Steve Farley

LD9 incumbent Rep. Randy Friese and I met with representatives from the Arizona Daily Star a few weeks ago to share ideas and answer their questions. Traditionally, the Star meets with all candidates for a position simultaneously, but LD9 Tea Party challenger Ana Henderson did not attend the interview.

On Sunday, Oct 9, the Star released their endorsements, and I’m proud to say that they endorsed me– along with the LD9 incumbents Friese and Senator Steve Farley. Here is an excerpt from the endorsement story.

On the House side, we endorse incumbent Randy Friese and newcomer Pamela Powers Hannley.

They are a solid combination and compliment each other’s strengths with experience and policy knowledge.

Friese and Powers Hannley are Democrats running against another newcomer, Republican Ana Henderson.

Powers Hannley identified the economy as her top priority, which isn’t unusual for a political candidate.

What makes her stand out, however, is that she’s not identifying “jobs” as her platform but puts economic stability and viability in a larger frame. She thinks of it “broadly, to lift people out of poverty.”

She supports an increased minimum wage and identifies corporate tax cuts and loopholes as a target to increase state revenue to spend on urgent needs, such as public education.

“These are issues that are not one-party issues,” she said. She cited paycheck equality and fairness as an example.

She also rightly points out that the southern end of LD 9, in midtown Tucson, is rife with rundown housing and that many residents don’t have the means to maintain or improve their property.

She raised the possibility of Arizona forming a public bank, which could give residents low-interest loans to improve their homes or businesses. We’re not ready to sign on to that just yet, but we appreciate her innovative thinking and reaching for different ideas.

To read the full story, here’s the link:

Star endorsement: Arizona Legislative District 9

Here are a few other news stories about the LD9 race:

Here are the local candidates we recommend this election (Star)

Steller: Candidates increasingly view debates as optional (Star)

Three candidates battle for two House seats in District 9 (Star)

Political Notebook: Anti-McCain primary votes loom large (Star)

State House: Most incumbent Democrats doing well (Star)

Legislative District 9 races (Blog for Arizona)

Who Is Ana Henderson? (Blog for Arizona)

Union roots propel Amherst native in Arizona House race (Amherst News Times – my hometown newspaper.)

#LD9 Debate Reveals Clear Choices Between Dem & GOP Candidates (For a recap of the LD9 debate on Oct 14.)