My name is Eric Kurland. I am a husband, father and teacher and I am running to be your Representative in LD23. You won’t find me inserting myself into a local, non-partisan mayoral election. For me, being a representative is not a suggestion, but a promise. It is not a job title, but a job description. You represent everyone!

My campaign is centered on an Arizona where everybody plays by the same rules. Whether the playing field is education, incarceration or simply listening, we need an Arizona that doesn’t play favorites.

Charter schools currently receive upwards of $2,000 more dollars per pupil than our neighborhood schools. They serve 16 percent of public school kids yet take up 27 percent of our state’s budgeted school dollars. Most troubling, charters do not have to follow procurement rules like our other public schools. This leads to bad deals for kids and bad deals for taxpayers.

Private prisons are currently profiting from incarceration. “Arizona leads all other states in deals crafted for the private prison industry by guaranteeing 90 to 100 percent of prison beds will be filled in all six state-level private prison facilities.” (justicepolicy.org/news/10144) We must remove profiteers from the prison system.

Our representatives choose to listen to only a few moneyed lobbyists. When 91percent (ninety-one percent!) of the voters in Tempe said they wanted to unmask dirty money, our elected leaders passed a bill that outlawed cities from making campaign-finance reform!

I’ve been advocating for our students for over 22 years and now I am asking to advocate for you. It is time for a level playing field. It is time for a fair chance. It is time for a representative for all the people. It is time for a teacher! You can find more information about my candidacy at kurland23.com.