Arizona CD9 candidate Greg Stanton plans work on tax reform, immigration
Nov 5, 2018, 7:36 AM | Updated: 8:39 am
PHOENIX — U.S. House of Representatives hopeful Greg Stanton has waited through election days and nights before. In the 24 hours before Arizona voters go to the polls, he said he’ll do what he’s always done: work.
“I’ve been a candidate for city council, for mayor — dismiss the polls, work,” Stanton said Monday on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News.
Democratic Stanton faces Navy veteran and physician Steve Ferrara, a Republican, for the Congressional District 9 seat. That position opened when current officeholder Kyrsten Sinema announced she was running for U.S. Senate.
Statistics website FiveThirtyEight projected a win for Stanton, while another site, Real Clear Politics, described the race as favoring Democrats.
RELATED STORIES
“I had a great run as the mayor of Phoenix for the last seven years,” Stanton said. He resigned at the end of May to toss his hat into the ring for higher office.
“Phoenix is not a perfect city, but when I travel the country and meet with my other mayors, they are very envious of our incredibly positive economic trajectory here in the city of Phoenix.”
Federal office will pose other challenges.
“There is no issue that represents broken Washington, D.C., than the issue of immigration and immigration reform,” Stanton said, pointing to the work done by Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake earlier this year.
McCain died of brain cancer in late August.
“He had it right, rest his soul,” Stanton said. “He and Sen. (Jeff) Flake actually had a bipartisan plan on comprehensive immigration reform.
“It passed the United States Senate by an overwhelming majority. It didn’t even get a hearing in the House because the … extreme right didn’t like the fact that it did have an earned path to citizenship for folks.”
Tax reform is another issue Stanton said he was prepared to tackle.
“We need to do tax reform but it needs to be more focused on supporting the middle class and supporting small business. The tax plan that was done previously was focused in on the wealthiest Americans and the largest corporations.”
