Tom O’Halleran is vying for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District seat. As the largest land district in the state, O’Halleran has spent a great deal of time traveling from town to town in the district in order to understand the unique needs of each area and the common ground that needs to be addressed.
O’Halleran has a long history of serving his community. He served as a police officer with the Chicago Police Department for 13 years before becoming a member of the Chicago Board of Trade and served two terms on the exchange’s board of directors. In 1994, he became a consultant on design and integration of technology for financial trading floors. His work included planning for future needs of clients and collaboration between various exchanges to integrate new trading practices.
After retiring O’Halleran and his wife Pat moved to Arizona where he became involved in local issues before serving three consecutive terms as a state Representative, followed by a term as a state Senator.
O’Halleran says his experience has shown him that no one person can go and change the minds of 435 members of Congress but one person can influence change and bring attention to important issues facing the people being served. “In order to create change you need to be able to work with people and make a clear statement of the needs of your district.”
One issue he feels is vital to rural Arizona is the expansion of broadband. “We need an expansion of broadband to bring in better jobs and improve education. Having a piecemeal operation doesn’t help rural Arizona,” he said.
O’Halleran believes quality education is critical for individuals to be able to be good wage earners and support their families and that greater funding for education is critical saying, “It’s an investment in our state and country’s economic future.”
With environmental issues and natural resources a big concern in rural areas, O’Halleran supports the reduction of air pollution and renewable energy, but believes that a clearer plan needs to be in place before taking much needed jobs from the area. “We can’t have the government come in and regulate us out of jobs. We need to look at options that make our communities whole. Rather than shutting down plants we need to use that infrastructure and look to options such as natural gas to keep jobs in rural area,” he said. “We need to close the wealth gap and broaden economic diversity in rural Arizona.”
Regarding education, O’Halleran believes that the federal government should not be involved in Arizona schools’ curriculum. “This should be left to the state’s and we need to ensure that kids in Holbrook have the same education opportunities as those in Scottsdale,” he said.
When it comes to jobs O’Halleran sees that there is untapped potential in rural areas. “In this region (I-40 corridor) there is every advantage with the interstate, rail, and air travel here. I will work to bring jobs to rural Arizona, jobs that pay wages that will allow families to stay where they want to live,” he said.
One idea O’Halleran mentioned was call centers, where people could provide customer service no matter where they are located, jobs that are currently being taken to foreign countries.
He’s in favor of enterprise zones where impoverished areas receive incentives such as tax concessions to encourage business investment and provide jobs for the residents. “This would incentivize businesses to come here and make use of this bare land and provide good jobs. I’ve seen communities based on Walmarts and Big Box economies and they do not thrive, they do not provide enough for families,” said O’Halleran.
He also supports an ethics plan that oversees Congress and addresses the special interests that are being favored in government. “We represent people working three jobs and we’re not doing our part by working three days a week. There’s too many government loopholes that need to be closed and we need to restore the trust of the American people.”
In asking for the vote of the people O’Halleran stated, “I’m for the people. If we’re going to improve America we have to work together. If that means voting against the will of my party, then that’s what I’ll do. It’s about problem solving and solutions and creating accomplishments for the American people.”
