♪ Music Playing ♪ >> COMING UP NEXT ON "ARIZONA HORIZON," OUR CANDIDATES IN CONVERSATION CONTINUES WITH JAY FEELY, THE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR ARIZONA'S FIRST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.

AND ALSO TONIGHT, WE'LL HEAR ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST A BALLOT MEASURE THAT WOULD CHANG HOW LARGER ARIZONA SCHOOL DISTRICTS ALLOCATE THEIR BUDGETS.

THOSE STORIES AND MORE NEXT ON "ARIZONA HORIZON."

>> "Arizona Horizon" is made possible by contributions from the friends of Arizona PBS, members of your public television station.

>> GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO "ARIZONA HORIZON."

I'M TED SIMONS.

OUR SERIES, CANDIDATES IN CONVERSATION, CONTINUES TONIGHT WITH A FOCUS ON THE RACE FOR ARIZONA'S FIRST-CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, WHICH INCLUDES AREAS OF NORTHEAST PHOENIX, SCOTTSDALE, PARADISE VALLEY AND FOUNTAIN HILLS.

IT'S ARIZONA'S WEALTHIEST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT AND IT'S AN OPEN SEAT, WITH REPUBLICAN INCUMBENT DAVID SCHWEIKERT HAVING RETIRED TO RUN FOR GOVERNOR.

JAY FEELY IS THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR CD-1, FEELY IS A FORMER NFL PLAYER AND SPORTS BROADCASTER.

AS FOR THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE AMISH SHAH, HE DECLINED OUR INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN TONIGHT'S DISCUSSION.

Thank you for joining us tonight, Jay feely.

Good to have you here.

>> My pleasure.

Good to be here as women.

Is it you or me they don't like >> I haven't figured it out we'll work that out later.

I mentioned Arizona's wealthiest district here there is a different set of problems than other districts.

What is the most pressure issue in congressional district one?

>> Economy and affordability I when I knock on doors and meeting with people and doing events, that's the issue that people keep bringing up.

People in general care about the economy, they care about the future for their children.

You know, when you go to the grocery store, you look at prices, when you buy gas, obviously that's a big one as well.

I think it's a conversation you need to have.

You have to understand the voter and where they are and where we are going and give them a roadmap to the future.

That's what I have been trying to do when we are having conversations.

>> How do you improve the economy?

How do you improve affordability especially when the president says everything is great, prices are coming down, affordability isn't even a word?

>> Well, I think, number one, you acknowledge the reality of what's going on.

And that's certainly what I do.

You acknowledge the pain peep feel when they go to the pump or the grocery store.

The way you combat affordability is number one, real wage growth.

The president has done that.

He did it in his first term and Now the second term.

The Biden administration are regressive wage growth.

They had no wage growth and president trump did that in both of his terms.

And you get rid of regulation, housing costs, about a quarter of the housing costs is because of regulation.

As you can cut regulations being you can build houses quicker get rid of the interest carriers have to have and pass to the consumer those are real ways to help people have more money in their park.

>> It's what about things like tariffs?

The vast majority of folks, economists in particular, say the tariffs are not helping the economy, tariffs are one of the reasons the economy is sluggish.

And this recent -- what do you think of what's happening between the U.S.

and Canada?

>> When I look at Canada in particular, the problems that we are having with the trade deal there, relate to China.

And Mexico has agreed and acquiesced to do the deal we want to do with them.

We want to make sure our markets are not invaded with Chinese product that is rooted through Mexico and Canada.

In particular steel in Canada.

Went to make sure that Chinese steel is not getting sent to Canada and they repurpose it and put it into the U.S.

as Canadian products and get the benefit of the trade deals they just have to agree to the trade deal we did with Mexico.

They need us more than we need them at some point that will happen and you grow that deal.

>> Would you vote for or against the tariff that the president wants 50% +?

Is.

>> It's not going to happen.

He uses it as leverage.

Everything he does is about leverage to get the best deal for America.

You have to look at it in totality.

I break it down this way.

Democrats care about intent, when they are creating policies.

And if the intent is good, everyone if they don't get the right result.

That's the right policy.

Republicans, conservatives we care about the end result.

Doesn't matter if your intent is good if you get the right result that's good policy.

President trump mirrors that more than anybody else, he will use leverage and create the right perimeters to get the right deal in for us.

>> I will ask you about the voters in VD-1 do you think they agree president trump's policies are work and are a good thing?

>> I think what matters the individual and how it impacts them.

You have to listen to everybody what they are telling you.

Because their experience is what's real to them.

It doesn't matter, you know, what the bigger picture S I think when you look at no tax on tips and you look at no tax on overtime.

Those are real measures that help the average every-day worker.

That 90% of the people who benefit from those policies, the Republicans passed and that all of the Democrats fought against that amish Shah said he would undo.

He wants to revoke it and remove it.

Helps individuals that make less than $100,000.

90% of the people who are benefiting from no tax on tips, who benefit from the no tax on overtime.

The seniors that benefit taxes getting removed from Social Security those help average every day worker more than anything wells we could do.

>> The tax cuts is a reason why the U.S.

dead, national debt has topped 40 trillion, among the reasons, along with tariffs, $40 trillion.

I mean, -- >> Let's be honest about it.

>> How do you square that?

>> Two-thirds of our debt comes from mandated spending, that comes from Medicare, social secure at this, snap, all of those things that congress has nothing to do with unless they pass laws.

The president has no nothing to do with that it comes from congress.

A third of the debt comes from, you know, the things that you just mentioned tax cuts.

So we have to be honest about it.

Because the only way that you can deal with 40 trillion in debt going at a trillion every hundred days is to deal with all the mandated spending.

And we have to have an honest conversation.

Associates security will be inning self end in 2032.

We have to have a conversation -- and nobody has been willing to do it since 1983 how do you handle associates security and make those difficult conversations protecting seniors and the invest that they put in?

That's what associates security was able invest into your future and retirement.

>> When it comes to the debt, you already have that given.

You already have the given that these Social Security safety net programs are cost ago lot of money.

Why would you said with tariffs and the tax cuts to what looks like amplify that debt?

>> So if the tax cuts in the end bring more revenue and more -- generate more jobs and more -- better economy, then the end result is the right result that's the right policy.

If the tariffs in the end create on shoring of manufacturing, which we are seeing at levels we have not seen since the 1960s.

If they bring trade parameters, equal trade parameters which we have not had in 80 years, and we have better trade parameters for all of our businesses around the world, then it's the right policy.

I understand, you know, that Tears in the short-term are certainly going to lead to an increase in prices.

That's true.

You know, but it's the end result that you need to be looking at.

That's what President trump continually tries to do.

>> Should mail-in voting be restricted?

I want to get to election reform that's a big topic and I imagine big in CH-1 also.

The president wants it.

The Supreme Court says no, maybe no, block it, don't block it.

What do you think?

>> 80% of people in Arizona use mail-in voting.

I use mail-in voting.

We want to make sure the voting is secure.

That only citizens are vote and only the right citizen who is registered to the one that's vote and you go only vote once.

That's simple.

That's what we should have and make sure here in Arizona that we pass laws that are similar to Florida.

Like I grew up in Florida with my wife and I lived there during the hanging chads they did an excellent job changing their system and having it be able to be safe and done on election night.

That's what we need to do here.

>> There are no massive fraud problems here in Arizona or around country.

There are no election problems.

Why do we have to go to something like that.

>> I focus today, lacking forward and trying to have is security lexes that's an 80 personal it's no one a Republican or Democratic issue.

Everybody in America wants to make sure the lexes are secure and you can have confidence in them.

>> The idea the United States postal service in charge of mail-in dalton under the circumstances does that make sense to you.

>> They are making the ones that is supposed to be vote is getting the letters.

>> They become an enforcement agency here?

Is that comfort now?

>> We could pass the save act and we wouldn't have do any of these measures and make sure that, you know, there is an I.D.

and that the person who says they are voting is voting.

And that's what I think most Americans want.

>> With that in mind the president says wise spread fraud in recent elections is rampant, there, obvious, et cetera.

Do you agree with that?

>> I am focused on this election.

I don't want to look backwards.

I don't want try to relitigate things I want to focus on this election on November 3rd and moving forward and making sure like I said that people in Arizona and people around the country have confidence if their elections and that we get them done quickly.

You know, look at California, California you don't have confidence in California.

It takes a month to count up all the ballots.

That's not a system that creates confidence in the average voter.

>> The leader of your party, friend, you know president trump, he says that there has been rampant fraud and something has to be done with it.

He says he won when he lost.

Can you concede that he lost?

I am trying to get Republicans to just concede the fact and then we can move on.

Can you concede that fact?

>> Yeah, president trump lost that election.

And we need to make sure that going forward everyone has confidence in the election process going forward.

That it's safe and secure.

>> Thank you for that.

Iran war.

Are we waging the Iran war -- are we doing the right thing over there?

>> My question is for anybody who is against the Iran war, what was the alternative?

The alternative is to do nothing right now?

And they want stockpiling and manufacturing at a very rapid pace these Long-range missiles, China was helping them.

If they got enough Long-range missiles, no one would be able to go in there and check and make sure that they are not creating and developing a nuclear weapon.

It's the same thing that happened in North Korea.

Exempt you would have the country that supports terrorism all over the world, that has advocated for destroying, the United States, destroying Israel, with a nuclear weapon.

And so I think president trump actually should get some measure of respect for doing what he believes was in the best interest of this country.

Even if it wasn't in his own personal best interest or the best interest of his party, the Republican party.

They knew that in the short-term, it would drive up energy costs.

They knew it would drive us gas prices and that those things would work against them in the midterms.

>> But isn't that the job of congress?

I think a big factor in all of this, is that there is there was no war powers act.

Congress would not -- >> Biden did the same thing.

Obama did the same thing.

>> That doesn't make it right.

>> That is the way the presidents of both parties have advocated and done their job when it comes to taking those decisions.

>> But you want to go to congress.

Would you just seed that give an Olé to the president when he wants to do something like that?

>> You have to follow the laws and the rules and I think if you look at both parties they have taken measures and leeway when it comes to deciding the actions that they are going to take.

>> If you go to congress, would you hold the administration, this administration the next administration, more accountable than this particular congress is doing?

>> I think congress in general has a very low favorability rating.

Democrats the lowest they have ever been.

Your job in office is to advocate and protect the people voted now to get into office of my first job is to protect the people of the first congressional district.

Second job is to make sure we are creating the right environment For people and businesses to succeed.

The third job is to make sure that we follow the law.

>> Last question, I mentioned that you and president trump were friends, you know the mad.

Had a relationship.

Do you want him out here in congressional district one campaigning now?

>> Well, I am transparent about who I am.

I am not going to be somebody different than I was in the primary now in the general.

Obviously he endorsed me in the primary we have been friends and known each other since well before he ran for office and before I got into office.

I think it will come down to a choice of two things in this district in particular.

Two visions of where the country have I going.

You have common session measures of Republicans on the right and you have socialist measures and a Bernie Sanders type guy in Amish Shah who has campaigned for him he talked at some the DSA rallies and believes in crazy policies that they want to implement things like -- >> My question.

>> No bordering no prisons, no property rights these are ideas that I don't think resonate with the people in the first congressional director normal average people around the country.

>> If he were here.

>> He could have been here to defend himself.

>> I appreciate you being here, the last question before we are out the time you didn't answer my question.

Do you want the president out here helping you?

In congressional district run that's a slim majority district for Republicans if it even existed anymore with so many independents.

And his approval ratings are pretty low.

How do you handle that?

>> I handle that by talking to peep.

By going door to door.

Town halls with independents.

Number that wants to talk to me and hear our story and why we care about people and how I want to do that in congress and do it the right way, that's how you handle it.

You have those conversations and you communicate with team.

>> You didn't answer my question.

Jay feely, thank you so much for coming in we appreciate.

>> You great to be here, thank you.

♪ Music Playing ♪ >> Nearly 5 million people a year travel to air from all over the world to peer in the sublime expansion of the grand canyon.

It's hard to imagine any of them notice the giant Navajo sandstone slab jutting from the earth just outside the park's eastern entrance at milepost 268 on highway 64.

A plaque was once affixed to this Stolen it honored the victims of one of the grave effort air tragedies in American history.

On the morning of June 30th, 1956, TWA flight 2, and united airlines flight 718, left Los Angeles within minutes of each other.

One in route to Kansas City, the other Chicago.

They would collide over the grand canyon.

Both airlines and the government would recover, identify, and return home as many of the victims as the rugged wilderness would yield.

67 of the TWA victims, 63 unidentified, are buried in the citizens cemetery in Flagstaff.

Services were performed by Roman Catholic, protestants, Jewish and Moorman clergy men.

29 unidentified victims from the united flight were interred below a memorial in the grand canyon December terry on the south rim.

Public outcry from the accident resulted in the creation of the federal aviation agency and a modernization of the country's air traffic control system.

Nobody knows what happened to the plaque that once paid tribute to the victims of flight 2 and 718.

But their deaths are honored by the safe arrival of the many tourists that fly to the grand canyon each and every day.

♪♪ ♪ ♪♪ ♪ >> PROPOSITION-320 IS A BALLOT MEASURE THAT CALLS FOR LARGER SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN ARIZONA, INCLUDING ALL DISTRICTS IN MARICOPA, PIMA AND PINAL COUNTIES, TO DEVOTE AT LEAST 60 OF THEIR BUDGETS TO CLASSROOM SPENDING.

TONIGHT WE HEAR FROM THOSE FOR AND AGAINST PROP-320.

SPEAKING IN SUPPORT, MATT BEIENBURG, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATIO POLICY AT THE GOLDWATER INSTITUTE.

AND IN OPPOSITION, JIMMY ARWOOD FROM THE ARIZONA SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION.

good to have you both here.

Thank you for joining us, I will start with you, Matt.

Prop 320, did I get it right?

What exactly does it call for?

It's a straightforward measure saying we are prioritizing student funding with dollars in the classroom.

School districts spend 60% of their operational dollars on classroom instruction those that are not there have a gradual roadmap to get there.

Increase your spend on the ground instruction by half a per vent prioritize what is actually both to the classroom and no diverting elsewhere.

>> The phrase direct instructional expenses is used what exactly does that mean.

>> The state awed or general puts tethers, teacher, textbooks, direct stuff in the class las classroom things Corey instruction, special education teachers in most cases, includes the things that students are most in need of receiving that direct classroom instruction experience.

>> Jimmie, why is this a bad idea in.

>> Ted, this punishes schools for providing kids the resources that they need.

When you drop your kid off at campus, for the -- a day at school and they walk through the doors of the campus you expect as a parent that the security there is going to be good.

That the school resource officer there is keeping them safe.

That is not included in direct instruction.

When your kid has type one diabetes or needs to see the school nurse that's not included in definition.

When your kid is sitting in the classroom and the air-conditioning is blowing, that counts against schools in this definition and that's not right.

>> How do you respond to that?

>> Look, those are hugely important things outside of this.

This is not saying 100 percent goes to classroom instruction, 60%, nurses, counselors, school resource officers can all be -- you have that other 40% of your budget to put on that much the problem is in you see school districts spending things on unused empty buildings, we have a school district spent $500,000 sending their staff and board members to a conference in Vegas.

The tolleson district to pitch an $80 million domed stadium that got shot done but gives you an example of what we are seeing too many dollars not going for today where they want.

>> Is there a way get the dollars going to where they should be or at least in a better way as opposed to something like that enshrined in the constitution?

>> Yeah, so this really -- this is a state law.

This is not a statutory fix here.

This is saying you are not -- we are not micro managing your budget.

Not saying you need to spend this much on textbooks versus teachers.

Just instruction.

Budget and figure out the other measures that you need.

But it's again to say every dollar that the schools get they should be asking first how can this be used to help students in a way that's most important.

>> The -- it looks like the districts have been paying like 52% or something about those lines, lowest personal since tracking began in 2001.

Time to mach a change?

>> No.

The fact is schools spend close to 7 and $10 on classroom spending.

Classroom spending is different here.

It's special education educators.

It's nurses.

It's instructional supports to ensure that teachers are getting the resources they need.

Matt brought up facilities.

And I think the Judge that rude in the 119-page judgment, siding with the school district saying the State was you were funding school facilities by 2.2 billion is convincing for me that they are not under funding facilities.

Let's just take that aside this problem since has nothing to do with school fa is as.

Buying, selling land and buildings, that's a nonoperational expense.

And what we are talking about is operational spending.

>> Please.

>> Yeah, two things, one it's worth noting you brought this up.

Down to 52 cents the dollar going towards instruction.

It used to be 59%.

We have gone from 59 to 52 you still have school districts that are at 58, 59, 60% or more.

Jimmie makes a great point about the schools in addition to all of their operational dollars they get money for land and buildings, but we see it districts spending operational dollars on the maintenance on the upkeep, air-conditioning for vacant buildings for under used facilities the auditor general repeatedly said districts like Scottsdale are spending so much money on the underutilized facilitys that thousands of dollars and the teachers could use this for classroom instruction and instead they are using it on administration, school districts like Tucson unified spend twos hundred dollars more per kid.

Rose ville $500 per kid on ahead main Minnesota station their peers there is a lot of opportunity to cut the fat and reorient it back towards student instruction.

>> How do you respond?

>> We spend 35% less than the national average on ahead -- administration, the school districts spend times 10, 20% less than the State average, this impacts the things that kids need to be successful.

When you think about math and reading coaches.

Those, the types of things that will be cut when we are looking at school budgets.

And a the things that go into it.

We are tagging about massive cuts to things that kids need.

>> Tap torre not the State constitutionality.

The fact is should there be any required spending for specifically classroom needs?

Shut the State, government be involved with that at all?

>> We are talking about the State.

These are school district, arms of the government and we ask that questioned.

Voters 25 years ago passed the ballot measure prop 301 added a sales tag that we putting hundreds of millions of dollars for classroom instruction the awed ore general said the opposite happened they took all the dollars and moved it away.

This is in violation of state law for years we have increased funding for these schools at $16,000 per kid in necessary districts.

And yet that money is not translating to increases this teacher pay, not translate to go higher outcomes for the students I think it's absolutely fair to say let's put accountability in there.

>> Anything that helps with teacher way, why would that not be a good idea, considering that's a major factor for the teacher shortage in Arizona?

>> We want teachers to be paid more.

But we have the lowest funded schools in the country.

If you want to increase teacher way, let's talk about solutions that actually add resources to the classroom.

And not simply talk about reallocate and taking away resources that help teachers I am happy to work with Matt or anybody that wants to put fore a aid prop that adds new dollars to school.

>> Why is it largers districts only and not smaller district fist this is such a great idea?

Why the delineation there?

>> To say, hey, for those districts that is a particularly obvious example where we have the means and economies of scale no reason Tucson unified you see smaller district even rural hitting the 60%, this is can be translated to additional opportunities.

To his point I think there is an interest in saying thousand maximize pie for teacher?

We have increased spending in Arizona, be even adjusting for inflation.

Teacher spending it flat.

We did a play plan under Ducey, all these things have gone to increased fund and this teachers are not getting more of that.

>> Last word on this, why is that happen?

>> We have increased the fund and dead last in the country.

If we want to actually increase teacher pay, let's put forward a real solution that increases it like prop 12 through.

>> Did you agree with prop 123?

>> We are supportive increases for all students not just picking winners and losers we have been supportive of increasing prop 123 that's open to all students that provides additional stunts.

>> We have to stop there.

Matt Beineburg and Jimmie Arwood.

Good conversation and good to have you here are both on prop 320.

Thank you so much.

That's for now I am Ted Simons, thank you so much for joining