The District 10 House race features a choice between two Democratic candidates boasting longtime relationships with South Side voters and a Green candidate who promises to work to make things better for the heavily minority district.

Democrats Linda Lopez and Victor Soltero are running for two open House seats against Green Jack Strasburg. Republican Judy Bennett dropped out of the race after the primary, saying she was not getting adequate support, and will not be on the general election ballot.

Both Lopez, a clinical supervisor who has served on the Sunnyside school district board for 14 years, and Soltero, the former South Tucson mayor who has served in the Legislature for 10 years, say education is their top priority. Strasburg, a computer consultant, also ran on growth issues in a failed 1992 county supervisor bid.

Like the other two candidates, Lopez supports the $450 million sales tax increase on the November ballot that would target education improvements like teacher salaries and higher education funding. Lopez said even that money won't be enough, and she would work to make school funding a greater priority.

But she would also like to increase teacher accountability and target professional development for teachers in the areas they need the most work in.

And while she said the AIMS test is a good skills measurement, she thinks tying it to graduation is premature until it is clear that the curriculum actually matches what students are expected to learn. She opposes the measure to scrap bilingual education, calling it "a hateful, mean-spirited, racist measure."

Soltero said he will work next session to either increase tutoring for students who fail AIMS or move the test implementation dates back. "We have to have our kids ready to pass the test. I don't want to see our young people disheartened and dropping out."

Also opposed to the bilingual education measure, Soltero said that if the measure doesn't pass, he'd be willing to reevaluate the programs to address public concerns.

"Let's find out where we're missing the boat and why our students aren't learning English in as productive a manner as possible, but let's not just say, 'We'll put you in an immersion program and you can either sink or swim.' "

Strasburg also opposes the bilingual education initiative and promises to try to increase cultural education in schools.

Lopez said her other priorities include trying to address shortages in behavioral health funding, in part by requiring HMOs to provide parity with physical treatment.

She would also work to let schools do outreach for the KidsCare program for children of the working poor and would work to increase staff ratios at day care facilities.

Lopez parts ways with the other two candidates, who are supporting the Sierra Club's growth management proposal.

She supports impact fees, she said, and considers the Legislature's growth alternative, Propositon 100, a mere ploy to confuse the voters. But, she said, Proposition 202 goes too far.

Soltero said he will make state employee pay raises one of his priorities, adding it will take at least $250 million over the next three years to bring them up to market.

He also wants to come up with a subsidy program for senior prescription drugs and pledges to work to bring in good-paying jobs by collaborating with local economic development agencies.

Soltero so far has raised more than $25,500, with Lopez closer to $18,700. Strasburg is running as a clean candidate, taking public money in exchange for capping spending, but his campaign filing was unavailable yesterday.

Strasburg, who has taken time off work to write a book promoting a "paradigm shift" where people demand better performance in areas such as education, homelessness and health care, said he would focus on improving the quality of life for district residents. He cited such examples as protecting the South Side from environmentally-insensitive businesses that have tended to cluster there and beating back special-interest legislation for wealthier constituents.

He also suggests revamping the state budget by decriminalizing marijuana use and reinvesting the savings in substance abuse treatment and social programs.

"I think what we're looking at here is that Democrats and Republicans have had control of Arizona for 88 years, and they haven't done a good job. This is not a personal attack on any particular people, but they've had control and still we're 48th, 49th or 50th in important areas like poverty and health care,'' Strasburg said.

District 10 voters have a clear choice between the two candidates vying for an open Senate seat.

Democrat Ramon Valadez, a four-year lawmaker who cut his political teeth working for County Supervisor Dan Eckstrom and U.S. Sens. Ed Pastor and Dennis DeConcini, is facing off against Libertarian Dale Gorney, a newcomer not only to politics but also to his own party.

Both say education is their top priority, although they promote different ways of going about it.

Valadez, 32, supports the Prop. 301 ballot measure that would raise sales taxes for $450 million in school improvements. "Instead of spending our time worrying about things like insufficient funding, no inflation spending and no teacher increases, we can go forward and get together with the education community to find out how we make our education system better,'' Valadez said.

Valadez is still suspicious of the AIMS test, saying it was pushed to "defund, dehumanize and demolish public education." While he supports its use as a diagnostic tool for teachers, he wants expanded remedial help for struggling students. Opposed to an initiative that does away with bilingual education, Valadez said he would instead work to ensure that bilingual education teachers are certified, and provide a salary boost for that specialty.

Gorney, who joined the Libertarian Party two years ago, said he would be a legislator who would refer many big decisions to the voters. He first said he was neutral on the sales tax boost for education, then said he'd vote against it because lawmakers didn't put any other choices on the ballot. Voters should at least be able to pick from one of four or five proposals, he said. One option, for example, might be raising revenues by legalizing gaming in Arizona. "Nevada and other states have done it; so can we."

Valadez said he'd like to revisit the tax code to make sure that past tax incentives are still providing benefits to the state. "Economic incentives have to be tied to an economic benefit to the citizens of Arizona. I don't want to be giving someone an ongoing tax cut if I'm not going to get anything for it."

Gorney said he'd save money by decriminalizing marijuana to keep nonviolent criminals out of prison - something he doesn't think would need to go to voters.

He joined the party because he disagrees with the Clinton administration's "anti-constitutional" gun policies. While he supports background checks at gun shows, he thinks mandatory trigger locks are unnecessary government intrusion and would like to ease restrictions on the licensing of machine guns.

Gorney has promised to run the race on less than $500. As of the last filing deadline last week, Valadez had raised more than $23,000, with roughly $6,200 left in the kitty.

Valadez supports the Sierra Club's ballot proposal to control growth, saying the implementation is going to be key in ensuring a good balance between preserving the environment and making sure houses stay affordable. While growth should not be a federal or statewide issue, he said, he suggested the measure ended up on the ballot because local communities never had a real debate on what to do about growth. "Now the debate will have to take place,'' he said. Gorney is remaining neutral on the growth plans, saying he doesn't want to influence voters.

Valadez said he deserves a term in the Senate because he proved his effectiveness in the House, including helping push through an unpaid state holiday commemorating Latino labor advocate Cesar Chavez.

Next session, he said, he would also like to work on creating jobs and affordable housing in depressed areas and wants to investigate increasing subsidies for health care providers who care for at-risk populations, to make sure health clinics in Pima County and greater Arizona stay open.

"What I bring to the table is very simple. In the four years I've been there, I've been successful working in a bipartisan fashion to accomplish things that are good for the district,'' he said.