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GOP House hopefuls in District 18 have varied goals, wish lists
LOU HIRSH
Managing Editor
The three candidates running in the Republican primary for seats in the state House of Representatives from District 18 have a variety of views on quality-of-life priorities for the district, as well as different takes on what a lawmaker can actually do about them.
The concerns cited in recent interviews with the candidates were as wide-ranging as the north-central Phoenix district itself.
Competing in the Sept. 8 primary are Phoenix insurance salesman Jerry Harris, who is making his third bid for a House seat; and incumbents Sue Gerard and Barry Wong.
Harris said through his door-to-door campaigning, he has found that crime and safety issues are among the concerns most often cited by residents.
"Wherever I've gone in the district, there are neighborhoods where people tell me they're worried about their personal safety. They say they're scared out of their wits," Harris said.
As one way to discourage crime, he advocates a plan that would add 10 years to a violent offender's sentence for carrying a gun, add 20 years for discharging a gun, and require a life sentence for those who injure someone with a gun.
Although he did not offer specific proposals for dealing with them, Harris said lawmakers also need to find answers to everyday problems that detract from the quality of life, including government bureaucracies and traffic tie-ups. He said he also favors placing more "sunset clauses" in measures passed by the Legislature, which would put a larger number of taxpayer-funded projects under periodic review by lawmakers or the public to decide whether funding should continue.
Wong cited air quality and preservation of desert space as two important quality-of-life issues for which he has fought hard during his five years in the House. He said laws recently passed in these areas need a chance to take effect, and lawmakers can review progress at a later date to determine if more changes are needed.
Wong said he also favors state laws that have already been passed to beef up prosecution and sentencing in criminal proceedings, particularly in juvenile cases. But in addition to punishment, Wong said he would like to pursue programs to help potential young offenders avoid a life of crime, such as vocational and technical training to help them learn trades and contribute in the workplace.
Wong also said he favors more support for programs such as neighborhood watch groups, and would like to pursue changes in law that would give neighborhoods more of a say in the approval or rejection of liquor license requests.
Gerard said the biggest quality-of-life issue for the state, on which she said she has placed a high priority during her 10 years in the Legislature, is ensuring access to affordable health care for children and families. She also favors continued efforts to control urban sprawl and improve the Valley's transportation infrastructure and services.
The state also needs to look into more programs for mental health and substance abuse treatment for adults, she said.
"We've got too many parents with problems they need help with, and that impacts on their kids' ability to make it in school," Gerard said.
On the issue of education, Gerard said that while capital needs have been addressed in school finance reforms passed by the Legislature and recently affirmed by the courts, lawmakers now need to work on changes to enhance the quality of instruction for students, including reducing class sizes and providing for students with special needs.
Wong concurred that capital needs have been addressed adequately, but said money is not the ultimate solution to ensure better education.
"A blank check will not go far in promoting good schools. There are accountability and efficiency issues to address here," said Wong. For example, while he favors boosting support for technology in schools, the state also has to make sure that teachers are trained to make effective use of the technology, he said.
Like his opponents, Harris said he is willing to give the recently passed school finance reforms a chance to work before making more major changes on the capital spending side, but he wants to see more funds going toward classroom instruction. He would like to see the state's schools form a centralized purchasing system, which he said would eliminate the need for purchasing managers at individual districts, allowing more money to go toward teacher salaries.
He also wants to see Arizona do away with state sales' taxes on school district purchases. (Wong has proposed such legislation, which was defeated by lawmakers, due to concerns about the resulting lost revenues.)
"I just want to apply business principles to running state financial matters and streamline things wherever possible," said Harris, who has run his insurance business for 37 years.
On an issue that recently surfaced in the Jewish community, Harris deemed "a great idea" a proposal by the Arizona Israel Exchange, a local private-sector business group, to have Arizona establish a trade office in Israel. The move has informal support from state Rep. Paul Newman (D-Bisbee), but there is currently no legislation in the works.
Stressing several times during the interview that he is the only Jewish candidate in the race, Harris said he has been to Israel twice, and that Arizona and the Jewish state have several things in common - including topography, agricultural ties and high-tech industries - on which to base a steady trade relationship.
The incumbents said they both favor expanding trade ties when possible, but that much more thorough study needs to be done before it can be determined whether a state trade office in Israel is feasible.
Wong said the state has several trade offices abroad, and any new office would have to go through a review process involving not only lawmakers, but also the state Department of Commerce, the governor's office and the business community at large. In addition, there would need to be factual studies demonstrating tax benefits for Arizona through an increase in markets for the state's products and services.
Gerard agreed: "I need to see how the other Arizona trade offices (for example, in Mexico and the South Pacific) are doing before we look at expanding to another country."
House District 18 includes the area bounded roughly by Interstate 17 (Black Canyon Freeway) to the west, state Highway 51 (the Squaw Peak Freeway) to the east, Camelback Road to the south and Bell Road to the north. The top two vote-getters in the primary will automatically advance to two-year terms in the House, since there are no Democrats running.
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