• Jim Nintzel
• Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, talks with Congressman Ron Barber and Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Bill Roe at Rincon Market as candidates entered the final stretch of Election 2014

Halloween was a day of barnstorming across the campaign trail as candidates entered the final weekend before Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Congressman Ron Barber was joined by Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, for a swing across Tucson that included a quick meet and greet at Rincon Market and a Halloween party at Barber's campaign HQ. Barber, who is facing Republican Martha McSally in one of the most suspenseful races in the country, will be hitting up a canvass launch and a farmers market in Bisbee in the morning and spend the afternoon with supporters in Douglas and Sierra Vista. He'll be back in Tucson to watch the Wildcats game at 7:30 p.m. at Trident Grill, 2033 E. Speedway, with some veterans. On Sunday, he'll be kicking off voter canvass drives across Tucson.

Meanwhile, McSally joined the whole GOP statewide roster—gubernatorial candidate Doug Ducey, Attorney General hopeful Mark Brnovich, Secretary of State nominee Michele Reagan and even the reclusive Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Diane Douglas—during a swing through Tucson earlier today. She'll also be in Sierra Vista tomorrow and is having a community rally between 3:30 and 5:30 Sunday at Reid Park. McSally plans to spend Monday afternoon down in Douglas.

Zona Politics Eps.3 from Brink on Vimeo.

On this week's "Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel": Pima County Democratic Party Latino Caucus Chairman Vince Rabago and GOP activist Shaun McClusky break down next week's election: The CD2 rematch between Congressman Ron Barber and GOP challenger Martha McSally; the CD1 showdown between Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick and Speaker of the Arizona House Andy Tobin; the Ducey-DuVal race for the governor's seat; Democrat Terry Goddard's focus on dark money in the race against Republican Michele Reagan; the arguments in the attorney general's race between Democrat Felecia Rotellini and Republican Mark Brnovich; and a bunch more. Tune in online here or at 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning on KGUN-9.

The Range gave Demitri Downing space to rebut my posts about the race for the two House seats in Legislative District 9. I've maintained that people who object to right wing stances against abortion rights and sensible gun regulation shouldn't be voting for self-described moderate Ethan Orr. Giving Demitri a chance to air his views is fine by me. He has the right to his opinion, and I've had this space pretty much to myself when it comes to the LD-9 race. But you know that old saying about being entitled to your own opinions, not your own facts? Well, Demitri makes one assertion as fact which is so jaw-droppingly incorrect, I can't let it go unchallenged:

The Democratic Party, acting according to their nature to sting Republicans, has focused solely on two “fear” issues, abortion and guns — issues rarely the subject of meaningful legislation. [Boldface added for emphasis]

Abortion and guns are "rarely the subject of meaningful legislation," Demitri? Seriously? Meaningful bills related to abortion and guns are staples of state legislatures across the country, especially where Republicans are in the majority, and Arizona's Tea Party-led legislature is no exception. It's possible, I suppose, that Downing doesn't know the meaning of the word "meaningful." But if he does, his wildly inaccurate statement makes me wonder if he believes the rest of what he writes about Orr's effectiveness in Phoenix, or if he really believes Orr would have any influence at all with his Republican colleagues if he were given another two years, seeing as how his patron, Jan Brewer, would be gone — face it, DuVal and Ducey just aren't that into Ethan — and he'd go up there with "RINO" stamped on his forehead because of his votes with Brewer on Medicaid and the budget.

There's simply no question about it, Arizona has seen plenty of meaningful legislation on guns and abortions over the past few years. Here are some of the highlights — or lowlights, depending on your point of view.

That's what's going on here, but first, look, these are good folks, led by Body Love Conference found Jes Baker, so that means this is not just a basic swap but an amazing body love celebration and party, too. And all proceeds benefit the next Body Love Conference in the planning stages for 2015.

In the body love tradition, this is a swap for women of all sizes, and it sounds like a great place to hang out with your friends trying on clothes in a body positive atmosphere. Personal stylists are going to be on hand (you know, your friends could be clueless), to help you out with ideas and encouragement. There will also be professional make-up artists, hair stylists and photographers to capture you at your best.

If you bring items to swap, cost is $8, and if you just want to shop, it's a $15 admission. There will also be local crafters and jewelry designers on hand in a special pop-up shop just for the occasion. All leftover clothing not swapped will be donated to the YWCA program Your Sister's Closet, which provides women reentering the workforce with several professional outfits for job interviews and that new job.

More info on the conference and swap, visit www.bodyloveconference.com.

Atlanta music writer Ethan Padgett put together a Soundcloud (mostly) Southern rap mixtape for Halloween that's possibly not for everyone, but if you want to hear some Three 6 Mafia and Waka Flocka Flame horror-themed tracks, go ahead and push play.

The tracklist is below the cut.

Halloween is one of those nights where everyone seems to go out costumed-up to get a drink and Tucson's bars and nightclubs have gone all in on the sorta-holiday, especially Club Congress, which went for a week's worth of events. There are many, many options out there for you, person likely dressed as something involving Ebola, but my three favorites this year are at the Rialto, Flycatcher and Tap & Bottle.

The Rialto is going for a lineup of local music with their Spooky Prom, which also has the bonus of being all-ages. Starting at 7 p.m. for $5, you can see Ghostal, Sun Bones, Numb Bats, Neon Eon, Prom Body and an evening-ending DJ set by Altrice. Plus, because you're required to with these things, there's a costume contest, plus free candy, a photobooth and more. Solid deal all around. For more info, head to rialtotheatre.com.

Also $5, the Flycatcher is hosting "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah," which features costume contests every hour starting at 10 p.m., indoor and outdoor entertainment, plus a Daft Punk tribute. More info at theflycatchertucson.com.

If you want to save the $5 you were going to spend at the Rialto or Flycatcher on admission, head over to Tap & Bottle for their second annual evening "dressing up" the bar as another Tucson watering hole. Last year, it was the Meet Rack, this year, it's the Red Room. Yes, they'll have tater tots, but also a lineup of acts that will be familiar to fans of the late venue next to Grill, including Dante Rosano, Hank Topless, Amy Rude, Golden Boots and more. The event kicks off at 7 p.m. More info at thetapandbottle.com.

I must provide an explanatory disclaimer for this column. It was written in a fugue state triggered by a relentless onslaught of campaign ads, eyes locked in a fixed stare, eerie music in the background, and visions of dark hordes of American-hating terrorists rolling into my carport and opening fire on the laundry room with shoulder-launched rockets. At election time, reality becomes elusive, and words don’t always mean what they say. Oh yeah, and electoral commentary laws require me to include this bit: “I’m Randy Serraglio, and I approve this column.”

This year’s electoral trouble started on primary day, which happened to be my birthday. I thought, Gee, isn’t this great—the gift of democracy—what could be better? Then I choked down the rest of my scotch and tottered over to the polling place….

Wait—did I say “scotch”? I’m sorry, I must have misspoken, or mistyped, or mis-something. I meant “orange juice.” I was definitely drinking OJ that day. Those words sound very similar, so I can see why you might have misinterpreted my position on this issue. Also, that statement was taken out of context—I was probably discussing the butterscotch scone I may have eaten that day. You see, “scotch” without the “butter” means something very different, doesn’t it? No worries, it’s a totally understandable mistake. Yes, clearly it was “milk” that I meant to say all along, because milk makes America strong.

The New York Times/CBS News/YouGov poll released this week has bad news for Democrat Fred DuVal: Republican Doug Ducey has a 9 percentange point lead, according the survey taken Oct. 16-Oct. 23.

The breakdown in the poll is fascinating: Ducey is getting 56 percent of men, while DuVal is getting just 36 percent. Women are breaking pretty evenly, with 44 percent going with DuVal and 43 percent going with Ducey.

And check out the generation gap: DuVal gets 54 percent of voters 18 to 29 years old, while Ducey gets just 33 percent. And DuVal gets 53 percent of voters aged 30 to 44, while Ducey gets 37 percent. But as the electorate skews older, Ducey finds a lot more support: Among voters 6-plus, Ducey lands the support of 61 percent, while DuVal gets just 32 percent.

There's a race factor at work, too: Ducey gets the support of 53 percent of the white voters, while DuVal gets the support of just 37 percent. DuVal has a lead among Hispanic voters, but not by as big a margin: Duval has the support of 48 percent, while Ducey has the support of 42 percent. That's remarkably close, given that Ducey has indicated that he'd continue anti-Latino policies such as denying driver's licenses to DREAMers while DuVal has said he'd have a DREAMer lead the pledge of allegiance at his inaugural.

A poll is, as always, just a snapshot in time and other surveys have shown a closer race. But unless Democrats can get out younger and non-white voters, Republicans will probably have a good statewide showing on Tuesday.

• #11039, 4 September 2013, © Jamey Stillings, courtesy Etherton Gallery

Etherton Gallery is hosting a new show, Land Exposures, that highlights a new way of looking at landscape photography. From Etherton's description of the show:

In Etherton Gallery’s newest exhibition, Land Exposures, three contemporary photographers redefine the traditional genre of landscape photography. David Emitt Adams, Richard Laugharn and Jamey Stillings open up a new frontier in landscape photography, advancing the medium in exciting new directions. An installation of photographer Chris Colville’s photographs from the series Works of Fire will be on display in Etherton’s in-house pop-up gallery. Land Exposures opens Saturday, November 8, 2014 with an artist reception from 7 to 10pm. The show runs through January 3, 2014.

Here's a TED Talk by one of the photographers in the show, Jamey Stillings, who has done extraordinary work with New Mexico's massive solar arrays.

Stillings will on hand for a panel discussion on renewable energy challenges from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6. Here's how Etherton describes the upcoming event:

Etherton Gallery and photographer Jamey Stillings are pleased to host a panel discussion at 6-7:30pm, on Thursday, November 6, in conjunction with its new exhibition, Land Exposures, featuring Stillings, David Emitt Adams and Richard Laugharn. Stillings has photographed the largest solar energy generating plant in the world, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System which is out in the Mojave Desert. Work from the series has been featured in the NYT magazine, the Wall St. Journal, Smithsonian and a number of other publications. Stillings is an articulate spokesman about the issues that have arisen as a result of the large-scale implementation of alternative energy. The Ivanpah plant has over 300,000 mirrors which reflect light to boilers that sit atop three, 40-story towers. The sunlight strikes the boilers’ pipes to create superheated steam that is piped to turbines where electricity is generated. Ivanpah takes up about five square miles and provides electricity for about 140,000 homes. However, it has come under fire for its adverse impact to local wildlife. As Southern Arizona becomes a hub for alternative energy, the needs of the community, endangered wildlife and the green energy movement will likely come into conflict. The panel discussion promises to begin a dialogue on some of these issues.

The panel features Kevin Koch, owner of Technicians for Sustainability, a solar energy company with a mission to help businesses, public institutions, and homeowners; John Shepard, a Senior Adviser at the Sonoran Institute, who is currently leading the Institute’s efforts to appropriately site utility-scale solar projects in Arizona and more effectively integrate local land-use policies and water management in the Colorado River basin; and Brian Wheelwright, PhD Candidate in the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona, who is adapting telescope manufacturing technologies to produce cheap dish mirrors for solar concentration, with the goal of producing low-cost solar energy.

Below the cut: Details of the photographers as provided by Etherton:

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred DuVal issued a brief video statement knocking Republican opponent Doug Ducey for bringing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie back to Arizona:

Arizona is headed in the wrong direction. I know it. You know it. And Doug Ducey knows it. That’s why Ducey has pulled the fire alarm. His national party bought millions of dollars of attack ads, Mitt Romney came to Arizona last week, and Chris Christie is here a second time to try to rescue Ducey.

But out of state money and politicians can't help Doug Ducey because he's got a big problem: his ideas for Arizona are terrible — more tax cuts for the rich, less money for our children's schools.

Meanwhile, Ducey plans a swing through Southern Arizona tomorrow where he'll campaign alongside his fellow GOP statewide candidates and Congressional District 2 Republican hopeful Martha McSally, who is in a tight race against Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Barber. From the Ducey campaign: