Robert Meza is an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...

from

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

who served 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 ...

from District 30 from 2019 to 2023. He previously served in 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 ...

from 2011 to 2019, and also served four prior terms in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2003 to 2011. Before studying at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, Meza attended Bourgade Catholic High School in Phoenix. After graduating from the university, Meza spent seven years in the banking industry, where he worked on small and commercial loans. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he represents the reliably Democratic 30th legislative district which covers parts of central and west Phoenix and part of Glendale, Arizona. He was first elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2002 and won re-election in 2004, 2006 and 2008.

Term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

s prevented him from seeking a fifth House term in 2010, he ran unopposed for the district's

seat. Meza has won ten consecutive elections since beginning his political career. While serving in the Arizona House of Representatives and in his first term in the Arizona State Senate, Meza represented the 14th Legislative District. Meza began serving the 30th Legislative District following the 2012 election. This was due to redistricting based on results from the 2010 Census. In the 2017–2018 legislative biennium, he served on three committees: Commerce and Public Safety, Government, and Senate Ethics. Meza currently serves on the boards of the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

and the Phoenix Theatre, where he worked as a teenager. He is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

, and was the first openly gay Hispanic legislator in the nation. Meza serves alongside two other openly

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

legislators: Rep. Daniel Hernández Jr., D-Tucson and Rep.

César Chávez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged ...

, D-Phoenix. In October 2017, on National Coming Out Day, the four lawmakers announced the creation of a new LGBTQ Caucus in the legislature.

Personal life

Meza is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, becoming so after converting from

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Elections

Meza was unopposed in the Democratic primary. He defeated Republican John Lyon in the general election with 66% of the vote.

References

External links

Arizona State Legislature Person Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meza, Robert Democratic Party Arizona state senators Democratic Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Living people Gay politicians LGBT state legislators in Arizona Politicians from Phoenix, Arizona University of Notre Dame alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Arizona 21st-century American politicians LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people Jewish American people in Arizona politics Converts to Judaism from Roman Catholicism LGBT Jews