Though there's a Republican voter-registration advantage in Legislative District 30, state Sen. Frank Antenori says he isn't resting on his laurels.
And the same voter-registration advantage isn't deterring Democrat Todd Camenisch from challenging Antenori for his seat.
Antenori brings his Army Special Forces background into the race. He said he takes no prisoners when running for election and goes all out in his campaigning. He's known for being blunt and strong-willed about his values and says he's no party puppet. When state party leadership wanted to cut education funding, Antenori said, he and others came up with an alternative. Though the education budget still took a hit, it was smaller because of his work, he said.
Camenisch's background as a Navy corpsman and emergency medical technician also makes regular campaign appearances. He approaches the job with the motto "first, do no further harm," especially when discussing education. He disagrees that Antenori saved education from harmful budget cuts, and, as a member of the Catalina Foothills School District governing board, he said the cuts were "easy" and "mean."
Antenori's priority in the Senate is to reduce the business property tax, to encourage investment here. He'd like to couple that with a flat income tax of between 3.9 and 4.2 percent and allow people no more than two deductions.
"It creates a stable tax base so we're less reliant on the sales tax, which is a huge problem right now, which is what got us into this mess," he said.
He also said he has proven he will work across the aisle, because he helped Democratic Sen. Meg Burton Cahill get a bill passed to bring Arizona in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and he helped Rep. Matt Heinz, also a Democrat, get a bill through allowing liquor sales at 6 a.m. on Sundays.
Camenisch said his top priority is education.
"I'm not a single-issue person, but we'll never get out of this crisis without paying for education," he said. Creating jobs and improving education go hand-in-hand, he said.
He often references tax loopholes that prevent the state from collecting some $10 billion in revenue.
He also said legislation isn't about party, because all people want the same things, including a good education for their children.
Frank Antenori
Party: Republican
Age: 44
Occupation: Program manager, defense industry; State senator; published author
Education: Bachelor of health science with minor in biology, Campbell University; nationally registered EMT/paramedic, University of Texas at San Antonio
Past elected public offices: Arizona House of Representatives 2008, precinct committeeman 2006
Civic activities: Founding member and board member of Task Force Dagger Foundation, which helps Army Special Operations soldiers and their families; Veterans of Foreign Wars
Top endorsements: Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, National Rifle Association A+.
Top priority: Reforming tax code to entice businesses to Arizona; creating jobs.
Web address: www.vote4frank.com
Todd Camenisch
Party: Democrat
Age: 42
Occupation: Associate professor, University of Arizona College of Pharmacy
Education: Bachelor of science, University of Arizona 1990; Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 1998
Past elected public offices: Catalina Foothills School Board 2008
Civic activities: Founder, state chapter Children's Heart Association; FFC and Ft. Lowell soccer coach; CFSD classroom volunteer
Top endorsements: Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, UA President Emeritus John Schaefer, Army Brig. Gen. John Adams
Top priority: Improving public education and creating jobs with targeted tax credits for small and midsize businesses.
Web address: azvote4todd.com