Dec. 11, 2007
Colleen Sparks
The Arizona Republic
The
primary is nine months away, but competition for the one Senate and two House
seats for state legislative District 20 is heating up. The district covers
Ahwatukee, west Chandler and south Tempe.
Chandler resident and Democrat Ted Maish, 55, a retired Mesa High School
industrial technology teacher, plans to challenge incumbent Sen. John Huppenthal,
R-Chandler, for the Senate seat.
Rep. John McComish, R-Ahwatukee, is running for re-election for his House seat.
Rep. Bob Robson, R-Chandler, is termed out.
Democratic candidates for the House seats are: Phill Westbrooks, 46, a Chandler
resident and former Chandler City Councilman; and Corey Harris, a Tempe resident
and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran.
Republican candidates are Jeff Dial, a Chandler resident who ran unsuccessfully
in 2004; Frank Schmuck, 42, a Tempe airline pilot who served in the U.S. Air
Force during the Persian Gulf War; and Andy Swann, a Tempe resident and retired
Arizona Department of Public Safety officer.
The district has about 37,530 registered Republicans, nearly 25,000 Democrats,
about 600 Libertarians and about 25,300 other registered voters, according to
the Secretary of State's Web
site.
Candidates said they expect the hot campaign issues to include education, how
the Legislature contends with a state budget shortfall and illegal immigration.
The primary election is Sept. 2 and the general election is Nov. 4.
"Education was my no. 1 issue when I ran previously," Dial said.
"People move into the Ahwatukee, Tempe and Chandler area for the good
schools."
Continued talks on the proposed south Mountain Freeway will also be a focus,
candidates said.
"The fact that it's not taken care of says there's a lot of work to be
done," Harris said.
Maish said he would like to "come up with a solution" to the proposed
South Mountain Freeway issue that would not involve taking out any homes.
Schmuck said he "wants to hear more from the community" about the
proposed freeway. He has a history of freeway issue involvement, and was
nicknamed the "Father of Rubberized Asphalt" by Tempe Mayor Hugh
Hallman because he studied rubberized asphalt use and presented his findings to
the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) prior to the U.S. 60 freeway
widening.
"My belief has always been that where freeways traverse residential
neighborhoods we have a duty and an opportunity to provide the best
opportunities for our citizens to live," Schmuck said.
Westbrooks said the freeway alignment, balancing the budget and education are
his top issues. He said he already has "good working relationships with the
Gila River Indian Community and ADOT."
"I am hoping to bring those relationships and my experience to help resolve
the freeway alignment," he said.
Swann, who has two children in the Kyrene School District, said he anticipates
the possible unification of Kyrene, Tempe Elementary and Tempe Union High School
districts will be a big topic.
"The people in Kyrene are very proud of the district and the performance
it's had," Swann said. "I want (it) to be preserved as much as
possible."
Both sides said they are excited about their candidates and optimistic about
their chances of winning.
"We're getting ready to change the landscape in District 20,"
Ahwatukee Democrat Michael Williams, affirmative action chairman for the state
Democratic Party said. "People don't want to rely on experience. They want
some of these new ideas to work."
Mike Middleton, chairman of the Legislative District 20 Republicans, said he
thinks the Republicans will "win pretty easily."
Staff reporter Edythe Jensen contributed to this report.