U.S. Congress District 7

John Nemeth (L)

ðProfession:

Unemployed, former electronic design draftsman

ðEducation:

Bell Telephone Laboratories drafting training

ðAt a glance:

Nemeth could not be reached for specific commentary on UA-related issues and was not present at last night's candidate forum. The goals on his campaign Web site include eliminating the national Department of Education and returning money to families to educate their children.

Mark Fleisher (D)

ðProfession:

Consultant, formerly in real estate

ðEducation:

4 years at University of New Mexico

ðAt a glance:

Fleisher said that the three Arizona universities are a vital part of our economy and would like to see the next congressman making an effort to supply the universities with research grants.

Here at UA, Fleisher said he would like to see a solar energy program established.

Luis A. Gonzales (D)

ðProfession:

Indian Gaming Commissioner

ðEducation:

B.A. from UA

ðAt a glance:

Gonzales said the federal government might be able to take up the slack where the state falls short on the budget through research grants.

In 2003, Gonzales hopes to be able to assist with funding at the student level rather than distributing millions of dollars to research, which he says, the student body never gets to see.

Raœl M. Grijalva (D)

ðProfession:

Former Pima County Supervisor

ðEducation:

B.A. from UA

ðAt a glance:

At a glance: Grijalva said the federal government has to bring public higher education back to where it was two years ago by pumping more resources in the direction of education and universities.

"The beauty of this state is that there are three significant public universities," he said.

Jaime P. Gutierrez (D)

ðProfession:

Assistant Vice President of UA

ðEducation:

Master's from UA

ðAt a glance:

Gutierrez wants students to go directly into universities and skip community college.This, he said, can be achieved by making higher education more affordable and accessible for students of all income levels.

By doing this, students will avoid graduating with thousands of dollars in debt, he said.

Lisa Otondo (D)

ðProfession:

American Airlines employee

ðEducation:

B.S. and M.S. from the Monterrey Institute of International Studies

ðAt a glance:

Every child, no matter what his or her race or income level, should have access to education, Otondo said.

Right now, Pell Grant dollars need to be increased by 29 percent to pay for students' costs, she said.

Elaine Richardson (D)

ðProfession:

State Senator and licensed realtor

ðEducation:

Attended Bryant College, Pima College and UA

ðAt a glance:

Richardson said it is important to keep the universities strong to help strengthen the Arizona economy.

She would like to expand Teach America, a program in which college graduates enter inner-city classrooms and teach for two years.

Jesœs Romo (D)

ðProfession:

Civil Rights Attorney

ðEducation:

B.S. and M.S. from the Monterrey Institute of International Studies

ðAt a glance:

Romo said the federal government has put itself into debt.

When the next round of Bush tax cuts come along, he'd like to see the money go instead to states to pay for education.

Sherry Smith (D)

ðProfession:

Works with father

ðEducation:

B.A. from ASU, M.S. from NAU

ðAt a glance:

Smith said more work should be done to help people holding high school diplomas get jobs, and to get grants and loans for those pursuing higher education.

"Having the desire to get an education is not as prevalent as it used to be," Smith said.

Ross Heib (R)

ðProfession:

Doctor, retired Marine colonel, former Yuma city councilman.

ðEducation:

B.A. from University of Washington, M.S. from Naval Postgraduate School.

ðAt a glance:

Drop out rates are too high and scores are too low when it comes student statistics, he said. He added there is money given to research and more of it should be seen by students.

Lori Lustig (R)

ðProfession:

Small business owner, registered nurse, attorney

ðEducation:

B.S. from Russell Sage College, J.D. from Albany Law School.

ðAt a glance:

Arizona needs better jobs for graduates, and Lustig said she will bring them here.

"I moved here because of UA and what they're doing with healthcare, and we can't afford to have our students leave," she said.

Al Pi–a (D)

ðProfession:

Vice president of TELACU

ðEducation:

Prelaw from Phoenix College, B.S. in business from ASU

ðAt a glance:

Pina could not be reached for specific commentary on UA ö related issues and was not present at last night's candidate forum.

Joseph Sweeney (D)

ðProfession:

Social Security disability, former law/theology instructor

ðEducation:

B.S. from UA, J.D. from Alexander Hamilton Law School

ðAt a glance:

Sweeney says he wants to put together national service

programs to help young people work in their communities.

He also wants to work for more grants for Arizona students to attend universities, as well as get more federal funding into the state university system.