Congressional District 1 Debate

Oct. 23, 2008

Transcript:

Ted Simons:
>>> Tonight on "horizon" with the current office holder involved in controversy and not seeking another term Arizona's congressional district one is wide open.

Ted Simons:
>>> Four candidates are seeking to represent Arizona in the nation's capitol in congressional district one, and tonight you'll hear from all of them, next on "Horizon."

Ted Simons:
>>> Good evening and thanks for joining us tonight on "Horizon." I'm Ted Simons. In the news today hard times are leading to hard choices in the city of phoenix. Mayor Phil Gordon said today that because of a $250 million deficit.deficit the city will be laying off up to 1,500 employees this year. So far, about 40 have lost their jobs. He says no firefighters or police officers will not be targets. The job cuts will start next march.

Ted Simons:
>>> Revered university of Arizona basketball coach lute Olson is stepping down that according to ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale. Assistant coach Mike Dunlap will take over as interim head coach. The u of a has not verified the story. The 74-year-old Olson missed practice yesterday for health reasons.

Ted Simons:
>>> Because Arizona republican congressman Rick Renzi is on trial on charges of corruption and money laundering, he decided not to run again for Arizona's congressional district one seat. That has left the office wide open. four are on the ballot vying for congressional district one. They are: Republican Sydney Hay. Hay has run for congress before. She is a small business owner and president of the Arizona mining association. She is a political activist, is married and has two children.

Ted Simons:
>> Democrat Anne Kirkpatrick is an attorney and served in the Arizona House of Representatives. She is a former member of the flagstaff water commission. She has two children.

Ted Simons:
>> Brent Maupin is a life-long republican, although he qualified for the ticket as an independent. He is a small business owner licensed civil engineer, contractor and architect. He is also a singer-song writer and has two children.

Ted Simons:
>> Libertarian Thane Eichenauer was a write-in on the primary ballot, but qualified for the November ballot by receiving more than 14 votes. Eichenauer works in tech support. He is single. We drew lots just minutes ago to determine the order of our one-minute opening statements. And we will begin with Anne.

Anne Kirkpatrick:
>> Thank you. I'm Anne Kirkpatrick. My father ran a general store and high mother a teacher. I saw the poverty and desperation and lack of hope and opportunity. I will never forget it. When i go to congress I will fight for permanent tax credits for the middle class and fight to secure our border north and South by giving the border 3 patrol the resources they need to do the job and including a smart fence technology where it makes sense. I will fight to fix social security and ease the pain at the gas pump. I finished an eight-day tour of the district. It's tough out there. The middle class families are having a tough time. I am running for congress to give them the relief that they need so they can live their lives and put food on the table.

Ted Simons:
>> thank you very much. The next is Brent.

Brent Maupin:
>> As an engineer and contractor and an architect, I know how to build America, create jobs and find solutions. I know to have an effective congress, you need integrity, solution-oriented process in place and citizen involvement. We have lost all three. Finding solutions from a person with an engineering background can be easy. It's very important that the citizens of this country understand that congress is dysfunctional. They are no longer doing the job they were sent to do. Thus, we need representatives who are not only able to have a vision for the future but more importantly who are able to take on the system and I am ready, willing and able to do some. I have a plan in place that will become effective November 5th but not without the support of citizens of district one. Thank you.

Ted Simons:
>> Thank you. Sidney.

Sidney Hay:
>> I'm Sidney Hay running for congress. I'm running against congress because so much is broken and failed you will in so much areas by failing to secure the border and failing to make us energy independent. In the economic crisis they were asleep at the switch when this was looming. I am running on the track record of accomplishment that other candidates can match on tax cuts, parental rights and education and small business issues and ethics reform for law makers the kind we need in Washington and also in protecting and defending the natural resources jobs that have vital to congressional district one. I've been subjected to a barrage of attack ads from Washington, D.C. liberals to confuse the voters because they are full of lies and distortions and complete mistruths. I hope through the course of the debate you will see the trout of what I believe in and stand for and I'm a conservative running for congress by running against congress.

Thane Eichenauer:
>> I'm thane Eichenauer and I'm the libertarian candidate. I chose to run for congress because I want to entered the imperial occupation of other countries by our U.S. armed forces. They are where they were not wanted, not desired and harms way. I want to return them to protect America and that is why I'm running for congress, thank you.

Ted Simons:
>> Thank you all for your opening statements. We'll have 30 seconds for each at the close for closing statements. Anne, I want to start with you. What are the most pressing issues. What can you do in Washington to address them?

Anne Kirkpatrick:
>> Most pressing issue definitely is jobs and the economy. You know, it's always been a struggle economy in district one. It's a sprawling district and includes 11 Native American tribes where the median household income is $7,000 per household. Off Indian country it's small towns where the median income is 32,000. In congress i will get permanent tax cuts for the middle class, fix social security, secure our border and ease the pain at the gas pump and that will make a difference for families in the district.

Ted Simons:
>> Sidney, what can you do?

Sidney Hay:
>> The economy and jobs are important in the district. I'm a small business owner. 70% of all new job creation in America comes from the entrepreneurs that work 14 hours days. Right now i think small businesses are in dire straits in cd one. We need government off the backs of entrepreneurs. We need to make sure that tax relief and tax cuts happen and those bush tax cuts get made permanent. Anne Kirkpatrick will bring back the tax cuts. That's wrong for the economy that's struggle now.

Ted Simons:
>> How do taxes play into what your plan is to do in Washington?

Anne Kirkpatrick:
>> My focus is on the middle class because that's the district I'm running in and the district I grew up. You know, I'll tell you, I mean, those are the folks that need relief. You know, it's not Joe the plumber who is making $250,000 in this district. Those are the folks that I'm interested in providing relief for.

Ted Simons:
>> Let's Thane, what can you do for the district?

Thane Eichenauer:
>> The best thing I think I can do is get the armed forces out of occupation of Iraq. It doesn't pay for itself. It's a hidden tax on everybody and the first district and throughout everyone in Arizona and United States.

Ted Simons:
>> Brent.

Brent Maupin:
>> Engineer, architect and contractor, i can build. We need infrastructure and roads and highways and sewer systems. If we are going to look at the economy, we need to help Arizona and approach it for the entire country. We need to resolve the issue of the economic crisis we are in right now. I would have voted a no on the bailout because we have not addressed the issues of why it started in the first place. That would be the first thing I would do while bringing money back to the state for our infrastructure.

Ted Simons:
>> Let's get to the government's reaction to the fiscal crisis. How would you have voted on the two rescue plans?

Sidney Hay:
>> I would have voted no. what you subsidize you get more of. What we asked the taxpayers to subsidize is fraud and corruption and we need to fix in Arizona and congress. It was a must-passed bill and shouldn't have passed. Congress loads it up with pork barrel projects and more expensive to the taxpayers. Congress needs to remember it's not their money, it's the taxpayers' money.

Ted Simons:
>> Should the government have done nothing?

Sidney Hay:
>> No. I think they could done something else. They have not done anything to fix the underlying flaws in the banking system and theirs fraud going on in the hedge funds and it's the next bailout that will happen and congress is asleep at the switch.

Ted Simons:
>> Two rescue plans first failed and second got through. How would you have voted on them?

Anne Kirkpatrick:
>> I would have voted no on both of them. When you ask the taxpayers to come to the rescue, I think they deserve accountability. There was no transparency in the oversight. I think there should be limits on executive pay if they are taking money out of bailout. I think some of the money should have been directed to foreclosures and prevent k those and preventing families from losing their homes. It comes back to middle class being asked to help out Wall Street and yet there's not the kind of oversight or transparency or accountability to make sure it's not going to happen again.

Ted Simons:
>> And yet, you had financial experts saying something, anything needs to be done and practically begging lawmakers to pass the rescue plans. You say no.

Anne Kirkpatrick:
>> I still say no.

Sidney Hay:
>> They should have dealt with this two years ago when they were warned. I went down to the state legislature with a piece of legislation that would have called attention two years ago and they saw it and did nothing.

Ted Simons:
>> Thane, what do you think?

Thane Eichenauer:
>> I think it's caused by too much government and lack of accountability. The government guarantees far too many enterprises, banks, and home loans. That's how we got into that problem. I would not have voted for the bailout bills.

Brent Maupin:
>> This week the congress held hearings and the committee had the people there that were actually rating the loan packages and trying to hold them accountable. What they need to do is hold the lenders accountable. If they were to put with the bill that each lender that gave out a loan were the C.E.O. and the officers would be held responsible for the first 10% of each loss of each loan, i guarantee we would have no more problems with default on loans because those people would do their jobs. What they are doing by going after the moody and S&P is they are trimming the top of the weed Rather than going to the root of problem. The root of the problem is the lenders. You get rid of the problem and get rid of fraud.

Ted Simons:
>> Let's keep it moving. Alternative energy, a very important topic especially in Arizona. At least it should be and how do you make it more of an important topic in Arizona.

Anne Kirkpatrick:
>> I was just finishing eight days touring the district. What a struggle it is for families to put gas if the gas tank. I noticed at the pump it stops at an even number because people are not filling up anymore. We have to provide immediate relief in terms of the price of gas especially in the district. To do that, we have to drill on the 68 million acres of public land already approved. You know, that's already there for the oil companies and I'm saying use it or lose it. And approve new offshore drilling as long as every drop of that new oil stays in the united states and did you want go to china. Long-term, we have got to have a comprehensive energy strategy that includes wind and solar and nuclear. We can't take anything off the table right now. We have to look long-term so that we are energy independent in this country.

Ted Simons:
>> How do we get energy independent in this country?
Sidney Hay:
>> We need to do it and quickly. We need to drill for the oil 68 million acres is fiction. We need to drill in anwar and be Energy independent in six months. We need the refinery capacity to refine it and need the light, sweet crude able in anwar and a broad-based tax approach and look at the alternatives. This is perfect place for wind and solar.

Ted Simons:
>> The premarket tends to pick winners and losers, if gas and oil and prices come down, where is the incentive.

Sidney Hay:
>> We give tax approach for people pursuing the alternative and 10-15 years we will have them economical viable. If do you it by mandate, people can't afford to pay heat and cooling.

Ted Simons:
>> Can we wait 10-15 years?

Brent Maupin:
>> We have to start now. The government has to look to the future. That's the problem with congress right now they are not looking not future. We have the technology right now to fuel the country with biodiesel based on algae. It's called a closed cell system. I've researched it thoroughly. It's here and available now. We need incentives from the government to get going so we don't wait until gasoline is $5 and scamper to do something. Solar, we produce less solar here than New Jersey. That's not necessary. The other good news is hydrogen. M. I. T. Released a report where they can extract the hydrogen atom and we can get the money from the farmers in Texas that aren't growing rice anymore.

Ted Simons:
>> Alternative energy.

Thane Eichenauer:
>> I would say it's around us and many businesses that are investing and producing in 11 alternative energy. The best way to make sure there's more of it is to not crush them with the taxes that we use to spend for the occupation of Iraq.

Ted Simons:
>> Do you believe in global warming?

Thane Eichenauer:
>> I believe the globe is perhaps getting warmer, perhaps it's not. I don't think it will affect man at this time.

Ted Simons:
>> sidney, global warming.
Sidney Hay:
>> Global climate change is real. The controversy is how much is man-made involvement. We don't know.

Ted Simons:
>> how much is man-made.

Anne Kirkpatrick:
>> I do think it's affected by what we are doing by greenhouse gas emissions and address it at a national level.

Ted Simons:
>> global warming.

Brent Maupin:
>> Whether it's man-made or not is not important to me. I've been an advocate for cleaning it up for many years. If this is what it takes, more for it. The globe is getting warmer.

Ted Simons:
>> Let's talk about earmarks. What is your position.

Sidney Hay:
>> I find it says I will work very hard to end the practice. The pork barrel spending for re-election purposes is wrong. As part of the pledge I've acknowledged if there's a project that's important to cd one and constitutional and federally appropriate expenditure and in that case it's probably okay.

Ted Simons:
>> As long as it's coming into Arizona an earmark can be okay?

Sidney Hay:
>> Constitutional and federally appropriate that way we are not building tea museums and others.

Ted Simons:
>> If it means a toothpick museum in Arizona?

Sidney Hay:
>> No.

Anne Kirkpatrick:
>> They frequently ask, Anne, will you bring home the pork. In this district we don't have the pork. We talk about putting on the bread and butter. We don't want too much government interference but we have vast infrastructure needs that we need to have that built up. We need some assistance to do that because we can't attract the kind of economic development that I envision would the infrastructure I'm talking about bridges, dams, roads, telecommunications. There are vast areas of district that don't have electricity and running water.

Ted Simons:
>> If it means electricity and water there, you have to accept earmarks, would you accept it?

Anne Kirkpatrick:
>> I don't have trouble with earmarks as long as they are transparent and ethical. But the voters have to know what's being voted on. What we all object to of course is nobody wants to see the bridge to nowhere. What we object to is, you know, when it's done secretly and there's not an openness to the process.

Ted Simons:
>> Thane, earmarks.

Thane Eichenauer:
>> They are a problem. I don't have the solution for them. The solution is reduce the amount of spending the government does on the federal level. Government is not solution.

Brent Maupin:
>> I have a solution. It's not earmark but the system whereby they are introduced for bailout. They put on earmark to reduce or create tax incentives for bringing in rum for the Caribbean and bought out votes for bailout. That was ridiculous. What we can do is take away all earmarks from all bills and twice a year call it pork bill and everybody can throw if a pork and line item veto and all the congress represents can vote not allow any other pork on any other bill and then they can focus on the bill for the American people.

Ted Simons:
>> keep it relative quick here. Illegal immigration. Anne, how do you handle that.

Anne Kirkpatrick:
>> That's one of the reasons I'm running for congress. We have to have comprehensive national reform. That includes three components. First we have to secure our borders north and south and give the border patrol the resources they need to do their job and includes smart fence technology where it makes sense. The second thing for those who are here now and who are illegal, there's got to be a way for them to eastern legal status. I'm a former prosecutor and i have a zero tolerance for crime. To me that means we have to require that they learn require, require that they have a job and that they pay a fine so that they can eastern legal status. Those who commit a crime should be deported and not allowed back. There's a third component and a guest worker program because we have a farms in this district. And this year is a good harvest year and farmers need help. A legal way for people to work.

Ted Simons:
>> Sidney, illegal immigration.

Sidney Hay:
>> First we secure border. Anne voted against border security so many different ways I lost count. We do need a physical barrier two layers high-speed border patrol. Once we have a secure border, then we can decide how big our front door needs to be to accommodate our work force needs.

Ted Simons:
>> Do you sacrifice the second element until you get the first.

Sidney Hay:
>> You have to do the first. This is national security for congress to have the case of slows in getting that done is wrong. We're vulnerable.

Brent Maupin:
>> I think we have to first solve the immigration issue then secure our borders. The people coming up and desperate for job and make a tunnel and climb over the fence. They will do whatever it takes to get here. We have to solve the immigration problem where you have a guest worker program pass and you have to have enough guest worker program passes issued to provide significant labor. The borders can be secure and border patrol can do what hired to do and keep out those illegally.

Thane Eichenauer:
>> I think we need to increase the amount of legal immigration which will decrease the amount of illegal lation.

Ted Simons:
>> It's time for closing statements. 30 seconds each and starting with Sidney.

Sidney Hay:
>> Thank you for the opportunity to be with you tonight. Yes, I'm running for congress by running against congress because so much in Washington is broken. We need to make sure that congress is held accountable. From what we learned from civics class and three equal branches of government and congress, the proper oversight is asleep at the switch.

Anne Kirkpatrick:
>> I'm Anne Kirkpatrick running for congress and middle class needs help which includes permanent tax cuts for the middle class, fixing social security, securing our border and giving border patrol the resources they need to enforce the border and technology of smart fence where it makes sense and easing the pain at the pump.

Ted Simons:
>> thane?

Thane Eichenauer:
>> as a libertarian party candidate i hope to rape in the government. I think government is not the solution. I have faith that the people of America if freed from excessive government will provide a solution we can live with.

Ted Simons:
>> Brent?

Brent Maupin:
>> I think we can agree that congress is not effective to do the job they were sent to do. We had six years of one party and two of another and things are getting worse. What we need to do is confront the leadership and reform the system. Only people can do that by standing up and making a demand to the elected officials to be held accountable for their actions.

Ted Simons:
>> Thank you for the spirited debate and we appreciate your contributions and participation.

Ted Simons:
>>> Tomorrow on "horizon" the economy is hitting state and city budgets hard, causing layoffs.

>>> And find out why Sheriff Joe Arpaio is in the headlines this week. The journalists' roundtable is Friday at 7:00 on "horizon." this is it for now. I'm Ted Simons. Thank you so much for joining us. Have you a great evening.