LEGISLATOR PROFILE Arizona State Representative TIM DUNN Representing the 13 th District
Tell us a little about your business and how your experiences in business and agriculture have shaped your political views. I own Dunn Grain Company, which is a company my dad and I started when I graduated from college. Over the last 20 years we’ve tried to create contracts that complement the produce industry in Yuma; for example, our black eyed pea contract. We
(Editor’s Note: Tim Dunn was appointed to the Arizona House of Representatives to represent Arizona’s 13 th Legislative District. After earning his Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from the University of Arizona, Rep. Dunn started his own grain company alongside his father. As a proud Yuma native, he understands the agricultural needs of his city.) Being born and raised in Yuma, how would you describe Yuma to an outsider who has never visited? Yuma is what I would consider a big little town. Everyone who has grown up here knows each other. The people who gradually moved into Yuma still uphold the same core values which transcend to the bigger community. I believe that is why people like to come back and move here, especially military, who tend to come here to complete their duties. They generally want to come back and retire here because we have small town rural values, but yet we’re an up and coming progressive town. What personal accomplishments are you most proud of and why? Among my proudest personal accomplishments is raising my two sons alongside my wife, Eileen. We’re also helping to establish a church within our community. We’ve built the church from the ground up and are continuing to help it grow. Over the last 15 years, I’ve also been involved in the Arizona Farm Bureau. I was the vice president for 12 years, so that experience helped lay the groundwork for my appointment to the [Arizona House of Representatives]. You have two sons, Kirk and Timothy. What are you most proud of about your sons? My oldest son, Kirk, is recently married and returning to work on [our] farm and grain company. I am very proud of his drive. He’s forward-thinking, always questioning what we can do next with a “the world is at your fingertips” mindset. My youngest son just graduated and is in the Air Force. In September, he enrolled in a linguist school in Monterey to learn Farsi. As a fresh recruit out of the Air Force’s basic training, he found something that he was passionate about, which also makes me very proud.
used to grow produce, but 20 years ago we decided to stop—which may or may not have been a good decision. We grow our own seed crops so we can be in-house from beginning to end on a project. Being in agriculture has definitely shaped me politically. In agriculture, we are constantly being introduced to regulations that we have to respond to. This is something we’ve had to deal with for years and by default has made me aware of these situations. What
can be done to limit and reduce these regulation burdens? As [part of the Arizona Farm Bureau], we have always had to work on regulations, and now as a representative, I try to minimize that impact if I can, or at least do my best to make sure there is no increase. Lower taxes and fewer regulations is the goal. Anything we can do to be an advocate for labor and for helping our area of labor and immigration is important. How were you appointed to replace Don Shooter? The Legislature was completing their investigation and their initial plan was to censor Shooter, but at the last minute, the Legislature decided they were going to expel him. Following that decision, I received the phone call from a member of a group that loves the political agriculture community. Due to the way the
22 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2019
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