This Ahwatukee mom does not need every political conversation to turn into a debate. Because somehow, the second we start asking questions, everything turns into an argument these days. Sometimes I just want to understand who is running, what they are paying attention to, and how they are talking about the issues happening right here in our community.

That came up in a recent Kate48 conversation with Anthony Ramirez, who is running for Arizona State Senate in LD12.

Anthony has lived in Ahwatukee for many years, and during our conversation, he brought up a couple of things that are already familiar to many local residents but also some that might not be.

Pay Attention to What Candidates Know About Our Community

One issue Anthony talked about specifically was the Menlo Digital Data Center project near 48th Street between Chandler Boulevard and Ray Road.

He said local voters were the ones who first brought the project to his attention. After learning more about it, he became involved with residents who had concerns and said he volunteered services from his law firm to help them navigate the situation.

For me, that is the kind of thing worth listening for when I talk with any local candidate.

Do they know what is happening in Ahwatukee?

Are they hearing directly from residents?

When someone brings them a concern, what do they do next?

You do not have to agree with a candidate’s position to learn something from the way they answer those questions.

Listen for What They Know and What They Still Need to Learn

We also talked about Arizona’s water future.

Anthony was clear that he is not a hydrologist or an engineer. Instead, he talked about the need to listen to people with expertise and consider different ideas.

That stood out to me too.

I do not expect every person running for office to be an expert in every subject. I do want to hear how they plan to learn, who they would listen to, and how they would approach complicated issues that affect Arizona families.

A Few Questions Moms Can Keep in Mind

When I listen to a candidate interview now, I am paying attention to a few simple things:

What local issues are they talking about?
Do they understand why residents are concerned?
Who are they listening to?
What do they say they would do when they do not have all the answers?

That feels a lot more useful to me than trying to memorize every political term or follow every argument online.

We do not have to become experts in politics. We can simply get curious about the people asking to represent our community.

If you want to hear the conversation that got me thinking about this, you can watch Kate48 through MOMnation YouTube.

Sometimes the best place to start is simply learning who is on the ballot and getting curious from there. 💛