If Arizona voters aren't convinced Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich or other nationally-known figures are presidential material, there's no shortage of Arizona-grown candidates to consider.
Nearly two dozen obscure candidates will appear on Arizona's Feb. 28 presidential preference ballot, including three East Valley residents.
About half the lesser-known candidates are from out of state, with the rest from across Arizona.
One thing all candidates have in common: They got on the ballot with ease.
All they had to do was fill out a two-page form with the Arizona Secretary of State, swear they met Constitutional requirements for the office and have the paperwork notarized. There was no fee to get on the ballot.
The 23 Republican candidates include Cesar Cisneros of Mesa and Wayne Arnett of Tempe, who join national figures Romney, Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. Richard Grayson of Apache Junction is one of six Green Party candidates on Arizona's ballot.
Cisneros spoke earnestly about his bid for commander-in-chief. The trucking company owner and big rig driver said he's talked to thousands of people in numerous states since he began campaigning in 2010.
Cisneros, 62, is a Mormon with a wife and seven adult children who has never run for office. He is disappointed none of the other candidates have called for religion to play a greater role in public life.
"In order for us to prosper as a nation and to really be protected, we need the teachings of almighty God," Cisneros said.
Many of his views are standard for a Republican. He's for a strong national defense, low taxes and the Keystone gas pipeline. However, he wants to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants without felony records. After that, he'd seal the border.
Cisneros has never spoken to a big crowd and has only been able to get to other states because of his trucking job, he said. He's raised a few thousand dollars.
Americans of ordinary means are perhaps more qualified for the White House than wealthy candidates, he said.
"If they have these millions and billions of dollars, believe me, they're out of touch with the American people," he said. "How can they be in touch?"
He isn't included in the CNN Republican debate at the Mesa Arts Center on Feb. 22, but asked that voters call CNN to urge his inclusion. Cisneros said his desire to run comes from the heart but he acknowledges his odds of winning are slim.
"My slogan is: Miracles happen," he said.
Arnett didn't return a phone call left at his Chandler law firm.
Grayson did speak, though he said that "any publicity will probably just lose me votes."
The 60-year-old writer figures this is his fourth time on a ballot in Florida and Arizona since 1982. He first ran for a town council seat in a small Florida community.
"The people were starting to outnumber the horses, and I was mad about that," Grayson said. "My proposal was to give horses the right to vote, and I got 25 percent of the vote."
He ran for the 6th Congressional District in 2010, which is represented by Republican Jeff Flake. The Green Party sued to kick him off the ballot, but he prevailed. Just before election day, Grayson blogged that he didn't care if voters chose him. He added that most voters in the district "are ignorant morons."
Grayson said he doesn't tell people he's running, doesn't campaign and doesn't care if he gets any votes. He figures he'll get a handful of votes.
"Green Party primaries are pretty rare and Arizona, to its credit, has the easiest ballot requirements for presidential primaries," Grayson said. "For someone like me, it was irresistible. I mean, how can you just let it go by?"
Given the potential voice a presidential candidate could use, does Grayson at least have a message?
"No," he said. "I think more people should run. Or maybe Arizona should change its law or change its requirements so you have to be an actual, serious candidate."
Contact writer: (480) 898-6548 or ggroff@evtrib.com
Masterrogue666 posted at 3:36 pm on Sun, Jan 22, 2012.
No way would I vote for Cisneros. There's a seperation of church and state, and it should remain that way. Religious leaders should not be able to sway our President's opinion. After all, he's suppose to represent the MAJORITY (Of course, Obama doesn't do this).
Mor important, as for granting amnesty, then sealing the border, won't get my vote. Reagan granted amnesty once, and the border was suppose to be made much harder to cross. It's still an extremely porous border. SEAL THE BORDER FIRST! ENFORCE IMMIGRATION LAWS (Which Obama refuses to do). Then come an talke to me about amnesty. We tried it your way once, and it was UTTER FAILURE!
davidflucier posted at 3:51 pm on Sun, Jan 22, 2012.
Dripping sarcasm to follow: Are they all being vetted for their citizenship and will they be required to wear a Colt .45 to the polls? I think we should at least have them pass an IQ test.
Masterrogue666 posted at 6:09 am on Mon, Jan 23, 2012.
Actually, I think it would be prudent that you'd have to prove citizenship status before you vote.
As for an IQ test before being granted the use of guns, it's not in the constitution. However, I think mandatory classes on gun safety should be required if you decided to buy one. But that will never happen.
I also think an IQ test should be required before being granted a driver's license. I haven't done the research, but I'm quite sure that motor vehicles kill more people than firearms each year.
Even with the IQ tests in place for both guns and vehicles, there will still be deaths because sometimes even "smart" people do some moronic things.
Rational Human posted at 7:05 am on Mon, Jan 23, 2012.
All serious candidates running for any office that requires you to be a natural born citizen should be fully vetted. As for IQ tests, I have yet to see any non college educated candidates for president in quite a long time so that is a moot point. Now an IQ test before being allowed to breed would be in order. Why allow mental midgets and psychopaths to replicate? Nature doesn't favor stupid or insane, but we do. davidlucifer is a prime example of both.
shrinkingviolet posted at 12:29 pm on Mon, Jan 23, 2012.
Makes sense ... lily white white power fans think they belong in the White House.