Two faculty members in races today

Todays election results also will determine if two UA faculty members achieve their political goals.

Tom Volgy, a University of Arizona political science professor, is trying to upset incumbent Republican Jim Kolbe for a U.S. House seat, and sociology professor Celestino Fernandez will vie for one of two open seats on the Tucson Unified School District board.

U.S. House, District 5

Tom Volgy (D)

Tom Volgy, a Democratic U.S. House of Representatives candidate and UA political science professor, said his top priorities are changing the health care system by making it more affordable, improving the states education system and executing campaign finance reform. He also calls for environmental protection and rallies against the privatization of social security.

Katherine Jacobson, Volgys campaign manager, said Volgys promise last month to return campaign donations has resulted in his office returning about $20,000.

He is turning around and mailing it back to the people, she said yesterday.

Volgy has attacked his opponent, Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe for accepting money from political action committees and other special interest groups. Volgy has said he will not accept donations from these entities.

Jacobson also said Volgys plan to not privatize Social Security stops the wrong people from making money.

The bankers will benefit if you privatize Social Security, she said. Theyll get all the commissions.

Volgy appeals to a younger crowd, not just Social Security recipients, she said.

College students are excited because they see someone whos going to govern in a different way, Jacobson said.

Jim Kolbe (R)

Rep. Jim Kolbe, a Republican, was elected to the U.S. House in 1984.

Kolbe, a Vietnam veteran, includes fighting drugs, cutting taxes and making schools safer through education as his main objectives.

George Gobble, Kolbes campaign manager, said yesterday that the incumbent is making house calls to spread his ideas.

Last night, he went door to door north of (Tucsons) Himmel Park, Gobble said.

Kolbes promise to fight drugs in America has led him to deal with top Washington officials, Gobble said.

Hes been working hand in hand with the drug czar (Barry McCaffrey), Gobble said.

Gobble also said Kolbe wants to invest 90 percent of the budget surplus to save Social Security.

He wants to take the other 10 percent and return it to the taxpayers in the form of a reduction, Gobble said.

Tucson Unified School District

Celestino Fernandez

Celestino Fernandez, 49, a UA sociology professor and former Arizona International College provost, said his primary issue is student academic achievements.

He said yesterday that parents want their children to be fully prepared for college.

I would emphasize a core curriculum, he said.

Fernandez attacked the current TUSD school board, calling it dysfunctional, and saying it has no plan or sense of direction.

Fernandez has served on various TUSD committees, and now sits on the Educational Enrichment Foundation.

Whether or not he wins the unpaid position on the TUSD board, Fernandez said he will continue to work at the University of Arizona.

Fernandez, who has been with the UA for 22 years, received tenure in 1982.

He has served as the UAs vice president for academic outreach and international affairs, vice president for undergraduate education and the associate vice president for economic affairs.

Fernandez said he supports school uniforms only if the actual school and parents make the decision.

I dont think its appropriate for TUSD to mandate it throughout the district, he said. The policies ought to be specific to the schools needs.

Fernandez said hes optimistic about his candidacy.

Weve got our literature out there and our signs out there and well see what the voters do, he said.

Arizona governor

Jane Hull (R)

Gov. Jane Hull, the Republican incumbent, was elected secretary of state in 1995.

She would have remained in that position until the end of the term, but because former Gov. Fife Symington was convicted of bank fraud and forced to resign, Hull became governor Sept. 5, 1997.

Mike Hull, the candidates son and campaign manager, said yesterday that the governors No. 1 priority is education.

Now that weve resolved the building crisis, well focus inside the classroom, he said. She wants accountability inside the classroom, not just throwing money into it.

Increasing educational standards and focusing on family are also major parts of Hulls campaign, Mike Hull said.

He also said the states economy is a key issue, along with lowering crime and limiting the number of bills that go through the Legislature.

Its about quality, not quantity, Mike Hull said.

Paul Johnson (D)

Paul Johnson, former Phoenix mayor and telecommunication company CEO, said he is the education governor.

Under the Democrats plan, more money will be spent in the classrooms, more teachers will be hired and school crime will be fought with a code of conduct.

Johnson also includes health maintenance organization reform and tax cuts in his list of key issues.

He wants to make HMOs accountable if they are making medical decisions, said Susan Markham, Johnsons campaign manager. He would also like patients to be able to choose their own doctor.

Markham said Johnson has opposed Hulls Students First bill from the start, saying he wants to go back to the prior system of using property taxes for funding.

Johnson has charged that Hulls Students First plan will leave the state with significant problems. Students First will reduce property taxes by $400 million and have Arizona deal with building and renovating schools, Hull has said.

Markham also said Johnsons campaign volunteers have worked hard to attract the attention of younger people.

Weve done a tremendous amount of work with vote by mail, hoping to get the under 25 crowd, Markham said.

U.S. Senate

Ed Ranger (D)

U.S. Senate candidate Ed Ranger has campaigned out of a bus, riding through Arizona in an effort to defeat Republican incumbent John McCain.

Ranger, an entrepreneur and environmental lawyer, lists his top issues as education, health, environment and assuring economic growth and employment opportunities.

Ranger, a Democrat, said last month that education is his No. 1 issue, and that he wonders why Arizona is falling below average in its standards.

He said he wants to implement a comprehensive education plan, including additional funding and supplements for schools, along with an increase in the number of teachers.

Amy New, Rangers campaign manager, said the candidate isnt concerned about McCains long-standing reign over Arizona.

She said no independent agencies have conducted polls on the race, and she blames McCains pollsters for asserting that the incumbent is leading by a large margin.

Were not at all concerned about the polls, New said yesterday. Were more interested in the street polls that we do.

New said her office has conducted street polls in which 90 percent of participants said they plan to vote for Ranger.

We expect to win, she said.

John McCain (R)

Sen. John McCain is running for his third consecutive term in the U.S. Senate.

McCain, a Republican who had a 22-year-long U.S. Navy career and was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for five and a half years, cites making a smaller government, giving further opportunities to all Americans and preserving natural resources as his primary goals.

He considers senior citizens and telecommunications as other top priorities.

McCains representatives were unavailable for comment yesterday and did not return phone calls. A volunteer said McCain and his campaign manager were on a statewide swing.

Selected ballot propositions

Arizona residents are also voting today on several propositions that could change state laws pertaining to campaign finance, cockfighting and land appropriation.

Prop. 200 Citizens Clean Elections Act

The proposition was created with the intention of minimizing the influence of special interest money on political elections in Arizona.

The proposition creates a five-member Citizens Clean Election Commission and establishes a system of public funding for statewide and state legislative political elections.

The governor would appoint commission members along with the highest ranking statewide officeholder who is not in the same political party as the governor. No more than two committee members could be from the same political party or the same county.

Politicians who voluntarily agree to limit their campaign spending to amounts established by the commission and who limit the amount of personal money they contribute would qualify to receive funding from the committee. The committee would receive funds at a rate of $5 for every state tax return filed.

The proposition would also reduce by 20 percent the amount of individual funds that can be contributed to a politician who does not agree to receive public funding and would charge lobbyists who represent for-profit groups a $100 fee.

People who support the proposition say it would give politicians the chance to spend less time fund raising and the candidates from smaller parties a chance to win. They argue it also would give PACs less influence.

Those opposed to the proposition say it would create additional government bureaucracy, use tax dollars to fund unpopular candidates, and penalize politicians who choose not to participate in the program.

Prop. 201 Cockfighting

The proposition would extend existing state animal cruelty laws to include cockfighting which pits male chickens against each other for sport. Arizona is one of five states that still allows cockfighting.

Anyone causing any cock to fight with or injure another cock for the amusement or gain of the person would be guilty of a Class 5 felony punishable by up to $150,000 in fines and two years in prison.

Owning or training a cock to fight with other cocks would carry the same penalties.

If it passes, those present at a cockfight could be cited with a Class 1 misdemeanor, carrying a maximum punishment of $2,500 in fines and six months in jail.

Those in favor of the proposition argue that cockfighting is cruel to the birds, unhealthy for children who watch the fights and tarnishes Arizonas image.

Its critics contend that cockfighting is part of American tradition and culture, and that those who raise and fight cocks are preventing the birds from becoming extinct.

Cockfighting involves pitting specially bred roosters against each other, with sharp metal spears or knives strapped to their legs. The birds are physically provoked to fight each other until one dies.

Prop. 303 Land use changes

The proposition is part of a program designed by the state Legislature, and aims to create open space and conservation areas throughout Arizona.

It would provide $20 million of State General Revenue each year for 11 years to purchase or lease state trust land and to preserve land from development as open space under the Growing Smarter Act.

The University of Arizona is a land grant institution and receives profits from the leasing of trust land.

The act would also prevent the state from mandating local governments to enact particular growth management ordinances.

Supporters of the proposition say it would help preserve scenic areas throughout the state. They say it would help citizens study and plan for growth in a deliberate manner, and the money used would be available for public education.

People opposed to the proposition say it would protect developers interests, restrict Arizonans from controlling growth in their own neighborhoods and benefit the upper class.

David J. Cieslak and Anthony C. Braza can be reached via e-mail David.J.Cieslak@wildcat.arizona.edu and Anthony.C.Braza@wildcat.edu respectively.