Local opinion: Alma Hernandez has weaponized her power to the detriment of Tucson

In a recent opinion piece, Amelia Cramer argued that Representative Alma Hernandez should be promoted to the Arizona Senate because she believes her to be an effective, experienced, and successful legislator. What her piece never addresses is the central question confronting Democratic voters in Legislative District 20: Effective at what?

The Legislative District 20 Democratic Committee issued a formal Statement of Concern and Request for Action after years of legislative conduct they believed was inconsistent with Democratic values and the interests of district voters. Rather than engaging with those concerns, Hernandez dismissed them.

Cramer celebrates Hernandez’s legislative accomplishments and neglects to mention her 151 votes with Republicans over the last four years — more than any Democrat in the Arizona Legislature.

Over the course of her four terms, Representative Hernandez voted to call for an Article V Constitutional Convention while Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans control Congress. If such a convention were convened, the very rights Cramer claims Hernandez protects — voting rights, reproductive freedom, labor protections, marriage equality, and constitutional safeguards — could all be placed on the table.

Representative Hernandez voted to create a public database of undocumented immigrants who interact with the justice system. Instead of standing with immigrant families, she broke with Democrats to advance legislation many advocates viewed as harmful and discriminatory.

Representative Alma Hernandez voted to undermine local opposition to large-scale development projects. When residents in Marana organized and collected thousands of signatures to challenge a proposed data center, she sided with lobbyists and developers seeking to make it harder for communities to exercise a democratic process.

Representative Alma Hernandez sponsored legislation that would allow parents to sue teachers over classroom discussions involving race, identity, and history.

Representative Alma Hernandez voted to suppress protest activity on college campuses and in communities across Arizona.

Representative Alma Hernandez voted for legislation targeting LGBTQ+ resources online and praised the measure before reversing her vote only after significant public backlash.

Representative Alma Hernandez co-sponsored legislation that would redirect affordable housing resources toward involuntary institutionalization rather than housing-first approaches.

The majority of LD-20 Democrats would argue that Alma Hernandez consistently places herself apart from the communities she represents while accepting campaign contributions from utilities, developers, pharmaceutical interests, and weapons manufacturers. She may notoriously file them late, but her campaign finances are public record.

Cramer’s piece also doesn't address Hernandez’s role in the Democratic Party’s most divisive issue. When Democrats across the country began rejecting donations connected to AIPAC amid the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, Hernandez publicly threatened fellow Democrats who indicated they would do the same. She serves on the board of Democratic Majority for Israel, an organization that has spent millions of dollars attempting to defeat Democratic candidates who support a ceasefire or criticize Israeli government policy.

When Democratic elected officials began responding to the concerns of their constituents, Hernandez chose to attack them rather than listen.

Cramer also points to Hernandez’s endorsements. That list is notable for what it lacks.

The overwhelming majority of elected officials who actually govern Tucson and Pima County have endorsed someone else. The people closest to the challenges facing Tucson have overwhelmingly chosen Rocque Perez. That contrast exists for a reason.

Cramer invokes Stonewall Democrats of Arizona and Equality Arizona as evidence of LGBTQ support while ignoring that Rocque himself is a member of the LGBTQ community and has spent years advocating for LGBTQ students, families, and neighbors. More importantly, neither organization is rooted in Tucson; one is backed by Hernandez’s brother, and the other is a one-person operation run by a heterosexual male who identifies with Hernandez’s alignment with Israel. The question in this election is not what organizations based elsewhere think about Legislative District 20. It is what the people who live here think.

This election is not about whether Alma Hernandez knows how to pass legislation. It is about whether Democratic voters believe her record reflects their values. We do not.