Russell Pearce

Russell Pearce
Member of the Arizona Senate from the 18th district
Incumbent
Assumed office 2009
Preceded by	Karen Johnson
Personal details
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse	LuAnne

Russell Pearce (born June 23, 1947) is a Republican American politician representing Legislative District 18 (which covers most of western and central Mesa and small portions of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community) in the Arizona Senate, after serving previous terms in the Arizona House of Representatives. Pearce is most widely known for sponsoring legislation seeking to prevent illegal immigration. Pearce favors a strong border security policy and is outspoken in his opposition to amnesty for illegal immigrants. This has occasionally brought him in conflict with business interests, including some of his Republican peers.

History

Russell K. Pearce was born on June 23, 1947 to Hal Frost Pearce and Norma Crandell.

Pearce received a Medal of Valor during his 35 years as an officer of the Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff's Department where he rose to the position of Deputy Sheriff. During his tenure, he investigated many violent crimes and was injured on duty, once being shot in the chest. His record and known views on public safety won him the attention of conservatives and Republican officials , and he was appointed as state Director of Highway Safety in 1994.

In 1995, Pearce became the Director of the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division. Pearce was fired from that position in 1999 by then Arizona Department of Transportation Director Mary Peters after an investigation revealed that Pearce and two underlings had tampered with a Tucson woman's driving record.

Pearce served in Arizona with the National Guard during the Vietnam War.

Stated Political Positions

Pearce claims to advocate for the following positions:

• smaller and more efficient government
• eliminating what he sees as abuse of eminent domain
• tightening border security
• a pro-gun rights position with reference to the Second Amendment in the context of the US gun rights debate
• supporting private property rights
• improving education and "restoring discipline"
• supporting the Boy Scouts of America in their moral leadership goals
• supporting "traditional" family values
• promoting pro-life views
• supporting the "Taxpayer Bill of Rights"
• against "judicial activism"
• improving transportation, including freeways

Immigration policies

Pearce has fought for restricting illegal immigration into the United States. He drafted Proposition 200, popularly known as Protect Arizona Now, to stop voting fraud and welfare fraud by illegal aliens.

In a recent story on NPR, he was quoted as saying, "I believe in the rule of law … I've always believed in the rule of law. We're a nation of laws."; and "I will not back off until we solve the problem of this illegal invasion. Invaders, that's what they are. Invaders on the American sovereignty and it can't be tolerated."

Pearce was a sponsor of Arizona SB1070, which passed into law in April 2010. The measure attracted national attention as the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration measure in decades within the United States.

Award for tax policy

Americans for Tax Reform has named State Representative Russell Pearce as a ‘Hero of the Taxpayers’ for 2003.

Controversy

• In October 2006, Russell Pearce forwarded an email from National Alliance, a White Supremacist group, to a group of supporters. The email titled "Who Rules America" criticized black and white intermixing and Jews in the media for promoting multiculturalism and racial equality, for depicting "any racially conscious White Person" as a bigot, and for presenting the Holocaust as fact. He quickly apologized. The article reports, "He does not agree with the sentiments in the article, but that the title and the first paragraphs about media bias appealed to him. He said the article had been forwarded to him by someone else and he would not have sent it if he had read it in its entirety." He stated in one of his apologies, "Ugly the words contained in it really are. They are not mine and I disavow them completely. Worse still, the website links to a group whose politics are the ugliest imaginable."

• In April 2008, Pearce sponsored a measure, Senate Bill 1108, that would prohibit students of Arizona universities and community colleges from forming groups based in whole or part on the race of their membership. Pearce said he didn't want students indoctrinated with seditious or anti-American teachings. The bill would ban groups that serve minority interests such as the Mexican American study program and the Black Business Students Association.

Personal life

Russell Pearce lives in Mesa, Arizona with his wife, LuAnne. He has five children, Dodi, Sean, Colten, Justin, and Joshua. In 1980, LuAnn filed a petition for dissolution of marriage, in which she alleged that Pearce: "is possessed of a violent temper, and has from time to time hit and shoved the wife, the last time being on February 3 [1980], when he grabbed the wife by the throat and threw her down."