Hopefuls stump in Sun City

District 9 legislative candidates and two men seeking election to the Arizona Corporation Commission discussed issues ranging from the state budget deficit to global warming Wednesday night during a candidates forum in Sun City.

The meeting in the Sundial Auditorium was sponsored by the League of Women Voters and featured District 9 Senate candidates Bob Burns, a Republican, and Democrat Karen Price. House candidates included Republicans Rick Murphy and Debbie Lesko and Democrat Shawn Hutchinson. Barry Wong, a Republican, and Sam George, a Democrat, discussed issues relating to the seats they are seeking on the corporation commission.

During his opening statement, George said he would make the environment a primary issue.

"If I am elected, I will do everything I can to make the job of the commission to protect not only consumers, but the environment," George said. "Global warming may very well be the greatest threat this civilization has ever faced, and we need to do everything we can to start slowing climate change right now."

Wong said he, too, felt the environment needed to be a priority for the commission, adding he was partly responsible for ushering in the state's new Renewable Energy Standard in 2006.

"I recognize that we need to find alternative and renewable sources of energy, and that is why I pushed to put the new standard in place," Wong said. "We now have a requirement of 15 percent renewable energy by 2025, and I believe we can reach that figure sooner."

The legislative debate largely centered on the state's economic troubles, with the residents on hand wanting to know what the candidates would do to address the budget deficit.

"We have a lot of problems in the Legislature to address, and one of those is that we are simply spending too much money," Murphy said. "We need to make cuts across the board. It's not a pleasant situation, but it is reality."

Price repeatedly stressed that for her, the key to the problem is in the job market.

"The more cuts we make in the budget, the more jobs we lose," Price said. "Sixty percent of our budget comes from sales tax. Now, when families are losing their jobs, are they out spending money? No. So what do we have to do? We have to make more cuts to the budget. Do you see what I mean here? What we are doing is not working. We need to prioritize and plan much better than we have been doing."

Hutchinson, who said the $300 million deficit is alarming especially only three months into the fiscal year, said one thing he will not do is cut any more funding from education.

"My wife is a teacher, and I have seen first hand how difficult it is right now for educators," Hutchinson said. "And I can tell you, if we cut any more than we already have from education it would be disastrous. We need to make cuts and we need to tighten our belts, but we can do it elsewhere."

Lesko said she believed excessive spending was the primary reason for the mess the Legislature faces.

"From 2005 to 2008, we have increased spending at a rate of 14 percent per year, even though our average income increase is only 7 percent," Lesko said. "We will have to cut spending and perhaps sell assets, but first and foremost, we need to be smarter when we are setting our budget."

Burns said, as head of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he did everything he could to keep the budget from ballooning.

"I tried as hard as I could to stop it, because I knew it would mean operating at a deficit," Burns said. "But now that we are where we are, we can't wait any longer. We can't wait until this $300 million deficit reaches $600 million. We have to address it now."

As for reaching across the aisle to make things happen, each of the candidates said they are willing and able to do that.

"My in-laws are Democrats, and I have several friends who are Democrats," Lesko said. "I've learned to get along with people even if we disagree."

Hutchinson, an electrical worker by trade, said his union experience will serve him well in cooperating with his Republican counterparts.

"You want to talk about reaching across the aisle? I've served on the executive board of my local International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union," Hutchinson said. "And I've served on our health and welfare committee, which means negotiating coverage for our union members. We don't always agree, but at the end of the day we work together, and we come to a compromise. I'm the candidate who can make that happen at the Legislature, as well."

Jeff Dempsey may be reached at 623-876-2531 or jdempsey@yourwestvalley.com.