Rep. John Allen

The back row of the House won’t be the same without John Allen, a District 11 Republican who lost a reelection bid on Sept. 12 when he finished third in a four-way primary. The two-term representative was always quick with a quip or a joke, whether it was audible only to those seated near him or it was said for the whole body to hear.
His rise to politics seems to have all the markings of a good joke, too: before getting elected to office, he spent a few years as a used-car salesman. Need help with the punchline≠ Mr. Allen has that covered: “I wanted to move further down in Hell without becoming a lawyer or a terrorist, so that left politician from used-car salesman.”
When election results started pouring in, Mr. Allen’s defeat was one of the biggest surprises of the evening and he was the only House incumbent that failed to be reelected. He takes the blame for losing, but says he hopes to stay involved in Arizona politics in some fashion, not ruling out another run for office in the future.
He spoke with Arizona Capitol Times Sept. 19 in his legislative office.
Well, let’s just start with it: what went wrong with your campaign≠
Well, obviously I fell short of getting people to vote for me. In a four-way race, there’s always jeopardy, and I was not up to the task.
Some observers have said you might have been too focused on the upcoming session or on running for leadership in the Republican caucus. Is there any truth to that≠
No, not really. I think what I did is I might have run like a football team that has a lead in the fourth quarter. I did try to run a slightly more defensive campaign than I have in the past and let the field sort itself out. I would say no. I haven’t put a tremendous amount of effort into my leadership race, though it has been a concern.
Did you have any inkling that your campaign was in trouble before results started coming back Tuesday night≠
Absolutely not.
With Steve Tully retiring, your district now has two new representatives. What are your thoughts on Adam Driggs and Don Hesselbrock≠
They’re nice enough guys. I think the district certainly is losing its standing in the caucus because it’s losing both its senior members. But Don and Adam should do fine.
What advice would you have for them as first-time lawmakers≠
Make more friends than enemies.
How do they go about doing that≠
If I have to teach that, they might want to resign and let me take over.
Look in your crystal ball: what’s your future look like≠
Well, I’m going to get my office cleaned out and get my desk cleared down on the [House] floor, but I didn’t really have an alternate plan, so I’m not sure. I’m taking what God gives me, day by day.
What about your political future≠
Same thing.
Do you still want to be involved in Arizona politics≠
I am going to volunteer in some of the other races. I haven’t solidified any offers yet, but I do want to work — perhaps in a statewide race.
What will you miss the most about serving in the Legislature≠
I think I’m going to miss my friends. I started many days with the Alvarezes, in [Rep.] Manny [Alvarez]’s office and ended my day joking around with [Rep.] Dave Bradley, and in between filled it with [Rep.] Andy Biggs and [Rep.] Steve Yarbrough and [Rep.] Warde Nichols. I truly enjoyed this job. It was challenging on every level and I’m going to miss serving the district.
And what will you miss the least≠
I don’t know — I truly enjoy my job. Let me think. [Pause] Ah! [Rep.] Kyrsten Sinema’s speeches. Better known as “fingernails on a chalk board.”
Let’s talk about some of your legislation: you sponsored a bill [H2701] to put the National Guard on the border, but the governor vetoed it. Now, the National Guard is on the border.
By the feds.
Right.
And not in the manner which best protects us.
What do you think of the situation with the National Guard on the border≠
Well, when you give a guy a gun and no bullets — you take a highly, professionally changed observer and make him change oil [on Border Patrol vehicles] and do back-up work, you are not best utilizing that effort. We could be doing a lot better — a lot, lot better. And the governor promised better, and she hasn’t done it.
What do you think about the governor’s stance on the National Guard≠ She had originally come out and said the Guard shouldn’t be on the border, then she championed the idea in her State of the State speech in January, then vetoed your bill and, finally, supported President Bush in deploying the troops.
Well, the President has not been a stellar leader on this issue, but the governor has done nothing but act politically. She has done as little as possible and boasted as much as possible, to the detriment of all of our state, but especially the southern part of the state.
In 2005, you also worked on legislation [H2535] concerning labor unions and their lobbying. What would it have done and why was it important≠
The paycheck protection bill I ran would have given people who pay dues the opportunity to say which political figures get part of it. The unions then would not be able to spend their money on political campaigns without impunity. You’ve got your Average Joe out there who totally disagrees with what the union’s doing with their money, but has no way of finding it out. And that came very close to passing.
[Editor’s note: the bill passed the House 31-28, but never received a hearing in the Senate.]
What’s the one thing you’re most proud of from your time in the House of Representatives≠
Dave Bradley and I ran a bill — several bills, actually — to help foster kids who come to maturity [turn 18] in the foster care system to have easier access to public higher education. I think that that bill will, in its own quiet way, have more effect on people than almost 80 percent of the bills that went out of here this year. If you actually went out of the foster care system with a chance to go to college, and don’t get there, I think that’s a crime. And, seeing the state as their parent, I think we’re doing a good thing there.
As background, kids come of age, but they’ve been in the system for five years or more — they have none of the paperwork. You and I turn to our parents, and they would give you a birth certificate, your official school records and so on. But, if I all of the sudden brought [ASU President Dr.] Michael Crow in here and said, “Let’s fill out an application to get into ASU with what’s in your pockets,” you wouldn’t be able to do it. And that’s where these kids are at, and so they get frustrated.
So, what the bill did, was it created the desk in the Department of Economic Security, and provided scholarship money. We struck it on to a Biggs bill [H2613, Laws 2006 Chapter 338] — so it’s Biggs, Allen and Bradley. That is a force of evil that no one could stop.
Overall, when you look at the state and see how things have changed the past four years — and when you came in, there were financial problems and the state was in a deficit — do you see that the state’s headed in the right direction≠
We haven’t fixed any of the things that caused our financial problem. We just sort of waxed over them. I think the best thing we’ve been able to do is hold the growth that the governor wants to a minimum. But, structurally, we fixed nothing.
This is a great state. This state will survive, despite the Legislature and the governor. That’s because the citizens are a heck of a lot smarter than we are, and they’re going to create a lot of opportunities — and even though we might flub them, the state will overcome us.
Thank you.
Anytime. Thank you very much.

Up closer
What’s your favorite comfort food≠
Sausage pizza

Favorite movie≠
“The 39 Steps”, directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Favorite car you owned≠
1977 Porsche 911 that I had all tricked out. It got stolen, but I got it back.

Best book you ever read≠
“The Count of Monte Cristo,” by Alexander Dumas

Favorite candy bar≠
Crunch bar