Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Republican incumbents, Senator Gail Griffin and Representatives David Stevens and David Gowan, have failed to attend and to participate in numerous candidate forums and debates. Their contempt for their constituents is unprecedented. The Sierra Vista Herald recently editorialized Our View: LD14 deserves better in endorsing Democratic candidates Rob Leach and Mark Stonebraker for the LD 14 House.
Today the Sierra Vista Herald endorsed Democrat Pat Fleming for the LD 14 Senate for much the same reasons. Fleming our choice for LD14 senate seat:
As voters cast their ballots in the newly drawn Legislative District 14, the choice for state senator is clear.
Formerly a House representative in District 25, Democrat Pat Fleming has proven herself to be involved and interested in the people residing throughout new LD 14.
We find ourselves agreeing more with Fleming’s positions than with her opponent in the district, incumbent Republican Gail Griffin.
During this election season Fleming has been all over the district listening to the concerns of rural residents. And she addressed, made many good points and exhibited excellent listening skills while at our editorial board roundtable last month. That’s a roundtable, by the way, that her incumbent opponent chose not to participate in.
Since the capitol is teeming with representatives from the more populated areas of the state (Tucson and Phoenix) we need someone such as Fleming who will have the fortitude to put rural Arizonans’ needs first and foremost.
Fleming understands what the severe cuts to education programs from kindergarten to the university level have done to rural school districts .She understands that cutting corporate taxes while neglecting the educational needs of the state’s public school systems will in the long run kill any hopes of attracting business to rural Arizona, no matter the tax picture. And she understands that with national military restructuring coming, Cochise County needs to have a great educational system in place to protect the future of Fort Huachuca.
In our opinion, her open-mindedness means she will side with good ideas at the legislature even if that means crossing the aisle. That means she will not just blindly follow a partisan party line established by leaders from major metro areas who not only have no interest in rural Arizona, but who probably couldn’t tell you where LD 14 is on a map.
The choice is clear, we urge you to vote for Fleming, a person who will truly strive to represent our rural interests in the senate.
Apologists for R incumbents Gowan, Griffin and Stevens trumpet that they don't have to show up for debates or forums because "they didn't take clean elections money". This tired line is used over and over again (read the 'comments' section of the Sierra Vista Herald sometime . . . the mix of Minutemen mentality, Tea Party pouts and just plain hatred of anything to the left of Attila the Hun is quite telling.) Get out the vote, because except for Bisbee, Cochise County pretty much wants to stay in the 19th century.
Posted by: AZterritory | October 25, 2012 at 08:24 AM