Juan Jose Mendez (born May 18, 1985) is an American politician and State Senator from

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 ...

. 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 ...

Education

Born and raised in

, Mendez attended Tolleson Union High School and received an associate degree from

Phoenix College Phoenix College (PC) is a public community college in Encanto, Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1920, it is one of the oldest community colleges in the country. History The college was originally a part of the Phoenix Union High School and Juni ...

. He later received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from Arizona State University, majoring in political science.

Career

Mendez was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2012. He served on the Insurance and Retirement Committee and the Reform and Human Services Committee. Mendez supports closing "tax loopholes" for out-of-state corporations, raising education funding, and more restrictions on gifts to legislators. He opposes

Arizona SB 1070 The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (introduced as Arizona Senate Bill 1070 and commonly referred to as Arizona SB 1070) is a 2010 legislative Act in the U.S. state of Arizona that was the broadest and strictest an ...

and allowing guns in schools. Mendez is an atheist, and one of few atheist politicians serving in the United States. Mendez gained national attention in 2013 for choosing to open a House meeting with a secular speech, rather than a traditional religious prayer. During his speech, Mendez quoted Carl Sagan. Mendez, along with fellow representatives Clark, Hale, Larkin, and Mach, introduced HB2283 in 2016 to enact Ranked-Choice Voting for all Arizona elections. The text of the bill contained provisions for

Instant Runoff Voting Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method. It uses a majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referred to as ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the U ...

, for single-seat positions, and for

Single Transferable Vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate ...

, for multi-seat positions. It also contained provisions to educate voters on Ranked-Choice Voting, and to ensure voting machines would be compliant with ranked ballots. The bill was referred to both the House Elections Committee and the House Rules Committee, but received no action in either committee, and received no floor votes. Mendez serves on the City of Phoenix Human Services Advisory Committee, and manages the nonprofit Community Voice Mail, an organization devoted to helping the impoverished. In 2018, ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

'' confirmed that Mendez plagiarized some responses to a questionnaire. Additionally, in 2018, he was the only member of the Arizona Senate to vote against a bill designating the Sonorasaurus as Arizona's state dinosaur. In his vote explanation, Mendez stated that he voted against the bill because it didn't have an amendment acknowledging that the dinosaur was a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

. In 2023, Mendez became the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Elections. In February 2024, Mendez welcomed members of the The Satanic Temple, Satanic Temple of Arizona to the Arizona Senate and discussed their right to religious freedom. Mendez would go on later in the day to be the only Senator to vote against a bill banning Satanic displays on State Property.

Personal life

In mid-March 2019, Mendez became engaged to a fellow legislator, Arizona Representative Athena Salman, and they were married in 2022. Together, they have two children.

Education

Career

Personal life

References

External links