Legislative candidates debate topics regarding the future of Arizona. Candidates hope to win ballot votes in the Nov. 6th election. (Photo by Kurtis Semph)State legislative candidates for the Tempe campus’s home district failed to differentiate individual platforms during Thursday night’s debate on education funding, job creation and health care.
Seven out of the nine candidates running for office in the 26th Legislative District appeared for the debate in the Memorial Union’s Ventana Ballroom.
Libertarian Senate candidate Damian Trabel and Republican House of Representatives candidate Mary Lou Taylor did not attend the forum.
Every candidate agreed that higher education funding should be increased, but differed slightly on the details of how this would be accomplished.
Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe, is running for Senate on a united ticket with Democratic House candidates Juan Mendez and Andrew Sherwood.
Ableser said the Arizona Legislature needs to prioritize education.
“(Education) is the great tool to empower everyone who comes behind us,” Sherwood said.
The Democratic candidates said the legislature needs to significantly reduce spending on private prisons and use those funds for education instead.
The three candidates also support Proposition 204, a ballot initiative that would renew a 1-cent sales tax for education, as a solution to increase education funding.
Incumbent Jerry Lewis, the Republican Senate candidate, said he also supports Proposition 204, a ballot initiative that Gov. Jan Brewer has opposed.
Education funding is an issue both parties need to work together to solve, Lewis said.
Libertarian House candidate Chris Will agreed that education should be the legislature’s primary concern.
“We need to fund education first,” Will said. “Everything else will follow after that.”
Green Party House candidate Haryaksha Gregor Knauer said education should be funded by taxes on corporations who benefit from the educated workforce.
All seven candidates present said they oppose Proposition 121, the ballot initiative that proposes dissolving the current primary election system and replacing it with open elections.
“Proposition 121 is a disingenuous piece of legislation,” Ableser said.
Republican House candidate Ray Speakman said Proposition 121 is not the way the American political system is designed to work.
The candidates also agreed that KidsCare, Arizona’s health care system for underprivileged children, deserves more funding, and job creation in Arizona needs to focus on creating high-tech jobs that will bring Arizona into the 21st century.
Philosophy freshman Alexander Elder said he was surprised at the lack of differentiation between the candidates’ platforms.
“I was expecting a lot of dissent,” Elder said.
Although the candidates’ positions seemed similar, Elder said he resonated with Democratic candidates Mendez and Sherwood because of their passion for the issues raised.
“They were very vocal and articulate,” Elder said.
He said he came to the debate to become more informed.
“This stuff is going to affect me rather than the more broad stuff you see on TV,” Elder said.
Political science senior Elizabeth Sanchez said she came to the debate to get to know the candidates and learn more.
“I was expecting a bit more differences,” Sanchez said.
She said she did notice that all the Democratic candidates seemed to be saying the same things, while the Republican candidates had different ideas and went into more detail on policy.
Sanchez said after listening to the debate she will be voting for Lewis and Speakman.
The Arizona Citizens Clean Election Commission, a nonpartisan group that provides funding for candidates who agree to forgo funding from special interest groups, sponsored the debate.
Reach the reporter at tnhoman@asu.edu
