Arizona Democratic Congressional District 8 candidates Bernadette Greene-Placentia and Raymond Keeler joined Ted Simons as part of “Candidates in Conversation” to discuss major issues happening in Arizona.
Congressional District 8 includes northwest Phoenix, Glendale, Peoria, Sun City and Sun City West, Surprise, Anthem and New River.
Keeler shared that voters in District 8 are looking for someone who will lower prices on everything from health care, to groceries, to gas. He also explained that safety is another concern for many voters in the district, and he intends on solving those issues.
Greene-Placentia, however, emphasized the importance of being a figure Democratic voters can relate to, and being a candidate who shares their values, pointing out Keeler’s recent switch to the Democratic ballot.
“They want someone that’s a real Democrat, not somebody that’s voted in a Republican primary for the last 16 years and just changed the party,” Greene-Placentia said. “It is important that Democrats who have been saying we need to win back the working class, they start seeing a working class candidate that understands the needs of the people within the district.”
When questioned about his voting record in the Republican primary, Keeler said that his position as a Democrat is the only way they will beat the Republicans for this postion.
“We need to get Independents, with more Independents voting with Democrats to get Abraham Hamadeh out,” Keeler said.
Greene-Placentia again emphasized the importance of connecting with Democratic voters, and not just switching to a political party as part of a numbers game.
“Democrats want to know that somebody’s been a Democrat and has been fighting for their Democratic policies their entire life,” Greene-Placentia said.
Regarding policy, both candidates agree that ICE should not be abolished, but reformed, and there are ways to ensure that the border is secured without sacrificing humanity.
“[ICE] needs to be reduced to its original objectives. They don’t have the training, and it would be hugely more cost effective to let the people that are not a threat, not a safety threat, not be addressed and taken away and marked out of the country,” Keeler said.
