Deciding Arizona's future

Candidates weigh in on state's quality of life

BARRY COHEN
Editor

Candidates for Governor

1. During the next 20 years, how can Arizona best balance growth with the management of land, air and water resources?
   
   
2. What do you think is the most important issue currently facing the state of Arizona?
   
   
3. What is the best way Arizona can maintain a secure southern border and simultaneously welcome legal immigrants, who represent a vital employment resource?
   

1. Balanced growth: Give counties authority to control wildcat subdivisions. Reform our land-use decision-making process. Metropolitan, regional and statewide area plans should be coordinated and consistent. Growth rate, transportation, jobs, housing - as well as the environment - need to be considered.
   
   
2. Most important issue: Improve education and lower dropout rates by focusing on literacy, class-size reduction and teacher recruitment. Implement a prescription drug plan that saves consumers millions of dollars. Work with universities and colleges to prepare graduates for today's business climate.
   
   
3. Southern border: Reimburse Arizona hospitals for caring for undocumented workers. Implement a pilot guest-worker program, allowing U.S. authorities to keep track of those who enter and workers to be free of exploitation. Advocate for state-of-the-art border technology funds from the federal government to inspect commerce safely and hassle-free.
   

1. Balanced growth: Impose the CARB standard for diesel and offer a graduated system to convert to cleaner burning fuels. Encourage infill development and discourage sprawl. Increase mass transit. Stop building highways as subsidies for mega-land developments. Promote solar energy infrastructure.
   
   
2. Most important issue: Arizona is faced with the budget deficit and with making certain that the size of state government is reduced while preserving education and health care.
   
   
3. Southern border: We need immediate joint American-Mexican action to secure the border - policing, patrolling and documenting on both sides. We need to encourage commerce, partly through a guest-worker program that identifies every alien, taxes guest workers' wages and splits the revenues with Mexico.
   

1. Balanced growth: It's futile to predict the next 20 years. The best balance is always going to be the free market, protecting individual rights to unpolluted air, and bringing in more water.
   
   
2. Most important issue: State government is too big and costs too much. Downsizing government is the most difficult of political tasks, but I would make the government fit its budget, not the reverse.
   
   
3. Southern border: Allow passage with workers with positive IDs while eliminating the incentives of public assistance. No one has the right to live, be fed or cared for at the expense of others.
   

1. Balanced growth: Though the tremendous growth in the Valley offers many benefits, it has also brought sprawl, pollution and traffic. Solutions to these problems must be offered on many fronts.
   
   
2. Most important issue: Resolving the budget crisis is the first issue a new governor must confront. I would balance the budget by reducing the amount the state spends, not by raising taxes on the working families of Arizona.
   
   
3. Southern border: I support a meaningful guest-worker program to provide substantive work opportunities for legal Mexican immigrants. I would use my influence as a former member of Congress to seek funding from Congress to secure our borders, enforce immigration laws and deter the drug trade.
   

Candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction

1. What is your plan to address Arizona students' high dropout rate?
   
   
2. How do you intend to bring Arizona's public schools up to par with other states' public school systems?
   
   
3. What is your stance on using public funds for private instruction, namely charter or religious schools?
   

1. Drop-out rate: We need early childhood education programs. We need to offer alternative high school programs (night, weekend, Internet) and outreach programs for students who have dropped out. We need to expand vocational education.
   
   
2. School improvement: We need to raise student achievement so that Arizona ranks in the top 10 nationally. Accomplishing this will require more teaching and less testing, more local control of schools, expanded vocational opportunities, a level playing field for public and charter schools, successful English-language learning, full-day kindergarten, and improved funding for education.
   
   
3. Public funds: I do not support vouchers or the use of public funds for private instruction.
   

1. Drop-outs rate: I have experience in addressing the dropout rate in the Paradise Valley School District. We have relied principally on programs involving peer counseling and outside mentoring.
   
   
2. School improvement: Arizona schools need better funding and accountability both of schools and of students.
   
   
3. Public funds: I oppose vouchers that would use public funds for students to attend religious schools. I support charter schools.
   

Candidates for Attorney General

1. What changes, if any, would you make in how the Arizona Attorney General office is run today?
   
   
2. What experience do you have that enables you to head the state's largest law firm?
   
   
3. Do you believe that Arizona, like Illinois, should impose a moratorium on the death penalty? If not, why? If so, why and for how long?
   

1. Office changes: I would increase the emphasis on the statewide grand jury to investigate and prosecute corporate fraud. I would increase the emphasis on consumer protection. I would take advantage of retired public safety personnel volunteers to put together sting operations against consumer fraud artists.
   
   
2. Experience: I have worked in a variety of law office environments. Most important, I am the only candidate who has overseen the law enforcement personnel and the legal resources of a large city and the state office of a federal agency.
   
   
3. Death penalty: I do not support a moratorium. Arizona has a much different situation than Illinois, without the shocking evidence of innocent people ending up on death row.
   

1. Office changes: Establish office of inspector general to hear and investigate complaints of government waste, corruption and/or abuse and neglect of citizens by bureaucrats. Retain attorneys in the office by a system of merit pay.
   
   
2. Requisite experience: Former assistant general counsel to Navajo Tribe.
   
   
3. Death penalty: I do not support a moratorium. The death penalty is the only guarantee we have that a convicted villain will never repeat the offense.