Arizona’s senior senator, John McCain, was described by one of his advisers in a recent Associated Press article as “the Fonzie of politics.” The state’s junior senator, Jon Kyl, was portrayed in the article as “a little more Richie Cunningham: measured, predictable, a beloved son of conservative Republicans.”

Former Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Jim Pederson, a wealthy developer who grew up in Casa Grande, is hoping to knock off Mr. Kyl and spend some happy days in the U.S. Senate beginning in 2007. But according to an independent poll conducted in October, Mr. Pederson trailed Mr. Kyl by 24 percentage points.

Arizona Capitol Times interviewed Mr. Pederson by phone Dec. 20.

If President Bush’s approval ratings had been in the 70 percent range when you were considering a run for the Senate, would you have decided to challenge Senator Kyl≠

Yes, because Senator Kyl’s approval ratings certainly aren’t in the 70 percent range. And that’s what this race is all about. It’s about Arizona issues, about the right person to represent Arizonans. The national scene could have some sort of an influence, but you can’t rely on that. These polls change. I’m sure that President Bush’s ratings are going to go up and down between now and the election, so it’s just not something you can time or something you can count on. That really didn’t factor into our decision.

What if it had been McCain’s seat that was up≠

I happen to agree with Senator McCain on a lot of issues. I admire his independence. He bucks his party when he feels he needs to. So, I doubt seriously I would have been a candidate had Senator McCain been the opponent.

What are your major points of difference with the senator≠

Number one, we have talked about Senator McCain. Senator Kyl has really not exhibited the independence that I think is in the tradition of Arizona politicians. You take a guy like Barry Goldwater, John Rhodes, Morris Udall — all of those people really had Arizona number one. They came together. They really solved problems that related to our state. They found that common ground; they found that middle road. Jon Kyl goes with the administration almost 100 percent of the time. He’s an extreme partisan, very much of an ideologue. I don’t think he’s in the mainstream of Arizona voters. He’s on the wrong side of most issues that Arizonans care about.

What has Kyl failed to do for Arizona that you would do≠

Number one is immigration. There has not been an effective piece of legislation, an effective policy on immigration in years. This isn’t a problem that has crept up on us the last two years. This has been happening over the past 20 to 25 years. Senator Kyl has taken a totally unrealistic approach to the problem of illegal immigration. It’s not going to work. It’s not going to get past first base in terms of making any kind of progress in the Senate or the House. Senator McCain has a very pragmatics, very rational approach toward the issues, something hopefully the entire delegation is going to get behind.

We need a comprehensive approach toward illegal immigration, and certainly border enforcement’s got to be number one. And we need some sort of a workable guest worker program and we need to figure out what to do with the undocumented residents that are already here. If we use this issue to advance a partisan agenda, make it highly emotional, then pragmatism and common sense just go out the window.

Do you think the federal government should pay for state English learning programs≠

I do. The need for that is caused by the illegal immigration problem in Arizona. Arizona is probably more affected than any other state in the Union, both legal and illegal. If we have kids falling behind in the initial years of education, we’re going to pay for that as a state. I firmly believe the federal government should share in that burden.

Arizona is said to be near a medical malpractice crisis. Where do you stand on legislation to cap non-economic damages≠

I want to be sure that any legislation, whether it is by the state Legislature, whether it is by initiative, that it truly brings down insurance rates. Where you have caps in other states, insurance rates haven’t really come down. We may be fighting this problem with the wrong kind of solution. It’s easy to say caps, but everybody has a right to a fair hearing. I’m a believer in our judicial system. I’m not sure that malpractice caps have proven effective.

How much money have you raised so far≠

The latest reporting period was the third quarter. Raised about three-quarters of a million dollars.

How much of that are donations from Arizonans≠

I don’t know the exact percentage, but the great majority is from Arizona. That was the case in the third quarter.

How much of your own money do you think you’ll have to put in to keep up with Kyl≠

It’s certainly unknown, and I’m not even thinking about that. I don’t think the people are. They don’t care how much money Jim Pederson’s going to put in his campaign; they’re concerned about solving their problems, where their kids go to school, how they’re going to afford health care and where are the good paying jobs that we need in the state of Arizona. Those are the issues that are going to decide this election.

Do you have any idea how the cost of the Iraq war compares to the amount of revenue lost to President Bush’s tax cuts≠ I guess my question is: Would his tax cuts pay for the war≠

Yes, and then some. You have the whole guns and butter argument in economic theory. I don’t think you can have both. If your country has a need, you’ve got to find the resources to pay for that need, whether it’s an armed conflict, whether it’s a domestic need or whatever. Deficits do matter. This is a debt we’re piling up that our kids are going to have to pay. It’s eventually going to put a crimp in our economy. There’s a foreign policy implication: Look who’s buying our debt today, China. This administration inherited a $500 billion surplus and in a short period of time turned it into a $500 billion deficit. It doesn’t work long term.

On energy and the environment, published reports say there is at least twice the amount of oil contained in rock in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah than in the entire Middle East. The challenge is extracting it from underground shale. Shouldn’t the federal government be looking at this area long-term for our oil supply≠

Well, sure, but the federal government should be looking at a lot of sources of alternate energy to fossil fuels. There’s a finite supply of oil and other fossil fuels in this world, and eventually we’re going to run out. There’s technology today that can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by a good 30 to 40 percent. It not only has implications for energy conservation, but pollution and certainly foreign policy implications.

I’m not sure what the technology is to extract that oil from shale. I’ve got to think it’s going to be very, very expensive and certainly has some environmental implications.

Do you think the race to replace Congressman Jim Kolbe will generate more interest than yours with Kyl, and are chances good for a Democrat win≠

Just the basic demographics of that district indicate that it’s competitive, and the Democrats are going to have a chance there, and I like our chances. Next year could be a pivotal year: You have that race; all the statewide offices are going to be up, the U.S. Senate race. It’s a pivotal year in the political history of the state ove
r the next five to ten years.