Fall 2018 Election Voting Guide • October 24, 2018
The Daily Wildcat • V7
VOTING GUIDE | HOUSE RACES
House races for Southern Arizona
BY RANDALL ECK @reck999
Arizona’s Third Congressional District includes southwest Tucson. The congressional seat has been solidly Democratic since won by eight-term Congressman Raul Grijalva in 2013.
Arizona’s Second Congressional District includes northeast Tucson. The competitive congressional seat, formerly held by Republican Martha McSally, will be critical to Democratic efforts to retake Congress.
University of Arizona
Raul Grijalva began his political career as a community organizer in Tucson and, since 2003, has represented Arizona in Congress. While campaigning for his ninth term, Grijalva has touted his support for expanding social security, universal health care, campaign finance reform, increasing the federal minimum wage and comprehensive immigration reform. Grijalva has portrayed himself as an advocate for tribal and LBGTQ communities as well as Arizona’s national parks.
Lea Márquez Peterson has served as President and CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce since 2009. In Congress, Márquez Peterson will seek to empower businesses, lower taxes and balance the budget to grow the economy. Márquez Peterson will also vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act while keeping care affordable for those with pre-existing conditions, as well as secure Arizona’s southern border and help veterans return to civilian life.
Nicolas Pierson, a Nogales native, grew up on living with relatives on both sides of the U.S.Mexico border. Before running for Congress, Pierson worked as a financial advisor. In Congress, Pierson plans to secure Arizona’s southern border and then work to reform the immigration system. Pierson is an advocate for expanding public and private vocational and job training opportunities as well as youth and community programs.
After a failed Senate bid, Ann Kirkpatrick is seeking to rejoin Congress. Kirkpatrick has promised to advocate for universal healthcare, paid family leave, campaign finance reform and public support for higher education. Kirkpatrick supports regulating Wall Street, common-sense gun reform and a path to citizenship for undocumented children brought to the U.S. as children. Kirkpatrick also wants to balance the budget, support U.S. veterans and improve Arizona’s infrastructure.
YOUTH, GUNS AND VOTES BY EDDIE CELAYA @reporterEddie
In an election cycle dominated by President Donald Trump, the issue of gun violence might be the deciding factor for who or what young potential voters support come Nov. 6. After a year that saw the killing of 19 people at Parkland High School and a response to the tragedy that included the national March for Our Lives, student voices on the issue of gun control are leading the conversation. Arizona is a unique state when it comes to guns. After the Grand Canyon, the place at the forefront of most out-of-staters’ minds is probably Tombstone, with its famous shootout at the OK Corral serving as the basis for an entire generation to imagine the Wild West around. Here in Tucson, that legacy extends to two recent tragedies involving handguns: The January 8, 2011, assassination attempt of thencongresswoman Gabrielle Giffords that claimed six lives and the 2002 shooting at the University of Arizona nursing school where two instructors were shot dead. It’s the dichotomy of guns as both creators and destroyers that exposes the deep divide on the issue of gun control in the Tucson community. For Tucson city councilman and UA associate athletic director Steve Kozachik, that divide led to his switching parties in 2013.
Kozachik hosted a gun buy-back for the city of Tucson two years after the Giffords shooting. It became an object of derision from gun-rights advocates immediately, and the backlash eventually led to Kozachik switching parties and registering as a Democrat. “Gun control was very much a factor in that [changing parties], because of the tired old refrain that things like background checks and checking blood alcohol content and reporting lost or stolen weapons, those are far too often used by the far-right as anti-second amendment,” Kozachik said. “And that’s just bullshit.” Kozachik also touched on Arizona Revisited Statute 13-3108, which allows the state of Arizona to prevent municipalities like Tucson from destroying guns they may acquire, whether through gun buy-backs or seizure by police. Currently, municipalities must re-sell any arms. “We have to flip the state legislature to get that rescinded,” Kozachik said. He and two other councilmembers voted last year against a city measure to adhere to the law. Charles Heller, the media coordinator for the Arizona Citizen’s Defense League, disagreed with Kozachik’s assessment. He argued that voters who were educated on the constitution would not support any policies or politicians that limited legal citizens’ access to firearms.
SYDNEY RICHARDSON | THE DAILY WILDCAT
A VARIETY OF GUNS on display at Second Amendment Sports on Pima Street in Tucson, Ariz. Firearm identification, background checks on firearm purchases and background checks on ammunition have been shown to reduce gun-related fatalities.
“I believe the ones in their right minds understand that ‘gun violence’ is a loaded political term and there is no such thing because guns don’t cause violence,” Heller said. Heller also said he supported the elimination of gun-free zones as a way to help reduce the number of mass shooting incidents. He was also sharply critical of Kozachik for wanting to overturn A.R.S. 13-3108. “They have more fealty for political optics than for following the law,” said Heller. “The three people that voted in favor of violating state laws for political reason have disqualified
themselves from public office. They voted to violate the law.” The chasm between Kozachik and Heller could be solved by the votes of millennials and Generation Z. However, Kozachik isn’t encouraged with the potential for a youth wave this election cycle. A poll Kozachik conducted last year for his re-election campaign found that, of the students polled, less than 10 percent counted themselves as likely voters. “I would hope the fact you have people running into schools and university nursing schools and
elementary schools and movie theatres and shooting and murdering people, I would hope that would be enough to get young people engaged. But I’m not going to be a believer until I see it at the polls,” he said. In the shadow of Parkland and the March for Our Lives, the level of engagement by young voters due to the issue of gun control remains to be seen. The results of the upcoming election could indicate how involved the youth of today are in the politics of the future.
A blue Arizona is a voting Arizona
OPINION
BY ANIKA PASILIS
@DailyWildcat
I
s this Arizona’s year to go blue? The answer from me is, it very well could, depending on if the new majority decides to vote or not. For as long I’ve been alive, Arizona has been a red state. I can’t remember a time when the state government wasn’t Republican majority. However, with changing demographics, this could turn everything we know about Arizona politics on its head. The group that could change everything in 2018 are the Latino/Latina voters in Arizona. According to Politico, in the 90s and early 2000s Republicans had over 40 percent of the Latino vote. However, many point to SB1070 as
the beginning of ethnic polarization in Arizona. Now, the Trump era has forced the Latino voter base to question their lack of representation within Arizona politics, especially this election cycle. Nowadays, people are reclaiming their heritage. According to Politico, David Garcia, the Democrat up against Governor Doug Ducey this election, believes the younger generation of Arizona Latinos is far more ethnically conscious than their parents and grandparents. The state is getting more ethnically polarized, like many states south of the MasonDixon line. Caucasians are trending far more Republican, while Latinos tend to vote Democrat. According to Politico, the median age of Latinos in Arizona is 27, while whites are roughly 20
years older. So, in a state that has always largely been controlled by white retirees, the everlasting border debate and racist laws such as SB1070 — which hasn’t been repealed, by the way — may be what spurs a new generation of voters into finally turning Arizona blue. The other issue that could turn the tide is education. Arizona ranks low in education, with some metrics like WalletHub putting Arizona second from the bottom. School funding per pupil is the second lowest in the nation. Teachers are some of the lowest paid, and TUSD in particular has made both local and national news for various issues pertaining to corruption and student walkouts a few years ago. Propositions, like 305, that impact Arizona’s public schools contribute
to the rising tide of Democrats in Arizona after the teacher strike that occurred earlier this year. Another factor that should bring Democrats to the polls is the amount of women running for Arizona office. In the primary, 20 of 43 Arizona candidates running for national office were women, about 46.5 percent. An even higher percentage made it to the general election, 9 of 19, or 47.4 percent. Many of these candidates, like Lea Marquez Peterson, are Republican, so people on both sides could be motivated to vote. However, Democrats’ commitment to gender equality could mean they are pulled to the polls in larger numbers than their Republican counterparts, contributing to a larger blue wave. In a state that had its first-ever statewide walkout this year, people
are becoming more and more tired of a Republican government that routinely shafts young people and minorities alike in failing schools. Actions such as these point to a slow transition to a bluer government. Of course, the only way to actually turn Arizona blue is if Democrats go out and vote. We know retirees will show up at the polls in masses. While in theory Arizona could go blue, it all depends on how many Democrats show up at the polls. The demographic shift coupled with the severity of Arizona’s education problems demonstrate the beginnings of change. Only time will tell, but Arizona has a good chance of finally turning blue in 2018. — Anika Pasilis is a sophomore studying Middle Eastern Studies and journalism.