FOR Arizona
Meet Andrei
Andrei's Story
Building an economy that works for everyone. Tackling the climate crisis and making Arizona ‘the Solar State.’ Protecting our democracy and freedoms – including a woman’s right to choose. For Andrei, these aren’t the words of a campaign. They’re personal. And they’ve been the work of his life.
The grandchild of four Holocaust survivors and son of refugees from communism, Andrei grew up in a small upstairs apartment where his family used food stamps and struggled to make ends meet. But because America welcomed immigrants with open arms and invested in Andrei with public schools and Pell Grants, he went from being a kid whose parents didn’t speak much English to working in the White House and building a business that created thousands of jobs.
WINNING FIGHTS FOR PROGRESS
Andrei has spent 25 years fighting for people and the planet – and making real progress.
Andrei’s public service began while working in the Clinton White House. Andrei saw up close that progress was possible. President Clinton called Andrei “a critical part of the team” that passed the first balanced budget in 30 years while helping create millions of new jobs, bringing health care to eight million kids, and expanding college aid for working families.
Andrei worked with Al Gore to sound the alarm and call for action on “global warming” – long before the climate crisis dominated the headlines. Watching Gore’s courageous determination spurred Andrei to commit himself to doing his part and taught him what being a leader should be all about.
In 2007 – before the financial crisis took the Arizona economy into a tailspin – Andrei saw the need for reform on Wall Street. He joined forces with Elizabeth Warren to launch the push for a consumer watchdog agency to stop mortgage brokers and credit card companies from preying on working families. The forces of reform faced off against the largest army of Wall Street lobbyists ever assembled – and won. President Barack Obama signed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau into law. So far, it has provided over $17.5 billion in relief for American consumers.
Barack Obama turned to Andrei to write Change We Can Believe In, his policy plan for American renewal. And Andrei was the founder of Democracy, a policy journal the New York Times said “incubated Team Biden.”
As the Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, Andrei led the fight against extreme Republicans like Jan Brewer who eliminated the children’s health program and signed the most restrictive abortion law in America.
A RECORD OF SERVICE TO ARIZONA AND AMERICA
After the attacks on 9/11, Andrei enlisted to serve in uniform. As a Navy reserve intelligence officer, Andrei saw up-close the service and sacrifice of so many Arizonans in uniform and swore to protect our democracy against all enemies — foreign and domestic.
Andrei continued that mission serving as an Arizona Assistant Attorney General prosecuting financial fraud and public corruption. He put border smugglers, drug traffickers, and criminal fraud artists targeting military families and older Arizonans where they belong – behind bars.
BUILDING AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE BIG BANKS
In 2013, Andrei brought his fight for fairness to the business world by starting an alternative to Wall Street banks. He introduced checking and savings accounts free of the unfair bank fees that hit middle class families – saving Arizona families millions of dollars. And, by making customers’ deposits “fossil fuel free” and “firearm free,” he helped millions of Americans move billions of dollars out of the reach of oil companies and gun manufacturers.
Under Andrei’s leadership, the company created one of the largest reforestation initiatives in the world, planting over 100 million new trees here in Arizona, across America, and around the world. The climate impact these trees will have is like taking millions of cars off the road.
AN ENTREPRENEUR AND SMALL BUSINESS LEADER DOING RIGHT BY HIS WORKERS
Andrei built a small business that provided jobs for thousands – and did it the right way.
He made every employee a part-owner of the company.
When the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, Andrei made sure that every employee had access to reproductive health services – no matter where in America they lived.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when some politicians, even some Democrats, were voting thumbs down on the minimum wage, Andrei cut his own pay and raised his company’s minimum wage to $25 an hour. Andrei knew it wasn’t just the right thing for his employees, but that it would make his company do better.
He was right: Andrei’s company was rated one of Inc Magazine’s top 125 fastest growing companies in America and one of Newsweek’s “Most Loved Workplaces” in America.
Andrei’s company was named one of the “World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company and certified as “Best for the World” (the top 5% of highest scoring B Corporations) five times in a row.
The District Andrei Calls Home
Andrei and his wife, Stephanie, have lived and raised their two kids, Ben and Belle (fifth generation Arizonans), in this community for the past two decades.
Andrei has served on the City of Phoenix’s Neighborhood Block Watch Fund Oversight Committee, Industrial Development Authority, and Commission on Housing and Neighborhoods.
Working his way through college with three jobs (including as the world’s worst bartender) – along with the help of federal student aid – Andrei graduated with honors from Harvard College and went to earn his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
