Brendan Trachsel

Brendan Trachsel earned a bachelor's degree from Northern Arizona University in 2023 and a graduate degree from Northern Arizona University in 2026. His career experience includes working in higher education.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

One of the youngest candidates running this cycle at 25 years old, I am a Student Affairs Professional and a two-time graduate from Northern Arizona University, classes of 2023 and 2026. My career is dedicated to supporting students reach their goals. Having spent years in Flagstaff registering students to vote, canvassing door-to-door, speaking at city council meetings, and more, I do not see my beliefs, ideas, nor ideals represented in our government. For the benefit of all Arizonans, especially those in LD6, I am running to be the first third-party candidate elected to state or legislative office in Arizona.

My five paths to dignity, Labor, Education, Environment, Democracy, and Privacy, are the expression of my Quaker faith and align strongly with the Green Party's core pillars of Peace, Ecology, Social Justice, and Democracy.

In March 2025, I became aware of the Flock camera surveillance apparatus that quickly spread nationwide under the people's noses. I immediately sprung into action speaking against this unaccountable and overbearing system with the city council. Over nine months in partnership with countless community organizations I met 1:1 with councilmembers, organized the community to speak at council meetings, and provided educational opportunities for the community to learn more. In December 2025, we successfully got Flagstaff to cancel their Flock contract.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Worker productivity is ever-increasing while wages remain stagnant. Empowering workers with increased rights on the job, including the right to organize, will allow Arizonans to thrive and live a life of dignity. All workers deserve the right to collectively bargain, to access affordable and accessible childcare, to be protected by statewide heat safety standards, to utilize paid maternity & paternity leave, and to never work for a sub-minimum wage.Arizona’s education system must work to serve all students, and funding should to go the public schools that are required to do so. Our state’s constitution explicitly states that university instruction should be “as nearly free as possible”, yet decades of state budgets and tuition rates would suggest otherwise. It’s time the state makes investments in our future. This includes free school lunches for all students, repealing the arbitrary Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL) that prevents schools from spending money they already have, ending universal school vouchers (while maintaining the original program for disabilities), creating stipends for student teachers, and providing quality outdoor educational opportunities for all children.Arizonans, like Americans nationwide, are rapidly losing their rights to privacy. The state must act now to implement protections for data collection and use. I believe we need sweeping legislation giving people rights and ownership over their information and data, anti-surveillance laws, right-to-repair legislation, implied warranties for products, and so much more.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

In addition to the policies above and environmental protections including "forever chemical" testing of farmland and rural food access, I believe we need to improve our system of government so Arizonans who do not share the same letter next to their representative's name (Dem, Rep, etc.) are not left voiceless.