Juan Mendez (politician)


Juan Jose Mendez is an American politician and State Senator from Arizona. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Personal life and education

Mendez attended Tolleson Union High School, and received an associate degree from Phoenix College. He later received a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University, majoring in political science.
In mid-March 2019, Mendez became engaged to fellow legislator, Arizona Representative Athena Salman.

Political career

Mendez was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2012. He serves on the Insurance and Retirement Committee and the Reform and Human Services Committee.
Mendez supports closing "tax loopholes" for out-of-state corporations, raising education funding, and more restrictions on gifts to legislators. He opposes Arizona SB 1070 and allowing guns in schools.
Mendez gained national attention in 2013 for choosing to open a House meeting with a secular speech, rather than a traditional religious prayer. During his speech, Mendez quoted astronomer Carl Sagan.
Mendez, along with fellow representatives Clark, Hale, Larkin, and Mach, introduced HB2283 in 2016 to enact Ranked-Choice Voting for all Arizona elections. The text of the bill contained provisions for Instant Runoff Voting, for single-seat positions, and for Single Transferable Vote, for multi-seat positions. It also contained provisions to educate voters on Ranked-Choice Voting, and to ensure voting machines would be compliant with ranked ballots. The bill was referred to both the House Elections Committee and the House Rules Committee, but received no action in either committee, and received no floor votes.
Mendez serves on the City of Phoenix Human Services Advisory Committee, and manages the nonprofit Community Voice Mail, an organization devoted to helping the impoverished.
In 2018, Juan Mendez was accused by a right-leaning website, which was confirmed by the Arizona paper of record The Arizona Republic, of plagiarizing some responses to a questionnaire.