IPFS Dave Hodges

More About: Politics: Independent and Other Campaigns

And You Are Still Voting for the Incumbent (Part 4)? Toss Them All: Candidate Recommendations

The upcoming election is an important one as Arizonans will make some crucial decisions which could immediately impact our lives in the areas of border enforcement, healthcare, education and the economy. I have basically taken an anti-incumbent "Toss them all" theme to this year's political candidates. As CNN has so aptly put it, we suffer from a "broken government". The only way to change government is to change the people that we put in government. I am not voting for the candidate that has popularized this saying, but I agree with the sentiment. Despite the housecleaning approach that I think the country should employ, I have actually found myself endorsing just a few well-deserving candidates for re-election.

THE CANDIDATES

Governor's Race- Barry Hess (L). Janet, as she likes to be called in the tradition of other first name superstars (e.g., Michael, Shaq, John, Paul and Ringo, etc), has nothing to do with Arizona's success which is due largely to growth and the resulting housing bubble. Janet talks tough about illegal immigration but vetoes every piece of legislation that would help put the clamps on the problem. Under her leadership, Arizona has slipped to 50th in education. Munsil is too soft spoken to lead this State to where it needs to be. Barry Hess clearly won the debates between the 3 candidates. He is well-spoken, intelligent and has the courage to lead Arizona through some very tough times which just lie on the horizon.

Secretary of State- Ernie Hancock (L). Jan Brewer is too busy aiding and abetting voter fraud by refusing to follow the orders of the court for a manual recount of all votes. The court ruling is thanks to the actions of Hancock. If we cannot trust the election results, voting is meaningless. If you want your vote to count, Arizona must elect Ernie Hancock.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction- Jason Williams (D). Horne has overseen the dropping of Arizona's schools to 50th place. Arizona spends the least amount of money on Arizona's students in the nation. We have one of the lowest paid teacher work forces in the nation. Horne has overseen some very onerous restrictions on teacher recertification. And we wonder why we have a teacher shortage? Horne's stubborn adherence to the AIMS usage as a high stakes graduation test is amazingly short-sighted. Where are the measures of reliability and validity for the instrument? Horne has stated at a Republican function last summer that, "No Child Left Behind" is a disaster, but the money is too good to turn down". Mr. Horne, what about the welfare of Arizona's children? On the other hand, Williams is teacher-friendly. He opposes AIMS use as a high stakes test for graduation. He is also known for a common sense approach to English language acquisition for non-English speakers. Williams has served as a teacher. As a bureaucrat, Horne has no equal. However, Arizona's does not need another bureaucrat who is trying to climb the political ladder at the expense of our school children. This position calls for an educator. Horne has no experience in the classroom. Horne's job performance is very suspect as he has overseen failing scores for several of Arizona schools. If Horne were a football coach, we'd be comparing him to Dennis Green of the Arizona Cardinals and they both deserve to be pink-slipped.

STATE SENATE

State Senator District 1- Jo Kelleher (D)

State Senator District 2- HAUGHWOUT, MARK (I)

State Senator District 3-Ron Gould (R) –Friend of education, property rights and believes in following the Constitution. He is one of the few who deserves to be returned to office.

State Senator District 4- Ed Gogek (D). Jack Harper is the incumbent and his bad boy antics are well chronicled. Gogek is a psychiatrist and perhaps Jack could make an appointment with Ed after he loses the election.

State Senator District 5- Phil Cobb (D)

State Senator District 9- Steve Poe (D)

State Senator District 10- Linda Gray (R). Stances on education and property rights has earned her another two years in office.

State Senator District 18- Karen Johnson (R) A true champion of the middle class and is dedicated to the preservation of Constitutional liberties. Deserves to be returned to office.

State Senator District 19- Chuck Gray. Another true champion of the people. Dares to stand up to the developers as a champion of personal property rights. Deserves to be returned to office.

STATE REPRESENTATIVES

State Representative No. 4- Sue Dolphin (D) & Tom Boone (R). Dolphin is an energetic breath of fresh air. She will prove to be a strong advocate for Arizona's children in the areas of education and health care. Sue Dolphin is a fervent supporter of personal property rights. She has been an activist for years and she will bring a fresh perspective to the position. Boone is a lifelong educator. He has served in the legislature long enough to begin to assume some of the leadership roles for the people of his district. It will be incumbent upon the pair to make West Valley transportation needs a priority.

State Representative No. 6- Bill KONOPNICKI (R) has served his district well and deserves to be returned to office. He is a businessman who understands finance. Konopnicki would do well to make education more of a priority in his upcoming term.

State Representative No. 7- Jim Ianuzzo (L) brings a new perspective and his less government is a better approach is much more appealing than his predecessor. Toss a coin to choose a big government candidate from the other possibilities.

State Representative No.10- Lamont Lovejoy (D) and Jackie Thrasher (D), an educator, will promise to address Arizona's abysmal education system. Both candidates would prove a welcome relief to the "government has all answers approach" of Weiers and Quelland.

State Representative No. 12- A note here about John Nelson (R) who is running unopposed. I scratch my head in wonderment as to why District 12 voters cannot do any better than Nelson. Nelson is eminent domain's best friend. He is a tried and true friend of the box stores and the corporate welfare state, complete with sale tax breaks. None of the above would be a preferable choice to Nelson.

State Representative No. 22- Ed Schwebel (L) is the best choice. Flip a coin on the other two.

CONGRESSIONAL PICKS

Congressional District One-David Schlosser (L)

Congressional District Two- Powell Gammil (L)-Trent Franks is one of the shadiest characters in Congress. The voters of Arizona desperately need a change. Gammil tells it like it is; so what you see is what you get.

Congressional District Three- Mark Yannone (L). Integrity and a "take no prisoners" attitude make him the best candidate.

Congressional District Four- Don Karg (R). Pastor is open border's best friend and needs to go.

Congressional District Five- Warren Severin (L). Everything that is wrong with the Democrats and Republicans is illustrated in the negative campaigning by the "Jolly Good Fellow" Hayworth and "Dead Beat" Harry Mitchell.

Congressional District Six- None of the above.

Congressional District Seven- Joe Cobb (L).

Congressional District Eight- Randy Graf. I failed to list his party because he is a pariah to the party establishment because he dares to support middle class issues.

www.universityofreason.com/a/29887/KWADzukm