Some of the Republican candidates for Legislative District 27, which covers the central and southern part of Peoria, are running unopposed in the upcoming general election, Nov. 8.
Leading up to the election, Independent Newsmedia is running a Q&A series for the candidates in each district in order to learn more about who they are, why they’re running for election and their top priorities.
Reps. Ben Toma and Kevin Payne are incumbents, while Anthony Kern is a former member of the House of Representatives.
Democratic candidate Brittani Barraza is a write-in candidate for the Arizona State Senate to represent District 27.
Kern is running in the Senate race against Barraza.
Toma and Payne are running unopposed in the House of Representatives race. Voters may choose one in the senate race and two in the house of representatives race.
Barraza did not respond to multiple requests for answers to the questionnaire.
Learn more about the candidates here.
Anthony Kern
Office: Arizona Senate
Education: Business degree
Occupation: Small business owner — private investigator
Previous Election Experience: I was honored to serve six years at the Arizona State Legislature.
Most pressing Issue facing Arizona Today: While there are several issues facing Arizona, I believe our southern border must be addressed to stop the flow of illegal immigration, illegal drugs and child sex trafficking.
What does the state need to do to tackle this problem: I will work with the 2023-2024 new legislature and new governor to ensure there are enough resources to secure our border and ensure the safety of our citizens. The federal government is not doing the job of securing our border so the state will need to do the work.
The first bill I would sponsor: I stand for less government and strong K-12 schools so I will be sponsoring legislation on both issues. I am working with various groups at this time to draft legislation which will benefit all Arizonans. I am also working with others to ensure support of our law enforcement community, tackling the homeless issue and keeping our neighborhoods safe, lowering taxes, election integrity, and ensure Arizona has enough water resources for our children’s future.
Issues to work on across the aisle: I would like to work on legislation to ensure our law enforcement officers and first responders have the resources needed to keep all of us safe. Let’s also work to keep our neighborhoods safe and tackle the homelessness issue together.
My website is www.votekern.com and I ask for your vote on Nov. 8. On behalf of my wife, Jenny, and myself, thank you!
Kevin Payne
Office: Arizona House of Representatives
Age: 62
Education: Electrical Engineer
Occupation: Food truck owner/operator
Previous elected experience: Six years as a state representative
What do you see as the most pressing issue facing Arizona today?: Water.
What does the state need to do to tackle this problem?: We have a good start. Over the past several years we’ve passed the drought contingency plan, and last session we passed a budget with over $1 billion toward water issues/studies.
What would be the first bill you would sponsor should you be elected?: Not answered.
What issue do you believe you could tackle with members of other political parties in order to advance Arizona’s common goals?: Water is a bipartisan issue.
Ben Toma
Office: Arizona House of Representatives
Age: 44
Education: BA, Interdisciplinary Studies from ASU
Occupation: Real estate broker
Previous elected experience: Peoria City Council
What do you see as the most pressing issue facing Arizona today?: It is difficult to answer this question because there are a number of issues that are important and the Legislature has to deal with all of them. However, the economy is a perennial issue that is always important because a good economy means more revenue for the state and more importantly for the individual taxpayer. In short, constituents are happy when taxes and regulations are limited, and the state is as well since revenues tend to be stable.
What does the state need to do to tackle this problem?: We need to keep doing more of what we have been doing. Arizona is one of America’s fastest growing states, our economy recovered from COVID-19 faster than nearly every state in the country, and we’re a leading state when it comes to job growth, business relocation, and business expansion. If we keep our focus on infrastructure (roads, water, etc), a quality education system (both K-12 and universities), and a pro-growth environment, we will continue succeeding.
What would be the first bill you would sponsor should you be elected?: Again, it is a challenge to identify which bill would be first because I’ve had the honor and privilege to introduce and pass historic legislation already, like the flat tax and universal school choice expansion. It will depend on the specifics when the Legislature is back in session. Further, I am not a fan of rushing to be first to introduce something: It is more important to do the hard work preparing and building support and introduce legislation only when it has a good chance of success.
What issue do you believe you could tackle with members of other political parties in order to advance Arizona’s common goals?: All of them, and I’ve already worked with members of other parties to advance meaningful legislation. I recognize that partisan politics means that they will often oppose a bill just because it’s a Republican bill and they don’t want to get in trouble with their base voters for supporting it, but anytime we can get more people involved in passing good legislation we want to do it.
Brittani Barraza
Brittani Barraza was born and raised in Phoenix. She is running on platforms that include education, health care and water.
She did not respond to the candidate questionnaire.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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