J. D. Mesnard

J. D. Mesnard
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 17th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 2013 Serving with Thomas Forese
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 21st district
In office January 10, 2011 – January 14, 2013 Serving with Thomas Forese
Preceded by	Rich Crandall
Personal details
Born	(1981-03-03) March 3, 1981 Tampa, Florida MacDill AFB
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Holly Mesnard
Residence	Gilbert, Arizona
Alma mater	Arizona State University University of Phoenix Keller Graduate School of Management
Profession	Politician/Teacher (Mesa Community College)
Website	jdmesnard.com

Javan "J.D." Mesnard^[1] (born March 3, 1981 in Tampa, Florida)^[2] is an American politician and a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives representing District 17 since January 14, 2013. Mesnard previously served consecutively from January 10, 2011 until January 14, 2013 in the District 21 seat.

Bio

J.D. Mesnard is State Representative from Legislative District 17 (Chandler, Gilbert and Sun Lakes), having been elected to the Arizona House of Representatives on November 2, 2010. He is currently the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Arizona House of Representatives.

Prior to running for office, J.D. spent eight years working at the Arizona Senate where he served as a policy advisor on issues ranging from education, transportation and retirement, to family services and government administration. One of J.D.’s proudest accomplishments during his employment at the Senate involved his role as Senate Coordinator for the "Legislators Back to School Program." Sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures, the intent of this program is to bring civics to life by connecting legislators with classrooms to give kids of all ages a chance to talk about their ideas with the state legislators who represent them. The program is designed to motivate students to engage in politics, and help build personal links between schools and legislators while providing legislators an opportunity to observe what is going on in classrooms. J.D.’s work ethic and passion for civic engagement were instrumental at helping to move Arizona to #1 on the national charts, in terms of legislative participation in the program.

J.D. is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Arizona State University with a Bachelors degree in Music Composition. He also holds two masters degrees, one in Business and the other in Public Administration—exemplifying his interest in both the public and private sectors—and had the honor of being named The Outstanding Student of his MBA program. While in graduate school, J.D. caught the attention of a professor who was an Adjunct Scholar with the National Center for Policy Analysis (a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy think tank based in Texas and Washington D.C.), and was subsequently recruited to join with the professor and with Chief Economist and internationally renowned speaker Dr. Barry Asmus to be a spokesman for the NCPA. As such, J.D. traveled all over Arizona, speaking to numerous foundations, companies and Rotary/Lions/Kiwanis clubs regarding the issue of Social Security reform.

Born at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL (his father is a retired fighter pilot), J.D. has lived in Arizona for over 20 years. He is a small business owner, investor and consultant, and has always sought to be an active participant at all levels of the community. In terms of his immediate surroundings, J.D. spent many years as a music team leader, and as a youth counselor and mentor at his local church. He also serves on the board of his homeowner association. In addition, J.D.’s compassion for those less fortunate—who struggle in places outside of the greatest country on earth—led him to help establish Voices of the World, a non-profit Christian charity whose mission includes providing humanitarian aid to the poor and destitute of the world.

J.D. is currently faculty at Mesa Community College, where he teaches courses in political science.

Education

Mesnard earned his bachelor's degree in music composition from Arizona State University, his master's degree in business from University of Phoenix, and his master's in public administration from Keller Graduate School of Management (now DeVry University).

Elections

• 2012 Redistricted to District 17 with fellow incumbent Representative Forese, and with incumbent Democratic Representatives Ed Ableser running for Arizona Senate and Ben Arredondo leaving the Legislature, Forese and Mesnard were unopposed for the August 28, 2012 Republican Primary; Forese placed first, and Mesnard placed second with 13,439 votes;^[3] Forese and Mesnard won the four-way November 6, 2012 General election, with Forese taking the first seat and Mesnard taking the second seat with 42,955 votes against Democratic nominee Karyn Lathan and a write-in candidate.^[4]

• 2010 When District 21 incumbent Republican Representative Steve Yarbrough ran for Arizona Senate and Warde Nichols left the Legislature, Mesnard ran in the three-way August 24, 2010 Republican Primary, placing second with 13,086 votes;^[5] in the three-way November 2, 2010 General election, Thomas Forese took the first seat, and Mesnard took the second seat with 39,891 votes against Green candidate Linda Macias.^[6]

References

External links

• Official page at the Arizona State Legislature
• Campaign site
• Profile at Project Vote Smart