Fountain Hills Democratic Club will host four Democrats running for public office at its meeting tomorrow, Thursday, April 14.

The group will meet at the Community Center with an informal gathering from 6 to 6:30 p.m. A Zoom option is available at fhdemclub.org. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.

Speakers include state Sen. Martin Quezada, running for state treasurer; Kathy Hoffman, who is seeking reelection as Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction; Marco Lopez, gubernatorial hopeful; and Tom Dugger, who running for

State Senate LD3.

Quezada is considered an advocate for progressive values in the state legislature. He is a native Arizonan whose mother immigrated from Mexico and his father is a Vietnam veteran. He has served in the senate since 2014 and serves in leadership as the Democratic Whip. He is running a historic campaign to be the first Latino treasurer in state history.

Hoffman was elected to the state superintendent post in 2018, the first educator to lead the department in 20 years. As superintendent she has focused on increasing funding for critical mental health services, retaining and recruiting qualified educators, expanding digital connectivity for urban and rural communities as well as celebrating the many multilingual learners in the state.

Lopez is running for governor because he believes in the promise of Arizona: “If you work hard and treat people with respect, you can make it in our state.”

After graduating from the University of Arizona, Lopez became the mayor of his hometown Nogales, and at 21 was one of the youngest mayors in the country. He served as Director of Arizona Department of Commerce under then-Governor Janet Napolitano, which was followed by an appointment by President Obama to serve at the national level to oversee a $15 billion budget and 60,000 people.

Dugger is a first-time candidate who was formerly a Republican from New Jersey. He has lived here since 2004. Engineering Company. The key issues he intends to focus on in the state senate are education and securing mail-in ballots with which he is an expert.