Smaller government makes for freer people

Tyler Farnsworth is a Republican candidate for the Arizona House of Representatives from Legislative District 14.

Courtesy Tyler Farnsworth

OPINION — I love Arizona. I am a sixth-generation Arizonan and a Gilbert native. My wife, Chelsea, and I are raising our four children on the streets that raised me. I'm a Gilbert High and ASU graduate and have spent nearly 20 years as a marketing and advertising executive.

I did not plan to run for office. But when Rep. Khyl Powell stepped aside, I looked at the declared field, then looked at my kids, and knew I could not sit it out. Comfort is not a calling. We need people in politics who are not in it for a career or to satisfy vain ambition. We need people willing to put people first, guard tax dollars as sacred, and question the growth of government.

Here is what I will fight for.

Government should do less, do it well, and get out of the way

Arizona's state budget is roughly $50 billion, with about $17 billion of that discretionary. Too much of it funds programs that should not exist, agencies that duplicate the private sector, and bureaucracies that have outlived their purpose. As someone who managed significant budgets for Fortune 100 clients, I know what it means to treat someone else's money with discipline. Tax dollars deserve nothing less.

Education is a market, not a monopoly

Parents, not bureaucrats, should decide how their children are educated. Empowerment Scholarship Accounts gave Arizona families real choice for the first time in a generation. I will defend ESAs, demand transparency on education spending, and oppose every effort to roll back parental rights.

Water is our generational test

Arizona has been a national model for more than a century, but that legacy is under pressure. Federal regulators want to dictate cuts to our Colorado River allocation. Bureaucrats keep rewriting rules outside the legislative process. Foreign-owned operations pump our rural groundwater for free. I will defend Arizona's water against federal overreach, demand transparency on supply, and insist that decisions about Arizona water be made by Arizonans.

Election integrity restores trust

We need clean and updated voter rolls. Same-day results. Voter ID. Chain-of-custody accountability for every ballot from printer to tabulator. Arizonans deserve to know their elections are fair, accurate, and timely.

The question I will ask before every vote is the question every legislator should ask: should government be doing this at all? When I cast votes, I will be working to secure a free and prosperous future for my kids and yours.

Individual liberty is the foundation. Smaller government, freer people. That is the fight I will bring to the Arizona House of Representatives.

Arizona's best days are still ahead. Together, we can keep Arizona free. I hope to earn your vote.

Tyler Farnsworth is a Republican candidate for the Arizona House of Representatives in Legislative District 14.

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