Brian Fernandez is an American politician who is State Senator for the

Arizona 23rd Legislative District Arizona's 23rd legislative district is one of 30 in the state, consisting of sections of Maricopa County, Pima County, Pinal County, and Yuma County, Arizona, Yuma County. As of 2023, there are 65 precincts in the district, with a total register ...

and former member of the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from the 4th legislative district beginning in 2021. He was appointed to the seat after incumbent Representative

Charlene Fernandez Charlene Fernandez (Birth name, ''née'' Ramos; born February 24, 1955) is an American politician who was the Democratic leader of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021. She was first elected to the state House in 2014 and represe ...

, his mother, resigned the seat to become Director of Rural Development for the United States Department of Agriculture. He is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Fernandez is a sixth generation native of Yuma and a graduate of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. Prior to joining the legislature, he volunteered for several political campaigns, including those of former Governor

Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and university administrator who served as the 21st governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and third United States secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 20 ...

, Congressmen

Ruben Gallego Rubén Marinelarena Gallego (; born November 20, 1979) is an American politician and U.S. Marine combat veteran, having served and deployed as a USMCR Corporal during Operation Iraqi Freedom, who is the U.S. Representative for Arizona's 7th con ...

and Congressman

Ed Pastor Edward Lopez Pastor (; June 28, 1943 – November 27, 2018) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona from 1991 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Arizona's ...

. Brian also founded a software startup, Team Start, which does business in Arizona and Mexico City.

Early life and education

Fernandez was born in

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

to Sergio and

. He attended Yuma High School where he graduated, and went on to attend

earning a Bachelor's degree.

Career

Fernandez worked for the

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce ...

under Chairwoman

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick Carolyn Jean Cheeks Kilpatrick (born June 25, 1945) is a former American politician who was U.S. Representative for from 1997 to 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party. In August 2010 she lost the Democratic primary election to Hansen ...

as Technology Director. Upon leaving, Fernandez co-founded Symfodium, building a CRM software for members of congress. After exiting, Fernandez founded Team Start in Arizona, building software for different entities including the

University of Arizona College of Medicine A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, Phoenix. In November 2021, Fernandez's mother resigned to become Director of Rural Development for the United States Department of Agriculture. Within eight days Fernandez was appointed and sworn in to replace her.

Political career

Arizona House of Representatives

Fernandez was appointed to the unfinished term of his mother, Arizona House Democratic Leader

after her resignation to run

USDA Rural Development USDA Rural Development (RD) is a mission area within the United States Department of Agriculture which runs programs intended to improve the economy and quality of life in rural parts of the United States. Rural Development has a loan portfolio o ...

in Arizona under President Joe Biden. Fernandez was appointed to the Committee on Transportation and the Committee on Land, Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Arizona Senate

Fernandez ran for the seat left open by the retirement of Senator

Lisa Otondo Lisa Otondo is a former state senator from Arizona, who represented the 4th district. She served on three committees: Appropriations; Transportation and Technology; and Natural Resources, Energy and Water (Ranking Member). A member of the Democrat ...

. He was uncontested in the primary and won the general election by over 7 points against the Republican candidate Gary Snyder. Many prominent Republicans supported him, including his seat mate Representative Joel John. Fernandez was appointed to the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Environment, the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Natural Resources and Water and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Governor

Katie Hobbs Kathleen Marie Hobbs (born December 28, 1969) is an American politician and social worker who is the governor-elect of Arizona, having been elected in 2022. She has served as the 21st secretary of state of Arizona since 2019. A member of the D ...

appointed Fernandez to the Governor’s Independent Prison Oversight Commission.

Arizona Legislative Career

Committee on Transportation

Fernandez was instrumental in passing and later funding in a last minute budget deal the expansion and modernization of Cesar Chavez Blvd in

San Luis, Arizona San Luis is a city in Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The population was 25,505 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Yuma Metropolitan Statistical Area. San Luis, located in the southwest corner of the state directly adjacent to Mexico's ...

for 34 million dollars. The road which connects the Interstate 8 with Highway 95 is heavily used by local residents, business, and international trade as it connects both border checkpoints in Yuma County. Much of the opposition was centered on the cost of the road. Fernandez has worked with other legislators around the state to spend over a billion dollars on critical infrastructure needs funded primarily by the bipartisan infrastructure deal enacted by President Joe Biden.

Education

Fernandez brought 5 million dollars in a last minute budget deal to the Yuma campus of

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

. The money is being used to bring more bachelor degree and job training programs to Yuma County being requested by Yuma business leaders. Fernandez continues to work with all three universities to bring additional education programing to the southwestern Arizona. Fernandez was instrumental in the bipartisan education deal which brought another 1 billion dollars to public education.

Water

Fernandez brought together farmers and ranchers throughout the state to bring a billion dollar spending bill on water infrastructure. The money will be used for water augmentation and conservation.

Electoral history

References

External links

Official page
at the

Arizona State Legislature The Arizona State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. Composed of 90 legislators, the s ...

Biography
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Brian 21st-century American politicians Living people People from Yuma, Arizona Democratic Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Arizona State University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Arizona Democratic Party Arizona state senators