Who is Lamont Lovejoy? I am a hard working man who grew up in District 10. My famly moved here in 1984 with the determination to open a small family restaurant. Two years after we arrived, my parents realized that dream and opened Lovejoy's BBQ in North Phoenix. I attended Shaw Butte and Moon Mountain Elementary Schools and went on to graduate from Thunderbird High School. I learned many of the important lessons of my life by working at an early age: the value of money, the reward of hard work and how to keep pushing on when times get tough.
     I worked for my family for seven years. I worked my way up from dishwasher to assistant manager before leaving for college and to work for Wal-mart. I am now a dedicated thirteen year associate and manager. Many of the lessons I learned working for my family I used to achieve success on my own.
     I am thirty-two years old now and I am blessed with a wonderful wife and three children. I often reflect on the lessons my parents taught me and how I am responsible for teaching those same lessons to my own children. Learning the right lessons in the right place is also important. That's why when it came time to find a place to raise my family, I decided to return to the same neighborhood where I grew up.
     As a citizen of Arizona, I have seen many things that have gone wrong in state politics. I have seen governors impeached. I have seen mass resignation in the State Legislature and to much public money going to private ventures that are supposed to "help benefit the state in the long run" but than all it does is hurt us. It's time to put an end to this culture of deception. There are to many politicians who see the legislature as a place to wield power instead of a place that is used to hear the voice of the people.
Saguaro Cactus flower. Arizona's State Flower.