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Matt Gress

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Matt Gress
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives
from the 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
Serving with Eric Meyer
Preceded byJoel John
Personal details
Born
Matthew Owen Gress[1]

(1988-07-08) July 8, 1988 (age 36)
Oklahoma, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Residence(s)Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Oklahoma
Syracuse University
Signature
WebsiteCampaign Website

Matt Gress (born July 8, 1988) is an American politician and Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives elected to represent District 4 in 2022.

Early career and education

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Gress grew up in rural Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma, where he was selected for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship.[2][3] Gress was accepted into the Teach for America program, and he gained certification to teach in English, History, Government and Economics.[4][5] He also received his master's degree from Syracuse University.

In Arizona, Gress worked as an analyst for the non-partisan Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and later as Director of the Governor's Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting, under former Governor Doug Ducey.[6] From 2017 until 2021, Gress served as a governing board member in the Madison Elementary School District, in central Phoenix.[7] Gress is openly gay.[8][9]

Elections

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In the 2022 General Election, Gress was elected to the legislature, becoming the top vote getter in District 4 with 61,527 votes.[10]

Gress serves with Democrat Laura Terech, who came in second with 59,292 votes. Former Republican state Representative Maria Syms came in third in the general election, falling short with 56,383 votes.[11][12]

Tenure

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One of Gress' key campaign pledges was a plan to raise teacher pay by $10,000 per Arizona teacher.[13] Gress introduced his Pay Teachers First Plan in January 2023.[14]

Gress also sponsored by a bill to provide financial assistance to residents of mobile homes if they are told to vacate their homes due to redevelopment efforts.[15] The bill was signed into law by Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs.[16]

In the wake of the Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Mayes ruling that upheld an 1864 near-total abortion ban over a more recent law passed in 2022 that outlined a 15-week ban, Gress became one of the biggest advocates calling for its repeal. He was the sole Republican in the Arizona House to vote to repeal over three instances, being joined by fellow Republicans Justin Wilmeth and Tim Dunn, on the latter to repeal the ban alongside all Democrats.[7] He was later removed from his House committee role.[17]

References

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  1. ^ https://www.mattgress.com/ [bare URL]
  2. ^ "Meet Matt". Matt Gress for State Representative. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  3. ^ "OU scholar Matthew Gress' wheels are turning". The Oklahoman. April 5, 2009. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  4. ^ "Gress hosted at ImgBB".
  5. ^ "Arizona Democrats have a Republican they can work with. They're telling him to kiss off". The Arizona Republic. February 21, 2009. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  6. ^ "Ducey's budget director Matt Gress running for state House". The Miner. Associated Press. December 30, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Healy, Jack (April 25, 2024). "Arizona Republicans Who Supported Repealing an Abortion Ban Face Blowback". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "Meet Matt". Matt Gress for State Representative. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  9. ^ Levesque, Brody (December 5, 2022). "First Openly Gay GOP Former Member of US House Dies at 80". SFGN. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  10. ^ Kmack, Sam (November 8, 2022). "Maricopa County Official Results" (PDF). Maricopa County Elections Department. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  11. ^ Kmack, Sam (October 11, 2022). "Where Arizona House candidates Matt Gress and Laura Terech stand on key issues for District 4". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  12. ^ "Update: Terech, Gress lead in race for LD4 Arizona House seats". Daily Independent. November 14, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  13. ^ "Matt Gress Announces "Pay Teachers First" Plan". Matt Gress for State Representative. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  14. ^ "Arizona Democrats have a Republican they can work with. They're telling him to kiss off". The Arizona Republic. February 21, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  15. ^ "Bipartisan bill to help mobile home park residents advances". Arizona Mirror. February 1, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  16. ^ "Hobbs signs legislation into law that helps forced-out mobile home residents". KJZZ. March 31, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  17. ^ Choi, Joseph (April 24, 2024). "Arizona GOP lawmaker booted from committee after backing abortion ban repeal". The Hill.
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