8th District Demo candidates debate

Weiss, who along with Giffords is running in the Democratic primary for the open seat in the 8th Congressional District, said voters have a "very clear choice between a candidate who has for 35 years been training for this job as a journalist … or you can choose a candidate who has been a Republican most of her life."

Weiss also said Giffords, a former state legislator, was a "part-time" lawmaker during her tenure, and that she sided with Republican Steve Huffman, also an 8th District candidate and a former state legislator, "90 percent of the time."

In Arizona, legislators are elected to part-time positions.

Democratic candidates Bill Johnson, Jeff Latas, Alex Rodriguez and Francine Shacter also took part in the forum. All are seeking the seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe.

Giffords, who has faced criticisms from Weiss at prior candidate forums, said Weiss, a former television news anchor, was attacking her record because she doesn't have one of her own.

"We've all seen this political game a thousand times before," she said. "You don't have a positive record to run on, you don't have a positive thing to run on, so you go negative."

But Weiss said she wasn't going negative, which drew a loud howl from the crowd, made up mostly of Giffords' supporters.

"Gabby Giffords has made her legislative record a major part of her career, so let's look at her record," Weiss said.

The debate was sponsored by the Arizona Daily Star and Access Tucson, in cooperation with Pima Community College, and drew more than 100 people.

The confrontation between Giffords and Weiss, just minutes into the forum, was the only time in the 90-minute debate that any of the six candidates criticized or compared each other.

But the quarrel also drew comments from Shacter.

"There is some kind of notion that being a politician, there is something wrong with it," she said. "I want you to know, I am a politician. Being a politician is a good thing. … What politicians do in the name of being a politician, that's the bad thing."

The rest of the debate provided few surprises.

On a question about gay marriage, the candidates all said they opposed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

But the majority sidestepped whether they personally believe that a union between two people of the same sex should be called "marriage." Johnson was the only one to answer that question, saying he opposes calling the union marriage.

All the candidates said they support pulling troops out of Iraq and oppose the war.

And some — Latas, Shacter, Johnson and Weiss — said they would either oppose or question reactivation of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which creates national school standards but has been controversial in education circles.

"It's nothing but a cynical ploy to destroy the public education system in this country, which is the cornerstone of this country," Shacter said.

Rodriguez said No Child Left Behind "came with a commitment but the commitment never came," calling into question the level of funding provided.

The candidates used their closing statements to highlight why they should be elected. And with the primary election Sept. 12, they are aggressively jockeying for votes.

If you go

● Tonight the Republican candidates in Congressional District 8 will debate in a Star- and Access Tucson-sponsored forum. Those five will face off at 6:30. The forum will be held in the PCC Board/Community Meeting Room at 4905 E. Broadway. Seating is limited to about 125 people for each debate and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

● Tuesday night's forum, and tonight's, will first air at 8 p.m. Saturday on Access Tucson, Channel 74 on Comcast and Channel 99 on Cox.