Tom Horne
Thomas Charles Horne is an American politician, attorney, businessman, and activist who has served as the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction since 2023 and previously from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was Attorney General of Arizona from 2011 to 2015. Horne ran for reelection as Attorney General but lost to Mark Brnovich in the 2014 Republican primary.
He returned to the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2023, having been elected to that office in the 2022 election.
Early life and education
Horne was born in Quebec to Polish Jewish parents. He was raised in New York, and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1954. He graduated from Mamaroneck High School in the early 1960s. He was a Democrat before becoming a Republican. He attended the March on Washington in 1963. Horne graduated from Harvard College in 1967 and Harvard Law School in 1970. Soon after graduating from law school, he moved to Arizona.Career as school board member and state representative (1979-2001)
Horne was first elected to public office in 1979, when he was elected to the Paradise Valley Unified School District board. He served on the board for the next 24 years, and was board chair for ten of those years.Horne was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 1996, and served from 1997 to 2001.
In 2000, Horne ran for the Arizona Senate for District 24, but lost the Republican primary to Dean Martin.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction (2003-2011)
In 2003, Horne was elected Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction; he served two terms, ending in 2011.Horne oversaw the adoption to new Arizona's social studies standards, implemented beginning in the 2007-08 school year, under which all students "learn lessons in five areas including American history, world history, geography, civics and government, and economics" in each year from kindergarten through high school.
Horne was an advocate for full-day kindergarten, citing research that showed that such programs reduce the achievement gap between students from poor households and those from more affluent homes.
He also pushed for nutritional standards that removed junk food vending machines from elementary schools and created incentives for secondary schools to do so on a voluntary basis.
Horne, a classically trained pianist and founder of the Phoenix Baroque Ensemble, advocated for increasing arts education in schools.
Horne also continued to implement the Arizona Instrument to Measure Success standardized test; performance on the AIMS test determines graduating high school students' qualification for a "high honors" diploma, which guarantees free tuition at Arizona's three public universities.
Horne implemented policies that discouraged bilingual education and sought to shut down the Tucson Unified School District's controversial Mexican American Studies Department Programs. Speaking at Tucson High in 2007, legendary activist Dolores Huerta said that Republicans hate Latinos. Horne brought his Latina deputy, Margaret Garcia Dugan, to offer a rebuttal at the school, but students turned their backs to her and put their fists in the air. After this event, Horne argued that the Tucson ethnic studies programs "separated students by race, taught them that they are oppressed, and was influenced by Marxist and communist philosophies." He drafted a 2010 state law that effectively banned ethnic studies, and led to the Tucson Unified School District board closing its program in January 2012. A group of students and parents sued over the state law, leading to seven years of legal proceedings. In July 2017, Horne testified in the litigation; in his testimony, he defended the law and asserted that the Tucson program was led by radical teachers. The federal district court, later in 2017, ultimately issued a permanent injunction blocking Arizona from enforcing the law, determining that the decision to ban the Tucson program was "motivated by a desire to advance a political agenda by capitalizing on race-based fears" and was unconstitutional.
Attorney General
On November 2, 2010, Horne defeated Felecia Rotellini in the race for Arizona Attorney General in the 2010 elections. Horne defeated Rotellini by a margin of 51.9% to 48.1%.''Arizona v. United States''
Within a few weeks of becoming A.G., his office had filed an appearance in Arizona v. United States, defending the governor and the state against the Obama administration's federal court challenge to S.B. 1070. The previous A.G., Terry Goddard, had withdrawn from the case, acceding to the demands of Governor Jan Brewer.Consumer and antitrust litigation
Shortly after winning the 2010 election, Horne announced an intent to pursuing violations of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act and other consumer protections violation. This led to a string of sting operations against auto repair businesses in the Valley.Along with state attorney generals in many other states, Horne's office represented Arizona in multi-state settlements with the nation's five largest mortgage servicers ; with Sirius XM, and with Pfizer Inc..
Along with Attorneys General of the other 49 States and the District of Columbia, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Horne reached a $105 million settlement with AT&T Mobility LLC, resolving allegations that AT&T engaged in “mobile cramming.” Arizona received $325,770, and it is estimated that roughly 482,000 accounts in Arizona were eligible for refunds.
''Sex Trafficking''
In 2013, Horne requested additional funds to combat sex trafficking, saying the funding was especially crucial in Arizona prepared to host the Super Bowl in 2015. He said the influx of men for events like that tends to increase underage sex trafficking.''Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council'' case
In a 2012 United States Supreme Court case, Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc., Horne argued that Arizona's voter registration requirements were not preempted by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. The Court ruled in favor of the Native American tribes, and against Horne and Arizona, by a 7–2 vote. The decision stated: "Arizona is correct that the Elections Clause empowers Congress to regulate how federal elections are held, but not who may vote in them. The latter is the province of the states." However, because Horne's predecessor as Attorney General had not appealed an adverse decision by the commission, the case was sent back for a new petition to the commission to be appealed. It was consolidated with a 10th circuit case, which ruled adversely, and the Supreme Court chose not to review a second time. The Court also held that Arizona may petition to have more requirements added to the federal standard.School Resource Officers and Firearms Regulations
In 2013 Horne wrote an opinion that defended the state preemption of regulation of firearms; he found that Tucson's city gun laws were unenforceable. In 2012, after the recent Connecticut school massacre, Horne proposed that a principal or a designee be trained and armed in each school. “The ideal solution would be to have an armed police officer in each school,” Horne stated. "The next best solution is to have one person in the school trained to handle firearms, to handle emergency situations, and possessing a firearm in a secure location.” In 2013, he proposed legislation that would allow teachers to carry guns in public schools.Same-sex Marriage
Horne threatened to sue the city of Bisbee, Arizona, over its 2013 ordinance recognizing same-sex couples. He withdrew the threat several days later when Bisbee agreed to rewrite the ordinance, removing rights reserved for married couples under Arizona law. In October 2014, a federal judge ruled that Arizona's law banning gay marriage was unconstitutional, and Horne did not appeal, stating he felt there was "zero" chance of the ruling being overturned, adding, "I think it is over."Immigration
In 2013, Horne sued Maricopa County Community College District and Pima Community College, seeking to compel the community colleges to end their policy of providing in-state tuition for "dreamers". Horne argued that these students were disqualified from in-state tuition by state law, even if the federal government had approved them to remain and work in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Several students held protests at Horne's office, leading to some being arrested. Horne denied being anti-immigrant, saying he was one himself, being born in Canada. In 2015, a Maricopa Superior Court judge ruled that the "dreamers" could pay in-state tuition rates. However, the State appealed the decision, and in 2017, the Arizona Court of Appeals sided with the AG's office, ruling that the dreamers were not eligible for in-state tuition.In 2014, Horne criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement for sending undocumented immigrants from Texas to Arizona.
Colorado City Disputes
In 2014 a federal jury awarded a couple living in Colorado City, Arizona, $5.2 million, for religious discrimination. Horne on behalf of Arizona and the Utah attorney general intervened in the case of Cooke v. Colorado City. Colorado City and Hildale, Utah, as well as the twin cities' utility companies, were found liable for violating federal and state housing discrimination laws by refusing to provide water and sewer services to a non-FLDS couple because of their religion.Horne criticized the Colorado City police force, saying it acted as an arm of the FLDS Church instead of the law. In 2012 Horne allocated $420,000 to the Mohave County Sheriff's Office to patrol Colorado City. In 2012, Horne renewed an effort to persuade the state legislature to abolish Colorado City's six-member police department, and assign the Mohave County Sheriff's Office to carry out law enforcement functions in the city. After this effort failed, Horne asked for a federal judge to disband the Colorado City police force, after legislation he supported to do so failed to pass. The court denied the motion, but also instructed the office to avoid discrimination.