Kirk Adams is a former Republican

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...

 member of the Arizona House of Representatives

Arizona House of Representatives

The Arizona House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its members are elected to two-year terms with a term limit of four consecutive terms...

, serving as Speaker from 2009 to 2011. He is running for the Republican nomination in 2012

United States House of Representatives elections, 2012

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections will be held on November 6, 2012. Elections will be held for all 435 seats, representing the 50 U.S. states. Elections will also be held for the delegates from the District of Columbia and five major U.S. territories.The winners of this...

 for Congress in Arizona's 6th congressional district

Arizona's 6th congressional district

Arizona's 6th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of Arizona and encompasses parts of Maricopa and Pinal counties...

.

Early life and education

Adams was born in Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

, and graduated from Mountain View High School (Mesa)

Mountain View High School (Mesa)

Mountain View High School is a high school in Mesa, Arizona. It was established in 1976. It is known for its numerous athletic and academic accomplishments...

 in Mesa

Mesa

A mesa or table mountain is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape....

, Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 in 1991.

Arizona legislature

Adams was first elected to the Arizona legislature in 2006. During his tenure in the State House, Adams endorsed legislation which resulted in the largest permanent tax cut in Arizona history. As Speaker, Adams took on public-employee unions, authoring legislation to reform Arizona's pension system for public employees by raising the retirement age, eliminating cost of living adjustments, preventing employees from receiving a pension while working, reducing benefits for elected officials and requiring police officers, firefighters, elected officials and corrections employees pay more for their pensions. Adams opted out of the elected officials retirement plan, earning him recognition from the National Taxpayers Union

National Taxpayers Union

National Taxpayers Union is a taxpayers advocacy organization and taxpayers union in the United States, founded in 1969 by James Dale Davidson. NTU advertises that it is the largest and oldest grassroots taxpayer organization in the nation, with 362,000 members nationwide. It is closely...

.

As Speaker, Adams supported Arizona's immigration reform bill and solicited outside funding to defend the measure in court.

2012 Congressional campaign

In the Spring of 2011, Adams resigned from office to announce that he would run in 2012

United States House of Representatives elections, 2012

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections will be held on November 6, 2012. Elections will be held for all 435 seats, representing the 50 U.S. states. Elections will also be held for the delegates from the District of Columbia and five major U.S. territories.The winners of this...

 for Congress in Arizona's 6th congressional district

Arizona's 6th congressional district

Arizona's 6th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of Arizona and encompasses parts of Maricopa and Pinal counties...

, the seat left open by Jeff Flake

Jeff Flake

Jeffrey Lane "Jeff" Flake is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was featured in the documentary series How Democracy Works Now: Twelve Stories....

.

External links

• http://azleg.gov/MembersPage.asp?Member_ID=36&Legislature=50&Session_ID=102 official Arizona House of Representatives website