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District 21 opponents talk tough on illegals
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They stand on opposite sides of the political spectrum from their challenger, but incumbent House Republicans Warde Nichols and Steve Yarbrough seem to agree more than disagree with Democrat Phil Hettmansperger.
The two are running as a team in District 21 against Hettmansperger, a retired Mesa public school teacher who has served on Chandler’s Parks and Recreation board the past 10 years.
The three candidates spoke Monday in Chandler at a Tribune-sponsored debate.
All three agreed state and federal governments must find a way to secure the nation’s border with Mexico, although they differed on where to go after that.
Yarbrough, of Chandler, said Arizona cannot afford to wait for the federal government to secure the border and should be willing to foot some of the bill itself.
“I strongly believe that the cost we’re paying to educate, medicate and incarcerate illegal immigrants in the state of Arizona is costing the taxpayers an awfully lot more than any benefit that might be gained by hiring those people at substandard wages,” Yarbrough said.
Nichols, of Gilbert, blamed Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano for vetoing several bills aimed at stemming the flow of illegal immigrants from Mexico.
“Quite frankly, she was an obstructionist,” Nichols said. “She did not want to work with the Legislature at all.”
Hettmansperger, of Chandler, called for tougher sanctions on employers to hire illegal immigrants. He pointed to a House bill vetoed by the governor, calling it too soft on employers who hire undocumented workers.
“If the Legislature was sincere about this problem and wanted to deal with it affirmatively in the beginning, they would have worked with the governor to come up with some clear sanctions for hiring illegal aliens,” Hettmansperger said.
He compared the failed legislation with Chandler’s most recent attempt to discourage day laborers from congregating along downtown streets by issuing minor parking tickets to employers who stop to pick up workers. Instead, Hettsmansperger suggested suspending offending employers’ business licenses for a day.
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