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SIERRA VISTA — District 30’s Arizona Senate seat will be a contest to determine who will replace Tim Bee.
Republican Jonathan Paton, a two-term state representative, will likely face Democrat Georgette Valle in the Nov. 4 general election.
Neither has a challenger in the Sept. 2 primary.
But the winner will fill a huge vacancy.
  
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Bee, the senate president, has hit his legislative term limit and is running for Congress as he wraps up his fourth consecutive term as the district’s state senator.
In his leadership role in the Senate, the Republican Bee helped work a state government budget deal with Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano.
Paton and Valle were asked about their philosophy regarding compromise vs. “sticking to your guns.”
“I don’t think you should ever compromise your principles, but you should work things out to get things done for your district when you’re in office,” Paton said. “But when it’s a conflict of the two, you need to stick to your guns. I can honestly say that the successes I’ve had in office, such as reforming the child welfare system with Child Protective Services, the smuggling law, and others, have been reached through working together with other lawmakers, and compromise has been part of that.
Paton is a first lieutenant with the 301st Military Intelligence Battalion based on Phoenix. A Tucson resident, he has served in Iraq.
Paton is up against an experienced state legislator.
Valle served for 24 years as a state representative in Washington state. The 83-year-old occupational therapist said she has been out “door-belling” and meeting the voters in her district.
She also commented on the compromise vs. “sticking to your guns” question.
“On the introduction of a bill in the Legislature, I always introduce what I consider a strong and principled bill that has the support of several public groups that desire to see that this bill passes,” Valle said.
“There are times that you may have to relent on one or two items because of the nature of the legislative bodies with their legislative constituents. It took me 12 years to pass the Washington Indoor Clean Air Act in 1985. I received several awards for that act but many legislators and public figures assisted me in that effort.
“I have strong feeling about the use of the Committee of the Whole procedure used here in Arizona because in its use the votes of the participants of the Legislature are not always recorded for the public’s knowledge,” she continued. “I have objected to its use when the majority party of Democrats wanted to use it in Washington state. The public is frequently confused by this procedure. I want our sunshine laws used in our legislative business with transparency for the public to see, hear and understand the legislative processes to be held in open rooms for the public and the media to view the legislative debate.”
District 30 encompasses a tiny piece of Cochise County — the northwestern half of Sierra Vista, including Fort Huachuca, stretching across the northern part of Santa Cruz County and covers south and east greater Tucson in Pima County all the way to the Cochise County line.
Herald/Review City Editor Ted Morris can be reached at 515-4614 or at cityeditor@svherald.com.
Jonathon Paton
State Senate, District 30 candidate
Republican
• Age: 37
• How long have you lived in the area: Since birth
• family: Father, John Paton. Mother, Flora, is deceased.
• Education/military: Bachelor of arts, German, University of Arizona; active reservist with U.S. Army; serves as a first lieutenant with the 301st Military Intelligence Battalion in Phoenix; deployed overseas with Operation Iraqi Freedom from September 2006 to February 2007.
• Employment history: Licensed real estate agent; political consultant, Paton & Associates.
• Community affiliations: Rotary, Kino Club in South Tucson, former chapter president.
• Previous offices held: State representative for District 30 since 2004; precinct committeeman.
• how to contact: (520) 885-9889; e-mail jpaton@azleg.gov; Web (pending) patonforsenate.com.
In what areas do you believe the state government should place its spending priorities?
No. 1, public safety. No. 2, education. No. 3, transportation.
What are your views on education and the state government’s role in supporting that?
Education is the future for our state, and we need to have an education system we can be proud of.
That means paying teachers well and expecting high standards from students and our schools.
In terms of the state government’s responsibility and authority, what are your views on the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration?
I sponsored the nation’s first state-level human smuggling statute. It is now law, and to date we have prosecuted almost 1,000 criminals using that law. That was a promise that I made to my district when I got elected, and it’s a promise I kept, and I’m proud of it.
We need to do more, including focusing on drop houses, the trash that’s left along the border and getting rid of sanctuary policies.
Water scarcity and growth ... what are your views on this?
I was a co-sponsor of the water district that is now in Sierra Vista, and I think that it is a good tool for residents to use to improve the water problems that Sierra Vista and the fort are facing.
The key is to empower local residents while giving incentives to allow for regional approaches to water conservation, and I think that this district does just that.
Georgette Valle
State Senate, District 30 candidate
Democrat
• Age: I am 83 years young. With door-belling, two artificial knees and hips and swimming at least twice a week, I keep fit.
• How long have you lived in the area: Resident of Green Valley since October 2005.
• family: Son, Peter Valle of Bellevue, Wash., and daughter, Christine Goonetilleke of Tustin, Calif.
• Education/military: Associate of arts from Waldorf Lutheran College in Forest City, Iowa, and bachelor of science in occupational therapy from the University of Minnesota.
• Employment history: Employed as an occupational therapist at the Minneapolis Rehabilitation Center for one year; director of occupational therapy of the Swedish Polio Rehabilitation Center. One year later set sail for Norway and married Odd Valle, D.D.S. One and half years at Renton Hospital in Renton, Wash., as director of occupational therapy.
• Community affiliations: Volunteer member for three years of Environmental Committee of the Green Valley Coordinating Committee; tutor for Anza Trail School in Sahuarita School District; active in Good Shepherd United Church of Christ, Sahuarita.
• Previous offices held: State representative for 24 years in 31st and 34th legislative districts in Washington state.
• how to contact: (520) 625-9365; or call campaign chairman John McNeice, (520) 625-0543.
In what areas do you believe the state government should place its spending priorities?
State government has many priorities. State government has the responsibility of keeping its citizens in a just, safe, fair and educated environment.
The state must provide a court system to fairly judge its citizens and the state must also provide prisons to safely incarcerate its criminals. The public is concerned about a safe transportation system to travel to work, school and shop in their highway system. Safety in their environment concerns many citizens so that it can be used for recreational purposes. Our educational system must have the state appropriations to make our educational system an equitable and an top priority to train our future leaders here in Arizona.
When necessary the state can borrow money to appropriate capital funds to release more general revenue for the remainder of the needs of state government of Arizona. Emergency needs will arise at various times and will have to be taken care of by the Legislature.
What are your views on education and the state government’s role in supporting that?
It is the state’s paramount duty to educate its children. Usually, state constitutions specify that the states are financially responsible for K-12 education. I am interested in 100 percent of the students graduating from high school. The dropout rates have increased nationwide as they have in Arizona.
We need to make a greater effort to keep students in school with “hands-on” technology such as environmental sciences, pre-engineering courses, advanced math classes, carpentry classes, home economics classes, astrology and the arts together with music to attract student’s attention and retention.
Our economy needs talented and trained graduates to fill new positions of responsibility in our schools and in our small and larger business areas. Charter and public schools with parents need to accept greater accountability as students prepare to take and pass statewide tests to prepare them for the future. Teachers should be able to choose different career ladders to keep and retain their positions in an expanding school horizon.
In terms of the state government’s responsibility and authority, what are your views on the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration?
Since there are wide disparities in the income level between the border states and the citizens of Mexico, I should like to see the governments of the United States and Mexico engage in a dialogue of Mexico’s and the United States’ needs.
A lend lease program whereby Mexico’s citizens are trained for American jobs in Mexico or for jobs in their own country could be a positive step in the right direction.
The introduction of drugs into the immigration question has seriously interfered with what humanitarian needs either country may want. Drug trafficking into this country across the borders cannot continue, because of the danger of drugs getting into the hands of our youth. We give countries the world over billions of dollars in military aid. We can apply some dollars to solve this problem.
We could also try the “contract” method used in Canada. A contract is prepared and states which individual the company wishes to hire, wages paid, length of contract, and date of departure are specified. Wages may be with held to ensure contract signer will return for departure.
Water scarcity and growth ... what are your views on this?
Here in Green Valley, our aquifer has been dropping by an alarming rate during the past 10 years. Water laws in the state are divided among many different agencies. No one authority is totally responsible for the total water picture here in Arizona.
Greater funds to the Arizona Water Resource Department would help them to be accountable to the public who desire more information as to hydrology studies, current aquifer water content information, federal demands of the states water needs, what mines are asking for permission to drill deep wells in our Southern Arizona areas, and how we can solve our water scarce recourses problems by conservation and by seeking answers of water resource research by University of Arizona research foundations.
There are legislative acts that can be passed that protect the public’s right to it own groundwater, to its own wells and to its own water rights. If elected this will be a major effort on my part to protect the public’s right to its own water.
