State Rep. Betty Villegas, a Democrat, is seeking reelection to the Arizona House of Representatives in Legislative District 20, facing primary challenges from Genoveva Diaz, Sally Ann Gonzales and Ben Koehler. Katherine Weasel, a Republican, has filed as a write-in candidate for the general election.

Legislative District 20 covers parts of Tucson's south and west sides and is a majority Latino district, with 53% of residents identifying as Hispanic or Latino.

Villegas was elected to the position in 2023. Some of the issues she has worked to address in the Legislature are the same ones facing Tucsonans in 2026, though several have evolved and grown more urgent.

Tucson Spotlight asked all the candidates their positions on water policy, school vouchers and affordable housing.

Water conservation has almost always been a top priority for Tucson residents, and recent data center projects, like Amazon's Project Blue, have driven concerns that the city's limited water source, its underground aquifer, will be overused.

"Water is life in Arizona," Villegas said. "The public has every right to be concerned when large corporations and data centers come into our communities and demand enormous amounts of water and energy without clear accountability."

Villegas said if reelected, she'll continue pushing for transparency, stronger oversight and guardrails before major water users are allowed to expand.

"That means requiring clear water impact information, protecting our groundwater, making sure local communities have a voice, and ensuring that corporations do not get special treatment while families are asked to conserve," Villegas said, adding that she believes growth should not be divorced from sustainability.

Housing affordability is another issue at the top of mind for Tucson voters, with both the city of Tucson and Pima County declaring the growing unhoused population an emergency.

"Housing is one of the reasons I ran for office," said Villegas, who worked for 31 years in housing, community development, mortgages and public service. "I know housing stability is not a luxury. In Arizona's extreme heat, it is a matter of health, safety, and survival. No one should have to choose between turning on their air conditioning and paying rent or a mortgage."

Villegas said she supports Gov. Katie Hobbs' work to expand utility assistance and approves of continuing support for state and federally funded programs like Power AZ and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

"Wages have not kept pace with housing," Villegas said. "It will take years for working families to catch up. We need more housing, but we also need housing people can actually afford."

Villegas has introduced and supported legislation aimed at protecting renters, preventing unnecessary evictions, expanding rental assistance, strengthening manufactured housing protections, supporting community land trusts and increasing permanently affordable housing.

A newer issue is the expansion of the state's Empowerment Scholarship Account voucher program, which allows parents to redirect the per-student funding that would otherwise go to their local public school and use it for tuition and resources at private or alternative schools.

Many critics of the ESA expansion cite a lack of transparency and the system's potential to gut public education.

"Arizona's universal ESA voucher expansion has become one of the biggest threats to our public schools and our state budget," Villegas said. "Public dollars should first serve public schools, where the vast majority of Arizona children are educated. Instead, we have a voucher system that lacks transparency, has grown far beyond what voters were originally told, and is draining resources from classrooms, teachers, and students."

Villegas said she supports putting a cap on ESA growth and forcing accountability and transparency that would curtail waste and abuse from the expansion.

"We must fully fund public schools, raise teacher pay, invest in school safety, support special education, and strengthen our community colleges and universities. Public education is one of the best investments we can make in Arizona's future, and we should not allow a private voucher system to weaken it," Villegas said.

Villegas has also campaigned on and worked toward strong public health, defending democracy, civil rights, environmental justice and climate resilience during her time in the Legislature.

Quentin Agnello is a University of Arizona alum and freelance journalist in Tucson. Contact him at qsagnello@gmail.com.

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