Legislative District 28 Rep. Aaron Lieberman, from the Town of Paradise Valley, announced Sept. 20 he is resigning from the state legislature to focus on his campaign for Arizona governor.

“I am all in on this race for governor, and for that reason, I have decided that it is both logistically practical and ethically imperative to resign my seat in the state legislature,” Lieberman said in a prepared statement. “The simple truth is that running for governor and serving in the legislature are two incredibly important jobs that demand near full-time service. My full focus will now be on this race for governor to ensure I will have all the resources needed to compete and win.”

Lieberman, a Democrat, first took office in January 2019 after defeating incumbent Republican State Representative Maria Syms in the November 2018 general election. He won reelection in November 2020, and his term is slated to end on Jan. 8, 2023.

Earlier this summer, Lieberman announced his campaign for governor.
In his resignation statement, Lieberman thanked his supporters and vowed to put the state first over partisan politics. In his home town of Paradise Valley, Lieberman has worked to resolve issues of problematic short-term rentals.

“I helped get millions in funding to provide digital professional development to teachers throughout the state in the height of the pandemic, for the first dramatic expansion of pre-k quality efforts in over a decade, and to provide desperately needed grants for small businesses struggling with the impact of COVID, floods, and fires,” Lieberman explained.

“But the truth is, politics as usual just isn’t working for everyday Arizonans. During my time in the state legislature, I worked across the aisle to get good things done, but I had a front-row seat to watch bad things happen to our state, from banning mask mandates in our schools to slashing nearly $3 billion in state revenues.”

Lieberman went on to explain the need for new leadership in Arizona, pointing to his two decades of experience in the private sector.

“To everyone who has ever supported me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. This was not an easy decision, but it was the right one. My pledge today is the same as it was at every door I knocked in 2018 — I will always put Arizona first.”

Lieberman was born and raised in Arizona. He and his wife live in Paradise Valley, where they’re raising their two sons. Lieberman’s daughter is studying history at Yale, his alma mater.