John Kromko is a former Arizona state legislator

Arizona Legislature

The Arizona Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. There are 60 Representatives and 30 Senators...

. He served in the legislature from 1976 to 1990. He was instrumental in forcing several progressive reforms in the state despite its government being dominated by Republicans

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 by repeatedly using the state's initiative

Initiative

In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...

 process. In this way he, with others, was able to force the state, the last in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to do so, to provide Medicaid

Medicaid

Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...

in 1982.