J. D. Mesnard

Javan Daniel "J.D." Mesnard[1] (born May 15, 1980 in Tampa, Florida)[2] is an American politician and a Republican member of the Arizona Senate representing District 17 since 2019.

J. D. Mesnard
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the 17th district
Assumed office
January 14, 2019
Preceded bySteve Yarbrough
53rd Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives
In office
January 9, 2017 – January 14, 2019
Preceded byDavid Gowan
Succeeded byRussell Bowers
Member of the
Arizona House of Representatives
In office
January 10, 2011 – January 14, 2019
Serving with Thomas Forese (2011–15)
Jeff Weninger (2015–19)
Preceded byRich Crandall
Succeeded byJennifer Pawlik
Constituency21st district (2011–13)
17th district (2013–19)
Personal details
Born (1980-05-15) May 15, 1980
Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Holly Mesnard
EducationArizona State University, Tempe (BM)
University of Phoenix (MBA)
DeVry University (MPA)
WebsiteOfficial website

He was a member in the Arizona House of Representatives (where he was Speaker of the House for one term), representing District 17 (Chandler, Gilbert, Sun Lakes) from 2013 to 2019. Mesnard represented District 21 (Chandler, Gilbert, Sun Lakes, Mesa, Queen Creek) from 2011 to 2013.

Education

Born at the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, he is the son of a former fighter pilot. Mesnard has lived in Arizona for over 20 years. He is a small business owner, investor, consultant and adjunct faculty[3] at Mesa Community College.

Mesnard earned his bachelor's degree in music composition from Arizona State University, his master's degree in business from University of Phoenix, and his master's in public administration from Keller Graduate School of Management (now DeVry University).

Career

Prior to running for office, Mesnard spent eight years working at the Arizona Senate where he served as a policy advisor.

Arizona House of Representatives

Mesnard was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in the 2010 elections, and took office in January 2011. He was Speaker Pro Tempore under Speaker Tobin from 2013 to 2014. He was Speaker of the House for the 2017–2018 term.

In March 2016 Mesnard was Vice Chairman of the Arizona House Elections Committee Hearing investigating the difficulties voters experienced at polls during the March 22 presidential preference election. During this election, officials for Arizona's largest county, Maricopa County, chose to reduce polling stations from 200 to 60, causing long waiting times (1–5 hours) to vote.[4] During a special House Elections Committee Hearing on March 28, Mesnard was tasked with managing the testimony of numerous angry voters who came to testify about their experiences.[5] The American Conservative Union gave him a lifetime score of 93%.

Arizona Senate

Mesnard was elected to the Arizona Senate in the 2018 elections, taking office in January 2019. He chairs the Senate Finance Committee.

Mesnard opposes the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).[6] He opposes Medicaid expansion in Arizona.[7] In 2017, he filed an unsuccessful lawsuit seeking to overturn Arizona's Medicaid expansion.[8]

Elections
  • 2014: Mesnard and Jeff Weninger defeated Danielle Lee on November 4. (PDF) Mesnard received 30,018 votes .
  • 2012: Redistricted to District 17 with fellow incumbent Representative Forese, and with incumbent Democratic Representatives Ed Ableser running for Arizona Senate and Ben Arredondo leaving the Legislature, Forese and Mesnard were unopposed for the August 28, 2012 Republican Primary; Forese placed first, and Mesnard placed second with 13,439 votes;[9] Forese and Mesnard won the four-way November 6, 2012 General election, with Forese taking the first seat and Mesnard taking the second seat with 42,955 votes against Democratic nominee Karyn Lathan and a write-in candidate.[10]
  • 2010: When District 21 incumbent Republican Representative Steve Yarbrough ran for Arizona Senate and Warde Nichols left the Legislature, Mesnard ran in the three-way August 24, 2010 Republican Primary, placing second with 13,086 votes;[11] in the three-way November 2, 2010 General election, Thomas Forese took the first seat, and Mesnard took the second seat with 39,891 votes against Green candidate Linda Macias.[12]

References
  1. "Javan "J.D." Mesnard". Phoenix, Arizona: Arizona State Legislature. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  2. "J.D. Mesnard's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  3. http://contacts.mesacc.edu/javan.mesnard
  4. Vicens, A. J. "The election in Arizona was a mess". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2togSItA77E
  6. "New AZ House speaker looks forward to Obamacare repeal". 12news.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  7. Services, Howard Fischer, Capitol Media (2017-11-17). "Arizona Supreme Court upholds Medicaid expansion". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  8. Alltucker, Ken. "Arizona Supreme Court rejects GOP lawmakers' suit to overturn state's Medicaid expansion". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  9. "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2012 Primary Election August 28, 2012" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  10. "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2012 General Election November 6, 2012" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 11 & 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  11. "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2010 Primary Election - August 24, 2010" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  12. "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2010 General Election - November 2, 2010" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
Political offices
Preceded by
David Gowan		 Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives
2017–2019		 Succeeded by
Russell Bowers
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