Vorlage:Infobox State Representative
Kyrsten Sinema (born July 12, 1976) is a Democratic member of the Arizona State Senate, where she represents the 15th district. She previously served three terms in the Arizona House of Representatives from January 2005 to January 2011.
Early life, education, and early career
Born in Tucson, Arizona, to conservative Mormon parents, Sinema moved to Phoenix in 1995. After graduating from Walton High School in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, at the age of 16, she attended Brigham Young University on a Benson Scholarship and earned a bachelor's degree in social work in 1994.[1] She then attended Arizona State University where she earned a masters degree in social work in 1999 and then a Juris Doctor in 2004.[2] She was a social worker in the Washington Elementary School District before becoming a criminal defense lawyer.[1][3]
Arizona House of Representatives
Elections
Sinema first ran for the Arizona House of Representatives in 2002, as an independent. She lost the general election by a wide margin to the two Democratic nominees, Ken Clark and Wally Straughn. She ran again in 2004 but this time as a Democrat. She faced incumbent Straughn and David Lujan in the primary election, placing first with Lujan beating Straughn into second. Sinema and Lujan won the general election handily and both took office in January 2005. Sinema, like Lujan, was re-elected in 2006 and 2008. In 2010 she was elected to represent the district in the Arizona Senate.
Tenure
In 2006 she chaired Arizona Together, the statewide campaign that defeated Proposition 107, which would have banned the recognition of same-sex marriage and civil unions in Arizona.[4] In 2008, she also led the campaign against Proposition 102, a narrowed down version of Proposition 107.[5] Proposition 102 was approved by 56% of voters in the general election on November 4, 2008.
A supporter of Barack Obama's presidential campaign, Sinema was a delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.[6] In July 2009, she published her first book, entitled Unite and Conquer: How to Build Coalitions That Win and Last.
In 2010 she was picked as one of Time Magazine's "40 Under 40" saying "In an epic election cycle, a new generation of civic leaders is already at work trying to fix a broken system—and restore faith in the process. Meet the rising stars of American politics".[7]
Committee assignments
2012 congressional election
In June 2011, Sinema said she was considering running for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012.[8]
On January 3, 2012, Sinema announced her bid for Congress, in the newly created 9th Congressional District.[9]
Personal life
Sinema is openly bisexual[10] and serves alongside four other openly LGBT legislators: Senators Jack Jackson (D–Window Rock), Paula Aboud (D–Tucson), Robert Meza (D–Phoenix) and Representative Matt Heinz (D–Tucson).[11]
References
External links
- Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Official Arizona Senate site
- Project Vote Smart - Senator Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) profile
- Follow the Money - Kyrsten Sinema
Vorlage:Arizona State Senators
- ↑ a b Craig Outhier: Phoenix Democrat Kyrsten Sinema. In: Phoenix Magazine. Februar 2011, S. 39, abgerufen am 25. April 2011.
- ↑ Project Vote Smart: Rep. Kyrsten Sinema. Abgerufen am 1. Juni 2008.
- ↑ Rep. Kyrsten Sinema: biography. Abgerufen am 1. Juni 2008.
- ↑ Straight couples pivotal in gay marriage fight In: The Arizona Republic, 9. November 2006. Abgerufen am 1. Juni 2008
- ↑ [1] (Seite nicht mehr abrufbar, festgestellt im Januar 2012.)
- ↑ Democrats finalize delegate list In: PolitickerAZ.com, 28. April 2008. Abgerufen am 29. Juli 2008 (Seite nicht mehr abrufbar, festgestellt im Januar 2012.)
- ↑ 40 Under 40 In: Time Magazine, 19. Oktober 2010
- ↑ Kyle Trygstad: Arizona State Senator Interested in House Bid. In: Roll Call. 9. Juni 2011, abgerufen am 4. Oktober 2011.
- ↑ State senator announces bid for Congress. In: Washington Examiner. 3. Januar 2012, abgerufen am 3. Januar 2012.
- ↑ Gay-marriage-ban foes raise straight issue anew In: Arizona Daily Star, 2 May 2008. Abgerufen im 3 January 2012
- ↑ GLLI: Out officials. Abgerufen am 1. Juni 2008.