Discussion · House of Representatives
Greg Stanton Democrat
“I am honoring Carl Kunasek, an Arizona public servant and veteran who died this week. He ran a pharmacy, helped create our state's health care program for low-income families, and led the state Senate with fairness.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Carl Kunasek, a devoted Arizonan who passed away this week at the age of 94. Carl, an Air Force veteran, came to Arizona in 1959. He opened a pharmacy in Mesa. When his families couldn’t afford medicine for a sick child, he let them sign the book, and he would have them pay him later. To the people who lived there, he was a hero. That same spirit carried him into public service. He served in the Arizona House, Arizona Senate, and on the Corporation Commission. He helped design AHCCCS, our State’s Medicaid program, finding a made-in- Arizona solution to make sure lower income families could get the care they needed. As Arizona Senate president, he presided over the difficult impeachment trial of a Governor of his own party. He did not want that duty, but he believed the Constitution left him no choice, and he did it with fairness. It cost him his seat, but he did it anyway. Carl Kunasek did not see party first. He saw people. We would do well to remember his example. My thoughts are with his wife, Karen, and his children, both of whom followed him into public service actions.”
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Carl Kunasek, a devoted Arizonan who passed away this week at the age of 94. Carl, an Air Force veteran, came to Arizona in 1959. He opened a pharmacy in Mesa. When his families couldn’t afford medicine for a sick child, he let them sign the book, and he would have them pay him later. To the people who lived there, he was a hero. That same spirit carried him into public service. He served in the Arizona House, Arizona Senate, and on the Corporation Commission. He helped design AHCCCS, our State’s Medicaid program, finding a made-in- Arizona solution to make sure lower income families could get the care they needed. As Arizona Senate president, he presided over the difficult impeachment trial of a Governor of his own party. He did not want that duty, but he believed the Constitution left him no choice, and he did it with fairness. It cost him his seat, but he did it anyway. Carl Kunasek did not see party first. He saw people. We would do well to remember his example. My thoughts are with his wife, Karen, and his children, both of whom followed him into public service actions.