Judy M. Burges (born July 21, 1943) is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 District 1, and a former member of the

Arizona State Senate The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figures). Members serve two-year terms w ...

representing District 22. She was first appointed to the State Senate by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on January 23, 2012. Burges previously served in the Arizona House of Representatives, representing District 4, from 2005 until her appointment to the State Senate. Senator Burges chaired the Government, Joint Legislative Audit, and Appropriations Committees while serving in the House and served as vice chair for numerous other committees.

Education

Senator Burges graduated from

Yavapai College Yavapai College is a public community college in Yavapai County, Arizona. The main campus is in Prescott, with locations in Clarkdale, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Sedona. History Yavapai College was established in 1965 by means of a c ...

with an AA in General Studies (1984); the for-profit, open enrollment,

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree lev ...

with a BA in Management (1993) and an MBA in Business Administration (1996).

Work

Burges' professional experience includes working as an Account Clerk with the Yavapai County Government from 1984-1996 and Budget Coordinator with the Cyprus Bagdad Copper Company from 1976-1981.

Controversies

In 2011, Burges was joined by 30 Arizona Republican lawmakers as co-sponsors of HB 2544, a bill that required presidential candidates to prove that they were born in the United States, are over 35 and have resided in the United States for at least 14 years. This action dovetailed with the

birther movement During Barack Obama's campaign for president in 2008, throughout his presidency and afterwards, there was extensive news coverage of Obama's religious preference, birthplace, and of the individuals questioning his religious belief and citi ...

started in 2008 repudiating Barack Obama's natural citizenship. The measure ultimately failed to pass. In 2013, Burges fought against US involvement with the United Nations initiative,

Agenda 21 Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action age ...

, the Rio declaration of environmental principles, claiming that she would "certainly call it communism." She further falsely claimed that

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

is a communist nation. In April 2014, Burges traveled to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

and showed support for rancher

Cliven Bundy Cliven D. Bundy (born April 29, 1946) is an American cattle rancher who was charged and underwent pre-trial detention for his role in the 2014 Bundy standoff. Bundy vocally advocated a philosophy opposed to what he views as federal government ov ...

, who was resisting a cattle round-up after refusing to pay grazing fees since 1993. "I stand with them," Burges said of the Bundy family. In 2017 Burges had an email exchange with an elderly constituent that was widely publicized. The constituent was asking about HB 2404 that required petition gatherers in initiative campaigns be paid by the hour rather than by the signature. Within Burges response, she called the 82-year-old widow and longtime Scottsdale resident a "paid troll." The

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on ...

has given her a lifetime rating of 93%.

References

Sources

Project Vote Smart bio of Burges
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burges, Judy 1943 births Republican Party Arizona state senators Living people People from La Junta, Colorado 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Arizona Republican Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Yavapai College alumni University of Phoenix alumni