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Karrin Taylor Robson

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Karrin Taylor Robson
Member of the Arizona Board of Regents
In office
July 2017 – July 2021
Appointed byDoug Ducey
Preceded byGreg Patterson
Succeeded byBob Herbold
Jessica Pacheco
Personal details
Born
Karrin Margaret Kunasek

1964 or 1965 (age 59–60)
Mesa, Arizona, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Gene Taylor
​
(divorced)​

Edward Robson
​
(m. 2017)​
Children4
RelativesCarl Kunasek (father)
Andy Kunasek (brother)
EducationArizona State University, Tempe (BA, JD)

Karrin Margaret Taylor Robson (/ˈroʊbsən/ ROBE-sən, née Kunasek, born 1964/1965)[1] is an American attorney, land use consultant and politician. A member of the Republican Party, she was a member of the Arizona Board of Regents from 2017 until 2021, being appointed to office by Governor Doug Ducey.

Taylor Robson ran in the Republican primary in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election but finished second to Donald Trump-backed Kari Lake.

Early life

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Born Karrin Margaret Kunasek, she was raised in Mesa, Arizona.[2][3][4] The Kunasek family is prominent in Arizona Republican politics.[5] Her father, Carl Kunasek, was president of the Arizona State Senate and a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission.[5] Her mother was Kathryn Frances Kunasek (née Ryan) (1935–2020).[6] Her brother, Andy, was a member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors from 1997 to 2017.[5]

Education and career

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Taylor Robson earned her Bachelor of Arts in history and political science from Arizona State University (ASU) in 1988.[7] After graduating college, Taylor Robson was a staff assistant for President Ronald Reagan's economic policy council, and a staff assistant for the Office of Cabinet Affairs in the administration of George H. W. Bush.[8] Taylor Robson left the White House in order to attend law school.[8] She earned a Juris Doctor from ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law in 1994.[7]

Taylor Robson was executive vice president of Scottsdale, Arizona-based DMB Associates, a real estate developer.[5][9] She left DMB in early 2016.[5] Taylor Robson was also a principal with the law firm of Biskind, Hunt & Taylor, P.L.C., focusing on real estate law, zoning, and land use.[5] Robson founded Arizona Strategies, a land-use consulting company,[9] and was a state lobbyist for DMB.[5] Taylor Robson described land use law in 2020 as "really 60% politics and 40% law."[7]

In 2005, Taylor Robson was appointed to the Air Force Chief of Staff's Civic Leader program, where she served as an unpaid advisor and liaison between Air Force leadership and the civilian community surrounding Luke Air Force Base.[10]

Upon the death of longtime Arizona United States Senator John McCain in 2018, Taylor Robson was mentioned as a possible appointee to serve the remainder of McCain's term.[11] Governor Doug Ducey ultimately appointed Martha McSally to fill the vacancy.[12]

Ducey appointed Taylor Robson to the Arizona Board of Regents in June 2017[13][9] and reappointed her to a full eight-year term in 2020.[13][14] She resigned from the Board in July 2021 to focus on her campaign for the Republican nomination for governor.[13]

Taylor Robson was inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame in 2020.[15]

2022 gubernatorial campaign

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Main article: 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election

In 2019, Taylor Robson publicly considered a potential 2022 candidacy for governor of Arizona.[5] She formally announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination in May 2021. (Ducey, the incumbent, could not run again due to term limits.) She described herself as a "lifelong conservative Republican" and stated her opposition to the policies of the Biden administration.[16] Her candidacy was endorsed by former Arizona governors Fife Symington and Jan Brewer,[17] Ducey, the outgoing governor;[18] Arizona Senate president Karen Fann; and Americans for Prosperity.[19] Taylor Robson was also endorsed by former Arizona Republican congressman Matt Salmon, who ran for the gubernatorial nomination but withdrew from the race in late June 2022,[20] and by Mike Pence, the former vice president under Donald Trump.[21] By contrast, Trump endorsed Kari Lake, Taylor Robson's chief rival,[22] and Trump allies.[23] In 2021, Taylor Robson's campaign raised $3.7 million, of which about half was contributed by Taylor Robson.[24]

During her campaign for the Republican primary nomination, Taylor Robson refused to say whether, if she had been governor, she would have certified the results of the 2020 presidential election in Arizona, in which Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump.[25][26] She questioned the legitimacy of the election,[26] asserting that "the elections weren't fair"[25] and that "our election was absolutely not fair."[26] She accused "liberal judges" of "changing the rules late in the game."[27]

During her campaign, Taylor Robson said that she would enforce Arizona's pre-Roe abortion ban, which would criminalize the action in most circumstances.[19]

Personal life

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Taylor Robson lives in Phoenix's Biltmore Area.[28] She is married to Ed Robson, a real estate developer[29] who is the founder and president of Robson Communities.[5] Robson has holdings in Arizona and Texas; he is the namesake of Ed Robson Arena, a hockey stadium at his alma mater Colorado College.[30]

References

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  1. ^ Barchenger, Stacey (July 12, 2022). "Republican Karrin Taylor Robson Relies on Wealth, Personal Connections in Bid for Arizona Governor's Office". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  2. ^ "Confirmation of Carl J. Kunasek Hearing Before the Select Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred First Congress, Second Session on Carl J. Kunasek to be Navajo-Hopi Relocation Commissioner, May 21, 1990, Washington, DC". Google Books. United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. 1990. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  3. ^ Burks, Steve (19 June 2018). "Technology, transit and a solid vision brings Mesa's rebirth". AZ Big Media. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  4. ^ "DFA Welcomes Desert Debutantes". Front Doors Media. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Duda, Jeremy (July 15, 2019). "Former developer Karrin Taylor Robson mulling bid for 2022 guv's race". Arizona Mirror.
  6. ^ "Obituary: Kathryn Frances Kunasek". Retrieved 27 June 2022 – via Legacy.com.
  7. ^ a b c Oxford, Matt (19 February 2020). "ASU alumna lets people be a part of the solution". Arizona State University. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b "'I enjoy the opportunity to actually have an impact'". Phoenix Business Journal. February 22, 2004.
  9. ^ a b c "Governor Ducey Selects New Regent". Office of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  10. ^ "HONORARY COMMANDER FEATURE: KARRIN KUNASEK TAYLOR". Fighter Country Foundation. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  11. ^ Martin, Jonathan (26 August 2018). "Arizona Governor Faces a Tough Choice: A Senator Made From McCain's Mold or Trump's". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  12. ^ Jonathan Martin, Martha McSally Appointed to Arizona Senate Seat Once Held by John McCain, New York Times (December 18, 2018).
  13. ^ a b c Board extends appreciation to Regent Karrin Taylor Robson for her service on the board following her resignation announcement, Arizona Board of Regents (July 19, 2021).
  14. ^ Ducey appoints attorney, a former aide, to Board of Regents, Associated Press (March 11, 2020).
  15. ^ "Karrin Taylor Robson". Arizona Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  16. ^ Oxford, Andrew. "Another Republican jumps in: Karrin Taylor Robson announces bid for Arizona governor". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Brewer, Symington join Taylor Robson campaign for Arizona governor". KTAR-FM. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  18. ^ Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Ducey backs Taylor Robson over Trump candidate in Ariz. governor race, Washington Post (July 7, 2022).
  19. ^ a b Jessica Boehm, Lake, Robson spar in debate ahead of GOP gubernatorial primary, Axios (June 30, 2022).
  20. ^ "Matt Salmon gives endorsement to Karrin Taylor Robson for Arizona Governor". KPNX. June 29, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  21. ^ "Escalating conflict with Trump, Mike Pence endorses Karrin Taylor Robson for Arizona governor". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  22. ^ Barchenger, Stacey (September 28, 2021). "Kari Lake gets coveted endorsement from former President Trump in Arizona governor's race". Arizona Republic.
  23. ^ Clift, Eleanor (November 10, 2021). "Kari Lake Is the Camera Ready, Big-Lie Loving Future of the MAGA Movement". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  24. ^ Stacey Barchenger, Republican Karrin Taylor Robson sets high bar in early fundraising for Arizona governor's race, Arizona Republic (January 10, 2022).
  25. ^ a b Jonathan J. Cooper &, Bob Christie, Republicans square off in raucous Arizona governor debate, Associated Press (June 30, 2022).
  26. ^ a b c Dale, Daniel (July 1, 2022). "Lie as litmus test: Arizona governor candidate Kari Lake calls it 'disqualifying' for rival not to declare 2020 election 'stolen'". CNN.
  27. ^ Cooper, Jonathan (2022-07-22). "Trump, Pence campaigning for rivals in Arizona governor's race". Dayton247now.
  28. ^ Ray Stern, 5 takeaways from the Republican debate for Arizona governor, Arizona Republic (June 30, 2022).
  29. ^ Brahm Resnik, Ducey endorses Taylor Robson in Arizona's Republican primary for governor, KPNX (July 7, 2022).
  30. ^ Hugh Johnson, Sarah Palin joins Ed Robson at eponymous arena to watch Colorado College hockey, Colorado Springs Gazette (December 17, 2021).
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