David Petersen (politician)

David A. Petersen (born September 20, 1950 in Mesa , Arizona ) is an American politician ( Republican Party ).

Private life

David A. Petersen, son of Ilene and Marvin Petersen, was born in 1950 in Maricopa County and grew up there. His childhood was overshadowed by the Korean War and the following years by the Vietnam War . Petersen graduated from Westwood High School in Mesa in 1968 . He then attended the University of Phoenix , Brigham Young University and Arizona State University , where his focus was on business and finance . Petersen plays basketball and guitar. He is also active as a singer. In this context he was a member of the "Singing Senators" in the Senate of Arizona .

He and his wife Patti have eight children, two sons and six daughters.

Political career

Arizona Senate

Petersen decided to pursue a political career. In 1994 he ran successfully in the 29th Senate District of Arizona for a two-year term in the Arizona Senate. Petersen was re-elected three times in a row. In the Senate he temporarily held the post of majority whip . As chairman of the Family Services Committee, he was successful in cutting red tape on adoptions . A reduction in adoption decisions from 21 months to 9 months was achieved. Petersen was instrumental in introducing and passing character education laws regarding supporting funding. He also helped to pass a covenant marriage law. This law set standards for marriage contracts in Arizona. Arizona was only the second US state to introduce this legislation. He was also responsible for making sure that students in grades 4, 5, and 6 of Arizona were required to recite at least part of the United States Declaration of Independence every day.

State Treasurer of Arizona

In 2002, Petersen ran for the post of State Treasurer of Arizona. In the Republican primary in Arizona, he competed against the Chief Deputy State Treasurer of Arizona Richard Petrenka, who held this post for 14 years. Both candidates took opposite positions. Petersen wanted to expand the duties of State Treasurer of Arizona. The State Treasurer should act as the taxpayer's oversight officer and have a say in determining state policy. In this regard, he said the following:

"The Treasurer's Office is selected for a reason. The framers of the state constitution wanted checks and balances. The state treasurer is not hired by the governor or the legislature, but by the people. The Treasurer's Office can't follow every state program, but it should provide oversight of big-ticket programs and speak out about them and provide specifics to the press. "

“The State Treasurer is chosen for a reason. The drafters of the state constitution wanted a separation of powers. The State Treasurer is not appointed by the Arizona Governor or the Arizona Legislature , but by the people. In this regard, the state treasurer cannot follow every state program. Therefore, he should have the supervision of expensive acquisition programs, talk about them and pass on details to the press. "

Regarding Petrenka, Petersen said the following:

"My primary opponent is a career bureaucrat, but he doesn't have leadership or policy experience."

"My opponent in the primaries is a career bureaucrat who has no leadership or political experience."

Petrenka had the opposite view of expanding the duties of State Treasurer of Arizona. He said the following:

"[It is] impractical and ill conceived. This office has done well because we have kept our eye on the ball and attended to our constitutional and clerical duties. The basic duties of the office are to act as the chief banker for state agencies, the custodian of state money and to invest and distribute state money according to the statutory directive. [Furthermore] the taxpayers have already a watchdog, the auditor general. "

“[It's] impractical and poorly designed. This office is good as it is. We only focus on the essentials. The constitutional and bureaucratic tasks have been fulfilled. The basic tasks of the state treasurer are to act as the main banker for the state authorities, to be the administrator of the state funds and to invest and distribute the state funds according to the legal guidelines. [Also] the taxpayers already have an oversight officer, the State Auditor of Arizona. "

Petrenka wanted to keep the status quo . During his 14-year tenure, he served as Chief Deputy State Treasurer under three Republican State Treasurers of Arizona: Ray Rottas , Tony West, and Carol Springer . They all supported his candidacy. He received further assistance from all of the Republican county treasurers in Arizona. In this regard, he said the following:

"They know what the job entails, and I am proud to have their backing."

"They know what the job entails and I am proud to have their support."

Petersen emerged victorious from the primaries. In the following elections in Arizona he then stood against the Democratic candidate and Senator from Arizona from Tucson Ruth Solomon. She was unopposed in the democratic primaries. Solomon was a former teacher who had served in the Arizona Legislature since 1989. She spent the first six years in the Arizona House of Representatives and the last eight years in the Arizona Senate, where she chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee . Petersen also won this election.

In January 2003 he began his four-year term. Petersen received an annual salary of $ 70,000  . He was the third successor to the post of Governor of Arizona. His office managed $ 9 billion in public funds and investments.

In late February 2006, the Arizona Attorney General's office began an investigation into Petersen. The acting Attorney General at the time was Terry Goddard . The focus of the investigation was Petersen's involvement in a character education program called Character First. Petersen was accused of wrongly accounting in favor of Character First. In this context, he is also said to have misappropriated government employees and equipment. In the course of the investigation, the State Treasurer's office was searched in February 2006. Petersen stayed away from his office for most of his time, but continued to draw his salary. In his absence, the official business was continued by his employees. In April 2006, Petersen told the Arizona Capitol Times newspaper that the reason for his absence was that the stress of the investigation made his diabetes worse and caused other health problems. In addition, he did not intend to run for reelection for the post of State Treasurer of Arizona in the fall of 2006 elections. In the meantime, the Democratic Party of Arizona tried to exploit the investigation and the absence of Petersen for itself politically. To do this, she has started a game on her website called "Where in the World is Arizona Treasurer David Petersen?" Visitors to the website were asked to submit photos of Petersen stating where Petersen was at the time instead of being in the office. The photos on the website showed Petersen visiting Disneyland, playing golf, buying gasoline, playing an Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game, and surfing. The person who submitted the best photo of Petersen was to receive two tickets for an upcoming Democratic Party event. The Communications Director of the Arizona Democrats Matt Weisman commented the project as follows:

"It's not funny that there's serious work to do. We need a state treasurer, and we're paying a state treasurer to work. I'm sorry David Petersen is not feeling well. But the bottom line is this: If a person is being paid to do a job - especially a public employee doing a public job - he should show up and do it. If he can't do that, Petersen should resign. "

“It's not fun because there is serious work to be done. We need a state treasurer and we pay a state treasurer to do his job. I am sorry that David Petersen is not doing well. But in the end, only one thing matters: if a person is paid to do a job - especially a public worker doing a public job - that person should show up in their office and do the work. If he is not able to do so, Petersen should resign. "

In October 2006, Petersen pleaded guilty to the charge of knowingly filing false or incomplete financial disclosure statements. He then resigned from his position as State Treasurer effective November 30, as part of the litigation agreement with the Attorney General's office. On December 11, 2006, Petersen was officially sentenced to three years probation and a fine of $ 4,500 by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge James Keppel. Petersen was charged with failing to disclose income of more than $ 1,000 from sales of character training materials in 2005. In the complaint, however, his relationships with several non-profit organizations (NPO) were not mentioned, in which he held an office or a trustee position. These non-profit organizations included Arizona Communities of Character Council, Inc., Arizona Council on Economic Education (ACEE), and Area V Community Asset and Resource Enterprise Partnership.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} David A. Petersen on the Our Campaigns website
2. ^ ^{A b c d e} David Petersen , Arizona Republic, July 3, 2002
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Pittman, David: Election 2002: Treasurer , Tucson Citizen, August 14, 2002
4. ↑ ^{a b c d} Kimble, Mark: Kimble: Treasurer is too stressed to work , Tucson Citizen, June 8, 2006
5. ^ Ex-State Treasurer Given Sentence of Three Years of Probation , Arizona Attorney General, December 11, 2006