Steve was first elected to represent the citizens of District 28 in the Arizona House of Representatives in November 2006, and has worked to dramatically reduce carbon emissions while increasing the production of solar energy, outlaw driving while texting, build passenger rail between Tucson and Phoenix and beyond, invest in new technologies and high-wage jobs, expand health care for self-employed and small-business owners, protect Tucson’s sovereignty, and create livable communities. He was named Conservation Hero by the Arizona League of Conservation Voters, and Legislative Champion by the Arizona League of Towns and Cities.

He is well-known as the artist who gathered personal photos from the Tucson community and turned them into those historic photographic tile murals around the Broadway Underpass, at the eastern gateway to Downtown Tucson, which has won the title of Best Mural in the Tucson Weekly’s annual Best of Tucson readers poll eleven years in a row. For that project, he invented a new way of converting photographs to glazed ceramic tile.

Steve has also become well-known as a strong advocate for public transit and other sustainable transportation improvements, and is founder of Southern Arizona Transit Advocates. He was instrumental in gaining approval for a dramatically expanded system of buses, bikeways and sidewalks, and the Modern Streetcar starter light rail line which will be running in Tucson by 2011.

The Arizona Transit Association honored him with the statewide Friend of Transit award. He is also a Board Member of the central-city Blenman Elm Neighborhood Association.

He has collaborated with a broad range of Tucson environmentalists and government officials on various livability issues ranging from the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan to alternative modes of transportation to organic gardening to smart growth to affordable housing to water harvesting to urban design.

• Husband of Kelly Paisley, Father of Amelia, 15, and Genevieve, 10
• Small-business owner for 18 years
• Creator of historic photo-tile murals at Tucson’s Broadway Underpass
• Designer/author of several Tucson community history books
• Arizona House Democratic Policy Leader
• Ranking Member, House Transportation Committee
• Member, House Ways & Means Committee
• Named Conservation Hero by the Arizona League of Conservation Voters
• Named Legislative Champion by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns
• Honored with several other national awards for community art and activism
• Board Member, Blenman-Elm Neighborhood Assocation
• Board Member, Arizona Citizen Action for the Arts
• Union member: Graphic Artists Guild
• Founder, Southern Arizona Transit Advocates
• Vice-Chair, Pima Association of Governments Regional Transportation Plan Task Force
• Transportation committee member, National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
• Transportation committee member, Council of State Governments – West (CSG-West)
• High Speed Rail Working Group, NCSL
• Class President, Western Legislative Academy
• Presenter, U.S. Dept of Transportation Distracted Driving Summit
• UofA College of Education Public Service Award