Arizona Senate Democrat from Mesa cites ‘poverty wages’ while announcing resignation

PHOENIX — Another state Democrat has dropped out of the Legislature. Sen. Eva Burch, who represents Arizona’s Legislative District 9, announced her resignation on Wednesday.

Burch, who studied nursing at Pima Medical Institute in Mesa and started her career as an emergency nurse in 2012, said the decision was bittersweet.

“I have absolutely loved serving in this capacity as a state senator,” Burch told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday.

Her resignation will take effect March 14, according to a social media post from Arizona House Democrats.

Burch made headlines last year by sharing her personal experience while criticizing the state’s abortion laws.

Why Democratic state senator Eva Burch is stepping down

Several reasons led to her decision to step down, chief among them being the pay of around $24,000 per year.

“I pay 25% of that just in the interest on my student loans,” Burch said. “That really shows how unrealistic it is for everyday Arizonans. It’s so difficult for either party to be able to recruit good people who really represent average working Arizonans when the pay is so low.”

Due to the low pay, those who come from well-off backgrounds tend to have an easier time retaining their positions, she added.

“While I certainly understand that we don’t want to be paying our politicians a bunch of money, the problem with that is that it really does lend itself to attracting people who are independently wealthy or otherwise well-kept and maybe are not the best representatives of working-class Arizonans,” Burch said.

Arizona politicians making ‘poverty wages,’ Eva Burch says

Part of the reason for this is because increasing pay would require a public vote, and it’s hard to convince the public to foot the bill for higher salaries, she added.

“But the politicians in the Arizona Legislature are making poverty wages. You absolutely, to a certain extent, get what you pay for,” Burch said.

It’s also been difficult to balance her work at a substance use disorder clinic with her job at the Arizona Capitol.

“I have been trying to work full-time but, right now, I’m only at the Legislature, essentially, two out of the four days that I need to be, and I’m at my clinic three out of the five days that I need to be, so it’s not a balance that I can that I can keep up,” Burch said.

Eva Burch hopes things will get better for Arizona legislators

She also said she’s worried the financial issues that come with being a legislator will have long-term consequences for her family.

“I’m not willing to make sacrifices, like to stop investing in my children’s college funds, for example, or to stop saving for retirement,” Burch said.

She said she hopes things will change so people who better represent low- and middle-class communities will be able to retain their positions in office.

“We need good people running for office,” Burch said. “But the way things are now, it’s really difficult.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Heidi Hommel contributed to this report.

CORRECTION: Eva Burch’s last name was incorrectly spelled in earlier versions of this story.

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