The Democratic primary in Tucsonâs Legislative District 3 pits the old guard against the new guard for three open seats from a district with no Republican contenders.
All three current lawmakers in the district are hitting eight-year term limits this year, but only one has decided to retire. The other two sitting lawmakers, Sen. Olivia Cajero Bedford and Rep. Sally Ann Gonzales, are attempting to swap chambers to stay at the Capitol.
But the seatmates are not working together on that effort. Each has forged alliances with their own set of political newbies theyâre hoping to guide into office after the Aug. 28 primary in the Democratic stronghold district.
Cajero Bedford has formed a slate with newcomers AndrÊs Cano, who is also running for the House, and Betty Villegas, who is seeking the districtâs Senate seat.
Meanwhile, in her bid to move up to the Senate, Gonzales is working with House candidate Alma Hernandez, though she said the two arenât technically teaming up.
In a district where U.S. Rep. RaÃēl Grijalvaâs name looms large, the dividing lines fall along his endorsement. Cajero Bedford, Cano and Villegas all have the backing of the longtime congressman. Gonzales and Hernandez do not.
The Democrats have little differences in the way of policy. All list increasing education funding, and protecting womenâs health and the environment among their top priorities. They all cite a need for criminal justice reform in the largely working-class district, which encompasses Tucsonâs west and southwest sides including University of Arizona and downtown, stretching from Ryan Airfield in the southwest, to Prince Road and about First Avenue in the northeast.
The differences, they argue, are in the way theyâd represent the district.
Gonzales, who was elected to the House in 2010, after serving four years there in the 1990s, said she deserves another term, this time as a senator, because sheâs been a voice for people of color, for teachers and the rural working class.
As a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, sheâs one of only four Native Americans in the Legislature, and the only one from Southern Arizona.
While none of her bills have been signed into law in the past eight years, thatâs more common than not for Democrats.
But she noted that this past legislative session, she got a Republican to sponsor a bill, which was previously backed by Democrats, to exempt American Indians from work requirements and lifetime limits instituted by the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.
âOn most reservations, the unemployment rates are the highest in the state. And people canât really meet those work requirements because thereâs no jobs to have in rural communities in Arizona,â she said.
And she noted that she supported legislation prohibiting public money from being used as payment for a victim of sexual harassment or sexual assault, making a point to note that Grijalva spent $48,000 on a severance package to a victim of workplace harassment. That harassment was not sexual.
âMy opponent has his endorsement,â she said.
Villegas, a political newcomer who spent her career working for Pima County, said Gonzales, âvotes rightâ but thatâs not all there is to being a lawmaker.
âThe difference is how do you involve your community to get to that vote. âĻ I believe the biggest difference between us is how we get to that vote, how we engage our community,â she said.
Thatâs where Gonzales has failed, she said.
She noted Gonzales had one of the worst attendance records in the Legislature in 2017, though it improved this year. And Villegas said sheâs running to give voters a choice â something they havenât had in the House since 2010.
âShe hasnât had a (Democratic) opponent (since 2010), so she hasnât had to really work to get elected until this year. And whether I win or lose, itâs good for her to have to work for it,â she said.
Villegas said in her career as an Affordable Housing Program Manager at Pima County, from which she retired in 2016, she helped a lot of people avoid foreclosure, and would like to take her expertise on affordable housing to the Capitol.
Though she hasnât ever held elected office before, she said sheâs familiar with politics, government and state laws, and would be a âquick studyâ on other issues at the Capitol.
Villegas said Gonzalesâ focus on Grijalvaâs endorsement is overblown, and that the two are longtime friends.
âThe relationships Iâve built in this community started as friendships, not as political alliances,â she said.
HOUSE SEATS
The three-way Democratic primary for the districtâs two House seats features one seasoned politico and two newcomers.
Cajero Bedford, a 16-year veteran of the Capitol, has politics in her blood. Her father was elected to the Legislature in 1968, and her mother was appointed to the post when he died five years later, and served another 24 years.
âA Cajero has been in the Legislature for 45 years,â she said.
And while some of her fellow Democrats, namely Hernandez, say itâs time for new blood at the Capitol, Cajero Bedford argues âexperience counts.â
For the last 14 years, sheâs served on the powerful Appropriations committees, both in the House and Senate, and said that insider knowledge of the state budget process allows her to unmask cuts and policies Republicans try to slip into the budget unnoticed.
But she hopes next year will be different, and that the Democrats will have an ally in the Governorâs Office, as she expects Gov. Doug Ducey to lose his re-election bid.
âIâm glad to be doing what Iâm doing, even though itâs tough for a Democrat. But Iâm also passionate about it now because I feel very strongly that weâll have a Democratic governor. âĻ That was a big motivator to continue,â she said.
Hernandez didnât return multiple calls for comment as of the Daily Starâs deadline. But at a recent debate hosted by the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission, she argued itâs time for LD3 to send new blood to the Capitol.
Cano, who has teamed up with Cajero Bedford for the districtâs two House seats, said heâs both new blood, and steeped in old Tucson.
At 26 years old, he has more than a decade of government and political experience under his belt, having started as a summer intern for Pima County at the age of 14. Since then, heâs interned for two members of Congress, served on former Gov. Janet Napolitanoâs Youth Commission, and now works as a political aid and community liaison for Pima County Supervisor Richard ElÃas.
Like the others, he said heâd be a solid vote for Democratic values. But he also wants to look for opportunities to work across the aisle to get things done, especially on issues where he agrees with Republicans, like criminal justice reform.
âMy job when I get elected is to stand true to my values, but also look for those windows of opportunity,â he said.
As a young LGBT Latino and the first member of his family to graduate college, Cano describes himself as part of the emerging class of leaders of tomorrow. And that parallels how he sees the district: As an emerging hot spot that needs an infusion of new leadership.
âJust as the voters have an opportunity to elect new leaders for the first time since 2010 in this district, we also have a completely different political and economic landscape â you have the downtown economy thriving, you have the west side beginning to get lots of private and public infrastructure invested. So I think itâs an emerging district as well,â he said.
