LD8 Candidate Forum Report

The Clean Elections LD8 Candidate Forum was held last night in front of approximately 50 people at the Kerr Cultural Center in Scottsdale.

[Note - there's a summary at the bottom of this post if you want to skip the details.]

The forum was originally intended to include both the House and Senate races, but due to Carolyn Allen's withdrawal (she's not a Clean Elections candidate), the forum was only for the four House candidates - Democrats Stephanie Rimmer and Bill Sandberg and Republicans Michele Reagan and John Kavanagh.

Dan Oseran, the Democratic candidate for State Senate did attend as an audience member to ask and answer questions.

There was a good turnout of the LD8 Dems, with Chair Margaret Hogan and 1st and 2nd Vice-Chairs Bob Freund and Jerry Gettinger in attendance. Susan Fuchs, Democratic candidate for McDowell Mountain Justice of the Peace was also there.

Republican John Kavanagh led off the festivities with his introduction.

He's a retired police detective with multiple degrees (thru doctorate) and is currently working/teaching at Scottsdale Community College. He has experience in public service/office, including the Fountain Hills Town Council.

His big issue is illegal immigration - he hosts a radio talk show and runs a website on the issue.

Michele Reagan, also a Republican, was next.

She noted that she is a 2-term incumbent. She stressed her small business experience and called the economy her most important issue.

Democrat Stephanie Rimmer was next. She called herself one of the two moderates on the dais, and like Reagan, stressed her small business background. Health care and the economy are very important issues to her.

Bill Sandberg, a Democrat, spoke about his background - 30 years in Scottsdale, a volunteer for Hospice of the Valley. He has a long history of volunteer and public service.

Note: For those who wish to learn more about the candidates' backgrounds, please visit their websites (linked above at the first appearance of the candidates' names). You can also visit the AZ Republic's website for their candidate questionnaires here. Lastly, I attended and chronicled a Democrats-only LD8 forum in July. The write-up includes coverage of the candidates' backgrounds in much more depth.

As I have learned, the most "readable" format for the write-up is to sort by candidate, not by question.

So, in the order the candidates introduced themselves...

John Kavanagh -

What do you think are the three most important issues facing the legislature?

1. Immigration; 2. Taxes/spending; 3. Education.

Assuming that the ELL funding issue lands in front of the legislature again, what will you do to ensure that a fair and effective bill reaches the Governor?

He disagreed with the original ruling and thought that the Republican proposal from last session was enough.

What can be done to help make health insurance more affordable?

Tort Reform (to reduce lawsuits and jury awards), tax credits for small businesses that offer insurance for their employees, and access to open markets (i.e. - if there is a good program in Iowa, Arizonans should be able to enroll in it.)

The were asked about what they thought of the state trust land propositions, Prop 105 and Prop 106.

He supports Prop 106. (Note: all four candidates expressed support for Prop 106.)

Do you support Prop 102 (minimum wage increase)?

No. It will hurt small business.

Do you support Prop 107 (anti-same sex marriage/unmarried couples amendment)?

Yes on 107. Marriage is between one man and one woman.

Do you think English should be Arizona's official language?

Yes, unequivocally.

What do you think should be done about identity theft in Arizona?

He blamed meth use and illegal immigration for the fact that AZ is #1 in the nation in terms of identity theft. He wants to fight those problems more.

What, if any, election reforms do you think should be enacted?

He thinks that overall, he thinks that the system is fine.

What should be done to deal with the burgeoning prison population in Arizona?

He thinks that securing the border (reducing illegal immigration) and raising the pay of correctional officers are necessary.

What should be done to help students with paying for higher education?

He thinks that both cost and accessibility issues need to be addressed. He thinks we should start a state college system (as in something between the state universities and the community colleges) and perhaps restructure the community college system into a 3 - 1 model (3 years at a CC, 1 at a university or state college) for a four-year degree.

[Personal note - while I disagree with him on pretty much everything else, I have been wondering why we haven't already started a state college system. I grew up in MA, and the public higher ed system there has a university level, a state college level, and an community college level. It works. I know that there is a big 'turf protection' mentality in certain quarters that needs to be overcome in the quest to build a decent public higher ed system, but it's time to move into the 21st century.]

The candidates were then asked about housing development management. It was as much about resource management (specifically, water resources) as it was about development management.

He talked about sound water resource management, as well as sound transportation planning.

Closing:

He stressed that ending illegal immigration, reversing government growth, good water management, improving education and easing congestion in the district are things that he will work for in the legislature. He also took a shot at both Stephanie Rimmer and Bill Sandberg as 'inexperienced.'

Michele Reagan:

Legislative priorities: Education, immigration, economy.

ELL: She thought the lege did a good job in the absence of guidance from the judge.

Health insurance affordability: She co-sponsored legislation that gives tax incentives to small businesses that offer health insurance to their employees. Would also cap the amount that insurance companies can raise their premiums on a year-over-year basis.

Prop105/106: Supports 106.

Prop 102: No, raising the minimum wage would hurt low-wage workers.

Prop 107: No, it goes too far.

English as official language: Yes.

ID theft: Sponsored bills that would require mandatory notification when personal information is stolen from a business and that would allow people to freeze their credit. The bills did not pass, but she will work to get them passed next session.

Election reform: Tweaks to the Clean Elections system.

Prison population: Secure the borders, more private prisons, and have the country of origin pay for the incarceration of illegal immigrants from their countries.

Higher education affordability: She thinks appropriations to the state universities should be allocated based on enrollment.

Development: Expand the "100-year water supply" development rule to the entire state; also, protect our 'paper water,' aka - state level water rights.

Closing: talked about her open-door policy, and how she has some unfinished work to address.


Stephanie Rimmer -

Legislative priorities: Economy, education, border security. She took a bit of a shot at candidate Reagan, saying her own small business experience is current. Michele Reagan and her family sold their small business 5 years ago.

ELL: She would work for bipartisan support to get a good bill through the legislature.

Health insurance affordability: Limit outrageous jury awards, work to increase the number of nurses and physician assistants in Arizona, and tax incentives.

Prop 105/106: supports 106.

Prop 102 (minimum wage hike): Yes.

Prop 107: No, same-sex marriage is already illegal.

English as official language: Yes.

ID theft: The Social Security Administration should be made to tighten up procedures - too many people have jobs under one SSN.

Election reform: Clean Elections tweaks.

Prison population: Secure border and examine which crimes really deserve incarceration.

Higher ed affordability: Find ways to expand access and perhaps loan relief for graduates who go into public sector jobs.

Development management: Opposes expanding the '100-year' rule, but favors enforcement where it does exist.

Closing: She will work to improve education in AZ, bring high-paying jobs here, make health care more affordable, and thinks that we should protect family values without dictating what they should be for everyone.

Bill Sandberg:

Legislative priorities: Health care/aging, Immigration/education/health care, education. (as you might have noticed, he believes that many issues are intertwined with other issues.:)

ELL: He would separate ELL students from fluent speakers half of the time.

Health insurance affordability: create tax-free medical savings accounts, tax incentives, work to lower malpractice awards/premiums.

Prop 105/106: Prop 106.

Prop 102: No. Raising the minimum wage is the "wrong issue at the wrong time." Small businesses will be hit hard with an immigrant labor shortage and health care costs.

Prop 107: Yes, marriage should be between one man and one woman.

English as official language: Yes.

ID theft: Create an effective and inexpensive employer verification system, regulate shredding companies, and longer prison sentences for those convicted of ID theft.

Election reform: "No qualms" with current system.

Prison population: Build federal regional detention centers for illegal immigrants. Also, build more prisons, and raise the salaries of COs.

Higher ed affordability: Do a better job of publicizing scholarship and other aid opportunities.

Development management: More active role for the state, perhaps in the form of impact fees; also more state level planning and maybe a commuter rail system connecting Tucson to Phoenix to Flagstaff.

Closing: Work on increasing renewable energy efforts, especially in solar; also expand bioscience partnerships (public/private/academic).

Summary and observations - as might be expected in a district that includes north Scottsdale and Fountain Hills, none of the candidates is exactly a fire-breathing progressive.

As with the July forum, Bill Sandberg was the least polished of the candidates, but also the least likely to "spin" his answers; what you see is what you get with him. However, to be fair, most of the answers from the other candidates seemed to be pretty straightforward.

John Kavanagh, other than the "state colleges" answer, was easily the most far right of the candidates. He was a comfortable speaker, which is not a surprise given his experience in local government and as a teacher.

Michele Reagan and Stephanie Rimmer, though of different party affiliations, are very similar candidates. Both come from small business backgrounds, and it shows in the closeness of many of their positions.

The remark made by candidate Rimmer about being "one of the two moderates" did seem to be a way to link her to the incumbent. This was confirmed in the East Valley Tribune's write-up of the forum. After the forum, I thought is was a statement of the obvious, and an unnecessary one.

Michele Reagan, like Kavanagh, was a comfortable speaker. Her experience in the spotlight showed.

Stephanie Rimmer's inexperience showed a little (see the above comment) but she still did a good job.

Much as I would like to say that the Democratic candidates have a solid chance to win, the Rep registration advantage in LD8 is a *very* steep hill to climb. I think that the idea of painting John Kavanagh as too conservative for the relatively moderate Republican voters of the district was the right idea, if handled a little clumsily. It is, however, the best hope for one of the Democrats to pull off the upset.

Later!