FLIPPABLE: Chris Gilfillan for AZ-HD20
Hi! My name is Chris Gilfillan, and I am excited to be running for the State House of Representatives in Legislative District 20.
I got into politics because I saw first-hand how education was being devalued. I come from a family of public school teachers. I am a graduate of a K-12 public school and a public university, I have volunteered for candidates that support education, and I have gotten out the vote for district overrides. For me, this campaign is about restoring funding to our schools and making public education a priority, for families, for businesses and for Arizona.
I went to law school with a vision for public service. So, after graduation, I advocated for students across in Arizona and North Carolina, ensuring that they had access to funding and to information on voting like registration and message points.
I am a law school-educated advocate that considers students as the priority in Arizona and especially in LD 20. I want to restore the $4 billion in cuts to public education in K-12 and higher education that have been made since the Recession. After placing nearly last in per pupil spending, the Legislature needs to step up to the plate for school districts and stop forcing the school districts to pass overrides locally. I have turned out the vote for overrides from South Phoenix to Glendale, but that's just a Band-Aid. Now we need to look to the Legislature for leadership. That's where I want to advocate for my community.
I also work with small businesses and policymakers currently. I want to make sure Arizona's entrepreneurs and small businesses can grow, and fill the empty storefronts from Dunlap to Union Hills.
I am a graduate of Mississippi College of Law where I was Senator of the Year for the MC Law Bar Association and clerked for a small town oil and gas attorney, where we fought for small families who had oil and gas royalty rights interests in hydraulic fracturing fields that were being ignored by big oil.
I also earned my journalism degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a minor in Spanish.
I served on the boards of directors for my local Rotary Club and Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministries. I was also a member of the Charles Clark Inn of Court for lawyers and judges. And am a member of St. Jerome's Catholic Parish. This past year, I served as Field Director for Legislative District 20.
Our campaign has been endorsed by many progressive organizations, including the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, the Arizona Tech Council, the Sierra Club, and education advocacy group Stand for Children. We also have the honor of being endorsed by former House minority leader Eric Meyer and former State Senator Stan Furman.
https://www.chrisforaz.com