Three Republicans Launch An Improbable Campaign In District 11. By J.E. Relly DURING A RECENT Pima County Republican luncheon at Carlos Murphy's, David Morales stood up to announce the launch of his kamikaze flight: He'd put together a GOP slate in District 11, where Democrats hold an almost insurmountable 3-to-1 registration advantage. At the time, Morales seemed prepared to concede his team's inevitable defeat, but he told the crowd he hoped his effort would at least force the Democrats to divert money from other, tighter races to District 11, which covers portions of western and southern Tucson, parts of Marana, Three Points, Ajo and most of western Pima County. But hope springs eternal on the campaign trail--or at least Morales has a different spin these days, as he enthusiastically boasts of his chances of pulling off an upset win in his Arizona Senate race against Elaine Richardson, the two-term District 11 representative who's leaving the House in a bid to capture the seat of retiring Sen. Peter Goudinoff. A real estate broker who also owns a downtown seasonal bed-&-breakfast, Richardson has earned a reputation as a smart, hardworking lawmaker during her four years in office. Among many accomplishments, she's fought to protect funding for the clean-up of underground fuel-storage tanks, penned legislation to help battered women and tried to increase funding for rural schools. What does Morales have to offer against a seasoned lawmaker who enjoys bipartisan support? Well, there's the familiar Christian Right rhetoric. Morales takes jabs at Richardson in campaign literature with four out of six of their differing positions centering around parental choice, partial birth abortions, "safe sex" school programs, and same-sex marriages. (He doesn't have a problem with what people do behind closed doors, but marriage, well, that's different, he says, quoting Genesis and Leviticus). To his credit, the 45-year-old copper miner and former Marana councilmember has emerged somewhat smoother in his latest run for office. He attributes the change to months of grooming by Scott Alexander, a former state senator who now works as a political consultant, who "told me I was a little flaky." In exchange for a series of breakfasts, the consultant "told me what to say and what not to say." The family-values proponent insists the Republican candidates have a good shot. He quotes auto empire owner Jim Click, who is serving on his campaign committee, as saying " 'This time you'll get elected. I'll see you get elected.' " Still, Click doesn't seem to have put the squeeze on many Republicans to fund the Morales campaign, which had raised only $4,797 by September 30 and had less than $200 left in the bank. Richardson had raised and spent more than $25,000. Morales fashions himself the district godfather who put together a formidible three-candidate ticket. He interviewed a passel of candidates for the two empty representative seats. Morales' preference was for candidates with campaign experience, so former Marana mayor and councilmember Ora Mae Harn and auto mechanic Steve Benefield will face Democrats Carmine Cardamone and Debra Norris. Cardamone has been a player on the edge of state politics for years. The longtime Democrat has been worked closely with Richardson since her election, penning legislation and closely following the action at the statehouse. The pro-choice Brooklyn native says he'd work to solve the state's long-simmering school finance problems and oppose egregious legislation like last year's environmental audit act, which would have provided polluters with immunity from most civil and criminal penalties. Cardamone got the most press, though, when he was popped in the wee hours of primary day taking down a sign for Democratic county attorney candidate Barbara LaWall. Cardamone insists he was picking up the sign because it was damaged, but LaWall is insisting on pressing charges. The 24-year-old Norris has neither a legislative track record nor a sign scandal in her background. A recent Stanford grad, Norris grew up in Sells on the Tohono O'odham nation. Asked about the most recent legislative session, Norris frankly admits she didn't pay much attention, but says she'd be a pro-environment, pro-education, pro-choice lawmaker. Despite Cardamone's sign scandal and Norris' inexperience, the Democrats are still heavily favored to defeat the GOP team of Harn and Benefield. But Harn, whose most recent political experience came during her stint on the Marana Town Council, isn't giving in. She says she can beat her opponents, even if she can't remember their names. "I am fairly concerned about Carlos, uh Cardamone, I mean, and his problem involved with the law," says Harn. "Not so much with taking the signs but the fact that he didn't tell the truth about it. I just think when you do something dumb like that and get caught, you throw yourself at the mercy of the court. "Actually my information came out of the Star and to me the Star is not the Bible," she adds, laughing. "Actually Cardamon has worked with Elaine Richardson, and I have a lot of respect, deep respect for Elaine Richardson. She's always been responsive to our community, so I was really concerned. It sounds as if he has good background and all." Norris is a different story, though. "I agree with the (Tucson) Citizen that the Native American community really needs a representative. But I have to tell you, I've been around the block a time or two," Harn says, lowering her voice, "but 24 is very young. That's real, real young. I don't know her so there's a possibility she's very capable. She's very attractive. But I haven't met her, so I wouldn't make any judgements against her." Harn's trips around the block brought her into a tight relationship with New World Homes, which planned to build a massive development in Marana. After the Marana Town Council passed a rezoning for New World, Marana citizens successfully mounted a referendum against the rezoning. But Harn and the council chose to reject the group's petitions, arguing the type on the referendum petition was a fraction of an inch too small. The decision was overturned in court and voters went on to overturn the council's decision, inspiring The Weekly to tag Harn with the nickname Mamie Yokum, mayor of Dogpatch. Looking back, the 63-year-old born-again Christian now says she made a courageous decision by backing the developer, arguing it would have been easy to stand with the citizens of her town rather than supporting the wishes of a high-powered homebuilder. In fact, despite her close relationship with developers and her support for a landfill in Marana, she insists she's green at heart; she used to take Girl Scouts camping in the mountains. "You could swallow a whole bottle of tranquilizers and it wouldn't be so great," she says. Morales and Harn each had their eyes on Ed Moore's District 3 Board of Supervisors seat. Morales ran unsuccessfully in the Supervisor's race in '88 and '92. Both candidates met with Vicki Cox-Golder, the well-financed Republican who's running against Moore now, and both ended the meeting with their hearts now set on a near-impossible state legislature race. Did Cox-Golder promise her any favors for staying out of county politics? "Not really," says Harn. But the Growth Lobby, which is backing Cox-Golder, is also supporting Harn, who had received $6,640 in contributions by September 30. Harn has spent $2,359. With a full-time job as executive director of Marana Health Center along with her council position, Harn says she hasn't had much time to campaign. Fellow Republican Benefield, who ran unsuccessfully against Steve Leal in the 1993 Tucson City Council race, thinks government is doing lots of stuff wrong. To begin with, there are problems in the schools. The 42-year-old Benefield shares Morales' attitude that sex ed belongs at home. One of his commonly rehearsed lines is about the demise of a decent education once prayer left the classroom and sex ed was introduced. He remembers his own health class at Saguaro High School, where "we spent a semester in school on how to screw a girl." Yet when questioned, Benefield says prayer shouldn't be returned to the classroom because teachers are no longer clergymen's wives--they're merely people who're in it for the money. But Bible study groups should be allowed on campus, he says. Although he says he'd support a law that shields polluters from civil and criminal penalties, Benefield says he's a friend of the environment. He loves to pull his motor home into the wild, set up his lawn chair and watch the sun rise and set. He'll vote against any legislation that would keep him from doing that. "The government is trying to make it so parks can't be used. Like this endangered species stuff...one of my friends wanted to put up a corral on his property and couldn't because of an endangered weed." Benefield says the three amigos are going after the independent and Democratic swing votes. "I'm knocking on every door," he says. "If I go strictly by Republicans, I'll lose." Benefield, who sold his auto mechanic business and began working as a janitor at Desert Life Health Care Center to clear time for walking in the district, says he's finding he has bipartisan support: "After I'm with them (Democrats) for five minutes they say they'll vote for me." They don't, however, seem prepared to give him contributions--although he hasn't turned in his most recent report, Benefield's previous report showed he'd only garnered $30. Benefield confesses he was surprised he didn't have to take any tests to see if he was qualified for Republican politics. "They're (just) happy you're there," he marvels.

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