Recently it has come to the attention of many Arizona conservative activists and tea party members that there are a number of Teachers Union candidates posing as Republicans in our legislative races — make no mistake about it, these are Trojan Horse candidates…also known as “Democrats in Disguise”, or “DID’s” for short.  They are supported by the Arizona Educational Association, Teach for America, the ASU bureaucracy and most administrative organizations.

Parents who choose Christian schooling, online education, charters, secular private schools and home schooling should be particularly alarmed because these DID candidates are instinctively opposed to expanding school choice.

These chameleon candidates have been emboldened by the passage of a $3 Billion tax hike; also known as Proposition 100. Their plan is to cross the tax hike threshold by planting DIDs in a few heavily Republican districts.  Voters will be fooled into thinking they are voting for a fiscally Republican conservative, but they aren’t, and by the time they’d find out who these candidates really are – the damages will have already been done. The Arizona Republic and Citizens for Tax Justice (www.CTJ.org) claimed that Arizonans want to pay higher taxes, but the elected representatives in the legislature weren’t listening. So, this is their plan to implore candidates to vote for higher taxes for public education.

Their website (www.ExpectMoreArizona.org) says nothing about better education, just higher taxes. In fact here is a snipit from a “blogger” on their  “Expect More Blog” by a supposed small buisiness owner:

“As a small business owner I believe we, the taxpayers of Arizona, should invest heavily in our public education system.  In fact, I am willing to step up and pay more in personal and business taxes so that we can hire the best teachers, build modern infrastructure and attract the most innovative and brilliant leaders…”

If successful, this group will turn the Arizona Legislature into a tax hike playground.  Most of the DIDs are teachers and school board members who are registered as Republicans but carry the platform of the teachers union and the Democratic Party. Make no mistake, these are NOT TRUE REPUBLICANS!

The Vote 4 Education DIDs generally file their petition signatures close to the deadline, and are running as traditionally funded candidates. Most have had no prior visible involvement in Republican Party politics and many are unknown to local Republican activists. Contrary to Conservative Republican views, they are proud supporters of government run education.  Many of these fake Republicans have endorsements from the infrastructure spending lobby, and have received significant PAC donations after the campaign finance filing deadlines so as to delay full disclosure to potential voters.

Take, for example, Heather Carter, Clinical Associate Professor at Arizona State University in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College and now Republican House candidate in Legislative District 7 that touts she is registered Republican since 1988 and is a “A REPUBLICAN EDUCATOR WHO IS PRO BUSINESS” on her website.  Carter has stated she was for Prop 100, against tax limiting Prop 13 Arizona, and for more taxpayer money for schools.  She talks about balancing the state budget and fiscal responsibility, but no where can we see that she is about lowering taxes. More taxpayer funds (meaning increased taxes) and pro-business are two phrases that just don’t go hand-in-hand on a Republican ticket. She claims to have more than $20,000 in PAC donations and has teachers and union members working on her campaign, going door to door on her behalf.

Carter is currently involved with Teach for America in the education department at ASU.  She is closely linked with the education lobby. Her website shows endorsements from the Arizona Education Association teachers union, the Professional Firefighters of Arizona PAC, and the big government advocates at the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Craig Barton, former Professor at Ottawa University and University of Phoenix and now Republican House candidate in LD 7, is also a Vote 4 Education supporter.  Barton operates charter schools which depend on tax revenue to operate.  If elected, Barton will be able to vote more money to his and other charter schools.  Barton says he supports Prop 100 yet signed Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform (www.ATR.org) pledge not to raise taxes.

Note: LD7 Heather Carter and LD6’s David Braswell have teamed up for a fundraiser sponsored by the teacher’s union, on 22 July.   This needs to be exposed.  Quickly.  Voters need to know what they stand for, and who they really are.

Legislative Districts 6, 8, 10, 11, 21 and 22 all have known DIDs running for legislative seats.  The following candidates should be heavily scrutinized before the primary elections as all of them are suspected DID’s. Each one can potentially hold up a conservative reform agenda; not just educational reform, but tax and budget cuts.

• David Braswell, LD6 Senate
• Karen Fann, LD1 House
• Venessa Whitener, LD21 House
• Paul Howell, LD22 House
• Steve Urie, LD22 House
• Wade McLean, LD26 House
• Doug Sposito, LD30 House

The Arizona Education Association claims 81% of its members believe the State Legislature is the biggest obstacle to achieving success in our schools.  All they need is more of your hard earned money. They say the legislature is standing in the way of their “success”. If you vote for one of their candidates you are moving us one step closer to a 2/3 majority in the legislature required to raise your taxes. Vote 4 Education is nothing more than a Vote 4 Higher Taxes plain and simple, and these candidates are aware of this. They are fooling the Arizona public into thinking that they are fiscal Republicans only because they know they would have no chance at winning an election as a Democrat in these districts. Do not be fooled. Please spread the word.