For over 30 years, Bob Westerman has focused on the most important aspect of his life: his family. During that time, he also volunteered to serve his country and his community. Bob served in the U.S. Air Force and later volunteered to serve with Air Rescue as part of the U.S. Air Force Reserves. While living in California, he served as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff with Los Angeles County. He has used his mounted law enforcement experience to train community groups both in California and Arizona and has had leadership roles within those organizations.

In 1992, the unemployment situation in California was becoming critical, exceeding 12% in the area where he was living at the time. Having worked 18 years with small to large companies as a subcontract manager, Bob felt he had an excellent insight into the problems businesses were facing. Southern California companies were losing the ability to compete both locally and globally which fed directly into the unemployment problem. With a strong desire to do something about the situation, Bob entered the political arena. With recent redistricting, the California Congressional District 42 was wide open to challenge long-time Democrat George Brown. The first Republican to enter the race, Bob lost in the primary. But it

was an education into the public process that he has never forgotten, and the desire to serve his community for the public good was ignited, and burns strong today.

Bob’s career with General Dynamics led to his family being transferred to Arizona in 1993 when Hughes bought the company. He has built a solid life here, residing in the northwest with his family, getting involved with the community and watching the state undergo dramatic economic and social changes.

“As Arizona continues to grow it needs strong, experienced and committed leaders,” he says. “Arizona faces many challenges in many areas. My experience places me at the forefront to work with my fellow legislators to address these challenges and help Arizona move forward and prosper.”

As a border state with Mexico, Arizona must deal effectively with the problems of illegal immigration. ”This is essentially unplanned growth that Arizona cannot continue to absorb without further straining our ability to meet the basic needs and services of our citizens,” he says.

Arizona also continues to remain poorly ranked in education and has one of the highest high school drop-out rates in the country. Native Americans lead this statistic; Hispanics rank number two. This is one of the top priorities for Bob’s candidacy. “We need to change the education system, attract more and better teachers, and build a stronger foundation for our youth—our future depends on it,” he adds.

Arizona has seen a fast-growing economy, but it hasn’t translated to the right kind of jobs that can grow our economy. Bob wants to nurture business and commerce so they can remain viable. “We do this by providing an environment that attracts the right businesses—hi-tech,
high-paying jobs that grow our economy, not bring it down. We have increased jobs in our region, but at minimum wage and that won’t sustain us,” he says. “We need to balance our economies and raise the income potential of our residents so that they meet the cost of living in Arizona.”