We've put together this handy guide to introduce you to many of the issues we'll be hammering out and candidates we'll be hammering on in the months to come.
The deadline for registering to vote in the September 12 primary is August 14. You can find voter registration forms at all post offices, at the Recorder's Office (downtown at 115 S. Church Ave. and eastside at 6920 E. Broadway Blvd.), at all City Council offices, and a whole bunch of other places. For the location nearest you or for more information, call Pima County voter registration at 623-2649 or visit www.recorder.co.pima.az.us/
You'll see school board races on the November ballot, but candidates aren't required to file for those offices until August. There are constable and JP races on the ballot as well, but we're leaving those contests for the navigators over at the dailies.
Odd Fellows
ALTHOUGH THE PIMA County Board of Supervisors has its share of responsibilities--setting the budget for law-and-order departments, indigent health care and social services, among others--the biggest battles the board has faced in recent years have been in the arena of land use.
That's because the board of supes has the power to rezone property. The county also oversees transportation and sewer projects, and issues building permits through the planning department. Those decisions affect hundreds of millions of development dollars. Little wonder, then, that the races are often flooded with Growth Lobby contributions.
Although all five members of the Board of Supervisors are up for re-election this year, only the odd races--1, 3 and 5--will be worth watching. (District 2's Dan Eckstrom, the southside political kingpin, has drawn a half-baked write-in challenge from bus driver Paul Wallace, who recommended improved public transit as the solution to the community's ills while wandering the perimeter of the mayor's race a year ago; Ray Carroll, who handily survived a special election just two years after he was appointed to the board following Republican John Even's death in 1997, faces no threat.)
With Republican Mike Boyd saying he won't seek re-election, state Sen. Ann Day is leaving the Legislature to take a shot at winning the open seat in District 1, which stretches from north-central Tucson across the Catalina Foothills into Oro Valley. She'll face Rep. Dan Schottel, who, like Day, has hit his term limit in the legislature.
As of May 31, Day had raised more money than any other board candidate: $62,016. She'd spent just $5,893, ending the reporting period with $56,123 in the bank. Day has brought $35,000 over from her Senate campaign accounts. Of the $15,497 she has raised since the beginning of this year, more than $7,000 came from the legal community, and at least $1,250 came from the development community.
Schottel, meanwhile, had raised a measly $1,307 and spent $36, leaving him with $1,271 in the bank. Schottel has drafted former GOP county chair Linda Barber and former state Sen. Jeff Hill to aid in the campaign.
On the Democratic side of the aisle, two candidates are seeking the nomination: Byron Howard and John Crouch.
A local political consultant, Howard has the better-organized Democratic campaign. As of May 31, he had already raised $44,520. Howard has primarily tapped the Growth Lobby and the legal community. More than $20,000 came from builders, brokers, bankers and others in the real-estate industry, while lawyers and judges contributed more than $5,300. Howard had spent $6,146, leaving him with $38,373.
A teacher with TUSD, Crouch wasn't required to file a campaign finance report because he didn't file as a candidate until June 14.
Democrat Sharon Bronson is finishing her first term in District 3, the sprawling realm that stretches from the west side of Tucson to Ajo and Lukeville.
"We're going to focus on the record and the issues we focused on last time: making sure that growth pays for itself, that we protect our quality of life, and that we provide constituent service to the constituents of District 3," says Bronson, who had raised $32,362 for her re-election campaign as of May 31. Bronson's centrist approach has won her contributors ranging from environmental activist Gayle Hartmann ($100) to developer Phillip Pepper ($100).
Bronson is again turning to the Strategic Issues Management Group, the political consulting firm headed by David Steele, a former aide to former U.S. Sen. Dennis DeConcini.
Bronson has drawn a primary challenge from Richard "Dick" Pacheco, a former lawmaker in District 9. Pacheco was elected to a Justice of the Peace post in 1992, but quit after less than two years. He entered this year's race late and, as of May 31, had raised less than $500.
Unless she's upset by Pacheco, Bronson will face Republican Barney Brenner, an auto-parts shop owner who emerged as a leader during 1999's contentious budget hearings. Brenner complains that the county is spending too much and promulgating environmental regulations that erode private property rights, while ignoring pressing problems such as traffic gridlock.
"Pima County is being poorly run," says Brenner.
His campaign has been largely self-funded; as of May 31, he'd personally loaned it $11,500 and collected only $2,845 in contributions, including $100 from real-estate investor Don Golos, $320 each from real-estate agents Kari and Adrian Darimont of Ironwood Properties, and $320 from real-estate agent Bill Arnold, who managed Vicki Cox-Golder's disastrous quarter-million-dollar campaign against Bronson in 1996.
In southside District 5, Supervisor Raul Grijalva faces a tough run for a fourth term. In the Democratic primary, Grijalva will face Dan Medina, an employee of auto dealer Jim Click. Medina, who is making his first run for public office, had raised only $825 as of May 31, including $725 he had loaned the campaign. But with Click's backing, he's expected to have enough money to give Grijalva a fight.
The winner of the primary will face Republican Rosalie Lopez, who was elected to the Tucson Unified School Board in 1998. For months, Lopez has been laying the groundwork for her campaign. Although the district is heavily Democratic, Lopez is aggressively campaigning.
"I got into the race because so many people, as myself, had come to a point where we recognized that change was necessary in order to restore Pima County to good financial health," Lopez says. "With that in mind, I pose a different type of leadership that I believe will restore integrity to that position as well as work for the greater good of not only District 5 residents but all of Pima County."
As of May 31, Lopez had raised $16,353, including $655 she loaned the campaign herself. She says that since the end of the reporting period, she has topped $25,000.
More than one-fourth of her contributions on the most recent report--at least $4,000--came from players in the growth game, including legendary land speculator Don Diamond ($250), developer Chris Sheafe ($175), retired real-estate dealmaker Roy Drachman ($100), developer Perry Bassett ($320) and real-estate broker Vicki Cox-Golder ($100). Lopez also has tapped the educational community, raising more than $1,000 from teachers, administrators and support staff. She's spent $7,895, leaving her with $8,458.
Although she's picking up a fair share of stuccodollars, Lopez bristles at Grijalva's suggestion that she's in the pocket of the development community.
"He has the audacity to claim that I'm being underwritten--completely funded--by development," she says. "You can see I have a lot of retirees, housewives, I don't have a lot of developers."
To prepare for battle, Grijalva is working the fundraising circuit himself. As of May 31, he had raised $41,991. He'd spent $12,859, leaving him with $29,132 in the bank.
"The difficulty I've found in this race is the tone," Grijalva says. "We're not debating issues, we're debating Raul."
Statehouse Shuffle
GIVEN THE LOPSIDED voter registration numbers in most legislative districts, statehouse campaigns are normally settled in the primaries, which are decided by a small percentage of party faithful. (Voters will have a chance to change that system with an proposition that would take redistricting power away from lawmakers and put it into the hands of an independent committee; see "You Make The Call," at right.)
But District 13, stretching across north-central Tucson and the Catalina Foothills, is a big exception, with nearly as many Democrats (25,332) as Republicans (26,058). There are also 689 Libertarians, 27 Reform Party members and 9,627 voters not affiliated with any of those parties.
That close registration makes District 13 the biggest prize of the legislative season. With the state Senate currently split with 16 Republicans and 14 Democrats, the GOP has the narrowest of margins. To strengthen their hold, the state Republican Party is eager to capture the District 13 Senate seat now held by Democrat George Cunningham (who is stepping down to run for Congressman Jim Kolbe's District 5 office). Democrats, naturally, are desperate to hold onto Cunningham's seat.
Cunningham's departure sets up a battle between the district's two House members: Democrat Andy Nichols, who has served since 1992, and Republican Kathleen Dunbar, a freshman Republican.
With the two open House seats, four Democrats are squaring off in the primary. All four are promising to focus on education and healthcare issues.
A former tavern owner, Colette Barajas is now a real-estate broker with Centra Realty on Fourth Avenue. Barajas has served on the board of Compass Healthcare, Wingspan and the Arizona Human Rights League. She's tapping friends like political strategists Jan Lesher and Carol Zimmerman, although she hasn't contracted with either Lesher Communications or Zimmerman and Associates.
Gabrielle Giffords is a native Tucsonan who got her undergrad degree at Scripps College and her master's in urban planning at Cornell. In between, she's done studies along the Mexican border. After a stint working for PriceWaterhouse in New York City, Giffords returned to Tucson to help run her family's El Campo tire store chain, which was recently sold to a national franchise. She's also served on several local boards, including the Arizona Friends of Small Business, the Tucson Regional Water Council and the YMCA of Metropolitan Tucson.
Howard Shore is a clinical psychologist who spent eight years as director of mental health services at the Thomas-Davis clinic. Shore's campaign is chaired by former TUSD board member Bob Strauss. He's also working with political strategists Nina Trasoff and Judy Nagle, as well as his wife, former Planned Parenthood head Virginia Yrun.
UA anthropology professor Ted Downing has been active in his northside Richland Heights neighborhood association. Downing is focused on reforming the political system.
The Republicans have already settled on a slate. Jonathan Lee Paton, a former legislative intern who lost a bid for a House seat in 1998, is running alongside Carol Somers, a former temp company owner who has also served on the board of the Greater Tucson Economic Council.
Money is sure to play a big role in the District 13 race. Three of the Democrats seeking House seats--Downing, Shore and Barajas--have signed contracts to run in the state's new publicly funded campaign system. Provided they can raise 200 $5 contributions inside District 13, they'll be eligible for $10,000 in the primary and an additional $15,000 in the general election from the state. (Downing has already qualified.)
The remaining candidates are all raising their own campaign funds. If they exceed the spending limits set by the Clean Elections program, the publicly funded candidates are eligible for more in matching funds.
Still, it's not likely to be a level playing field, dollar-wise, because the GOP is expected to spend tens of thousands of dollars in soft money to support its slate. That effort is likely to be backed by a collection of independent campaign committees. The disorganized state Democratic Party will be hard-pressed to match those efforts.
In other districts, term limits are bringing new faces--as well as some retreads--to the political stage.
In District 9, where Republicans enjoy an 11-point edge in voter registration, all three GOP lawmakers are hitting the four-term limit. Sen. Keith Bee, who now has his eye on the state superintendent of public instruction post in 2002, is giving up his legislative career.
But his brother, Tim Bee, is hoping to cash in on his name ID. He'll face incumbent District 9 Rep. Bill McGibbon, a rancher who wants to move up to Senate.
The winner of the GOP primary will face one of three Democrats in the District 9 Senate race: Plumbing company owner James Jaster, teacher Kathy Ramage-White and travel agent Matt Welch.
With McGibbon running for Senate and Rep. Lou-Ann Preble calling it quits, five Republicans are chasing the District 9 House seats: Parralee Schnieder, Marian McClure, Mike Jenkins, Randy Graf and Kerry Clawson.
Democrat David Bradley will face the two winners of the GOP primary.
In heavily Democratic District 10, state Sen. Vic Soltero is up against term limits as well; addicted to the thrills of lawmaking, he'll seek to move from the Senate back to the House. Both District 10 House members, Ramon Valadez and Sally Ann Gonzales, hope to succeed him, setting up another Democratic primary fight. The winner will likely crush Libertarian Gale Dorney.
That leaves six Democrats seeking the two open House seats. Besides Soltero, nurse Betty Liggins, Sunnyside School Board member Linda Lopez, attorney Ralph Ellinwood, former gas-station owner Jesse Lugo and political newcomer Emmett Alvarez are in the race.
The two winners of the Democratic primary will face a token challenge from Republican Judith Bennett and Green Jack Strasburg.
In District 11, which is also a Democratic stronghold, Sen. Elaine Richardson has drawn opposition only from Green Chris Ford and Libertarian John Schmid. House members Carmine Cardamone and Debra Norris are seeking re-election; running against them in the Democratic primary is Olivia Cajero Bedford, daughter of former District 10 Rep. Carmine Cajero.
Green Party candidate William Moeller will face the winners of the primary.
Having hit her term limit, Sen. Ann Day is now seeking Mike Boyd's District 1 seat on the Pima County Board of Supervisors. Meanwhile, former Boyd aide Toni Hellon is running for Day's seat. A well-connected former chair of the county Republican Party, Hellon is facing a primary challenge from former lawmaker Scott Alexander, who says his experience at the legislature will help provide leadership at a time when term limits are forcing many veterans out.
Although the district leans Republican, Democrat Mark Osterloh, a doctor who lost a 1998 bid for the District 12 House seat, will face the winner of the GOP primary.
D12 Rep. Dan Schottel has also hit his term limit; he'll face Day in the GOP primary for the District 1 board seat. Rep. Steve Huffman, a real-estate broker who won his first term in 1998, is seeking re-election. Two other Republicans, Pete Hershberger (son of former D12 lawmakers Pete and Freddie Hershberger) and Billie Jane Madden, are also on the ballot.
The two winners of the GOP primary will face Democrats Mort Nelson and Craig Molloy.
In District 14, Sen. Ruth Solomon is seeking re-election, as is Rep. Marion Pickens. Rep. Herschella Horton is stepping down to seek a seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission, leaving an open seat that is likely to be grabbed by Demitri Downing, a prosecutor for the Tohono O'odham nation who lost his bid for a City Council seat in 1997. (He's the son of Ted Downing, who is seeking a House seat in D13).
Pickens and Downing will face Republican Ed Poelstra, son of lobbyist Ted Poelstra, and Green Mary "Katie" Bolger.
You Make The Call
LAST THURSDAY, JULY 6, was the deadline for filing citizen initiatives. A total of eight appear bound for the ballot:
· The Citizens Growth Management Initiative would require cities and counties to adopt growth management plans to limit urban sprawl. The plans would have to set urban growth boundaries; limit development and new city services outside the boundaries; require developers to pay for roads and schools to serve new subdivisions; and protect air and water quality. Plans could not be substantially changed without voter approval, and citizens could adopt plans and amendments by initiative. The initiative would also limit wildcat subdivisions, provide for public access to state conservation lands, and amend existing laws to conform them to the initiative.
Supporters, including the Sierra Club, the Center for Law in the Public Interest, the League of Women Voters, the Arizona League of Conservation Voters, Local 99 of the United Food and Commercial Workers' Union, and Pima County Supervisors Sharon Bronson and Raul Grijalva, say the initiative would force growth to start paying for itself and slow the blading and grading of sensitive land. The Growth Lobby says the measure would halt all development, triggering the complete collapse of the state economy. They're expected to spend more than $3.5 million opposing it.
· The Taxpayer Protection Act would eliminate the state income tax, which accounts for nearly half of the state budget. Lawmakers would have to phase out the tax over four years and place any replacement revenue source on the ballot for voter approval. Supporters, including former secretary of state Dick Mahoney and Phoenix physician Jeffrey Singer, say an income tax is too complicated and unfair. Critics, including the Tucson 30, the Children's Action Alliance, the Tucson City Council, the education lobby, nearly every group of government employees and a coalition group called Arizonans Against Unfair Tax Schemes, say the proposition would eliminate the only progressive feature of the state tax system, result in higher property or sales taxes, and cause devastating cuts to government departments, from education to social services to corrections. Backers of Arizonans Against Unfair Tax Schemes have filed suit to knock the initiative from the November ballot.
· Healthy Children Healthy Families sets aside all of Arizona's tobacco settlement dollars--estimated at about $100 million a year--for a variety of healthcare measures: providing health insurance to uninsured working parents; boosting KidsCare, the state program for uninsured children; providing expanded prenatal care; and promoting early cancer and heart-disease detection. Already backing this one are former attorney general Grant Woods, supermarket magnate Eddie Basha, the Children's Action Alliance and the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, which provided much of the funding for the initiative. The backers strategically filed signatures as quickly as possible so that it would appear at the top of the ballot. That gives it an advantage over...
· Healthy Arizona 2, the other healthcare initiative to reach the ballot. This is a follow-up to Healthy Arizona, a proposition passed overwhelmingly by voters in 1996 but never implemented by the legislature. The initiative would cover healthcare costs for families at the federal poverty level. The original Healthy Arizona legislation would be repealed with the passage of the Healthy Children Healthy Families.
Lawmakers may swing into special session later this month to put yet another competing healthcare measure on the ballot.
· The English for the Children initiative would virtually eliminate bilingual education in Arizona schools. Patterned after a similar initiative that handily passed in California two years ago (and funded by Ron Unz, who also spearheaded California's effort), the initiative requires that all public school instruction be conducted in English. Children not fluent in English would be placed in an intensive one-year English immersion program to teach them the language as quickly as possible while also learning academic subjects. Parents may request a waiver of these requirements for children who already know English, are 10 years or older, or have special needs best suited to a different educational approach. Supporters say bilingual education fails to get kids into mainstream English-language classes. Opponents say bilingual education may have its flaws, but this initiative goes too far with a one-size-fits-all solution.
· Fair Districts, Fair Elections is a state constitutional amendment that would create a new "citizens' independent redistricting commission" to draw new legislative and congressional district boundaries after each U.S. Census. Under the current system, redistricting is in the hands of the Arizona Legislature. Supporters of the amendment, including Attorney General Janet Napolitano, former attorney general Grant Woods, Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, say lawmakers abuse that power to draw safe districts to build their political muscle. The initiative would put the process in the hands of politically neutral commission of citizens who are not active in partisan politics and who will serve without pay to create fair districts that are not gerrymandered for any party's or incumbent's advantage. Critics of the initiative say putting amateurs in control is a lousy idea because it's impossible to drain the politics from politics.
· The Drug Medicalization, Prevention, and Control Act of 2000 would further advance the medical marijuana laws passed by voters in 1996 and 1998. This time, voters will be asked to reroute assets forfeited by criminals to drug treatment and gang prevention; mandate harsher punishments for serious drug felons and remove minimum sentences for non-violent drug users; change the punishment for possession of two ounces or less of marijuana from a potential jail term to a fine; make non-violent drug offenders convicted only of simple possession eligible for parole; and establish a system run by the Attorney General for legal distribution of medical marijuana to qualifying patients. The initiative's biggest backers, financier-philanthropist George Soros and University of Phoenix founder John Sperling, dropped their support of the initiative because they were concerned about technicalities in the prop's language, turning the signatures over to W. Michael Walz, a Phoenix defense attorney specializing in marijuana cases. Without a slick big-budget campaign, it's likely that this pot initiative is going up in smoke.
· The Consumer Choice and Fair Competition Telecomunications Amendment purports to update century-old telephone regulations to encourage consumer choice and competition in telecommunication services and to assure that all consumers and companies are treated fairly; end state government regulation of rates for local phone services in communities where two or more competing companies offer basic local service; require that consumers in those communities who have access to only one company receive the same competitive rates offered other consumers; and maintain state authority to set rates in communities served by only one company and allow use of modern rate options, such as rate caps. The sponsoring organization is Arizonans for Consumer Choice and Fair Competition, which is funded almost entirely by U S West/Quest. Critics, including former Arizona Corporation Commission member Renz Jennings, the Arizona Consumers Council, the Arizona Community Action Association and the Arizona AARP State Legislative Committee, say the measure will actually fix the playing field in U S West's favor.
In addition to these initiatives, lawmakers have referred eight proposals to the ballot.
· Prop 100 is an outgrowth of Growing Smarter Plus, the growth-management legislation passed at the Capitol earlier this year. Gov. Jane Dee Hull and state lawmakers hope this will appease angry voters who, according to polls last year, overwhelmingly support slowing Arizona's frantic pace of development. It amends the Arizona Constitution to set aside up to 3 percent of state trust lands for preservation and broadens the ability for state/private land swaps.
· Prop 101 provides for minor amendment to politically incorrect language in the state constitution.
· Prop 102 asks voters to give up some of their power by amending the state constitution to force wildlife ballot props to pass by a two-thirds margin--a rare occurrence at the ballot. Lawmakers rejected amendments that would have required this proposal to pass by that two-thirds margin. Supporters say people are just too damn dumb to be trusted with this kind of power.
· Prop 103 amends the state constitution to expand the Arizona Corporation Commission from three to five members and change the terms from six to four years. Supporters argue it would help ease the tensions that have afflicted the commission in recent years.
· Prop 104 freezes the assessed value of homes of seniors 65 and older who have less than $23,232 in annual income. (That figure would be adjusted for inflation.) Proponents argue that seniors face creeping property taxes as home values increase; critics say that freezing values leads to inequitable distribution of the property tax burden.
· Prop 105 would exempt cemeteries from property tax.
· Prop 300: Yes, lawmakers have come to us for another raise, through their pals on the Commission on Salaries for Elective State Officers. This would increase their salaries to $30,000--two years after voters boosted pay to $24,000. Last time out, voters were told that the raise would also lower per-diem reimbursement for lawmakers, which can run as high as $23,000. Following passage of the raise, a group of legislators promptly asked Attorney General Janet Napolitano to reverse the per-diem cut. Napolitano agreed, and her decision was held up in court. Will voters remember the bait-and-switch this year?
· Prop 301 is the education funding proposal passed by lawmakers after much storm and fury last month. The plan would increase the state sales tax by .6 percent, with the money dedicated to K-12, universities, and school construction.
The County Line
IN OTHER PIMA County action:
Longtime County Treasurer Jim Kirk, a Republican who has served since 1968, is stepping down, which means voters have a chance to elect a candidate who might actually bring the office into the 21st century--or at least the 20th--by introducing some of that newfangled computer technology. (Kirk recently told the morning daily he'd rather have "coolies" do the job.)
Former Pima County Democratic Party chair Jesse George will face Republican Beth Ford in the race. George had tapped political contacts to raise $5,941 by May 31, while Ford had only raised $1,483.
County Superintendent of Public Schools Linda Arzoumanian, a Republican appointed at the end of 1999 by the Board of Supervisors after Anita Lohr stepped down, is seeking a full term. She'll face the winner of the three-way Democratic primary fight among Amphi teacher Andy Morales, a union activist who lost his 1998 bid for a House seat in District 12; Eva Dong, a Sunnyside School Board member; and Greg Czekaj, a fourth-grade teacher at Sahuarita.
Sheriff Clarence Dupnik has drawn a smokin' challenge from Green Dave Croteau, who ran a pro-hemp write-in campaign for mayor last year.
County Attorney Barbara LaWall is facing Green Peter Hormel and Libertarian Dave Hardy, a local attorney involved in legal fights opposing the Brady Bill, the 1998 closing of the Tucson Rod and Gun Club, and the U.S. government's assault on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.
County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez will face Green William C. Zaffer.
Assessor Rick Lyons is the only county line officer to escape a challenge (although Dupnik, LaWall and Rodriguez probably feel pretty comfy).
Out Of Commission
IT'S BEEN A tumultuous few years for the Arizona Corporation Commission, which is charged with keeping records on Arizona companies and, more importantly to voters, overseeing utilities, which includes approving or denying their regular requests for rate increases.
Infighting has at times made the three-member commission nearly dysfunctional, and the one commissioner not up for election this year, Jim Irvin, is facing a civil lawsuit and criminal investigation regarding his actions in connection to the collapsed merger of Southwest Gas and Oneok.
The situation has gotten so bad that lawmakers have proposed changing the makeup of the commission by expanding it to five members and reducing the terms from six years to four. Voters will have a chance to approve the changes at the ballot in November.
With the rapid changes in the phone and electric industries, the ACC job has gotten more complicated than ever.
Statewide, the Corporation Commission will have two openings, following the odd technicality that prevented Tony West from holding his seat following his election in 1998. Republican Bill Mundell, a former lawmaker appointed to the seat in by Jane Dee Hull after West was ousted, is running to finish out the remaining four years in his term. Two Democrats, state Rep. Herschella Horton from Tucson's District 14, and Barbara Lubin, a Democratic activist who worked as an aide to commissioners in the early 1980s, will face off in the Democratic primary. Libertarian Ray Price is also on the general election ballot.
For the six-year term to replace commission member Carl Kunasek, former state Sen. Mark Spitzer, a Republican from Phoenix, will face Steven Ahearn, who served as the ACC's executive consultant and legislative lobbyist in the late '90s. A Phoenix judge disqualified Democrat Sandra Kennedy from running; he ruled that her petition did not have enough valid signatures.
Congressional Action
TWO DEMOCRATS ARE vying for the chance to take on mighty Congressman Jim Kolbe: state Sen. George Cunningham and county prosecutor Mary Judge Ryan.
Perennial screwball Joe Sweeney is again challenging Kolbe in the Republican primary.
Green Party candidate Michael Jay Green and Libertarian Aage Nost will also be on the ballot in District 5.
District 2 Congressman Ed Pastor is seeking re-election. Yuma Republican Bill Barenholtz has been running against Pastor almost since he was re-elected in 1998 but given the Democratic edge in District 2, he's got about as big a chance as the others on the ballot, Libertarian Geoffrey Weber and Natural Law candidate Barbara Shelor.
Freshman Sen. Jon Kyl is breezing to re-election. Providing more evidence that the state Democratic Party is absolutely hapless, the Dems failed to mount a challenge to Kyl, although Democrat Stuart Starkey hopes to land a spot through a write-in campaign. Even the Libertarians managed to find a candidate, Barry Hess of Glendale.
