McSally’s ads laughably bad
Our appointed U.S. Senator Martha McSally’s television ads are ineffective because they border on laughable.
One disparages “millionaire” Mark Kelly. Wait! I was always taught that financial success was one of the metrics of our capitalistic system. How can McSally and her staff be critical of Mark Kelly’s success? Ties to China? Trump’s family members manufacture many of their products in China.
On another ad, a person questions Kelly’s leadership. Is this some sort of joke? Kelly was a U.S. Naval officer who flew dozens of combat missions. Additionally, he was on four NASA missions into space. In fact, he commanded two of those missions. To question his leadership is absolutely ridiculous. It borders on bizarre.
I am among many Arizona voters who are more concerned with McSally’s consistent, repeated votes to end medical insurance protection for persons with pre-existing conditions. Senator McSally, please pay attention to the concerns of your constituents instead of your nonsensical ads to disparage Mark Kelly.
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Bernie Bennett
East side
Use your voice to stop SCOTUS nominee
Our current Senate is going to push through a nomination to the Supreme Court before the Nov. 3 election. Polls show that 57% of the voters of our nation believe that this process should be delayed until after the Election. I urge you to contact our current Senator Martha McSally via email at www.mcsally.senate.gov and request that she support a delay in the Supreme Court nomination until after the election.
Our government is elected to support the will of the people of the United States. Not just the party that they are a member of.
Harry Waldapfel
Green Valley
Moderators must have the power
Chris Wallace came away as the big loser in the first presidential debate. The Fourth Estate is supposed to protect the American public from nonsense like the first so called presidential debate. It is clear that President Trump will not adhere to societal norms.
Demand that in the next debates, moderators will have control over the speakers’ microphones. One speaker at a time, no interruptions. The voters deserve better.
Molly Anderson, M.D.
Sonoita
Trump will need time off for bankruptcy
Dear Editor: As a watcher of presidential debates since 1976, I found Donald Trump’s excessive aggression and interruptions to be more characteristic of a challenger than an incumbent. This is his tacit admission that he’s losing.
Moderator Chris Wallace missed the point with his $750 a year in income taxes paid by Trump in two recent years question. Trump is under audit for a $71.2 million tax refund he took; if he loses, with interest, he owes $100 million. He has personally guaranteed $300 million in business loans. He has avoided taxes through large business losses.
Second term? What if he has to file Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy? What if his creditors force him into involuntary bankruptcy? A case that big could go on for years.
Helping the president into retirement would reduce his stress, and the risk to the country.
Richard C. Sipan
Green Valley
If you don’t vote, you can be ignored
Want to know some dark, deep state, double probation, top secret political information I’ve learned while working in political campaigns? They know if you’re registered to vote. They know if you voted. They know how often. They know if you don’t.
And by “They,” I mean everyone. It’s public information.
Taxes, campaign funds, government officials and politician’s interest are all limited quantities, and they’re always looking for the most efficient way to use them. In most cases to do the most good but also to get the most votes.
If you’re registered and vote often, they want you to be happy with them. If you don’t, not only can you be safely ignored but resources that would go to you and your community can be moved to one that does. If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.
Guy Rovella
Midtown
Voters choose their judges
Judges on the general election ballot are appointed by the governor through merit selection. These are not lifetime appointments. Once in office, these judges stand for retention election. That means voters decide if the judges meet judicial standards and should remain in office.
Arizona’s Constitution was amended in 1992 to require that appointed judges have their performance evaluated and that voters be informed of whether each judge meets or does not meet judicial performance standards. The Judicial Performance Review Commission reviews surveys from litigants, attorneys, jurors, witnesses and court employees who have knowledge of each judge’s work.
Judges appear on the nonpartisan section of the ballot. A judge’s political affiliation does not appear on the ballot and is not part of the performance evaluation. Judges are evaluated on legal ability, integrity, communication, temperament and administrative performance, with a rating of “meets” or “does not meet” standards.
Results are in the election publicity pamphlet and online at www.azjudges.info. Remember to vote on judges. Finish the ballot.
Mike Hellon, Chair of Arizona’s Judicial Performance Review
Commission
Downtown
McSally cannot be trusted
Martha McSally spoke at an anti-human trafficking event a couple of years ago, after a victim told her emotional story. McSally promised to support victims and fight to stop the crime, so I asked during the Q&A, right after her statement, if she would support abortion for unwanted pregnancies conceived during the victims rape experiences.
McSally took a moment, looked down, then said, “I’ll never support federal funding for abortion.” Having been raped, and humiliated through abuse, I felt betrayed. I thought Martha McSally gave a conflicting response, which felt like a huge let down.
It’s difficult enough to live through the experiences and to go on living with a sense of confidence. When a politically powerful person says they will do anything they can to help victims, I would like to trust them, but I don’t trust McSally. I saw Gabby Giffords speak and debate before she was shot. I have faith in her husband and hope he gets elected.
Cynthia Carlisi
Patagonia
Blue Lives does not equate to Black Lives
I am always befuddled when people, responding to the Black Lives Matter movement, tout the Blue Lives Matter slogan. Really? I have not met one police officer that is blue.
The uniform may be, but of course, once removed they are who they are — and that’s not blue. People of color cannot remove the very thing that makes them a target; their skin. Of course police officers and firemen and any other public servant deserves respect.
However, the disproportionate number of people of color who die at the hands of police officers is alarming and needs to be stopped. The police have not policed themselves very well, and while most officers of the law do their jobs well, they are unwilling to call out the ones who don’t.
They have a very difficult job to do, but when one of them oversteps their bounds and causes an unnecessary death, they should be held accountable, blue or not.
Terri Hicks
Northwest side
Mr. Trump, your résumé has a few holes
Let’s re-interview Donald Trump for a management position in our established business, Democracy Inc. Luckily, we now have an extensive record of his work to consider. Fact-checking his résumé (there is something “off” during the interview), we discover he has a history of bankruptcies, lawsuits to avoid paying his creditors, bilking “Trump University” students, losing his charitable foundation due to financial malfeasance, spouting more than 20,000 lies in public since 2016, gutting regulatory and health agencies, “managing” a disastrous response to the pandemic and exhorting white supremacist militia groups to “stand by” to intimidate voters.
Oh, and he was impeached. And that references list: Vladimir Putin? Kim Jong Un? Jeffrey Epstein?
Or, we could just watch a replay of the Sept. 29 debate. It’s clear there really are not “fine people” on both sides, and there never were.
Make a plan to vote and save democracy Nov. 3.
Sarah Mitchell Kim
East side
People of Praise? People, be afraid
On paper, Amy Coney Barrett appears to be qualified to be nominated as a Supreme Court Justice.
However, I have great concerns about her apparent leadership role in the secret, Catholic/Christian organization, People of Praise. I wonder how she seems to justify agreeing to some tenets and ignoring other important guidelines such as: “Men are divinely ordained as head of the family and faith” and “Wives must submit to the will of their husbands.”
I don’t understand how an “independent thinker” can buy into the teaching of People of Praise whereby women are not considered independent nor capable of thinking for themselves.
If Mrs. Barrett is confirmed, I wonder what parts of the Constitution she will choose to accept, much like what she has chosen to ignore with her religious life.
Jerry Weinert
Midtown
Tucson politicians should be ashamed
I came to Tucson in 1971 to work for TEP as a lineman. One of the first things I noticed was the terrible condition of the roads and someone’s attempt to “thin the herd” by coming up with the brilliant idea of “suicide” lanes on Grant Road and Speedway Boulevard. In 1973, the Arizona state lottery started and the funds were supposed to be used to repair the roads and fund education.
I guess we know that funding never happened. While driving south on Houghton Road recently, I uttered some rather obscene comments about elected officials and their obvious neglect of our roads. I stopped my truck in a parking area and Googled “the worst roads in the U.S.” on Odometer.com. Tucson rates fifth from the bottom.
I then asked “How many cities are in the U.S.?” There are 19,495 cities in the U.S. So there are 19,490 cities with better roads than Tucson in the U.S. Obviously, for the last 49 years we have had politicians that do not care that we are bounced and jarred in our vehicles and have abnormally high repair costs due to our terrible roads.
Those in political office for the last 49 years should be ashamed of themselves and we should be ashamed for electing them.
Thorsten A. Wohlstrom
Northeast side
A win for McSally is a win for you
A Martha McSally victory is a victory for Tucson and you! She is a good role model, did well in school and knew early on the military was for her and became an officer, a female pilot! Girls around the world would do well to make her an example to follow: Set and reach your goals. She is a heroine.
She had opportunities and also suffered a lot. But, she keeps going, learning along the way. Martha McSally is a good person. Tucson voters should give her more time.
Clara Morrison
Southeast side
Pima County ready for 2020
For the first time, Pima County has over 600,000 registered voters! I am proud of our county, no matter whether people vote for Democratic or Republican candidates. The increase in registration shows that people care about our democracy and each other. Thank you to everyone who is registered to vote in Pima County!
Connie Marking
Foothills
Vote for integrity: vote for Rex Scott
As the national political discourse has moved beyond the absurd, I ask my fellow Arizonans if we can, on a local level, move past the negative partisanship and disheartening political divide poisoning our communities, our institutions and even our homes. Let’s elect local and state officials who will bring integrity, accountability and civility to our community to replace the cheap, populist, disgraceful platforms that serve only narrow interests and cause further division and strife.
In so doing, I will be voting for Rex Scott for District 1 Pima County Supervisor and Mark Kelly for Senate.
Scott has demonstrated public service and brings proven leadership (27 years in public education as both teacher/administrator) and Kelly, a decorated war veteran, U.S. Navy captain and NASA astronaut, will be an independent voice committed to equality for all citizens of this state. I believe both candidates will represent our county and state with dignity and respect.
Tim Kennedy
Northwest side
