Rep. Kimberly Yee Announces Campaign for State Senate

 

January 11, 2012 – Phoenix, AZ – State Representative Kimberly Yee (R-District 10) announced today that she will run for the State Senate seat in her current legislative district representing Northwest Phoenix and Glendale.   The Senate seat will be vacated at the end of this term by retiring State Senator Linda Gray (R-District 10) who has represented the district since 1997.  Yee was joined by Gray today as she officially filed for the Senate seat. 

 

“Kimberly is a dynamic leader with valued principles.  She has done an extraordinary job serving our district as a state representative and former district chairman.  She will bring to the Senate compassion for our constituents, extensive policy experience, and a unique understanding of the position.  It is my privilege to endorse Rep. Kimberly Yee for our district’s Senate seat,” Gray said.  

 

Yee issued the following statement:

 

“It has been a special honor to serve the residents of District 10 at the Legislature because this is the same neighborhood where I was born and raised—the same district I know and love.” 

 

“Senator Gray has been a hardworking and devoted public servant for our district, and over the past 15 years, she has been to me a mentor and friend.  It is a special blessing to have her here by my side as I announce my campaign for the position she has served with the highest of integrity in a body for which I have the deepest respect. I also want to thank my seatmate Rep. Jim Weiers for his dedicated service and for the many years of leadership he brought to the State as our former Speaker of the House.”

 

“I am running for this Senate seat because I believe it is important to have an honest voice at the Legislature held by someone with strong, conservative principles who knows the value of working across the aisle to develop the best public policy for the people of Arizona,” Yee said.

 

Yee was appointed to the Arizona House of Representatives in August of 2010 and was later elected to the same seat representing the 10th Legislative District, becoming the state’s first Asian American woman to serve as a member of the Legislature in Arizona history.

 

Prior to elective office, Yee was the Republican Chairman of District 10.  She was Director of Communications and Government Affairs for Arizona State Treasurer Dean Martin.  She also served as Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and as policy analyst for education under Governor Pete Wilson in California.  Yee also served the Arizona State Senate for five years as a senior research analyst for the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

Yee holds bachelor’s degrees in English and political science from Pepperdine University, and a master’s degree in public administration from Arizona State University.

 

In her first year in office, Yee received the following awards: Representative of the Year Award by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, the Leaders of the Year in Public Policy Award by the Arizona Capitol Times, the Freedom of Information Award by the Arizona Newspapers Association, and the Tech Ten Legislator Award for her work on technology by the Arizona Technology Council. 

     
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