Susan Friedman says she is not at all happy with Republican leadership in the Legislature, specifically Senate President Ken Bennett, whom she is trying to unseat in November.

“He’s been in office a long time and hasn’t done anything positive for his community,” said Ms. Friedman, 55, who moved to Prescott eight years ago from New York and is making her first run at political office. The Senate president is the leader of “conservatives,” she said, who “have been very harmful to the state as a whole” and are “undermining education.”

Mr. Bennett, 45, seeking his third term in the Senate and second stint as president, said, “Anything right of her is going to be characterized by her as extreme right. She’s posturing. I am conservative, but I am responsibly conservative, and that reflects the majority in the state and in District 1.”

The district covers Sedona, Prescott and Cottonwood. Voter registration is heavily Republican – the GOP has 45.7 per cent of registration in the district, and unaffiliated and minor-party voters outnumber Democrats 27.5 per cent to 26.8 per cent.

In the Sept. 7 primary, Mr. Bennett received an unofficial 17,466 votes to Ms. Friedman’s 7,214. The turnout was just under 25 per cent of registered voters.

Education

Among Ms. Friedman’s chief concerns are education and children’s mental health, she said.

“Education funding has gone down,” she said. “We get the short end of the stick.” Ms. Friedman said the Legislature has diverted agency and special program funding to the general fund to reduce the deficit. Were that stopped, she said, there would be adequate funding for the education and social programs she supports, without the need for increased taxes.

“She is not well informed about these diversions,” Mr. Bennett said. “There are special funds for special projects. If there are excess funds, a small portion of those funds are used to help with cash flow problems,” as approved by the Legislature and the governor.

Mr. Bennett said Ms. Friedman “wants money in both pockets. We have not raised taxes. She will have to tell them where she’s going to raise their taxes.”

Mr. Bennett added, “We have spent more new money for K-12 in the past six years than at any time in history. For some people, no amount is enough.” He said the results from education spending are the only statistics that matter.

“The most critical statistic should be students’ academic achievement,” Mr. Bennett said, adding that recent headlines about 60 per cent of high school sophomores who failed the AIMS (Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards) test last spring were misleading. They should have said 40 per cent of sophomores passed a senior-level test.

Mr. Bennett also said the state continues to spend more money on behavioral health care than ever before.

Water, Growth And Jobs

Ms. Friedman also said that the state has failed to develop a program to conserve water and has fallen short in public transportation, affordable housing and luring more high paying jobs into the state.

Mr. Bennett says development of a water conservation program is primarily the governor’s responsibility. As for jobs, he said, “We’ve had a high growth rate” for high paying jobs, though “We can always do better. The best way to compete is to have a productive workforce, which comes back to education.”

He noted the Legislature last year approved $400 million for research and development at state universities and said, “We’re doing what the experts are telling us to do.”

Ms. Friedman said she “meets Republicans every day” who are unhappy with the party. She also is seeking support from independents.

Mr. Bennett’s stands on issues, she said, are motivated by his desire to hold a higher office, possibly to be governor.

“He’s positioning himself,” Ms. Friedman said. “I have people tell me, ‘We have to beat Bennett because he wants to run for governor.’ ”

Mr. Bennett has expressed an interest in running for governor, but he said Ms. Friedman is off base. “My focus will continue to be on the Senate,” he said. “I have no special plans for what comes next.”

Mr. Bennett is CEO of the family-owned Bennett Oil Co. and a graduate of Arizona State University in accounting.

Ms. Friedman is a marketing director for Marty’s Men’s Fashion, with a master’s degree in history from New York University.

Ms. Friedman’s campaign is publicly funded, while Mr. Bennett is privately financed.

She had received $28,000 in Clean Elections funding for the general election, and Mr. Bennett reported contributions of $25,604 as of Aug. 18, including $6,010 from political action committees and $1,360 from lobbyists.

“Clean elections is one of the best things Arizona has done,” said Ms. Friedman.

Yavapai County Republican Chairmen Kenton Jones said he has not seen any political signs, or advertising for Ms. Friedman. She said she has spent most of the money on mailings.

Of Mr. Bennett, he said, “Most people here are proud of what he has done in the Senate, and as Senate president. Ken Bennett is highly respected and regarded.”

Gene Gierman, the county’s Democratic chairman, says Mr. Bennett is “vulnerable” because he is “anti-education.” But, he added, “I’d like to think it’s a horse race, but I’m not sure it is.”