's Kids Safety Calendar; Janet Napolitano's Call to Action on Overweight & Obesity; Fife Symington's Call to Action on Violence in Arizona.
The granddaughter of World War II Veterans with a long family history of union membership, Stephanie's roots began in public service. She and her husband, John, instill the values of hard work, honesty and service in their four daughters.
Healthcare the Works
Education for the Future
- Jobs in Sustainability
I am passionate about impacting policy that makes life more equitable for everyone.
First, we need healthcare that works for everyone. Americans deserve access to doctors in their communities without disruptions to care by insurance changes that put doctors out-of-network. I propose Medicare for Kids from 0 to 5 years so that all child has access to preventative medicine and well care from birth. I support fixing the ACA, providing a public option, giving everyone access to a Medicare prescription drug prices and protecting coverage for pre-existing conditions. I also support Medicare access for Veterans.
Second, I propose increasing educational options and outcomes from Pre-K to college. I propose universal federally funded pre-k for children beginning at 3 years to ensure all children are ready to learn by kindergarten and to catch developmental delays early enough to give children the best possible outcomes from services. I also support making online college available for a fraction of the cost, expanding free certification programs and making community college free in-state students. We also need to help people who are overburden by college loans.
Third, we must tackle equity by growing jobs and working to reach full employment. I support growing jobs in sustainability, increasing paid apprenticeships, strengthening labor unions, providing technical education and job training in high schools, growing trade with Mexico & bringing manufacturing jobs to Arizona. I strongly identify with and admire Eleanor Roosevelt. Long before meeting her husband and becoming first lady, Mrs. Roosevelt was a public advocate and champion for equity. She was an early support of civil rights long before the Civil Rights Movement, an active supporter of women's rights and women's suffrage, and in the early part of the 20th century she wrote a newspaper column in which she advocated for human rights, women's rights, equal rights and the same social justice issues that have people marching in the streets today. She was straightforward and honest, two traits I value and embrace in myself and others. Until the end of her life, she remained active in humanitarian issues across the globe as a UN delegate. I didn't know all of this about her when I began my own activism. But knowing it inspires me to never put a timeline on my advocacy. Like her, it is innate to my being and I will continue to serve for all of my life.
We are at our best at the local level. I believe a true commitment to community, generous nature, empathy, impartiality and gratitude are qualities we should strive to find in those we elect to office. Commitment to community is the most important of these as representation is truly a job that cannot be done by someone whose commitments are elsewhere. The entire philosophy of representative government is centered on the belief that a dedicated member of a community can represent local issues and be a voice for his/her constituency to the federal government. Our founders emphasized representative government as critical to the functioning of our democracy in order to protect citizens from taxation without representation. The political parties have hijacked the system, and sadly, many communities have taxation without representation due to members of Congress representing their political parties and special interest donors first and foremost. A generous nature is next on my list because there really is no value in a representative whose personal nature is not centered on generosity. A generous nature ensure the community a representative who will protect the best interests of the community to ensure that the district they represent receives generously from the federal government to the level that the community is entitled. Empathy and Gratitude speak for themselves. Impartiality assures community members that their needs will not be dismissed, overlooked, ignored or debased due to the partiality of their representative.
Gratitude - I am truly grateful for the opportunities I have had in my life. That alone assured my successful ability to support myself, contribute to my community and provide my children with a high quality of life. Even working in the fields provided me opportunity that isn't available to everyone. We see people die trying to enter our country for similar menial jobs. I am committed to ensuring all American have the opportunity to succeed and pursue the American Dream.
Impartiality - As a member of a large Irish-Lebanese family with hundreds of cousins, I have learned the importance of remaining impartial, putting my own opinion aside and supporting my family members in their own journeys. I believe this is exactly what a representative must do for their constituency. I can do this and have decades of practice at treating everyone with dignity and respect regardless of how we see the world or our priorities when it comes to politics.
Commitment to Service - I am a lifelong public servant. In 2016 I was honored as a Phoenix Chamber ATHENA Award Nominee for public service. The best representatives don't need a catastrophic event or their opposition to an issue or candidate to pursue public office. They pursue public office because they are dedicated to serving the community. Whether in office as an elected official or serving in an appointed position, my commitment to the community is unquestioned and unmatched by most candidates for public office. In addition, I do not seek to serve where I am not needed, which means I would never challenge an elected official merely to be the one serving. My challenge in this race is because my service to the community on issues that pertain to Congress has been above and beyond that of my current representative. Without holding the position, I cannot assure our community the representation we deserve.
The most important job of an elected official is to serve and represent their constituency, regardless of any differences. This means putting aside ones partisan views or personal opinions to provide constituents with the support and representation to government that they collectively and individually seek. Representatives should be protecting the rights of those with whom they do not share views with the same fervor that they represent and fight for those with whom they agree. Representation is not about one's personal or partisan philosophy. Our founding fathers sought to protect American citizens from the type of partisan representation we currently are subject to, but to no avail. That wouldn't matter if our representatives put their constituents first.
My goal is to create a more equitable country where the American Dream is attainable by anyone who works hard to get ahead. Our current system leaves people behind no matter how hard they work. This is true even of how our tax system treats charitable giving by allowing tax deductions for donations to non-profit organizations but not affording people who regularly give support to family and friends in need the ability to deduct this very necessary charitable giving. It is time to make America a place where our tax system rewards hard work and generosity in everyone.
Additionally, out of dedication to the thousands of women before me who remain unnamed and without acknowledgement for their selfless service to our country, in my will I have provided for the donation of park benches to the first public park I was instrumental in getting developed for the community. Each bench is to be dedicated to All The Unknown Women who have served our community..
Growing up in an Irish-Lebanese family, as a young girl, my first memories of a major historical event were probably around the time I was 4 or 5 years old. I remember the news of bombings in Northern Ireland and Britain due to the conflict between the Irish Republic Catholics & Northern Ireland Protestants over whether Northern Ireland would remain part of Great Britain or become part of the Republic of Ireland. I also remember the constant news about bombings and the war between Lebanon and Israel.
The first major historical event that I remember as an isolated incident that caught the attention of Americans across the country is the Iran Hostage Crisis. I was 6-years-old. I remember watching the news on Thanksgiving Day about American hostages that had been freed that week. My Dad had to use an atlas to show me where Iran was because I was terrified that Americans could go to work and be taken hostage.
Needless to say, I grew up with a healthy fear that without leadership and support to create peace in troubled areas of the world, that women, children and workers would not be safe. As a result, I made foreign affairs and international relations part of my college studies and have always stayed informed regarding matters of global concern. Growing up I had to pay my own way. My first jobs were seasonal working in the fields with farm workers picking berries or corn, selling Christmas trees in the winter, and growing lillies to sell roadside in the spring and summer. I did this from the time I was 11 years old until I was 19. When I was 13, I got a job at the local fairgrounds in the concession stands and also worked in the pits for the Winston Cup Race Series. During that same time I also worked concessions at concert venues across Western Washington, plus sold rugs at the Evergreen State Fair & the Washington State Fair. I did this until I was 17. From 14-16 I also worked at the local Dairy Queen after school. From 16-18 I worked at the local hardware store after school. I continued to find seasonal work wherever I was, babysat, tutored, and started small businesses to get by all through college. I worked at the sports games selling spirit wear, continued to tutor, bartended, waitressed, and worked at concert venues and resorts for special events. At 20, I took a job as a sportswriter for the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, which I continued until I graduated from college 2 years later. My next job was for the Phoenix Suns, which lasted 1 year. Then I got my feet wet in public relations for Montague Marketing here in Phoenix, which lasted 2 years until I started my own firm Sharpe Strategies. Simultaneously, I partnered in another firm called Maverick Marketing. Sharpe Strategies specialized in communications and press relations plus provided lobbying support to industry associations, public safety groups, unions and education groups. Maverick Marketing specialized in Native American consulting and public relations. We worked for the Navajo Nation Fair Office, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, the Phoenix Indian Center, the Pueblo Grande Museum, the Inter Tribal Ceremonial Association and others. We also put on the first ever summit on Taxation for Reservations, called Dine 2000.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
It is impossible not to learn, grow, gain compassion nor live in the bodies of those in the book. Without being there, I see myself as an advocate for justice, even if I were Scout Finch. I remember at 6-years-old watching the Iran Hostage Crisis unfold on TV. The same age as Scout, I too had a heart for justice, a belief in right over wrong that would guide all my decisions no matter what the current status quo in society. Fighting inequality and injustice are innate to my being and certainly they are to Scout as well, whose moral compass is shown to be strongly grounded in justice.
Captain Marvel. In fact, my campaign logo is the star on her chest from the movie. Captain Marvel persisted in becoming a true superhero, a trusted protector of the people. Her character also revealed many things in the movie that are true of politics today: Everything is Connected - we see that with money in politics and the partisan associations that drive the money to candidates. Captain Marvel proves to be a true servant of the community, just would like to be done.
I actually heard Michael Jackson's Black or White in June and the song is still playing in my head because it was so perfect for the moment. I had never paid attention to the fact that Michael Jackson mentions equality, human relations, living his life as a color despite that I can sing every word. Just like little robots we all memorize song lyrics and sometimes never even pay attention to the message. But with BLM, I heard the song differently than before.
I took my baby on a Saturday bang
Boy is that girl with you?
Yes we're one and the same
Now I believe in miracles
And a miracle has happened tonight
But, if you're thinkin' about my baby
It don't matter if you're black or white
They print my message in the Saturday Sun
I had to tell them I ain't second to none
And I told about equality and it's true
Either you're wrong or you're right
But, if you're thinkin' about my baby
It don't matter if you're black or white
I am tired of this devil
I am tired of this stuff
I am tired of this business
Sew when the going gets rough
I ain't scared of your brother
I ain't scared of no sheets
I ain't scared of nobody
Girl, when the going gets mean
Protection
For gangs, clubs, and nations
Causing grief in human relations
It's a turf war on a global scale
I'd rather hear both sides of the tale
See, it's not about races
Just places, faces
Where your blood comes from
Is were your space is
I've seen the bright get duller
I'm not going to spend my life being a color
Don't tell me you agree with me
When I saw you kicking dirt in my eye
But, if you're thinkin' about my baby
It don't matter if you're black or white
I said if you're thinkin' of being my baby
It don't matter if you're black or white
I said if you're thinkin' of being my brother
It don't matter if you're black or white
Ooh, ooh
Yea, yea, yea now
Ooh, ooh
Yea, yea, yea now
It's black, it's white
It's tough for you to get by (yeah, yeah, yeah)
It's black, it's white
My greatest struggle has been advocating for my daughter with Autism. Autism presents itself in so many diverse characteristics and behaviors that year-after-year it has been a struggle to ensure educators, administrators, coaches, other parents, her peer group and even family and friends understand and support her remaining unique and true to herself. My goal as a parent has been to preserve her uniqueness to the best of my ability while also helping her to function as best as possible within the social dynamics that existed in her academic and personal life. Seeing her potential while struggling to get her to embrace the possibilities also led to much negativity in the mother-daughter relationship that sometimes I feared would lead to better longterm outcomes for her but poor longterm outcomes of us in our relationship. But as her number one advocate, I could never put our relationship before her wellbeing, which also served as a regular struggle as a mother focused on loving and having the best possible relationship with my daughter. Thankfully, she proved my fears wrong time and time again by showing gratitude for my persistence and loving me through all our battles. While this has been my greatest struggle, it has also been my greatest reward.
I believe maintaining consistency in communities is most important by wholly containing municipalities and tribes in one congressional district whenever possible. When that is not possible, I support apportioning Democratic leaning areas into Democratic leaning districts and Republican leaning areas into Republican leaning areas. To improve equity in representation, I support also wholly containing communities that consist of residents who predominantly black or members of an ethnic minority group into one district.
The US House of Representatives in its purist form would serve as the advocacy body of the American people to the Senate and the President. Partisan politics gets in the way. I support rules changes and reforms that reduce partisanship. I will also bring a proposal to Congress that puts members back into the communities working with constituents. This proposal includes requiring members of Congress to create committees in their communities that allow for public input on issues and openly provide recommendations to their member of Congress. It also includes requiring Congressional Committees to hold field hearings regionally to bring Congress to the communities instead of constituents having to fly to DC to influence legislation.
The number one job of Congress is to represent their districts to the federal government. They must know their communities needs to do a good job. I believe it is critical that members of Congress have experience living, working and serving in the communities they seek to represent. That does not need to be in government. But preferably the experience is not merely partisan political activism. I do not believe membership in a political party qualifies one to serve a community. Nor do I believe desire to serve in Congress is sufficient. I believe in improving ballot access because too often political insiders are favored by partisan groups whose money and support keep truly dedicated public servants from running for office. My campaign finance proposal for Congress includes restricting fundraising prior to qualifying for the ballot to ensure voters, not money, determine who makes the ballot in their communities.
Equity is the most important challenge our country faces. We have failed to address the disparities that exist with government programs that hold people back rather than lift people up and create self-sufficiency. We have failed to address a tax system that punishes entrepreneurship, small businesses and individuals for earning more and succeeding. Equity means addressing deficiencies in education, healthcare, jobs, wages, our tax system, technology, the arts, housing and ballot access. Investing in better outcomes for the future generation is required if we are going to overcome inequity. We must reach full employment if we are to truly create more equitable society. Therefore, I support investing in jobs that tackle the climate crisis, increasing job training and technical education programs, strengthening unions and paid apprenticeship programs, making community college free for in-state high school graduates, and strengthening labor laws to overcome the wage gap. Regarding social issues, I support criminal justice reform, strengthening civil rights laws, passing the ERA , passing the voting rights advancement act and campaign finance reforms that increase ballot access so all Americans can serve in and influence government. My top proposals include investing in the next generation by expanding Medicare to include kids from 0 to 5 years, federally funded universal pre-k at the age of 3, and increasing homeownership in urban areas by expanding the HUD Rental Assistance program to include funding for transitioning people from renters into homeowners.
The committees in which I am interested in serving and for which I have the knowledge & experience include:
Energy & Commerce
Oversight & Reform
Small Business
Due to my background in international trade, I am also interested in Foreign Affairs as American foreign policy truly impacts the global business community more than Congress realizes. Yes and No. I believe two years is insufficient in the current political environment that places no restrictions on campaigning and has members of Congress also operating as full time candidates with no break in the cycle. Yes, if we place restrictions on campaigning for incumbents and challengers during the off-election years.
I support term limits if we lengthen the terms to 4-years and give members of Congress time to be effective for their communities. With the current 2-year terms and the non-stop campaigning, not to mention the massive partisan pyramid members are required to climb once they get to Congress, I believe term limits would just cause for a constant recycling of members leaving the lobbyists in charge of the system. Part of my reform proposal to Congress includes restricting lobbyists to influence at the local level to the committees I propose members of Congress create for community input on the issues.
My goal is to reform Congress, increase equity, invest in the next generation and make tomorrow better for everyone. None of my goals are partisan. I have no interest in party leadership.
In my heart and soul I would serve in the same consistent and humble manner as Former Speaker of the House Tom Foley. Rep. Foley served his district for 30 contiguous years as a true advocate for Eastern Washingtonians. He served on the Agriculture Committee representing Washington's largest area of farmers and growers. When he arrived in Congress, the membership was heavily focused on serving the "folks back home," which didn't include his district. I feel this is similar to the disconnect between Congress and Arizona's 6th district due to the partisan representation we have received under JD Hayworth and David Schweikert, whose interests in partisan politics served as the focal point of their representation and resulted in both being scandal ridden. Like Foley, I seek to ensure my district is represented in Congress. That means making sure Carefree, Cave Creek, Fountain Hills, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Fort McDowell and Salt River Pima-Maricopa have a seat at the table along with Phoenix instead of being overshadowed by Phoenix. Tom Foley did this for Eastern Washington by serving on the committee that mattered most to the community. For AZ06, I believe that is Energy and Commerce and Small Business. Jobs, energy and water resources are the most critical issues to our community as a whole with individual needs such as affordable healthcare, reduced prescription drug prices and affordable college topping this list for constituents personally.
Recently I have been in correspondence with an entertainer whose ability to earn a living has been decimated by this pandemic. She doesn't qualify for the small business loans because she earned W-2 income at a variety of places where she worked. Her unemployment benefits are practically non-existent because she did not have full employment anywhere. The entertainment venues are closed, shows stopped but if she worked at Costco or WalMart she would still be on the job. By following her passion and pursuing the American Dream, she finds herself on the outside looking in during this pandemic. She is the perfect example of why I have continually supported and voiced my belief that federal stimulus dollars must be put in the hands of people. As a small business owner, I never supported the PPP program. It was shortsighted in that it didn't help businesses to modify their service and sales models to survive a pandemic with revenue and it didn't stimulate the economy but rather threw billions of dollars into nowhere by paying people do to nothing, create nothing, and circulate nothing. When goods and services don't move, there aren't revenues and businesses die. Having employees doesn't pay the supply chain of vendors required to keep goods flowing and having nothing exchange hands for money in the system is like putting money in a black hole. Money in the hands of consumers assures spending and stimulates the economy. Business loans should have been focused on helping businesses survive the pandemic profitable and adapt to a new norm. This young woman should have the support of our government and the resources to avoid eviction.
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