Steve Spain

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

Steve Spain

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of Arizona

Personal

Birthplace

Tucson, Ariz.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

IT manager

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Steve Spain (Republican Party) ran for election to the Pima County Board of Supervisors to represent District 1 in Arizona. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Spain completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Steve Spain was born in Tucson, Arizona. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona. His career experience includes working as an IT manager.

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Pima County, Arizona (2024)

General election

General election for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 1

Incumbent Rex Scott defeated Steve Spain in the general election for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 1 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Rex Scott (D)	53.2	66,995
		Steve Spain (R)	46.7	58,904
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	101

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 126,000
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 1

Incumbent Rex Scott defeated Jake Martin in the Democratic primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 1 on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Rex Scott	66.2	16,714
		Jake Martin	33.7	8,502
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	42

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,258
= 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 1

Steve Spain advanced from the Republican primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 1 on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve Spain	99.2	22,552
		Other/Write-in votes	0.8	174

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 22,726
= 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Spain in this election.

2020

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

General election

General election for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 1

Rex Scott defeated Steve Spain in the general election for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 1 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Rex Scott (D)	50.2	66,565
		Steve Spain (R)	49.7	65,835
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	112

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 132,512
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 1

Rex Scott defeated Brian Radford in the Democratic primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 1 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Rex Scott	66.6	21,178
		Brian Radford	32.9	10,469
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	141

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,788
= 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 1

Steve Spain defeated Vic Williams, Rhonda Pina, and Bill Beard in the Republican primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 1 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve Spain	33.5	10,482
		Vic Williams	24.9	7,793
	Submit photo	Rhonda Pina	22.8	7,116
	Submit photo	Bill Beard	18.5	5,767
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	94

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,252
= 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

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Steve Spain completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Spain's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am Steve Spain, a lifelong resident of the Tucson metro. I built a successful and enjoyable career in IT, primarily in the Hospitality industry, working remotely from the northwest side for most of it. I maintain a small local business, I work with multiple local charities, and I am thrilled to have started my own family here.

District 1 is my home, and I'm proud to say so.

I have focused my career on delivering value to my clients and employers, on ensuring that my work advances long-term objectives. The county's long-term vision is bankrupt:

Right now, Pima County is in debt. Our roads are abysmal. Crime is rising. Homelessness is increasing, and housing has grown far more expensive. The Board of Supervisors since 2021 has been a disaster.

I ran four years ago to prevent this. Out of 165,000 votes, only 730 decided the race. My opponent has no mandate, and many of our neighbors have come forward over the past few years to tell me they regret voting for him. He has compromised our county, mortgaged our children's futures.

I operate differently: I believe in spending within one's means and not being wasteful. Our family budget reflects that attitude, and my wife and I work in unison to save before we spend. I believe Pima County owes us the courtesy of that care and respect, instead of borrowing today to pay back with interest tomorrow.

I've had enough of the waste. Likely, you have, too. Let's work together to solve it. Vote Steve Spain!

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?

• I will not allow deficit spending; I will not continue to put Pima County into debt. My opponent has run up $1.4 billion in debt in less than four years, and we now owe the interest. His wastefulness and his excess spending is obscene. Pima County's revenue in 2020 was $1.1 billion. My opponent's budget the following year spent over $2 billion! His voting record is shameful. It is wrong. He has disqualified himself from another term.
• I will fight drug abuse, crime, and homelessness in District 1. My opponent has ensured the border remains open to drugs and criminals, and he has made housing much more expensive. Public safety should be one of Pima County's highest priorities. I will prioritize it correctly, according to what District 1 expects and deserves.
• I will not condone any use of gas tax or vehicle license tax dollars that do not apply directly to our roads. My opponent wanted to pawn road repair off to the RTA, which would be illegal. And, while we're on the topic, my opponent wants to renew the RTA tax that we all pay, but direct the bulk of the spending to the City of Tucson, of which only a few blocks are in District 1.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

We have to stop the deficit spending, yesterday. The deficit and interest that my opponent incurred in one term exceeds the county's annual revenue; we could shut the county down entirely for a year, and still not undo the damage he's done!

That will make it difficult to pay back all the debt while we still fund the Sheriff's Department and maintain roads. But I am willing to do the hard work it will take to dig us out of the deep hole the current Board has dug for us while improving on our safety and security.

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

Local government has much more impact on our day-to-day lives than does government in Phoenix or D.C. Neither the State nor the U.S. Capitol will fight local crime, address local homelessness, pave neighborhood roads, nor set property tax rates.

Many in District 1 are retirees on fixed incomes, and the county is crushing them. This office, County Supervisor, District 1, directly touches each of our lives daily, and it will be my honor and privilege to hold back excess government in favor of individual rights.

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

Read the Arizona State Constitution: Our State's founders established the purpose of government as "to protect and maintain individual rights." They did so in Article 2, Section 2.

Why so far in?

The Preamble thanks God for liberty. Article 1 establishes the borders of the State of Arizona and the mechanism to move them. Article 2, Section 1, however, instructs officeholders in how to behave: "A frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is essential to the security of individual rights and the perpetuity of free government." In other words, routinely go back to basics, consider the fundamental purpose of government before you act, and act to protect individual liberty and the people's ability to govern themselves. Only then does the Constitution go into the work of government.

Our State's founders got it right. Many of our current elected officials have lost their way.

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

An elected official must be transparent, accountable, honest and forthright, and fiscally responsible. I am happy to explain my actions, show the facts and figures that inform my decisions, and work to pay off our debt and balance our budget.

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

The job of County Supervisor is to represent the people of the district to county government. Instead, my opponent has represented government at every turn by expanding government and wasting funds, and has ignored the people of the district by fostering the increases in crime and homelessness while funding the border crisis.

As your next District 1 Supervisor, I will employ my experience in hospitality to hold constituent services to the highest standards of service. I will use my budgeting and technical experience to roll back the unnecessary government growth.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Personally, I want my family to remember me for being a deeply loving father, and for working hard not only to provide a good life now, but to help my heirs through rough times and into an earned but younger retirement.

I am not running for office to leave a legacy, per se. We have libraries named for former elected officials. I don't want that; I'd be offended if someone named anything like that after me. After I serve District 1 well, if anyone cares to name something after me, go find a hinge plate on a door to a supply closet in a county building somewhere, use a clicky punched-tape labeler to emboss my name in a few pennies' worth of plastic, and stick the tape close to the jamb. That will be more than enough.

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

The day before I wrote this answer, I was speaking with someone who works in District 1. I had described to her the amount of debt the current Board has incurred, and she was shocked. "I didn't know any of that," she said. Many of our neighbors do not know, either.

This office has the power to incur debt without bonds or a public vote. That means this office has the power and ability to spend future funds today, harming our future ability to meet the fundamental requirements of government. That is a power I refuse to wield.

Something many people find surprising is that this office has the power to buy and sell property. In fact, Pima County owns a significant amount of property it should never have purchased. I look forward to combing Pima County's holdings for properties to sell to repay debts.

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

Quite the opposite: My opponent worked in the public school system for 27 years as a government employee. He cited his experience spending tax dollars as a school principal as a qualification for this office, and then created overwhelming debt in our name!

In this case, the incumbent's previous government experience has been exceedingly harmful to the county!

I bring in a background of financial responsibility and being evaluated on the results I deliver. That is the approach District 1 sorely needs now.

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

A county supervisor should have managerial experience that leads the office team to serve constituents well and with respect. I formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona (now the Arizona Diaper Bank), and briefly served as Interim Executive Director. In my short time in that role, I wrote the first job descriptions the staff there had ever had, and provided them performance metrics. They thanked me deeply for giving them the definition and guidance they had lacked for so long.

A county supervisor should have a mind for numbers and budgets with a clear understanding that every dollar the county spends comes out of the pocket of someone who lives in the county. I was, at one time in my career, responsible for an annual revenue of $2 million that my service generated. I was, at one time, responsible for moving over 18,000 computers from one company's network to another. I am prepared to work at scale.

A county supervisor should see the role as one of service first and foremost. Coming from the hospitality industry, it has been my privilege to work in high-touch, high-expectation resorts where I have had to solve problems creatively and to the mutual benefit of several parties involved. I look forward to providing that experience to Pima County and, specifically, to District 1.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

I have not pursued any endorsements. However, I am proud to have the endorsement of a former holder of this office, Ally Miller.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

It is disingenuous to create new programs and hide them in the budgets of existing programs. For example, my opponent has thrown tens of millions of dollars into a daycare program that City of Tucson voters previously rejected in a 2-to-1 vote, and hid that expenditure in the library budget. That lack of transparency is shameful, and part of why I'm running to replace him. The budget documents are inscrutable, but every year, they bear an award for excellence in budget preparation. Rather than celebrate the budget, I'd like to publish a budget that helps the average layperson trace County spending easily.

Pima County is deliberately opaque and irresponsible. I will fight against that, vigorously.

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.

2020

Steve Spain did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

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Pima County Board of Supervisors District 1

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