Posted on 08/23/2002 9:47:11 AM PDT by dittomom
Notes and observations from a campaign trail turning downright surly:
• Early in his political career, Terry Goddard had a charmed life.
In the early 1980s, he rode a narrow victory in the campaign to establish a district system in Phoenix to the Mayor's Office. During the 1980s, he was a substantial force and an attractive political persona: intelligent, articulate and passionate about his issues, primarily transit and urban form.
He was politically bruised by losing the 1990 gubernatorial race to Fife Symington and a lackluster effort attempting a 1994 rematch.
But it appears Goddard's luck has returned. He's the uncontested Democratic nominee for attorney general, awaiting the victor in an unsatisfying Republican primary.
Foster Robberson is politically unknown and untested. There's really no way to know what kind of an attorney general he would be.
John Greene did a passable job as Senate president and director of the Insurance Department. But he occasionally shows a temperament - seeing enemies behind every bush, overreacting to criticism and opposition - not exactly suited to the exercise of prosecutorial discretion.
Moreover, his failure to comply with substantive campaign disclosure requirements of the new Clean Elections Act hardly inspires confidence in a claimant for the highest law enforcement office in the state.
Unfortunately, Andrew Thomas' campaign hasn't exhibited the grace and intelligence that characterize his writings on crime and culture in books and essays for national publications.
It's hard to see any of them upending Goddard, who reportedly retains high and favorable name identity among voters, in a low-spending general-election campaign.
• Republicans in the governor's race are trying to position themselves as best able and most willing to cut state spending.
But thus far, only Democrat Alfredo Gutierrez has put forward a solid proposal that will actually reduce any spending: replace Students FIRST, the statewide school construction program, with state assistance targeted to school districts with low property values.
In the Clean Elections debate this week, Gutierrez estimated that such a change would save the state approximately $200 million a year.
• Credit Republican superintendent candidate Keith Bee for being the only contender in either party for any office talking sensibly and realistically about full-day kindergarten. In the Clean Elections debate for this office, Bee pointed out that full-day kindergarten would require not only a large increase in operating expenses but capital as well, since it would require more classroom space.
Bee suggested that perhaps the public education system should concentrate on doing better at the job it already has, and try full-day kindergarten on a pilot basis.
• The biggest megaphone in the Republican gubernatorial primary now belongs to Carol Springer, due to her late qualification for public campaign funds. She will now have substantially more to spend for the remainder of the campaign than Betsey Bayless, who has substantially more than front-runner and privately financed Matt Salmon.
At this late date, it's going to be difficult for Springer to use the money, $770,000 and counting, to make a run of her own. But it's got to hurt Bayless, who probably needs a clean shot in a largely two-person race to catch Salmon.
• Greene's case, in which he was threatened with removal from the ballot, is only the most prominent example of the Clean Elections Commission's new role as campaign cop. The commission is also sorting through more than a half-dozen complaints about candidates taking too much money from the wrong sources or not reporting what they spent timely or accurately.
It's only going to get worse from here, as questions about matching funds and independent expenditure campaigns proliferate.
Early on, there was concern about the Clean Elections fund going broke this election, which never was likely.
But the process may very well break down as the Clean Elections staff, dedicated and capable but small, and a voluntary commission struggle with their assigned role of rationing and regulating political speech and spending during the heat and frenzy of an election campaign.
Reach Robb at robert.robb@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8472. His column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
He will not be getting my vote. I will remember in September.
That being said, I know that Behnke is not the perfect conservative. However, Kolbe is far far FAR worse. In the Republican Primary the most conservative choice is Behnke. I mean, if it was a crime to be a conservative, Kolbe's charges would be dropped for lack of evidence.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.