TDA:
Tell us about your career/background
outside of politics and
how this experience has
made you better qualified
to serve as governor.
GT:
I have a broad base, having
been a financial planner,
a carpenter and a small
businessman.
Even
though I’m not a one‑issue
candidate, I decided to
run for governor when
the Arizona Medical Board
determined that repeatedly
drugging my son into a
comatose condition was
an acceptable standard
of medical care. One of
the hopes of my campaign
is to bring attention
to the state’s dysfunctional
“cycle of services,” whereby
the state’s customers
are routinely referred
throughout the system
with no resolution of
their problems.
In
the case of my son, there
was a complete failure
of many state agencies.
I decided things weren’t
going to change unless
I got involved.
TDA:
What are your political
qualifications?
GT:
I feel as though I’ve
actually been in government
for four years because
of all the agency people
I met trying to resolve
the issue with my son.
This includes Child Protective
Services, various law
enforcement agencies,
the attorney general’s
office, the governor’s
office, the board of medical
examiners and the board
of osteopathic examiners.
All of them let me down.
There was a complete failure
of the system.
TDA:
What are the biggest issues
among voters and how do
you plan to address them?
GT:
The biggest overall issue
is illegal immigration.
We need to look at generating
long‑term economic
growth in Mexico, reducing
poverty there and making
money for the United States
and Mexico.
Patrolling
the border is the federal
government’s obligation.
Arizona shouldn’t have
to incur any expense associated
with protecting the border.
We do need to register
every undocumented
person
in the country. Once they’re
registered, if they aren’t
working, or driving with
insurance or contributing,
they need to go back to
Mexico.
I
believe the biggest issue
in the state is government
reform. We need to evaluate
every job at every state
agency and reduce waste
and maximize efficiency.
Talking
with state employees,
I’ve found there is a
huge disconnect between
upper management and the
rank‑and‑file.
I
also think we need to
bring back some form of
bilingual education. Now
what we have
is
legislation dictating
how to teach kids, and
that takes away from teachers’
ability to teach
students.
I also support all‑day
kindergarten.
On
the subject of child protection,
I would propose the investigative
division of Child
Protective
Services be moved into
the Department of Public
Safety. This way, cases
can be followed by a law
enforcement officer who
can monitor and refer
the cases to social services
or to a local law enforcement
jurisdiction. This would
prevent kids from falling
through the cracks.
I
would also suggest imposing
an infraction system similar
to what we do for traffic
violations. In the case
of minor infractions,
this would allow us to
refer families to counseling
and schools and get them
the help they need.
Health
care. We need to start
looking at all cost factors
associated with health‑care
administration. We also
need to look at unnecessary
treatment and increase
the quality of care, the
number of health‑care
providers and the number
of people paying into
the system.
Rather
than tort reform, we should
work on promoting judicial
reform. We should work
with the judiciary to
create a better way of
handling negligence and
malpractice.
TDA:
Tell us why you should
be chosen to represent
your party in the general
election rather
than
the others candidates
from your party.
GT:
I have had a great opportunity
to travel around the state
with the three other Republican
candidates, and what I
bring that they don’t
is a more broad‑based
appeal. To beat Gov. Napolitano,
we need to reach out and
appeal to more people.
As the moderate, I believe
I do that.
TDA:
Tell us anything else
voters should know about
you or your views.
GT:
My biggest concern is
the polarization of our
society. Rather than get
together and work things
out, polarization grows
stronger. I believe most
people are in the center.
We need to create policies
that appeal to the center,
not to people at the extremes.
My campaign is about bringing
people back together.
