Republican Vince Leach beat rival Sen. Justine Wadsack in this year’s primary election but faces pressure to win November’s general election to potentially prevent Democrats from tying or winning the state Senate majority.Republicans could score a tie if they win in Legislative District 17, which includes Marana, parts of northwest and east Tucson, plus outer Tucson areas like Leach’s Saddlebrooke community.Democrats had wanted Wadsack, who drew heavy criticism and an unsuccessful recall during her reign, to beat Leach. A legislative veteran who previously served in the House and Senate, Leach is known as business-minded and open to negotiation but conservative on social issues like abortion and drag shows.Retired businessman and Democrat John McLean offers himself up as a moderate alternative. The political newcomer is a former CEO of Arete Associates, a defense contractor. Besides advocating for typical Democratic issues like public schools and abortion rights, he’s said he also wants stronger border security and to cut “wasteful spending.”McLean enjoys a far larger war chest over Leach. The most recent campaign finance reports show he had $147,000 in cash on hand as of late July compared to $39,000 for Leach, who had to spend a chunk of his donations on the primary election.McLean’s high-level funding and middle-of-the-road posturing may not be enough to overcome the 10% Republican registration advantage in the district, however.The Arizona Republic asked each candidate questions about several key issues. Leach didn’t respond to the questionnaire.Here are McLean’s answers, which may have been slightly edited for clarity and brevity.Proposition 312:Should cities reimburse Arizona property owners for homelessness crisis?What could the Legislature be doing better to improve the economy for Arizonans?McLean: I grew up in Arizona and moved to Tucson over thirty years ago for the great quality of life it offered. I’m concerned that it’s slipping away. Cost of living is contributing to that. Homeownership is out of reach for young people and new families looking to grow. The state needs to increase the availability of affordable housing. The other part of the equation is how much people are earning. Wages have increased over the last four years, but not enough to keep up with prices. The state should invest in education to prepare Arizonans for good-paying, high-benefit careers. We should also be fostering a business environment that attracts and retains talent. I was the founder and CEO of an engineering firm in Arizona for 30 years that developed technology for the U.S. military. We pulled strong talent locally from the University of Arizona and from across the country by leveraging the stability and quality of life in Arizona to attract talent. Now, extreme policies from the legislature, like completely banning abortion and banning books, are not making our state an attractive place to build a business. If elected, I would help set us back in the right direction. Do you believe the state should slow its pumping and use of groundwater and what, if anything, should Arizona do to augment the state’s supply of water?McLean: We can’t manage it unless we measure it. The state should start by surveying available groundwater in vulnerable parts of the state to find out what’s available. Once we measure it and understand what we have, then we can manage it properly. That may mean restrictions in some places, while in others it could mean that there is available water to supply future demand. We should consider augmentation of our supply. The Water Policy Council evaluated a number of augmentation possibilities and we should continue to evaluate all options, but our best option is conservation.If you could address only one environmental factor as a lawmaker, what would it be?McLean: It would be Arizona’s water supply, without a doubt. Throughout our history, water has always been a concern. Governor Hobbs convened a Water Policy Council that included interests from across the state to formulate actionable recommendations to secure our water future. As a legislator, I would take the work that’s already been done by the council and consider implementing its recommendations.What is your view on local control of zoning and permitting policies when it comes to addressing housing affordability? What other ideas do you support to make housing affordable?McLean: In general, there should be local control over most issues and the state should be very hesitant about using preemption. Zoning and permitting policies should stay local to the greatest extent possible. I support municipalities’ decisions to transition dormant commercial or office areas to residential to augment the housing supply, particularly for low-income households. Also, it would be worth considering some sort of down payment assistance. When it comes to rental housing, we need to make sure that the rights of renters are fairly balanced against the rights of landlords. The heightened rate of evictions coupled with large rent hikes shows that they are not, and we need to balance that by providing protections for renters. I also support Attorney General Mayes’ investigation into allegations of price fixing of apartment units. This should be thoroughly investigated and, if necessary, legislative reform should be considered.Does Arizona’s universal voucher program need any limitations, and if so, why? Outline what, if anything, you would advocate for the program.McLean: Arizona’s education system has been long neglected. It has been ranked among the most poorly funded in the country. Because of low teacher pay, we have double the national average turnover for our teachers, and classroom sizes have risen. We need to fully fund our schools, invest in upgrades and capital improvements, and pay teachers a fair salary that keeps them in our communities. The ESA program started out as a useful option for parents with kids w …
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