Guests - Senator John Kavanagh, Jennifer Turner-Jones

Arizona Politics and Community: A Conversation with State Senator John Kavanagh

The Legislature's Inner Workings: A Professor's Perspective

State Senator John Kavanagh, representing the third legislative district in the Arizona Senate since 2023, brings a unique background to his legislative role. Before entering politics, Kavanagh served 20 years as a Port Authority Police officer in New York City. After retiring, he earned a PhD in criminal justice and moved to Arizona, where he began teaching at ASU and later Scottsdale Community College.

"I was a cop for 20 years and I knew that when I retired, I wanted to teach college. So I got a PhD in criminal justice and I taught criminal justice at ASU for a few years, but for about 20 years at Scottsdale Community College," Kavanagh explains.

His academic interests eventually expanded beyond criminal justice. When speaking with ASU President Crow, Kavanaugh expressed interest in teaching about state legislatures. After receiving approval, he encountered a surprising problem: "When I taught criminal justice and I had a new topic like probation or something, I would simply get copies of the introduction to probation or whatever textbook. But there was none for state legislatures."

This gap in academic materials led Kavanagh to write "State Legislatures: An Owner's Manual." The comprehensive text covers the history, structure, function, and operations of state legislatures, walking readers through the 21 individual steps a bill must go through to become law, bill drafting techniques, and how judges interpret laws. It also addresses threats to legislative authority from administrative bureaucracy, executive overreach, and judicial activism.

"This book is not just a college textbook," Kavanagh emphasizes. "People don't communicate properly to us. And a lot of this stuff, the communications just never goes anywhere. And I go through very detailed ways of crafting the message properly and using the right technique to reach the legislature."

Looking Ahead: Arizona's 2026 Legislative Session

The upcoming legislative session presents unique challenges with a divided government. "We still have a Democrat governor, which means that Republican partisan, very conservative bills will not go anywhere with the exception of ballot referrals," Kavanagh explains. Since the governor cannot veto ballot referrals, this provides Republicans a pathway to advance their agenda directly to voters.

The budget process should be relatively straightforward this year. "We're expecting about $400 million in new revenue because the economy is doing pretty well," Kavanagh notes. A key priority will be conforming Arizona's income tax laws to recent federal changes, allowing residents to deduct overtime pay and tip income. Without conformity, taxpayers would face a more cumbersome process and potentially higher taxes.

Kavanagh expressed opposition to the recently approved $500 million funding package for the Arizona Diamondbacks stadium. "It's technically 500 million. But because the tax money that's being diverted there increases each year by 3%, at the end of this 30-year term, it'll be over a billion dollars of tax dollars." He voted against the measure but acknowledges it passed with bipartisan support.

Ethics Complaint Against Senator Ortiz

A recent ethics complaint has been filed against State Senator Annalise Ortiz regarding a social media post about immigration enforcement. Kavanaugh, who signed onto the complaint, explains: "What she did was she did a social media post live saying that right now there are masked ICE agents at this location, to warn people not to go there."

According to Kavanagh, federal law prohibits intentionally impeding federal operations by disclosing the location of agents. "She initially said she was warning people because there could be danger there. But she doubled down with a statement that she did it because these are armed masked federal agents rounding people up unfairly."

This admission, Kavanagh argues, demonstrates intent to interfere with immigration enforcement operations, potentially violating federal law. "I believe that she has clearly violated that federal law and I'm hoping that the federal prosecutor goes after her. But if not, we can still get her on an ethics complaint in the legislature."

Arizona's Political Future

Looking toward future elections, Kavanagh emphasizes the importance of winning back the governor's office in 2026. "If we take back the governor's office and we have control of both chambers, there will be a conservative renaissance in the state. It'll be like when Trump became president."

He encourages citizens to get involved with their local legislative districts and help register Republican voters. "We've been doing that. We've been unbelievably successful and the Democrats are quaking in their boots," notes host Kathleen Winn.

On homelessness and housing policy, Kavanagh criticizes current approaches: "A lot of the people that they want to put into housing are drug addicts and they want them there before there's treatment. So they basically wind up turning an apartment into a drug den and trashing it."

He highlights what he sees as a double standard in homeless policies: "When Joe Arpaio set up tent city with people living in tents, there was a building air-conditioned in that complex that they could go into 24/7 with bathrooms, showers, and cooling-off areas. They said that he was heartless and tent city was inhumane. And now Phoenix has an outdoor tent encampment right near the Capitol and Tucson is now doing tents for homeless people. When Arpaio did it, it was inhumane. And when Democrats do it, it's innovative."

Southern Arizona Book Heroes: Healing Through Literature

From Personal Trauma to Community Impact

Jennifer Turner-Jones, founder of Southern Arizona Book Heroes, transformed her own childhood trauma into a powerful force for good. At age 13, Turner-Jones was taken from her family due to abuse. "I personally was taken away from my family with nothing but the clothes that I had on and was put into an emergency shelter due to abuse - mental, physical, sexual," she shares.

In the emergency shelter, Turner-Jones found refuge in books. "I would just lose myself in books. And it was my outlet because I did not want to be in my reality. Books took me to a happily ever after and took me to another world."

This personal experience inspired her to create Southern Arizona Book Heroes, a nonprofit that provides books to children experiencing trauma. The organization puts together "book bags" containing approximately 40 children's books, ranging from ages zero to 16. These bags are then distributed to first responders who can give the books to children in crisis situations.

"When there's a call that there's a child, the officer, deputy, or agent gives a book to the child to distract them, calm them down, relax them, change their mindset," Turner-Jones explains. "We're also hoping to bring positivity into the situation and bring literacy back into the lives of children."

Expanding Statewide Impact

What began as a small local initiative has grown dramatically. "The exciting news is we are in 38 departments across the state," Turner-Jones announces. This expansion includes delivering books to Flagstaff, Yuma, and soon Florence.

The growth has been largely organic, spreading through word of mouth among first responders. "When I delivered to Yuma, I was at a first responder wellness expo and the individual from Yuma had seen us there. So we connected that way."

The organization has also expanded its services beyond law enforcement to include correctional facilities. "Yuma Department of Corrections is the first Department of Corrections that we're working with. And then Florence will be our second."

Coming Full Circle

Perhaps the most powerful moment in Turner-Jones' journey came when she delivered books to the Flagstaff Police Department - the very department that had rescued her as a child. "In June, I delivered 20 bags to the Flagstaff police department, the department that saved me," she reveals.

This emotional return represented a full-circle moment in her healing journey. "As soon as we got done with the Facebook live and the video, I just fell to the ground and cried because it was definitely a full circle. Definitely emotional."

Beyond Books: Addressing Childhood Trauma

Southern Arizona Book Heroes has expanded its mission to include resources for children experiencing trauma-related mental health challenges. "We tried to bring awareness about adolescent PTSD, adolescent suicide awareness," Turner-Jones shares, drawing from her own experiences with PTSD and suicidal thoughts.

The organization has also added communication cards to help facilitate interaction between traumatized children and first responders. "If there is a situation where there is a child that is in freeze, flight, or fight, we've added these communication cards to help open up the communication between the child and the first responder on the scene."

Turner-Jones recently began speaking publicly about her suicide attempts, sharing her story at an American Legion conference this year. This vulnerability represents significant personal growth and healing.

Host Kathleen Winn emphasizes the importance of this work: "The effects are lifelong. And obviously in your situation, you took your situation and have turned it into a great thing."

The Arizona Bowl Committee's "Blue Blazers" has selected Southern Arizona Book Heroes as a beneficiary organization, providing financial support to help expand its mission. A special event honoring Turner-Jones and her organization will be held on September 8th from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at The District on Campbell Avenue in Tucson.