Ed Moore's 'Stealth Campaign' And Other Ballot Business. By Jim Nintzel FOR WEEKS NOW, the big question in Pima County political circles has been: Is District 3 Supervisor Ed Moore running for re-election as an independent or a Republican? "I've not made an official announcement yet," Moore says. "We're running what's called a stealth campaign." A stealth campaign? That's not the sort of thing you typically hear from someone seeking public office. But then again, Ed Moore rarely behaves in a predictable fashion. Moore says he's decided on the secretive route to befuddle Republican candidate Vicki Cox-Golder and her backers. "The people who fought Proposition 200 have aligned themselves behind one of the candidates in the primary," says Moore, referring to Cox-Golder, a Realtor and a member of the Amphi School Board who served on Moore's campaign committee in 1992. At the beginning of the year, Cox-Golder has already amassed a campaign war chest of more than $17,000, with most of her contributions coming from car dealers, developers and the construction industry. But Moore is willing to dispel rumors that he might try to turn in petitions for both GOP and independent candidacies when the signatures are due next Thursday, June 27. "The petitions we have passed have all been the same," Moore says. Several sources tell The Weekly they have seen members of Moore's family gathering signatures for an independent candidacy, which suggests Moore has decided to appear to forsake the Republican ticket, which will enable him to avoid a costly primary battle. In his first two terms, in 1984 and 1988, Moore won office as a Democrat. During his second term, he switched to the Republican Party, but was able to hold onto the office in the 1992 race, despite the fact that District 3 has about 9,000 more Democrats than Republicans. Of course, it didn't hurt that he outspent his opponent, Democrat John Kromko, $108,000 to $33,000. Still, even though Moore has greater name recognition than perhaps any other local pol, an independent candidacy is a big roll of the dice. Despite a growing dissatisfaction with the two major political parties, most voters still punch the ballot on party lines. If Moore does leave the GOP ticket, Cox-Golder will face Ann Holden in the Republican primary, while longtime political strategist Sharon Bronson is taking on political neophyte Randy Thiel in the Democratic primary. Another independent candidate, Marsha Mendelsohn, has also been gathering signatures in District 3. IT APPEARS FORMER state Rep. John Kromko has decided against pursuing a seat on the three-member Arizona Corporation Commission. Instead, at this late hour, the Democrats have recruited former Tempe City Councilwoman Barbara Sherman. If Sherman is successful in gathering the required 5,500 signatures by June 27, she'll be challenging Republican Jim Irvin, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for Secretary of State in 1992. Sherman teaches ethics at ASU; as one smart-mouthed friend observes, it's a shame she can't teach organizational skills to her own party.

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