What led you to run for office?
Arizona is facing a lot of difficult social and financial problems. In particular, I’m tired of seeing Arizona continuously ranked poorly on critical education metrics such as math performance and the high school dropout rate. I feel many of Arizona’s issues are interrelated and will require solutions that consider the overall picture and the long-term impact to people and the state economy. I feel my 35+ years experience working in industry provides me with the skills that I believe a senator will need to successfully tackle these problems.
As a candidate what are your three top policy issues?
1.Education. Arizona’s public education system is ready for a major reform and we must have a quality public education system to provide a competitive workforce and attract new business.
2.Health Care. Arizona citizens need to have access to quality health care and the biggest obstacle in providing adequate care is cost. Simply put, the more we can lower the cost of health care, the more health care becomes available.
3.The Economy. State spending needs to be more transparent and accountable. In addition, the failure of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee to accurately forecast revenue for the years following the collapse of the construction boom and subsequent decline in the mortgage industry has contributed to the inability of the 2008 Legislature to enact a proper budget.
What can be done to attract and retain businesses in Arizona?
If Arizona wants to attract new business, especially high technology business, we need to improve several key metrics. To begin with most companies report that education is either at the top or in the top five criteria in selecting a state. Following that metric, businesses also look at health care and crime, both major issues in Arizona. We need to focus on improving these metrics. In addition, by lowering capital gains we can encourage growth in research/development, help new companies, and expand business. It's also an investment in Arizona's economic future. Arizona businesses tend to be overregulated at the state and local levels. In order to encourage economic prosperity, the legislature should foster a sound environment for business expansion/job creation by minimizing regulatory burdens. The excess state regulatory burden facing businesses in Arizona is one of several factors that discourages new enterprises being established or existing businesses relocating or expanding to our state.
The state of Arizona has a significant General Fund budget deficit. One of the primary jobs of the state legislature is to produce a balanced budget for the Governor to sign. What are the top three actions the legislation should take to close the budget shortfall?
1.Reduce budgets. Because the state did not reduce budgets sufficiently in 2008 (the budget still increased 11.5% from 2007 to 2008 and will be increased 1.5% in 2009), in 2009 all state programs will have be reviewed for additional reduction opportunities. With revenues continuing to fall short of expectations the 2009 budget is already in jeopardy.
2.In particular, departments with significant increases in revenues outside the general fund should have their general fund budgets challenged proportionately. Funding outside the general fund (other appropriated, other non-appropriated, and federal funds) shows an increase of 10.5% in 2008 and 4.5% for 2009. Departments receiving increased federal funding might have more opportunity to challenge their general fund budgets.
3.Freeze FTE positions to 2008 levels.
What are your top three priorities for improving education?
1.Reform the public education funding policy/formula and reprioritize the state budget to increase overall K-12 funding.
In 1980 the Arizona legislature reformed school funding by adopting a new “equalizing” formula. This reform greatly limited a local school board’s access to the property tax base and put the legislature in charge of the overall level of school funding. The effect of the 1980 funding formula revision was to gain equity among school districts by leveling downward. Additionally, in the 1990s the Arizona Legislature focused on restricting the growth of educational costs and tying increases in funding to desired outcomes, permitting only minimal increases most years and no increases in 1994 and 1997. While I understand school finance is a complex issue since it touches on the areas of tax policy, local control of education, and social equity, I feel we need to revisit our overall tax structure if we are to develop an effective public financed school system. Even a small increase in funding to the classroom level can help in reducing class sizes and result in higher quality education.
2.Revise Students FIRST, Proposition 301 and fully fund state mandates.
Before the passage of Students FIRST, local school districts sold bonds to finance school construction. The FIRST imitative stopped that. However this year, because of budget issues, the state legislature decided to pass bonds to finance school construction. What happened? One of the formulas used by the fairly recently formed School Facilities Board distributes new building funds based on whether or not a school district is growing. This created a problem for TUSD whose student population is not growing overall but had areas of the district (SW side) that had grown, are overcrowded and not eligible for FIRST funds. To date Maricopa County has been the recipient of over 70% of new school construction funding, why should our SW side suffer? Proposition 301 (Classroom Site Fund) eliminated the Excess Utilities provision as of 2009. Elimination of Excess Utilities will reduce funding for the school districts involved creating the likelihood of financial distress. This is happening at a critical time for school districts like TUSD who are struggling with implementing state and federally mandated ELL requirements and when utility costs are increasing dramatically. Over rides are becoming a necessity.
3.Improve key educational metrics such as K-12 math and science performance.
There is a shortage of math and science teachers in Arizona and private industry can be a good place to recruit. Currently the CTE program allows an easy transition into education for experienced professionals but is limited to specific career subject matter. Consideration should be given to expanding the program to include math and science teachers. Also, we could develop a program (similar to the military's medical program) that provides full scholarships for math and science majors willing to commit to four years of teaching.
In addition to the above I want to: increase the compulsory school age from 16 to 17, revise or replace the AIMS test, and focus on reducing the high school drop-out rate. I also want to explore the possibility of establishing a career ladder for teachers that parallels school administrators in pay scale
What is your opinion on school choice?
Clearly public education has to remain the priority in Arizona, however, the fact is that many parents are increasingly concerned about the quality of education and have or are considering options. Interestingly enough, these options most often are situations where there is far less governmental involvement. Home schooling does not require students to pass the AIMS test. Private school administration is almost totally localized and without the burden district, county, and state administration. Charter schools depend on performance and parent satisfaction to stay in business. One of the biggest factors these alternatives have in common is the amount of parental involvement which we need to address in public schools. I believe free enterprise can play an important part in achieving a quality education program and support the parents' right to ensure their children receive the best education available. I support the current education tax credit policy.
Healthcare is a necessity, yet a large population of Arizona goes without healthcare. There have been numerous plans put forth, but none have helped the situation. What will you do to improve this situation for Arizonans?
One of my top priorities is to enact comprehensive medical tort and insurance cost reform that addresses excessive damages, protects the injured party’s rights and leads to more affordable health care for Arizona families. Health care costs increased 12% last year alone. Our specialists (including trauma care and transplant teams) are leaving the state and abuse of the tort system nationwide costs the economy about $7,000 for every family. We don't have to reinvent the wheel. Texas and Mississippi have successfully enacted similar reforms that are lowering malpractice insurance costs and attracting critically needed health care professionals. Mississippi medical malpractice suits dropped 90% while malpractice insurance costs were reduced by 30-45%. Arizona needs to take a page from their book. This year the Arizona Governor vetoed the ER Burden of Proof bill for the third time. I believe the legislature has the ability to reduce the cost of health care through tort reforms, establishing electronic record systems, and addressing health care mandates. They can also effect the overall health care industry by reviewing and affecting changes to related regulation. State imposed mandates should be reviewed. Another reason that health care costs are so high is that there is no longer a competitive market for health care. Free markets mean competition and competition means lower prices for consumers.
What are your top environmental concerns, and how would you address them?
I think the most critical component of Arizona's future is water (including effluent). We must continue to provide adequate funding to support the ADWR mission. Water is tied to growth and we need to be able to forecast and manage water usage throughout the state. Additionally, the Groundwater Act of 1980 needs to be reviewed to include rural water management areas.
I believe the Legislature has the constitutional authority to set state policy and the responsibility to represent the citizens of Arizona in managing the state’s environment and resources. In addition, the Legislature should interface with private business in developing programs that lead to affordable alternatives of activities that damage our environment and provide incentives to incorporate environmentally friendly policies. They should take an active role in coordinating environmental programs with counties and cities.
Do you support allowing some state trust land to be set aside for conservation without payment to the trust?
Yes, but I would go about it by asking our federal representatives to reform Arizona’s Enabling Act. The Act identifies a series of detailed restrictions on trust land dispositions. Most significantly, it requires public auctions and competitive bidding for all sales of land, even when the purchaser is a governmental entity such as a city or a state agency. This severely limits the proper management of Arizona land. I would support reforming the Act provided sufficient safeguards are in place so that trust land will continue to be used to primarily benefit education. The state should have the ability to use agreements and infrastructure financing mechanisms to maximize returns from the sales of trust lands, allow trades between the Land Department and local communities, and enable land exchanges for conservation purposes, and dispositions for environmental mitigation.
