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Tom Jenney

Early Life
A Tucson native, Jenney graduated in 1988 from University High School, where he was a classmate of former U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. He earned an associate’s degree from the New Mexico Military Institute before graduating from Georgetown University with a degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies.

Professional Life
Prior to his work with Americans for Prosperity, Jenney was the director of the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers where he worked to reduce state income and property taxes, and helped pass Prop 207—the Private Property Rights Act—in 2006. It was as director of AFT that Jenney began overseeing the publication of the influential “Hero of the Taxpayer” legislative scorecard, which is cited by candidates across Arizona as a measure of their conservative principles.

He has also worked at the Cato Institute and the Institute for Justice in Washington D.C., and translated for the International Center for Pension Reform in Santiago, Chile.

From 2002 to 2004, Jenney was the communications director for the Goldwater Institute—the nation’s premier state-based free-market think tank.

Joining Americans for Prosperity
In 2007, the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers was absorbed into Americans for Prosperity—which was looking to establish an Arizona chapter. Since merging with the nationwide organization, Jenney has played an important role in victories for budget reform, tax reduction, and worker freedom. His chapter has also been heavily involved in the passage of the Arizona Healthcare Freedom Act and the Save our Secret Ballot Act.

On April 15th, 2009, Jenney served as the emcee at the Taxpayer Tea Party—which drew nearly 10,000 activists to the State Capitol. Exactly one year later, he helped rally 7,000 activists at Tempe Diablo Stadium to protest for lower taxes.

As part of the national “November is Coming” issue advocacy campaign, Jenney led taxpayer activists in making 193,000 phone calls and distributing over 35,000 doorhangers in Arizona. In 2012, the chapters efforts intensified and even spread to neighboring states like Nevada.

After joining with Americans for Prosperity, Jenney took his taxpayer scorecard to the local level, and the AFP-Arizona Local Government Scorecard grades city council members and county supervisors in all major cities across the state.

Personal Life
Tom Jenney has taught government, economics, and Spanish at St. Paul’s Preparatory Academy in Phoenix, and worked for the UNIQUE Learning Center, which is an inner-city after-school program in Washington, D.C.

He also serves as the treasurer for the Arizona School Choice Trust and as a deacon at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church.

Jenney currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife Brenda and their two children Abigail and John.