David S. Schapira (born February 17, 1980) is an American politician who served from 2007–2013 in the

Arizona 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 ...

, representing District 17, and served as

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Minority Leader. In 2010, he was elected to the

Tempe Union High School District The Tempe Union High School District is a school district of high schools in Tempe, Arizona, USA. Its service area includes all of Tempe, the city of Chandler, Arizona west of the Loop 101, Guadalupe, the Gila River Indian Community in Maricopa ...

Governing Board where he served until 2015. He was elected to the Tempe City Council in 2014 and served there until 2018.

Early life, education, and career

Schapira is a third-generation Arizonan who was born in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...

. He later moved to Tempe and then to

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, where he attended

North Canyon High School North Canyon High School (NCHS) is a nationally recognized public high school located in north central Phoenix, Arizona. It features an International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Construction started in 1989, the campus was designed by Hickman, S ...

as an International Baccalaureate student after which he attended

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

, earning a degree in political science. He returned to

to teach after college. He earned a Master's Degree in Education Leadership from

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 ...

in 2015. He earned a Juris Doctor degree at the

Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (ASU Law) is one of the professional graduate schools at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is located in the Beus Center for Law and Society on ASU's downtown Phoenix campus. The law ...

in 2019. After teaching high school, Schapira taught as an adjunct faculty member at

. He served as Assistant Superintendent at the

East Valley Institute of Technology The East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) is a public school district serving the eastern portion of the Phoenix, Arizona metro area. It is a joint technological education district with programs are available to students at the member high sc ...

from 2013–2017.

Political career

Arizona legislature

Schapira was first elected to the

in 2006 as a member of the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Senate. The House convenes in the legislative chambers at the Arizona State C ...

, representing the 17th district. He served two terms in the House before being elected to the Senate in 2010. As a freshman Senator, he was selected by his colleagues to serve as the Senate Minority Leader. He served on the Appropriations Committee for his first five years in office and on the Education Committee all six years. He was the Education Committee's ranking member during his final term in the House and in the Senate. He also served on the Banking and Insurance Committee during his final year in the legislature.

2012 congressional campaign

On August 28, 2012, Schapira lost a race for the Democratic nomination to Congress in the newly created 9th district, placing second in the three-way primary, losing to future United States Senator

Kyrsten Sinema Kyrsten Lea Sinema (; born July 12, 1976) is an American politician and former social worker serving as the senior United States senator from Arizona since January 2019. A former member of the Democratic Party, Sinema became an independent in ...

2018 Superintendent of Public Instruction Campaign

Schapira was a candidate for

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction The Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction is an elected state executive position in the Arizona state government. The superintendent oversees the state of Arizona's public school system and directs the state's Department of Education. Th ...

in 2018. He ran in the Democratic primary and lost to

Kathy Hoffman Kathy Hoffman (born 1985) is an American educator, speech-language pathologist, and politician who served as the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she took her oath of office with ...

References

External links

City Council Page

State Legislature Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schapira, David Democratic Party Arizona state senators 1980 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives George Washington University alumni Arizona State University alumni Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law alumni