Ben Toma
Ben Toma | |
---|---|
Majority Leader of the Arizona House of Representatives | |
Assumed office January 11, 2021 | |
Preceded by | Warren Petersen |
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 22nd district | |
Assumed office April 26, 2017 Serving with Frank Carroll | |
Preceded by | Phil Lovas |
Personal details | |
Born | Romania |
Political party | Republican |
Education | Portland State University Arizona State University, West (BA) |
Ben Toma is a conservative American politician from Arizona. A Republican Party, he has been a member of the Arizona House of Representatives since 2017.
Political career[]
Toma is a real estate broker.[1] Toma was appointed on a 5–1 vote to serve as a member of the Peoria, Arizona city council in June 2014, when Cathy Carlat resigned to run for mayor. However, Toma was defeated in the special election in 2014.[2] He lost again in 2016.[3]
In April 2017, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed Toma to fill a vacant seat in the Arizona House of Representatives representing the 22nd legislative district, to replaced Phil Lovas, who resigned to accept a federal appointment with the Small Business Administration.[4] The Board selected Toma from a list of three nominees put forward by the Republican precinct committeemen.[5] The district includes parts of Peoria, Glendale, Surprise and Sun City West.[4][6] Toma took his seat in the final days of 53rd Legislature,[6] and was subsequently elected to a full term in the 2018 elections.[7]
In February 2019, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey voted a plan, supported by state legislators of his own Republican Party, for across-the-board cuts in the individual state income tax. Toma, as chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, was an outspoken supporter of the tax-cut plan and an avowed opponent of revenue increases.[8] Ducey, Toma and other Arizona Republicans subsequently agreed upon a $11.9 billion state budget deal that included $386 million in tax cuts, angering Arizona schoolteachers who called for more funding for public schools and an increase in the teacher salaries, which are among the nation's lowest.[9] In 2021, Toma, as Senate majority leader, was the key architect of a $1.9 billion state income tax cut package that mainly benefited wealthy Arizonans, as well as a separate bill that shielded high-earners from a 3.5% tax surcharge for education that had been approved by voters in the November 2020 election (Proposition 208). The package, brokered between Ducey and Republican legislators, passed on a party-line vote.[10][11] Toma initially proposed a flat tax, but was unable to garner enough votes to pass it after a single House Republican joined with all Democrats in opposing it.[12][13] Toma defended the plan's focus on tax cuts for high-earning taxpayers, contending that "They're the ones that tend to make the jobs and create the economic conditions that lead to economic improvement for the entire state."[13]
References[]
- ^ "Maricopa County leaders pick new Arizona House member". April 26, 2017. Archived from the original on April 27, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- ^ "Toma announces candidacy for Mesquite district seat". Peoria Times. June 3, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- ^ Hedden, Adrian (August 30, 2016). "Peoria City Council incumbents appear headed to victory". Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- ^ a b Jackson, Darrell (May 5, 2017). "Toma appointed to fill Lovas seat". Peoria Times. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- ^ Phil Latzman, Maricopa County Supervisors Select New Republican Lawmaker For Arizona House, Fronteras (April 26, 2017).
- ^ a b Mary Jo Pitzl, Peoria, Surprise and Sun Cities et new representative in Arizona Legislature, Arizona Republic (April 26, 2017).
- ^ "Maricopa County leaders pick new Arizona House member". April 26, 2017. Archived from the original on April 27, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- ^ Howard Fischer, Ducey vetoes tax plan, Capitol Media Services (February 2, 2019).
- ^ Bob Christie, Republicans defend tax cuts in face of teacher demands, Associated Press (May 21, 2019).
- ^ Jonathan J. Cooper & Bob Christie, GOP-led Arizona Legislature OK's $1.9B income tax cut, Associated Press (June 25, 2021).
- ^ Bob Christie, Arizona GOP budget deal envisions massive income tax cut, Associated Press (May 18, 2021).
- ^ Ben Giles, Flat-Tax Proposal Fails In Arizona House, KJZZ (June 8, 2021).
- ^ a b Howard Fischer, Arizona House rejects flat-tax plan by one vote, Capitol Media Services, (June 7, 2021).
External links[]
- 21st-century American politicians
- Arizona Republicans
- Living people
- Members of the Arizona House of Representatives
- Hispanic and Latino American state legislators
- American politicians of Mexican descent