Brad Bettencourt's Platform

Cost of Living

Arizona families are being stretched to the breaking point. Groceries cost more. Utilities cost more. Rent has climbed 23% since 2019 while wages have barely budged. Brad knows what it’s like to manage a budget when every dollar is under pressure: he does it every month for Dobson Ranch’s 5,000 families, and he did it as a credit analyst in the banking industry. In the legislature, Brad will fight for real tax relief for working families. Not just talking points, but the kind of line-by-line budget scrutiny that finds waste, eliminates bloat, and puts money back in your pocket. Let’s get away from unfunded mandates and regulations that jack up your costs. Just common sense fiscal discipline from someone who’s actually balanced a budget.

Secure Arizona's Water Future

There is no issue more critical to Arizona’s future than water. We live in a desert that’s growing to 9 million people, and the Colorado River, which supplies 36% of our water, is in crisis. This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a survival issue. Brad brings real experience: his years in agriculture taught him the value of water from the ground up, and as President of Dobson Ranch, a community built around 8 man-made lakes, he oversees one of the most water-intensive residential systems in the East Valley. Brad will fight for long-term water security through smart infrastructure investment, protection of our groundwater supply, and planning that ensures LD9 families have clean, affordable water for generations to come, not just the next election cycle.

Housing Affordability

LD9 families are being priced out of the neighborhoods they grew up in. The median home price in Arizona has risen sharply, rents are up 23% in five years, and Arizona saw over 106,000 eviction filings in 2024 alone, a record. Affordable housing isn’t a partisan issue; it’s a kitchen-table crisis. Brad knows that the biggest barrier to affordable housing is government itself: excessive permitting delays, outdated zoning rules, and layers of regulatory red tape that add tens of thousands of dollars to every new home. He’ll fight to streamline the permitting process, cut bureaucratic delays, and remove the barriers that prevent builders from meeting demand. More supply means lower prices. It’s that simple, and it’s exactly the kind of common-sense, results-driven approach Brad brought to Dobson Ranch.

Great Schools & Educational Excellence

Every child in LD9 deserves great education options regardless of their income or zip code. Brad believes in empowering parents with choices AND holding every school that receives taxpayer dollars accountable for results. Arizona’s public schools need stable, adequate funding, not budget cuts that hurt classrooms. At the same time, families who choose private, charter, or homeschool options should have that right, and those schools should meet the same accountability standards we expect of everyone else. Brad will focus on what the data shows actually works: getting kids reading at grade level by third grade, expanding dual enrollment and trade programs so high schoolers can earn college credits or workforce certifications, and supporting teachers with competitive pay and professional development. Education should prepare our kids for real careers, not just test scores.

Border Security & Immigration Reform

Brad doesn’t know the border from a news segment, he lived it. He worked as a banker in Yuma and Nogales, right on the Arizona-Mexico border. He speaks Spanish. He’s traveled throughout Latin America. He understands that border communities need BOTH security AND a functioning system that supports legal commerce, legal immigration, and the economic ties that sustain southern Arizona. Arizona voters overwhelmingly passed Prop 314 because the federal government failed to do its job. Brad will support state-level enforcement measures that crack down on fentanyl trafficking, human smuggling, and the cartels that exploit our broken system, while also pushing for reforms that create a legal immigration process that actually works. Secure borders and smart immigration policy aren’t contradictory. They’re two sides of the same coin.

Public Safety & Supporting First Responders

Safe neighborhoods aren’t negotiable. LD9 families deserve to feel secure in their homes, their schools, and their communities. Brad will fight to fully fund our police, fire, and EMS services, because 82% of Arizona voters oppose cutting public safety budgets, and Brad agrees. He’ll support legislation that gives law enforcement the tools and resources they need to protect our communities, while also supporting accountability measures that build trust between police and the people they serve. Brad will also push for tougher penalties for fentanyl distribution, catalytic converter theft, and property crimes that impact working families every day. Public safety isn’t a political issue, it’s the most basic promise government makes to its citizens.

Protecting the 2nd Amendment

Brad strongly supports the constitutional right of law-abiding Arizonans to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment is fundamental to our liberty and our way of life, and Brad will oppose any legislation that infringes on the rights of responsible gun owners. At the same time, Brad believes in enforcing the laws we already have on the books, keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and those who have been legally adjudicated as dangerous. Brad’s approach is straightforward: protect the rights of the law-abiding majority while enforcing the law against those who abuse that right.

Transportation & Infrastructure

West Mesa is growing, and our roads and transit infrastructure need to keep up. Brad will fight for transportation investments that reduce commute times, improve road safety, and plan for a district that’s adding thousands of new residents. LD9 families shouldn’t have to sit in excessive traffic to get to work or worry about potholes damaging their cars. Whether it’s smarter freeway interchange design, better-maintained local roads, or transit options that connect people to jobs, Brad will prioritize infrastructure that makes daily life easier for the people who actually live here. Good infrastructure isn’t government overreach, it’s the foundation that makes everything else possible.

Supporting Working Families & Childcare

Arizona’s working families are juggling more than ever, and the cost of childcare is one of the biggest burdens they face. The average cost of childcare in Arizona exceeds $10,000 per year per child, forcing too many parents to choose between their careers and their kids. Brad supports policies that expand childcare access for working families, including tax incentives for employers who provide childcare benefits, regulatory streamlining for home-based childcare providers, and expanding Arizona’s child tax credit. When parents can afford to work, families are stronger, businesses have the workers they need, and our economy grows.

Planning for Arizona's Growth

Arizona is on pace to reach 9 million residents in the coming decades. That growth will bring opportunity, but only if we plan for it. Brad will push for responsible growth planning that ensures LD9 communities have the water, roads, schools, and public services to support new development. Growth should strengthen our neighborhoods, not strain them. Brad opposes rubber-stamping development deals that benefit developers while leaving existing residents with crowded schools, overtaxed water systems, and traffic gridlock. He’ll bring the same long-range planning mindset he uses at Dobson Ranch to the state legislature.