Pamela Gorman

Pamela Gorman
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the 6th district
In office
2006 – January 2010
Personal details
Political party Republican
Residence Anthem, Arizona
Alma mater Arizona State University
Occupation politician and partner in a consulting firm
Religion Calvary Community Church

Pamela Diane Gorman is a conservative Republican politician. She was first elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2004 and most recently served as Arizona State Senator for District 6 from her election in 2006 (and reelection in 2008) until she vacated her seat on January 25, 2010 in order to run for Congress to replace the retiring John Shadegg.[1] While running to be the Republican nominee for U.S. Representative from Arizona's District 3, she gained national attention for a campaign ad showing her firing a Thompson submachine gun,[2] and for her cosponsorship of Arizona's anti-illegal immigration bill.[3] She lost to Ben Quayle, the son of former Vice President, Dan Quayle.[3]

Early life and education

Gorman was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa and has lived in Arizona since 1986. She holds a degree in Communication from Arizona State University and is an avid pistol shooter. Her teenage son is an avid marksman and a member of the Arizona long-range rifle program, administered through the youth National Rifle Association program.

Career

Gorman served as Majority Whip of the Arizona Senate and led opposition to the Republican Governor's proposed $3 billion tax increase. Ultimately, Gorman resigned her post as Majority Whip, rather than support a tax increase that she opposed in the middle of a recession. Gorman has also pushed for spending cuts in an effort to balance the state budget. She filibustered legislation that would have increased public financial support for political campaigns, the "Clean Elections" Program. The successful filibuster defeated of the legislation. Simultaneously, federal courts in Arizona have ruled some of the state's public financing law to be unconstitutional.

In June 2010, Gorman's Congressional campaign released a volunteer-produced campaign video that featured Gorman shooting firearms in the desert. Upon release of the video on YouTube, it drew criticism from the media and immediately became a favorite of the political right and went up over 200,000 views. It was featured prominently on MSNBC, CNN, FOX News Channel and in Huffington Post, Washington Post and called one of the top ten political ads of the year by NBC online.

Gorman is a free market fiscal conservative who supports lower taxes and less government spending. She supports a conservative interpretation of the Second Amendment, is pro-life, and has advocated for dramatic expansion of domestic energy production.

In addition to serving in both Houses of the Arizona Legislature, Gorman has served in the following capacities: Chair of the Standing Committees, National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL); Executive Committee of Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force with American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC); National Legislative Advisory Board of the Heartland Institute; selected by State Legislative Leaders Foundation for the Program for Emerging Political Leaders at University of Virginia, Darden Graduate School of Business Administration; American Council of Young Political Leaders; Participant in Hans Seidel Foundation Exchange and also participated as part of American legislative delegations (for various groups) to Taiwan, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Romania and South Africa.

Controversies

In 2005, Gorman joined the Legislative Advisory Board of the Heartland Institute, a think tank that has raised doubts about anthropogenic climate change.[4]

Also in 2005, Gorman was one of several Arizona legislators who supported parental rights legislation which was also supported by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights. One piece of CCHR-sponsored legislation, which required parental consent for any mental health evaluations of students by schools, would have required parents to read through "paragraph after paragraph of negative information about psychiatric practices."[5] She attended the grand opening of the Church of Scientology's "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" exhibition in Los Angeles in December 2005 at the request of Robin Read, President of the National Federation for Women Legislators, with her round-trip airfare paid for by CCHR.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Member Roster, Arizona State Legislature
  2. ↑ David Sessions. "Pamela Gorman, Arizona GOP Candidate, Fires Machine Gun in Video". Politics Daily. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Stephanie Condon (August 25, 2010). "Arizona Primary Results: Ben Quayle Wins". Political Hotsheet. CBS News.
  4. ↑ Pamela, Senator (October 31, 2005). "The Copper Dome: Representative Gorman joins Heartland Institute Advisory Board". Pamelagorman.blogspot.com. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Scientology group finds support in Legislature". Azcentral.com. March 11, 2006. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
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