LD18 Debate: Dems Support Abortion, Saving Water, and Funding Schools. The Republican was Weird.

AZ Representatives Chris Mathis and Nancy Gutierrez debated unknown computer engineer Len Rosenblum in the race for two LD18 House seats. The incumbents supported widely popular measures in the heavily Democratic District, but the Republican did the opposite.

The Arizona Clean Elections Commission held the debate on September 4, 2024. Wayne Schutsky, who covers Arizona politics on KJZZ, moderated it.

Mathis and Gutierrez, who were elected in 2022, agreed in their support for:

• Abortion access rights as set forth in Prop 139.
• Conserving and augmenting Arizona’s water supply.
• Building affordable housing.
• Restoring school funding to pre-2008 levels. Arizona ranks 49^th in the nation for per-pupil spending.
• They opposed school vouchers. “It’s a lousy idea, and I’d be happy to vote to repeal it,” Mathis said.
• They opposed the state enforcing federal immigration laws.

Rosenblum, who has never held public office, bragged about his concealed-carry gun permit, his ham radio license and his notary public commission.

In contrast, Gutierrez serves as the minority whip in the state House and serves on the Education and Appropriations committees. She has been a public high school teacher since 2013.

Mathis is a lawyer who teaches health care at the U of A. He is also an expert in water law and serves on the committees on Natural Resources, Energy and water, Health and human Services, and Rules.

Rosenblum summed himself up this way:

• A fiscal conservative and right-leaning candidate.
• The state should duplicate the US Border Patrol using “measures that Texas has taken to secure our border.”
• He denies that the 2020 election was legitimate.
• Voters should be required to show a fingerprint ID before they can cast a ballot.
• Regarding huge rent increases, he said he opposes “squatters rights” and defended price-fixing landlords, saying they “should be able to run to make a profit.”
• Cutting administrative costs at public schools and reducing spending on public education.
• Building the controversial Interstate 11 which would add air pollution, destroy ecosystems and kill off protected animals and birds.

Rosenblum repeatedly wandered verbally and began talking nonsense (see below).

High points by the Democrats

Abortion. Nancy Gutierrez: “I absolutely support the initiative. I got signatures for the initiative, and we in the House and Senate in the Democratic caucus worked very hard to repeal the absolute ban on abortion. I truly believe that the decision to terminate a pregnancy is up to the person who is pregnant.”

ESA School Vouchers. Chris Mathis: “We’re essentially subsidizing affluent folks to send kids to private school. And Arizona has had a chronically underfunded public school system for decades. This has also blown a billion-dollar hole in our budget. And there’s no funding mechanism to address that.”

Prop 314, allowing state and local police to arrest noncitizens crossing the border. Nancy Gutierrez: “It would bring us back to SB1070, the ‘Show Me Your Papers’ law, which is inherently racist. It is definitely unconstitutional. It is inherently bad for Arizona. And I agree that this is a federal problem. There was bipartisan legislation that would have passed had it not been for the interference of the Republican presidential candidate.”

Water shortage. Chris Mathis: “I’m the ranking member of the Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee. I also was a member of the Legislature in 2022, when we passed the expanded legislation that appropriated hundreds of millions of dollars to conservation and augmentation. The conservation fund was so successful and has funded so many projects that were actually out of money. That was 200 million dollars.”

Housing affordability. Nancy Gutierrez: “I think there should be a cap on how much a landlord can raise the rent. Because we do not have a cap in Arizona, we’re seeing that landlords are raising rent 20, 30, 40 percent a year. And I think that’s wrong.

Weird comments by Len Rosenblum

Abortion and the dentist. “We should know that Proposition 139 is quite liberal. For example, it allows the 17-year-old to have an invasive operation without the parent’s consent. I compared that to my son, who went for a filling after I gave verbal consent to the dentist. My son then drove over to the dentist the following week, and I had to give another written consent, which consent for a filling compared to no consent for an invasive operation. I think some problems exist with the proposition.”

2020 election. “So widespread fraud, that’s the data. But what we have to look at are rules that changed. You’re going back to 2020, which is a year where there were adjustments made last minute during the election season. People were not educated, not people, but election officials were not educated on these rapidly changing protocols.”

“And so I think as a result, there were some ballots that should not have been cast, especially provisional balance ballots may have been accepted that should have been rejected, but because of the essential disarray during the COVID years it went through.”

Nancy Gutierrez responded, “With all due respect. There was never any proof of that.”

Compromise. “I, too believe in compromise. We’re all legislators. We have to work together. We’re founded on compromise. Just like marriage is compromise. You’re not going to agree with two people, let alone 60 people. So that’s really the way to go. I also came up with a two-part method in addition to that horizontal compromise and worked with the senators as well as the House members.

I also support collaboration on the vertical side, collaborating with our federal officials as well as our county school board officials. For example, the school board funding. Public schools do get federal funds, so we should look at and collaborate with our federal representatives, as well as extending the funds, which is done at the school board level. So I have a two-part method.”

See the debate for yourself at https://youtu.be/SNZng16XJIk?si=ZJR5FuqD-oao54xk