Senate Member

Having completed two terms (four years) in the House of Representatives, Lisa Otondo is pleased to start the 2017 Legislative session as District 4's new Senator. As a second-generation Arizonan, (born and raised in Yuma), she comes from a large Basque family with deep farming roots. This upbringing has given her a keen awareness of the issues and challenges facing farming and rural communities. She is passionate about water issues in Arizona and the need to address these issues. Sen. Otondo is proud to serve on the Jon Kyle Leadership Round Table, the Agribusiness and Water Council, (ABWC) and she received her water management certificate from the ABWC/ASU Water Management program.

As a former public school teacher, Senator Otondo knows first-hand the importance of supporting our schools our teachers and staff. She has worked in a bipartisan manner to increase state funding for our public schools, universities, Junior Career & Technical Education Districts (JTEDs) and Community Technical Enterprises (CTE's). She will continue to fight to improve public education funding, teachers' salaries and reduced class sizes.

Senator Otondo is the ranking Democrat on the Transportation & Technology Committee, and serves on the Natural Resources Energy & Water Committee. One of her goals for the 2017-2018 session is to bring stakeholders together for "Water Wise" lunches for networking and keeping abreast of legislation for sensible water policy. She is also concerned about the serious transportation and infrastructure problems facing Arizona, and is adamant that the Highway User Revenue Funds (HURF) not continue to be swept for a "quick fix" to other budgetary problems.

Ms. Otondo completed her Master's Degree in International Public Administration from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and speaks five languages including Spanish, Mandarin, French and Portuguese.

During her spare time, she volunteers as an interpreter for various non-profit agencies. She enjoys reading, traveling and the arts. She looks forward to serving her constituents in District 4.