Brian Fernandez (politician)

Fernandez was born in Yuma, Arizona to Sergio and Charlene Fernandez. He attended Yuma High School and graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor's degree. ==Career==

Fernandez volunteered on the political campaigns of former Governor Janet Napolitano and U.S. Representatives Raúl Grijalva and Ed Pastor. He also worked for U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan and the Congressional Black Caucus. Fernandez later co-founded Symfodium, a company building customer relationship management software for members of Congress. He also founded Team Start, a software startup operating in Arizona and Mexico City. ==Political career==

Arizona House of Representatives In November 2021, his mother, Arizona House Democratic Leader Charlene Fernandez, resigned to take a position at the United States Department of Agriculture. Arizona Senate Fernandez ran for the seat left open by the retirement of Senator Lisa Otondo. He was uncontested in the primary and won the general election by over 7 points against the Republican candidate Gary Snyder. Fernandez was appointed to the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Environment, the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Natural Resources and Water and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Governor Katie Hobbs appointed Fernandez to the Governor’s Independent Prison Oversight Commission. ==Arizona Legislative Career==

At a Yuma town hall in September 2022, Senator Sine Kerr credited Fernandez for securing $5 million in funding for the Northern Arizona University Yuma campus to expand bachelor’s degree programs. She also praised his work to obtain a $35 million expansion and modernization project for Cesar Chavez Boulevard in San Luis. ==Electoral history==