Play the video above to see these stories on AZ Illustrated Politics for Friday, Feb. 28:
Host Jim Nintzel sat down with state Rep. Adam Kwasman to discuss his campaign in Congressional District 1, where he is one of three Republicans vying for the chance to unseat Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.
Kwasman said he was not surprised that Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed SB 1062, the controversial legislation that would have allowed business owners to refuse to provide service to some customers on religious grounds. Kwasman said he did not know if he would support federal legislation to provide employment protections to gays and lesbians and questioned whether anyone deserved to be included in a protected class in today’s United States. He added that he did not favor granting gays and lesbians the right to marry.
On immigration, Kwasman said he opposed any form of amnesty for undocumented immigrants now in the country and believed that with tough enough laws, undocumented immigrants would return to their home countries.
On the program’s roundtable discussion, Nintzel talked with Republican National Committeeman Bruce Ash and Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Don Jorgensen. Topics included:
SB 1062: Both Ash and Jorgensen believed Brewer made the right decision by vetoing the controversial legislation, which had put Arizona in the national spotlight and threatened the state’s economy.
STATE OF THE CITY: Mayor Jonathan Rothschild delivered his State of the City speech this week. Jorgensen said he believed Rothschild had the city on the right track, while Ash said he had a lot of respect for Rothschild and hoped that he would not be tripped up by his fellow Democrats on the City Council.
THE FUTURE OF DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE: Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced plans to downscale the U.S. Armed Forces, including a proposal to eliminate the A-10 fighter jet headquartered at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. Ash said losing the A-10 mission would be a serious blow to the local economy and said that U.S. Reps. Ron Barber (D-Dist. 2) and Raul Grijalva (D-Dist. 3 ) were not doing enough to support the base. Jorgensen said that Barber had pushed legislation to keep the A-10 safe in the short term and said that Republican Sens. Jeff Flake and John McCain had not done enough to support the fighter jet’s mission.
AZ Illustrated Politics is produced by Jim Nintzel. Contact him at jnintzel@azpm.org.
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