User:Danny "dj" Morales

Daniel Romero Morales Jr (Danny, DJ) is a Republican candidate for Arizona's 2nd congressional district. He is a former city councilman from Douglas, Arizona, Sheriff Deputy with the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, Lieutenant Commander serving in the U.S. Navy Reserve, employee of the Douglas Unified School District serving as a substitute teacher, and youth pastor in his Assemblies of God church.

Meet Danny dj Morales

BACKGROUND: Danny Morales Jr. (DJ) was born and raised in Douglas, Arizona until the age of 12. On Christmas Day 1987, his family moved northeast when the U.S. Army transferred his father from Fort Huachuca to assignments in Massachusetts. Morales graduated third in his class from Ayer High School, Ayer Massachusetts in 1994.

FAMILY: In 1998, he married Martha Aguayo originally from San Pedro, California, a 1994 graduate from Douglas High School, 2017 graduate from Cochise College, and current UA South Elementary Education major. The couple has 2 sons. Morales comes from a proud public service family. His dad is a retired Army and Air Force veteran. His mom is a retired civil servant who worked in the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Interior, and Agriculture (Coronado National Memorial, Tucson’s Western Archeological and Conservation Center, Douglas Ranger Station, and across Southern Arizona).

EDUCATION: On August 10, 2000, Morales graduated from the University of Arizona summa cum laude with a degree in Biochemistry and minor in English Literature (Phi Betta Kappa). While enrolled at the U of A, Morales worked in labs at the Arizona Cancer Center and University Medical Center under grants and internships from NIH, NASA, and UA Graduate College. On December 17, 2017, he graduated from Pima Community College with highest honors with his associate’s degree in Law Enforcement (Phi Theta Kappa). While enrolled at PCC, he attended five different campuses: Desert Vista, Downtown, West, Online, and Davis Monthan.

CITY COUNCIL: On March 8, 2016, Morales was elected to the Douglas City Council by the residents of Ward One (not at large). During his tenure, he represented the ward which includes the international border, the Douglas Port of Entry (POE), the first international airport of the Americas and the busiest shopping district in Douglas. During his tenure on council, he was instrumental in passing initiatives such as port of entry projects, the city’s first youth council, the largest street improvement program in 20 years, the largest tax cut incentive program in Douglas history, the city’s first recreational lake, and the hiring of a new city manager, new economic developer, and the rehiring of a POE project consultant.

VICE MAYOR/SEAGO: On August 10, 2016, Morales was appointed Mayor Pro Tempore of Douglas (Vice Mayor). In this capacity, he chaired regular meetings and represented the City of Douglas at mayor and manager’s meetings throughout Cochise County, as well as bi-national events in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. During his tenure on Council, Morales also served on the executive board of the SouthEastern Arizona Governments Organization (SEAGO), the regional planning agency of Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, and Santa Cruz counties. In this capacity, he represented Douglas and Cochise County alongside mayors, managers, councilmembers, county supervisors and county administrators.

VETERAN/RESERVIST/DMAFB: On August 31, 2001, Morales was commissioned Ensign, United States Navy. He served on active duty 12 years (February 3, 1999-January 31, 2011) and with the Navy Reserve since February 1, 2011. His current drilling assignment is at Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) Tucson (2nd tour). Prior to his transfer back to Tucson, he was assigned to units at the NOSC and Joint Reserve Intelligence Center in Phoenix. His current unit, Maritime Air Operations Detachment-Tucson, supports Commander, U.S. Third Fleet in San Diego and the 612th Air Operations Center on Davis Monthan. His unit provides operational support to combined forces in the U.S. Pacific and U.S. Southern Commands’ areas of responsibility. He has numerous awards including NOSC Tucson’s 2011 Junior Officer of the Year (Line) while in command of ECD3–Tucson (NOSC Tucson’s 2011 Unit of the Year).

FORT HUACHUCA: From December 19, 2011 to February 22, 2013, Morales served as a civilian office manager at the Joint Interoperability Test Command – working with all five services at Fort Huachuca’s sole joint command. This was his second connection with Fort Huachuca as his father had been stationed with its 8th Battalion 40th Armor for over 10 years. As an active duty dependent, he benefited immensely from the crucial services Fort Huachuca provided.

LAW ENFORCEMENT: On August 4, 2016, Morales graduated from the Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Center in Tucson having served as the president of his class. In this capacity, he led police recruits from 16 different agencies from across Arizona for 16 of the 17 weeks to graduation – four of those weeks as a reserve recruit (unpaid). Since September 2017, he has served as a reserve deputy (unpaid) with the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office having trained and patrolled full-time in the Bisbee, Elfrida, and Sierra Vista patrol areas.

MINISTRY/TEACHING: Since 2013, he and Martha have served as youth pastors at Christian Life Center. The couple has led ministries to children, youth, and young adults in Monterey, California (twice) and Honolulu, Hawaii. During their tenure, the couple oversaw the youth ministries of seven different churches in central California. Morales is currently employed by Douglas Unified School District as a substitute teacher having long-termed at both middle schools (Spring 2014, Fall 2014, September-October 2017). He is in the classroom weekly teaching all subjects in grades K-12.

COMMUNITY: Since returning from Massachusetts, Morales has been active in the Douglas community. He has served as: Greater Douglas Chamber of Commerce board member and secretary, DUSD board approved parent volunteer, independent correspondent with the Douglas Dispatch, Friend of the Douglas Public Library, and Cochise County Sheriff’s Office Sheriff’s Assist Team. Danny and Martha also founded Voice of Douglas, a community livestream channel broadcasting from March 2011 to March 2016 with partners including the U.S. Border Patrol Station and Mexican Consulate in Douglas.

CONGRESS: On February 14, 2018, Danny dj Morales resigned from the Douglas City Council, Vice Mayorship, and SEAGO Executive Board in order to run for Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District.

My Wikipedia Contributions: [1]