Debating for one hour at the June 15 CCEC sponsored debate in Phoenix were Governor Jan Brewer, State Treasurer Dean Martin, millionaire businessman Buz Mills, and political scientist Dr. Matt Jette. Brewer and Dean are running “clean” election campaigns, Mills and Jette are traditionally funded. Candidates Tom Gordan and John Munger have withdrawn.

See www.azcleanelections.com,
first link is: “View Candidate Debate Videos”,
next link is “Click here to view Primary Elections debates”,
then link is: “Statewide — Governor”,
then click on “watch now” for the video.

Or click on the link here.

The other statewide CCEC debates in Phoenix between the candidates running for Attorney General, Treasurer, Corporation Commission, and Superintendent of Public Instruction will be online at this CCEC website as well, supposedly within 72 hours of the live debates. Here’s the upcoming schedule for those candidates:

June 22 Republicans Attorney General
June 23 Democrats Attorney General
June 29 Republicans Superintendent of Public Instruction
June 30 Democrats Superintendent of Public Instruction
July 6 Republicans Treasurer
July 20 Republicans Corporation Commission
July 21 Democrats Corporation Commission

These debates are all necessary for participating candidates to receive Clean Election funding prior to the August 24 Arizona primary.

View these videos to educate yourself about all the candidates running for statewide offices in the primary. This may be your only chance to see these candidates debate each other. Some other debates for contested legislative Arizona Senate and House offices are also online at this website now.

Watch this lively Gubernatorial debate, and then decide.

Treasurer Dean Martin

Governor Jan Brewer

Dr. Matt Jette

Buz Mills

Results from the straw poll per Channing Bancroft, President of the Sabino Young Republican Club:
John Munger-140
Buz Mills- 99
Dean Martin- 78
Gov Jan Brewer- 5 (though not present)
Dr. Matt Jette-3

It seems that not everyone voted, as both the Star reporter and I estimated the crowd to be about 600, as the auditorium capacity was reported to be 1100.

Governor Brewer was invited but did not attend, though her name was on the program and on the straw poll ballot.

For my previous blog about the format, panelists and organizers of this event, click here.

Munger was passionate in stressing that Arizona needed new “leadership”, Mills said that his opponents were mostly “more of the same” and that new “thinking outside the box” was needed, while Jette thought that Arizona needed to “retool, rethink, relearn” to get itself out of its economic abyss. Of the four speakers, Martin has the most political experience having been a State Senator in Phoenix and now State Treasurer for a total of ten years. He said Arizona’s problems were neither Democratic nor Republican but “a math problem”, which he would be able to fix with his financial background.

Only Jette would consider a 3 year guest worker program for those seeking employment in America, while the other three candidates wanted to secure the border to Mexico likely with the National Guard. All three agreed on advancing nuclear power in Arizona, but Jette wanted to also look into solar and wind power as alternatives.

When asked about photo radar enforcement, none seemed to favor it except for Jette who said that drivers “just need to slow down”.

When asked if they lost the Republican primary, would they support the one who did win– Martin, Mills, Munger all said “yes”, but Jette said “it depends”– which drew groans from the audience. At one point one of his opponents called him a “Democrat Lite”, but he countered by saying that the Republican Party included all types of members from Far Right Conservatives, to Moderates and Independent thinkers.

Overall, each of these candidates offers a different perspective, but is that enough to overcome Governor’s Jan Brewer’s incumbency (and long political career), and name recognition? GOP voters will decide this on August 24 in the primary.

Last night Tucsonans in Pima County indicated that they liked their own local candidate and his ideas for change. (See www.johnmunger.com.) Munger emphasized that he is a “pro gun, pro life, fiscal conservative”.

Note: If you want to learn more about political newcomer/businessman candidate Buz Mills (who received the second most votes), click here (http://ondemand.azpm.org/videoshorts/watch/2010/4/23/kuat-buz-mills/) for his recent April 23 interview on the Channel 6 KUAT AZ Illustrated Roundtable.

Information on the five Republican candidates for Governor invited to this forum:

–incumbent Gov. Jan Brewer: a career politician, served on Maricopa Board of Supervisors (Chair), in both Arizona State House of Representatives and State Senate (Majority Whip), then Secretary of State, assumed Governorship in Jan. 2009

–Dr. Mathew Jette: Ph.D. in political science from ASU, former Executive Speciality Rep. for Merck, Inc. in Phoenix and Tucson, www.govjette.com

–Dean Martin: Arizona State Treasurer elected in 2006, former LD 24 & LD 6 State Senator for 6 years, (no relation to the famous deceased actor with the same name), www.votedeanmartin.com

–Owen Buz Mills: Yavapai County entrepreneur & businessman (firearms and self-defense training facility), www.buz4gov.com

–John Munger, J.D.: Tucson attorney, former State Republican Party and Pima County Republican Party Chair, www.johnmunger.com

Republican elephant logo

This forum will be moderated by radio host Jon Justice (“The Truth” 104.1FM), with panelists including District 4 Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll, Republican National Committeeman Bruce Ash, and radio personality Emil Franzi (“Inside Track”, KVOI 1030AM).

The two-hour event kicks off at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Sabino High School, 5000 N. Bowes Road. Doors open at 6 p.m.

For more information contact Lori Oien at 749-3472, oienjmo@msn.com, or Parralee Schneider, 749-0312, pmstucson@aol.com. (Oien is an applicant for the vacant Ward 2 Council seat, and Schneider is a candidate for one of two LD 30 State House seats).

Come out to meet and greet these Republican candidates vying to unseat Governor Brewer in the August 24 primary. The winner will likely face Democrat Attorney General Terry Goddard, candidate for Governor. He unsuccessfully sought this position before in 1990 and 1994.