Chandler-area Legislative District 13 delegation will have new faces

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

Arizona Legislative District 13 includes most of Chandler, Sun Lakes and other small unincorporated patches of southeastern Maricopa County, and small western parts of the Town of Gilbert.

That district will have at least two new state lawmakers this year, as Sen. J.D. Mesnard is term-limited and Rep. Jeff Weninger is running for mayor of Chandler. Rep. Julie Willoughby is giving up her seat and running for Mesnard’s Senate spot.

Candidates in Arizona House races are vying for a maximum of two seats per party in July 21 primaries, while parties will nominate only one Senate candidate that day. In the Nov. 5 general election, the top two vote-getters in Arizona’s 30 House districts win seats, regardless of party, while only one senator is chosen per district.

With Willoughby as the lone Republican and Kristie O’Brien as the lone Democrat in the Senate race, the primary will still occur, but both will automatically advance to the Nov. 3 general election to face each other for the one LD13 Senate seat.

There are also only two Democrats on the July 21 House primary ballot, so both will advance.
Here are brief biographies of the people who are running for an LD13 seat in the July 21 primary, alphabetically by last name.

HOUSE

Racquel “Rockee” Armstrong (D-Chandler)

Armstrong is a public educator who taught and coached track and field in Ohio, eventually becoming a school administrator.

She holds a master’s degree in secondary education and teaching from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA and a doctorate in multi-cultural and equity studies from Ohio State University.

Armstrong was a “Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow” at Arizona State University for two years, doing research and teaching in division of leadership and innovation.
She then became an ASU assistant professor in May of last year.

Armstrong’s stated priorities include investing in education, lowering costs for families and seniors, building a stronger economy for all, collaborating with law enforcement and supporting local municipalities to develop common-sense community safety legislation, and protecting Arizona’s long-term water supply and rebuilding infrastructure.

Kevin Hartke (R-Chandler)

Hartke has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Missouri, Columbia and a master’s degree in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. After he and his wife of now almost 45 years, Lynne, got married, they relocated to Arizona and to Chandler in 1985.

He served as lead pastor at Trinity Christian Fellowship in Chandler. He was full-time at the church from 1985 to 2018, when he was first elected mayor of Chandler, and still serves part-time at the church.
Hartke also served as a planning and zoning commissioner and was on the Chandler City Council for nine years, earning the nod from his fellow council members to be vice mayor for two of those years.

Hartke has served on a variety of regional, state and national boards and committees. These range from serving as the leader of the top committees with both the Arizona League of Cities and Towns and the Maricopa Association of Governments to the U.S. Conference of Mayors CHIPS Implementation Task Force.

He also served nine years as the statewide director of For Our City, which is a collaborative effort of government, business, nonprofit and faith leaders gathered to find solutions for needs in a community.
One of Hartke’s core issues is literacy, reading weekly to students at Galveston Elementary since 2007.

Other main issues include affordable and attainable housing, quality of local amenities, fiscal conservatism, removing barriers to small business success, strong public and private schools, competitive wages for first responders, Second Amendment rights and border security.

Debra Schnike (R-Chandler)

Schnike is a wife and military mother who has lived in Chandler for more than 17 years. She is a past president of the Chandler Republican Women’s executive board.

She is currently serving as Region VI director for Arizona Federation of Republican Women, having completed a two-year term as a first vice president for that organization.

Schnike is also a Republican precinct committee member.

Jacob Weinberg (D-Chandler)

Weinberg is a Chicago-area native, U.S. Army veteran and accountant who first moved to the Southwest to attend the University of Arizona. He joined the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Weinberg recently changed jobs: in February, he ended a seven-year stint at Deloitte to become the chief financial officer and chief risk officer for DriverAI.
Weinberg holds two master’s degrees: One from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in accountancy and one in international relations and affairs from the Harvard Extension School.

Weinberg was a reconnaissance platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division, earning a combat action badge and deploying multiple times to Iraq. Since leaving active duty, he has served in the Illinois and Arizona national guard units, and as a lieutenant colonel, he has served as the Arizona Army National Guard’s chief of intelligence and deputy chief operations officer since January 2023.

Weinberg states he has scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro and has competed in the USA Triathlon National Championships.

His listed priorities are stopping the destruction of public education, economic opportunities for all, strong public safety partnerships and preserving health care and other veterans benefits.

Janet Weninger (R-Chandler)

Weninger is the 25-years-plus wife of current LD13 representative, former Chandler City Council member and 2026 mayoral candidate Jeff Weninger.

She’s also the CEO of the charity organization Crusaders of Love Inc. She’s also co-owner of Dilly’s Deli and Floridino’s Pizza & Pasta, along with Jeff Weninger and another partner.

Weninger has also been a national volunteer coordinator for ChildHelp Inc., focusing on awareness, legislative initiatives and volunteer growth in the community.

Weninger has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Arizona State University.

Her listed priorities are border security, public safety, more funding for the Department of Child Services and the child welfare system, empowering parents, economic development and entrepreneurship growth, reducing regulation and keeping taxes low, reliable energy, fiscal responsibility and government accountability and defending faith, freedom and Arizona rights.

SENATE

Kristie O’Brien (D-Chandler)

Born and raised in the East Valley, O’Brien grew up in Chandler and graduated from Dobson High School.
She attended Trinity Washington University and worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. for both Republicans and Democrats, and later interned at the International Criminal Court in The Hague in the Netherlands.

O’Brien states that she’s a self-employed lawyer and mediator, specializing in providing a child-centered approach to divorce mediation and co-parenting plans.

From 2015 to 2017, she was the vice chair of the board of directors for the Arizona Democratic Party.
Her priorities include affordability of health care, groceries, utilities and child care, fully funding K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and sustainable growth.

Julie Willoughby (R-Chandler)

Willoughby is the only District 13 incumbent seeking legislative office again this term, as she currently serves as one of the district’s representatives.

Willoughby ran for a House seat in 2022. She and Liz Harris were the top-two Republican vote getters in the primary, with Harris narrowly beating Willoughby to claim the second and final representative offices for District 13, with incumbent Rep. Jennifer Pawlik placing first.

But in early 2023, Harris was expelled by her Legislature peers for bringing in witnesses who made unsubstantiated allegations. Willoughby was appointed by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in May to replace Harris, then won a new two-year term in 2024, serving alongside Rep. Jeff Weninger as Pawlik was stepping down.

Willoughby is a Fountain Hills High School graduate and a career emergency room nurse. Her most recent full-time job in that field was chief nursing officer for Exceptional Healthcare Inc.

Willoughby has a master’s degree in leadership and management from Western Governors University. Her bachelor’s degree in nursing is from Arizona State University.

Willoughby’s top priorities are reducing tax burdens, supporting small businesses, education and parental rights, second amendment rights, access to health care, fire, police, and other first-responder funding and election integrity.

Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.