July 27, 2010
In June 2010, hundreds of Arizonans submitted questions they would like candidates for elected office to answer during the 2010 election. The questions were collected at five town meetings held throughout the state, and online as part of The Arizona We Want initiative led by Lattie Coor, chairman and CEO of the nonprofit Center for the Future of Arizona.
The citizen questions have been compiled in a report which was distributed electronically to all candidates for elective office in Arizona, as well as to the media and interested individuals and organizations statewide.
The questions are organized around seven issues: job creation, education, natural resources and the environment, healthcare, immigration, leadership and state government, and state finances.
For each issue, four to six key questions to be answered by candidates have been selected from the nearly 800 citizen questions contained in the report.
Candidates are being invited to respond to the key questions on their campaign Websites, on CFA’s Website at www.TheArizonaWeWant.org, and in speeches, interviews and other campaign activities.
The new study was undertaken to help bridge the serious disconnect between Arizonans and their elected leaders, which was revealed by the Gallup Arizona Poll.
Released in October 2009, the Gallup study found that only 10 percent of Arizonans strongly agree that elected officials represent their interests. Further, it found that residents ranked understanding of complex issues as the most important leadership quality in elected leaders, followed by a commitment to work across party lines. These two findings are clearly supported by the scope and depth of questions that citizens are asking candidates to address in 2010.