Tri-Valley Central – ‘We Have a Lot to Show’ for McCain’s Decades in Office, Dem Hopeful Says
July 29, 2010
If elected to the U.S. Senate, what can Rodney Glassman do for small Arizona towns like Florence?
“What a good U.S. senator can do for a town like Florence is visit the community,” Glassman said. “Then meet with the elected officials, ask what the needs are, and go back to Washington, D.C., and champion the resources to come here.
“We have a state that is ripe for economic development when it comes to solar or wind, or bringing quality companies to Arizona. But we need a concierge who wants to be the person to introduce them to our beautiful state,” he continued.
“In short, we need a U.S. senator that’s more interested in visiting Bagdad, Ariz., than Baghdad, Iraq, more interested in visiting Casa Grande than Kabul. We have a senator who is not focused on Arizona and proud of it. That’s why it’s time for a change.”
On a busy campaign trail that has taken him from Navajo County to Yuma to Las Vegas, Nev., Glassman, 32, of Tucson, stopped off in Florence to speak to the Pinal County Democrats on July 21.
A graduate of the University of Arizona, Glassman is a former vice mayor of Tucson and is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force JAG corps. He’s running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate to oppose the winner of the Republican primary, which will be incumbent John McCain or challenger J.D. Hayworth.
“I’m running because I’m concerned about Arizona’s future” Glassman said. “I’m frustrated with our leadership, if you want to call it that, back in Washington. We’ve had John McCain for over 28 years, and what do we have to show for it?”
Some in the audience responded, “Nothing.” Glassman disagreed, saying, “We have a lot to show for it. We live in a state where over 50 percent of the homeowners are upside down on the home mortgages. We live in a state that has one of the worst student to teacher ratios in the country.”
Glassman didn’t let up on McCain there. On the subject of SB 1070, he said “our U.S. senator has been on every single side as recently as the last couple of months. Except for identifying and completing a solution.
“We talk about border security, and John McCain is advocating a fence and championing sending the National Guard to the border,” Glassman said. “We all know which agency is responsible for patrolling the border – the Border Patrol! But how many politicians are talking about hiring and maintaining the proper number of Border Patrol agents? Not many.
“The biggest problem is that no one is championing federal immigration reform. Under Operation Jumpstart in Texas and Operation Gatekeeper in California, resources were ramped up on those two borders,” he continued. “John McCain never went back to D.C. and asked for additional resources because he considers that ‘pork.’ So Arizona has become the funnel for our immigration issue.
To Glassman, meaningful federal immigration reform includes “not rewarding people for breaking the law, and we need a new system that works.”
On state infrastructure, Glassman said, “The average state gets $45 per person for federal projects. Arizona gets $15. That’s because we have a U.S. senator who has built a spectacular political career off of giving speeches in New Hampshire and New Jersey about what he doesn’t do for Arizona.”
One thing Glassman would like to fix is the absence of a Veteran’s Administration clinic on the Navajo reservation. The VA Southwest Health Care Network presently has sites in Phoenix, Prescott and Tucson, along with Albuquerque, N.M.
“Growing up, I thought McCain only ignored Pima County. Then I started traveling the state … to places like the Navajo Nation, with over 10,000 military veterans, yet not a single VA clinic. I realized it was all of Arizona.”
Glassman discounts the theory that it would be difficult to replace the 28 years of seniority McCain has accrued in Washington, saying, “John McCain’s seniority has brought what to Arizona? If anything, his seniority has kept federal dollars from coming to Arizona, because when he says he doesn’t want them, people listen. He’s on record as saying, ‘I’m a world senator, not an Arizona senator.’ But in the worst recession since the Great Depression, people are losing their homes. School teachers are being laid off because our economy is so slow. We need a senator that will bring jobs to Arizona.”
On creating jobs for Arizonans, Glassman talked about a contract to build military aircraft. “When the navy goes and buys planes, they can be built by Boeing in Mesa, or Airbus in France. Guess where our U.S. senator wants them built?
“We need a champion not only for our tax dollars, but for Arizona jobs. And one of the best ways to bring jobs here is to have an educational system we can be proud of.”
Glassman said that McCain had been quoted as saying “investing more in our schools is not my issue,” before softening that stance, saying simply “We don’t need any more money for our schools.”
“You know what?” Glassman asked. “Fortunately almost 70 percent of all Arizonans disagree with John McCain and Proposition 100 (to raise the state sales tax by 1 percent) passed. John McCain voted against Prop 100, which shows how out of touch he is with the working families of Arizona.
“We need to be a champion for the public school system, and have a U.S. senator who believes in public education and a track record of supporting schools. I understand the importance of our public school system when it comes to public safety, economic development and the quality of life for a community.”
Asked about corporate contributions to his campaign, Glassman said he would not, and cannot, accept any. “It’s all individuals. McCain’s largest contributors come from Wall Street. So far, over 80 percent of the money I’ve raised (over $1 million) has come from Arizonans.”
A lady asked about the boycott of other cities and states against Arizona. Glassman responded, “It’s hurting some of the families in this district, because we’re hundreds of millions of dollars of business and conventions. SB 1070 and the boycott were born out of the same frustration – the federal government has failed us. There’s only one person right now running for office that can’t stand up and say the federal government has failed us and that’s John McCain, because he is the federal government.”
Glassman deftly dodged giving an opinion on the possibility of President Obama serving one term due to a backlash against Washington’s incumbents, regardless of party affiliation. Instead, he insisted, “I’m not concerned about national moods or who is a member of the tea party or the coffee klatch. My No. 1 focus is going back to Washington, D.C., and representing Arizona as our next U.S. senator. I’m confident that Arizonans will be focused on our senate race because it impacts our future.”
Glassman told the gathering that endorsements for his candidacy include the AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Arizona Education Association.
“A great U.S. senator from Arizona isn’t just great for Arizonans,” he said. “We need a senator that’s committed to Arizona’s future.”
