Reform Party member Scott Malcomson of Mesa says Governor Napolitano “has done a fair job,” but he’d like to take her place.

“She has done my platform,” said Mr. Malcomson, who ran for governor in 1998 as a Reform candidate, but filed this month as an independent because the party lost its ballot standing in Arizona and many other states in 2002. Ross Perot, the Texas billionaire who twice ran for president, founded the party in 1992.

“I’m still a reformer,” said Mr. Malcomson, 37, who calls for strict interpretation of the Constitution, a higher standard of ethics in government, educational reform, stimulation of rural economies and what he called a “work-match program to permit immigration for purposes of gainful employment.”

“I’m not one of those people who thinks we should militarize the border or build a fence. The National Guard or the Army down there would be a hell of a drawback because they’re not trained as policemen.

“Border control should accommodate those who want to work honestly and secure us against dishonest crime,” he said.

‘Elect A Malcontent’

Formerly of Tucson, Mr. Malcomson has run twice for state office as a Reform Party candidate — in 1998 for governor (filing under the “Elect a Malcontent” Committee), and for the state House in 2000.

In 2002, he again filed for governor under the Reform Party, but failed to gather enough signatures to make the ballot. In 2004, he ran as an independent for the state Senate.

Mr. Malcomson received 8,371 votes in the 1998 general election for governor, or .008 percent of the vote.

He said he supports a year-around school system, with two to three weeks of seasonal vacation. “The senior year would be an out-processing year” — transitioning to college or employment.

Mr. Malcomson said he supports the use of medical marijuana under tight controls.

“She has done a fair job,” he said of Ms. Napolitano. She’s occasionally engaged in secrecy, was a little slow on the gas crisis — I may have been too — and she has a long history of being a political social climber.”

Mr. Malcomson, who works for a job service that places technical workers, said he is building a grassroots campaign to gather $5 qualifying contributions for public financing. —