The Arizona primary election will be held on August 28, 2012. With so many recent legislative challenges to reproductive health care access, both nationally and statewide, the importance of this election year can’t be overstated. To help voters, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona has endorsed candidates who have shown strong commitment to reproductive health and freedom. Along with those endorsements, we are running a series called “Meet Our Candidates,” spotlighting each Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona-endorsed candidate. To vote in the primaries, you must register to vote by midnight today (July 30) — and you can even register online. Make your voice heard in 2012!
[L]orenzo Sierra is one of four Democratic candidates running in the primary in Legislative District 19, which covers the West Valley, Tolleson, and Avondale. Of these four Democrats, Sierra is one of only two, along with Mark Cardenas, to be endorsed by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona because of his positive positions on women’s health and choice issues.
“Planned Parenthood is just one organization that has been unfairly misrepresented by the current legislature.”
Sierra is an accredited business communicator and an experienced community leader who has served on several boards that have had positive impacts on the women and families of Arizona. One of the boards, Parenting Arizona, has worked to increase funding to parenting resources that strengthen home environments for children. Another, Xico, promotes indigenous arts and culture through community-based arts programs.
In July 2012, Sierra shared his views on women’s health and comprehensive sex education in this exclusive interview.
Tell us a little about your background.
I am an Arizona native who grew up in Tucson. I was the first person in my extended family to attend college. I even worked five part-time jobs my senior year at Arizona State University in 1992. I went on to have a successful marketing career with a few Fortune 500 companies. While working for those companies, I was able to serve on several statewide boards, including the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism, Chicanos por la Causa’s Parenting Arizona, and Xico. I live in Avondale with my wife Rhonda. My son Adam is a freshman at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. My son Roman is an eighth grader in the Gilbert School District. And my stepdaughter Megan is a double major junior at ASU. Continue reading