Attributes
It is time to focus on the kind of people we want to represent us and our interests in Arizona. To that end, I made a list of attributes and actions that I want and don’t want in candidates and elected officials.
They must be competent, intelligent, experienced, articulate, reasonable, truthful, honest, and stable.
They must not promote or be sucked in by every conspiracy theory that comes along. No demonizing of opponents. No calls to violence to exterminate your opponents. No lying. No denying who won the last election. No declaring all is null and void unless you win. No imposing your religion on others.
They must support public education! They must protect the environment, especially water. They must respect the will of the voters and support democracy.
People are also reading…
As a woman, I will not support anyone who would deprive me of my independent right to reproductive choice and bodily freedom.
To my way of thinking, this eliminates, among others, Kari Lake, Mark Finchem, Abe Hamadeh and Blake Masters.
Katharine Donahue
Foothills
Archaic anti-abortion law is bad for Arizona
I am a Naturopathic Doctor and I am writing in opposition to Mark Brnovich’s effort to rollback abortion rights for women in Arizona to an archaic 19th century standard. I support medical abortion up to the time of fetus viability.
The legal right of a pregnant mother to autonomy over her own body should be protected. The decision to have an abortion should be private and up to each pregnant woman and her medical provider. Police should not be tasked with jailing pregnant women and doctors, when they should be jailing actual criminals. Individual liberty, and a woman’s bodily autonomy, should be of paramount concern to our Governor, our medical community, our legislature, our courts, Mr. Brnovich and the Republican Party.
It’s reasonable to limit abortions up to the time of viability of the fetus, but it’s pure misogyny to restrict abortions to a law that was agreed upon before women even had the right to vote.
Joshua Reilly
North side
C'mon Jerome
Re: the Sept. 14 article "Inflation slows, but remains very high."
I am confused. In my economics class I was not taught that raising the prime rate would curb inflation. I must have missed class that day. I may have had a dental appointment. Anyway, I fail to see how raising the cost of borrowing money by increasing the rate by .75 basis points every month will retard or lessen inflation. Let me get this straight. The rate is raised, the cost to borrow money will increase and the businesses affected will raise the price of goods and services to make up for it. Thus, raising the rate will cause the price to clients and customers to go up causing greater inflation. Jerome Powell … duh.
Jon Langione
Marana
Not a 'rally'
Re: the Sept. 21 letter "Something amazing."
It is amazing that the writer describes the violent insurrection on Jan 6 as "the rally in Washington." A banana republic would have no response to an attempted coup, thankfully our Justice Department is responding. Amazement continues with his description of an "insurrection without weapons." He ignores the injuries to police, the breaching of the Capitol, the first time there was not a peaceful transfer of power in our history. Watch any video of Jan 6. The Justice Department response is "political operatives"? The writer's premise that there should be no response to the coup/insurrection would be a guarantee that if there is another coup attempt it will be more successful.
William Garrity
Foothills
Loyal fascist
Re: the Sept. 12 letter "I am a fascist."
Calm down, letter writer. To be a fascist you have to believe Trump when he said in his "American carnage" inauguration speech: "Only I can fix it." Also, you would have cheered the marchers in Charlottesville who chanted "the Jews will not replace us!" and "blood and soil."
You might also be one if you think the Jan. 6th mob that stormed the Capitol were patriots. How do you feel about voting for Trump knowing he would pardon them? You must like a leader having complete power, and free to suppress the opposition.
A true fascist wants a dictatorial leader and centralized authority, where only you loyal followers are winners and the masses are just losers or the enemy. A fascist is an ultra-nationalist, is this you?
Your opinions in the rest of your letter are just that - opinions. We call this a free society, so you can express yourself as you have. Lucky you. Lucky us.
Ted Morrison
Midtown
School board captained ship
For the last seven years I have had a student in the Catalina Foothills School District. Three of these years were impacted by the COVID pandemic. As a public health professor, I have viewed our families’ school district experience through this lens. Throughout the pandemic, our school board consistently “steered the ship” calmly, seeking counsel from a variety of experts, and listening authentically to a wide range of parents’ perspectives. The board demonstrated thoughtful decision making and balanced communication, and my student was back at school through an on-site option after only a few months. We need leaders who can reliably listen to all sides of the issues and make fair-minded decisions that put the academic success of all students at the top of the priority list. I am grateful for the work of Amy Bhola and Amy Krauss (and Gina Mehmert), and I support their continued leadership in the school district.
Laurel Jacobs, DrPH, MPH
Northeast side
Who's the extremist?
I find it disturbing that the Democrats running for office in Arizona believe their most important quality is their support for the killing of unborn babies. They are the true extremists on abortion. The vast majority of abortions are elective, not required to save the life or health of the mother, but because the innocent, helpless child is unwanted. Many of the bills supported by Arizona Democrats would allow abortion for any reason for all nine months of pregnancy, and in some cases even after birth, would force all health care workers to participate in such abortions, in spite of a sincere belief that they are being forced to commit murder, would require the U.S. government to pay for all abortions, would do away with common sense abortion clinic regulations and parental notification for minors. This is not the mainstream position they would have us believe it is.
Helen Moulton
Foothills
Show me the facts
Lake and Finchem say they would not have certified the 2020 election. You know, our vote. In running for these offices controlling election procedure, they must now present facts that back up their assertions. As governor, what are the facts and evidence that would have led you to not certify? There are no credible facts or evidence of fraud of any type - not a single one. There were many accuracy tests and certifications done by election workers (of all parties) with no reported problems. The partisan pro-Trump "audit" looked at every claim of fraud and found nothing. So with no factual evidence of any fraud whatsoever (but not the result you wanted) you would not have certified? Is this your pledge for future elections? One wonders why have an election at all if elected officials will only certify the candidate they support. Present your 2020 facts on fraud. If there are no facts you are unqualified to run for these offices.
William Garrity
Foothills
Dems’ EV push will harm auto shops
Joe Biden and Democrats are pushing to have all electric vehicles in the near future. Their Inflation Reduction Act provides a $7,500 in tax credit when buying a new EV. California has mandated an end to gasoline and diesel vehicle sales by 2035. I believe that if Democrats expand their majority in Congress that they will pass legislation imposing a similar nationwide mandate. What will be the effects on thousands of small business auto shops across the country? EVs do not require the same maintenance as petroleum-powered cars, i.e. no need to do oil changes, which is the bread and butter income for many auto shops like Brake Max, Brake Masters, Goodyear, Firestone, etc. EVs have fewer moving parts to repair. I think the Democrats' mandate for EVs will have a devastating effect on local auto shops. For the foreseeable future, EVs will still be using batteries containing toxic blue cobalt from polluting mines in the Congo, owned by the Chinese, still being electrically charged with fossil fuels.
Paula Martin
Vail
Apples and oranges
Republicans reacted with outrage after President Biden’s portrayal of MAGA ideology as a threat to democracy, often characterizing the Democratic party as Marxist, socialist, communist. V-Dem, which studies political parties globally, has tracked the behavior of both parties for 20-plus years. During that time, the Republican Party has moved from being a typical center-right party into the illiberal camp that includes far-right autocratic parties. The Democratic Party has remained a center-left party.
V-Dem downgraded U.S. democracy, primarily because of Republican attacks on small “d” democratic norms, ie. voting restrictions, denial of election results, and demonization of opponents, while concluding that the Democratic party still upholds these norms. Current Democratic candidates are primarily moderates; a large number of Republican candidates are MAGA. There is no symmetry in the effects of the MAGA wing and the progressive wing on their respective parties and policies.
Barbara Hall
Midtown
Greatest generation?
The parents of my wife and I were members of the “Greatest Generation." Their sacrifices preserved American democracy. The threats of 80 years ago were external. Today’s threats are homegrown, and even more insidious. Much as a healthy person can succumb to the rot of a deadly cancer, Americans now face a political cancer which can undo democracy more surely than the fascist threats of the 20th Century. We Americans must recognize and defeat the threats posed by parties and candidates who would usurp our will and negate the results of free elections. If not, we stand to witness the end of our 250-year experiment. A great, shining light will have been extinguished, on our watch. We must be concerned, and we must vote to prevent the death of the American dream. If today’s and tomorrow’s voters mobilize to defeat fascism as did our parents, their efforts will have preserved the U.S. as a functioning democracy. We can all be a new and worthy “Greatest Generation.”
Peter Frank
SaddleBrooke
My vote counts, maybe
The Arizona 2022 General Election Publicity Pamphlet just arrived, with a notation on the bottom: "No Matter How You Vote, Your Vote Counts!" Unfortunately, this statement needs an asterisk in our state: *Unless partisans believe their candidate should've won, in which case your vote will be canceled.
Karin Carbon
Midtown
A problem in search of a solution
As a granddaughter of immigrants looking at the border, I see a pool of potential talent. Not all waiting for access to the U.S. are murderers, drug mules, and child pedophiles. Perhaps 80% and more are folks that local employers would hire in a New York minute.
My idea, have some enterprising organization, be it a profit or non-profit, apply for a contract or federal grant to do an analysis of the skills and training of the potential U.S. citizens. The results of the study could be used by potential employers to screen for potential talent. If a person gets selected for a job, he/she gets a green card. A win/win for the country and the immigrants.
Let us remember, immigrants have made this Country great.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore..." - Statue of Liberty
Jan Jordan
Green Valley
Thanks for election info
Re: the Sept. 20 article "AZ voters to decide these ballot measures."
Thanks to the Arizona Daily Star for the info about the proposals in the upcoming election. The thick "Arizona 2022 General Election Publicity Pamphlet" we all received is comprehensive but also intimidating. The breakdown in the Star included who opposed or supported the proposal. This made the somewhat confusing proposal easier to understand and helped to make a decision on how to vote.
John Blackwell
Midtown
