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Sep 16, 2010

The unasked debate question for Huppenthal: Do you even want this job?

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sept. 16, 2010

PHOENIX -- Wednesday night featured the one and only debate in Arizona's Superintendent of Public Instruction race between Democrat Penny Kotterman and Republican John Huppenthal.

Why the only one? Because it was required by Clean Elections Law, and Huppenthal refuses to participate in any further debates.

And it's no wonder he refuses. The ultimate debate question for Huppenthal should have been this: With a record like yours, do you even want to lead Arizona's schools into the future?

Here are a few highlights of Huppenthal's record as a state senator:

• Cutting education: Over the last two years Huppenthal has voted to cut nearly half a billion dollars from K-12 education. (SB 1006, 1/31/09; SB 1188, 6/4/09; SB 1002, 11/23/09)
• Against all-day kindergarten: Huppenthal believes that the strong public support for all-day K is a result "of all the brainwashing." He told The Arizona Republic that all-day K "is just pathetic from the point of what we need to be doing for good public policy." (The Arizona Republic, 5/19/04)
• Gutting First Things First: Huppenthal's "Yea" vote for HCR 2001, upon voter approval, would repeal Prop. 203, the voter-approved early childhood development and health program. (HCR2001, 3/16/10)

"John Huppenthal is abandoning Arizona's schools and schoolkids at the very time they need our support," said Luis Heredia, Arizona Democratic Party executive director. "It's astonishing that he is now asking voters to trust him with their children's education and with Arizona's future."

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