Arizona Senate candidate Scott Bartle attended Saturday’s meeting of the Republican precinct committeemen in Legislative District 11 (LD11). Bartle, who is challenging Senator Steve Smith, had few answers for the large crowd at an Oro Valley library.
Bartle, owner of InMaricopa.com, initially ran for the House but changed his mind and is now shooting for the Senate. He is currently a member and was the former president of the Maricopa Unified School District Governing Board.
The engaged precinct committee members asked Bartle the same questions that are being asked of all hopeful candidates these days: 1) Would you have supported Medicaid expansion? 2) Will you support Common Core?
With sly cunningness and the moves of a square dancer, Bartle danced around the topics. Bartle said he opposed any federal expansion of programs, but would not specifically declare his position on Medicare expansion.
While it is widely understood that Bartle is a strong proponent of Common Core, he refused to say whether he supported it in Arizona.
Bartle refused to answer a pointed question about who supported his campaign, specifically his donors and handlers.
Perhaps it is his desire for privacy that led Bartle to keep his opinions to himself. He said, “I am not so naïve and selfish, or maybe it is because I am selfish, but I got other demands on my time that I would not be pursuing this if I didn’t feel comfortable that there was an opportunity to win. I am more of a sit in the back row type of guy. I am not comfortable with having my face plastered on billboards and that sort of thing but I know that comes with the territory.”
According to the Arizona Auditor General’s report, under Bartle’s leadership the Maricopa Unified School District earned a “C” grade overall from the Arizona Department of Education, with 3 of its 10 schools earning a “D” grade. The District’s administrative costs/spending is considered high compared to other districts in the State with only 47% of its dollars making their way into the classrooms (To read the Arizona School District Spending (Classroom Dollars) Fiscal Year 2012, click here).
While Bartle may know what comes with the territory, voters can only guess what comes with Bartle’s territory based on his performance at the helm at MUSD.
The candidates for the two LD 11 House seats include Vince Leach and Mark Finchem.