Az House & Senate candidates for western Pima County debated housing, education and & policy

State Senator Brian Fernandez and his Republican challenger Michelle Altherr clashed over education spending, water use, housing and immigration policy during an online debate Thursday night moderated by Tucson Sentinel reporter Jim Nintzel. 

Altherr said she wasn’t “coming onboard with all these policies that I want,” but said she wanted to “bring God back into the Legislature. That’s my wheelhouse.” 

A 15-year Air Force veteran, Altherr’s duty stations included New Mexico, Korea, Germany, Kansas City and Arizona’s Luke Air Force Base. After she left the service in 1998, she stayed in Goodyear and launched a career in fashion design. Altherr said she would “bring true representation” for her constituents, and would “operate with a lot of integrity,” noting that while she served in the Air Force she was a liaison. 

Altherr framed the election as a fight between good and evil, and when asked if the 2020 and 2022 elections were legitimate, she said no. Altherr, the GOP chair of LD23, claimed that as one of the people involved in the 2020 election “audit” — which indicated President Joe Biden’s won by an additional 360 votes over Donald Trump in Arizona — there were “things she saw, she couldn’t unsee.” 

Fernandez, the Democrat, said while he served in the Arizona Senate, he has secured funding for the community’s priorities, including funding for Highway 95, Yuma Proving Grounds, and Arizona Western College. He said he wants to return to the state Senate to protect voting rights, including early voting. 

Fernandez, who launched and sold tech startups, was first appointed to the Legislature in 2021 after his mother, Charlene Fernandez, resigned from the House of Representatives after nearly a decade to take a job with the Biden administration. In 2022, he won a seat in the Arizona Senate. 

Fernandez said he has worked across the aisle, collaborating with Republicans. He said he asks for people “to tell the truth, and have a plan on what your’e going to do to make Arizona better. I don’t care which party those ideas come from.” 

The largest chunk of LD23’s voters — 47 percent — live in Yuma County but roughly 19 percent live on the western side of Pima County. The district includes the Tohono O’odham reservation, including the San Xavier Mission and the community of Sells. Roughly 34 percent of the voters live in Maricopa County’s rural areas as well as Phoenix suburbs such as Goodyear.

While Democrats, at 35 percent of the voters, hold the registration advantage over the 24 percent of Republicans, the 41 percent of independent voters can swing either way. The district now has bipartisan representation in the House of Representatives with Democrat Mariana Sandoval and Republican Michele Peña.

Peña declined to attend, leaving Sandoval and Matias Rosales, the two Democrats seeking two House seats in LD23, to hold a discussion with Nintzel over major issues facing the area, including housing, education spending, and immigration. 

Democrats hope to win both seats in the Nov. 5 election as part of an effort to flip control of the Arizona House of Representatives, which is now split 31-29 in the GOP’s favor.

Education funding, DEI and discipline 

Fernandez championed education spending, arguing there were schools across the district, including both rural and urban schools that need work. He said the state has underfunded capital expenditures by billions, and the state needs to fix the issue to “ensure children can go into a safe environment to learn.” 

“First and foremost, you can’t keep throwing money into system that’s failing students and gotten away from teaching them,” Altherr said. She claimed schools in the state were involved in DEI—a shorthand for diversity, equality and inclusion—and were “more worried about how” students feel “than how they can read or write.” 

She said students “can’t function because they’re not being taught” and educators are “teaching about them their lifestyle.” 

Fernandez said if his opponent went to public schools, she would find “teachers are teaching.”  He said teachers “work in environments that are very challenging,” in part because the state has underfunded schools. He argued the state’s use of vouchers is sending kids to private schools while taking funding from public schools. He agreed that Arizona remained around the bottom in education spending.  “You need to spend money on education—it’s not cheap.” 

Altherr said spending wasn’t the issue, but said it was mismanagement and said she toured schools with Tom Horne, the state superintendent of public instruction, who was elected to his office during the 2022 election. She said funding was “going top-down” and money for schools was spent at the administrative level, with little left for teachers or kids.

Fernandez shot back, arguing the state has rules that allow private schools to operate on “unequal playing field” because they’re not required to maintain special programs for kids with learning or behavior disabilities. He said he was working with state Sen. Ken Bennett to change some rules, and said teachers need better wages.  

Altherr claimed students are able to beat up teacher in class, and  said rather than discipline, schools encouraged kids to talk about their feelings. “Plus, we’ve taken god out of it.” 

Fernandez shook his head and replied that he didn’t know where that had happened, and questioned if she saw incidents on social media. He added he went to Arizona schools.”We didn’t’ have god in school, we didn’t pray. We said the pledge of allegiance and we learned.” 

He said funding remained the problem and as the cost-of-living as spiked, teachers salaries haven’t kept up. He said he’s working to help cities increase supply of housing, to make it easier to recruit teachers. He said they work in a challenging environment, adding that support staff are necessary, “they need that support.” 

“Teachers are barely making it,” he said, adding that for Arizona State University graduates, the difference between a salary as an engineers or sales is “night and day” compared to teaching. “That’s where the problem is.” 

He noted Texas — “not exactly a liberal bastion” — pays teachers more.  

Altherr said she has talked to parents and teachers, including people in the Liberty Elementary School District. She said that after Republicans took control, they abandoned Social Emotional Learning and DEI, now  the district has more teachers. 

Fernandez noted school districts are non-partisan, adding this “sends a bad message.” 

“Education should be for every student and every parent, regardless of how much money they have or what color they are or any other criteria you can set,” he said. 

Altherr shot back that “you can call  nonpartisan all you want, but you’re gonna’ bring the values that you have, Democrat values, or Republican values.” She also said that school board elections should be partisan. 

Nintzel asked both candidates about what the state can do about mass shootings in schools. 

Altherr said instead of counselors in schools, there should be officers or other security. And, she said teachers, especially those who know how to use a firearm, should have weapons in classrooms as both a first-line of defense and a deterrent. 

Fernandez said he was a gun owner and said it was fundamental right. But, he said schools should be a “safe environment to learn” and parents should be confident they’ll “see their kid at the end of the day.” He  said what kids go through now, including gun drills “is really scary. But, he called arming teachers a “ridiculous answer to the systemic problem with kids access to guns.” 

Water, housing & infrastructure

The two candidates also clashed over water, with Fernandez noting that water in LD23 is mainly used by corporations. He said state legislators can help cities manage water and noted that some cities have begun reclaiming water, noting that in Chandler people are using reclaimed water to make beer.  

“in the end look at see where we’re growing,” he said. “We’re not going to conserve ourself out of this crisis,” he said, but he said the state will need to find ways to reduce water usage and find new sources of water, or change how the economy is managed.  He noted that for most residences, up to two-thirds of water is used outside for pools and ornamental grass, and said the state should consider incentives to mitigate water used for grass, and push for drip irrigation. 

Altherr noted her career in fashion design, and said farmers shouldn’t have to reduce water. “If want to reduce water, gonna’ cause other problems,” she said. The state should look at some things, including a water park in Glendale. 

“But climate change is not one of them, I’ve been in Arizona for 30 years and the weather hasn’t changed,” she said, confusing local weather patterns with large-scale climatic shifts that researchers at the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University have said will accelerate drought and heat in the state.

Phoenix hit 56 consecutive days with temperatures over 110 degrees, breaking records and outpacing last year, which was considered the hottest summer on record, the Arizona Republic reported on Thursday. 

Both candidates pushed for more housing, but Altherr said cities like Goodyear should keep their autonomy to decide what structures can be built to protect the “aesthetic of the city” while Fernandez noted that TSMC—a chip manufacturing company that has built factories in Arizona—said housing remains a huge issue and has been buying up condos and apartments for its employees. 

“We need to build in a smarter way,” he said, adding that developments should be more dense, and there should be infill construction.

Fernandez also urged for a change in the gas tax, noting the state has grown and matured, shifting from a place that was “shooting from the hip” when it came to infrastructure. He said the gas tax has remained “static,” but fewer people are driving in gasoline vehicles” and gas-powered vehicles are more economical, putting fewer dollars into state highway funds.

Altherr said that issue wasn’t her in her wheelhouse, but said the state should improve roads and cut back on light rail. 

‘Disciple of Christ’ 

On abortion rights, including Prop. 139 — a ballot initiative that would make abortion a state constitutional right — Altherr said she is a “disciple of Christ and cannot come into an agreement with any kind of abortion.” 

She said only about 1 percent of abortions involve rape or incest, and claimed most abortions are “for convenience.” She also claimed Proposition 139 would make abortion legal up to birth, giving mothers “carte blanche” to murder their child. She also claimed without evidence that human traffickers would use abortions to continue their abuse of girls. 

“I support any person’s right to abortion, it’s between them and their medical provider,” he said. He added that “there’s a problem of legislating by anecdote” 

“I don’t believe that’s the government business or responsibility, that right is inherent with that person,” he said. “I have trouble with someone saying their values should supersede others’. I disagree as much as I possible can.” 

Immigration & Prop. 314

Fernandez called Prop. 314 — which would make crossing the border illegally a state crime and allow police to arrest anyone who can’t prove U.S. citizenship or legal residency — an “unfunded mandate.” 

Echoing statements made by other current and retired law enforcement officials, including former Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier, Fernandez called immigration is a “federal purview.” He noted officials in San Luis, which lays at the southern tip of the district, are against the measure, and called it a “political gimmick.” 

Altherr claimed the U.S. has “an open border” and echoed ex-president Trump by claiming “other countries are emptying out” their prisons and sending people into the U.S. She said the federal government should “close that wall.” 

Here, Fernandez attempted to ask a question of Altherr, but she refused and said she would only accept questions from the moderator. 

She said the state should deploy the National Guard—perhaps unaware this was done by former governor Doug Ducey and current Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs—to “get this thing under control. Why not? It’s like peace through strength, just show that force.” She said people walk across the border with “carte blanche” and said the process is easy. 

When asked if he wanted to respond, Fernandez simply replied, “Not really. No.” 

They split similarly over whether the state should help cities and localities with asylum seekers. The was granted $50 million in funds from FEMA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection through a Homeland Security grant on Aug. 28. 

DHS said it would send nearly $50 million to Arizona, including $19.3 million to the state, along with more than $7.5 million to the Regional Center for Border Health based in Yuma County. Another $1.8 million will go to the nonprofit Borderlands Resource Initiative in Pima County. 

The state has used the funding to help transport asylum seekers after they are released by CBP. Moving them from border counties like Yuma, Cochise and Santa Cruz, to shelters in Phoenix and Tucson. 

Fernandez noted that fewer than one percent of asylum seekers stay in Arizona, while most leave for sponsor families throughout the U.S. 

Altherr claimed that asylum seekers had to be families, and complained that most were “military-aged men.” She also claimed that thousands of children were missing after they crossed the border, misconstruing a report by the Office of Inspector General with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which found the agency “cannot always monitor the location and status of unaccompanied migrant children” released from federal custody as required under the law. 

She also linked the arrivals of asylum seekers with fentanyl, which is largely smuggled through the ports of entry. 

Without an opponent, state House candidates hold ‘discussion’ 

Without Peña, the debate among candidates for the lower chamber became a 45-minute discussion as Democrats Mariana Sandoval and Matias Rosales delved into the issues. 

They both agreed teachers need higher wages to cover the cost-of-living, as well as expensive medical insurance. Sandoval said the state should seek “sensible gun policies” noting many teachers have “fallen to senseless gun violence.” 

“It breaks my heart,” she said, adding she was “devastated by yet another shooting” at U.S. schools. 

Rosales said the state should better secure water and stop letting foreign corporations remove water the state needs. 

Both agreed about abortion and said it should be up to women and the doctors. Sandoval noted after Peña voted to keep the state’s Civil War-era ban on abortion, he came home to his wife, who said she wanted to become more active in politics to protect their 20-year-old daughter. 

Sandoval said the government has no business “making choices in their health care” and in the “difficult and personal choices people have to make.” 

Sandoval also called Prop. 314 an unfunded mandate. “We should have learned from SB1070,” she said, noting the controversial 2010 law was largely undone by a 2012 Supreme Court decision. She noted the state suffered a loss of reputation and faced boycotted and a decrease in tourism from the law. 

Rosales said this wasn’t needed, and added that San Luis was one of the safest cities in the U.S., where he has served for 12 years on the city council. 

He noted people who lived near the border want good schools, high paying jobs, health care” but for people further north there’s “more fear-mongering about border issues.” 

“My kids walk to the park, they’re safe,” he said, adding the immigration system is broken. He said the U.S. should move for comprehensive immigration reform, but the country was built on immigration and border communities are safe. He said the district needs other support, noting the San Luis Port of Entry has received a $380 million investment to expand lanes, and install technology to stop illegal trade. 

They both noted that the National Guard can’t help border issues because troops cannot legally hold or arrest people, and have been relegated to other border duties. Under Ducey, National Guard troops deployed to the border near Nogales took care of horses and helped repair Border Patrol vehicles, and staffed surveillance systems. 

Rosales closed by saying he was humbled by the chance to represent people again, and noted his 25-year-old son was running for a spot in the San Luis City Council. 

Sandoval reminded voters to pick both of them so the state legislature can fully-fund K-12, protect voting rights, reproductive rights, water and the environment.