Oct. 3--With term limits forcing the departure of Rep. Eddie Farnsworth from the state House, Gilbert-based Legislative District 22 is assured new representation after the November general election. What is undecided at this point is whether the district will continue its long tradition of sending a Republicanonly slate to the Capitol, or split its representation by adding a Democrat.

Two Republicans and one Democrat are running for the pair of House seats for the district that covers Gilbert, southeast Mesa and a small part of Pinal County.

Rep. Andy Biggs is the incumbent Republican who has held one of the district's two House seat since he was elected in 2002. Biggs and business owner Laurin Hendrix emerged from the four-man field in the Republican primary, defeating Bob Brown and Adam Armer to proceed to the general election.

Glenn Ray, meanwhile, cruised into the upcoming election as a Democratic candidate who ran alone in his party's primary.

Given the voter demographics in the district, it's apparent why the field has been controlled and crowded by Republicans.

Of the 122,365 registered voters in the district, nearly 48 percent are Republicans, 24 percent are Democrats and about 28 percent are independents or affiliated with smaller parties, according to statistics of the Maricopa County elections department.

ANDY BIGGS

Biggs says his conservative message has always lined up with his voting record -- he's preached a balanced budget and school choice for parents, and has a voting record to prove it.

A few years ago, when the state had a surplus of money, Biggs said he was able to steer millions of dollars into funding transportation projects -- with the help of fellow Republican lawmakers. Biggs is chairman of the House Transportation Committee. The move to fund transportation was better than creating ongoing government programs that couldn't be sustained once the economy experienced a downturn, as it has now, he said. "We knew two years ago that we were going to have problems," Biggs said. "Some of us fought the spending increases that were being proposed."

Biggs, a former lawyer, said he is a crucial player in trying to tame the state's "horrible" financial situation. The state was running a deficit of $180 million in the first two months of this budget year, which started in July.

He said guaranteed spending increases for programs like state welfare and some school funding give lawmakers few choices when looking for cuts to the budget.

"The solution, of course, is that you have to reduce spending. You can't keep spending," he said.

LAURIN HENDRIX

Hendrix is a longtime Gilbert resident and a partner in a cabinetmaking business. He has served behind the political scenes as a district precinct committeeman and was a finalist for an appointment to the Gilbert Unified School District board.

Hendrix says the state's biggest problem is the lack of a balanced budget, adding that education and enforcement of laws to combat illegal immigration would also be among his top priorities as a lawmaker.

"We need to make some additional cuts," Hendrix said. "Raising taxes is not really an option. It's one of the worst economies we've had in a long time. There aren't any easy answers."

Hendrix calls himself a fiscal and social conservative -- an opponent of abortion and supporter of Proposition 102, which would amend the state constitution to reflect that marriage is between a man and a woman.

Hendrix touts school vouchers as a way to give parents a choice over which school their child attends and to create competition among schools so they will improve. "I think that competition will improve schools because the schools that aren't competing won't be able to stay in business," he said.

GLENN RAY

Because of the Republican leanings of the district, Ray said he is tired of being called the "lone Democrat" in the race. He's a full-time lieutenant with the Arizona National Guard and an Iraq war veteran. Ray was in Iraq in 2005 for nine months helping secure a base in the north. His job away from government service is as a information technology project manager with US Airways.

Ray, who lives in Mesa, ran for the Senate as a Democrat in 2006, in a failed bid against Sen. Thayer Verschoor, a Gilbert Republican. However, Ray said it was not just opportunity that led him to join the Democrats after being a registered Republican prior to the 2006 run.

He says the Republican Party is too focused on what he calls "morality issues," such as the gay marriage proposition and an anti-abortion agenda. Abortion shouldn't be decided by state law, he said. He said he doesn't support gay marriage in Arizona, but supports civil unions that give gay couples rights under the law. "Those are morality issues, but there are a lot of other things that are important," Ray said. "I'm definitely not a liberal. My friends call me the most Republican Democrat they know."

Ray preaches a bipartisan approach to solve problems such as what he calls a failing educational system in Arizona. The answer is not to provide school vouchers to promote the best performing schools like many Republicans espouse, he said. Ray, the father of four, said that fixing the educational system should focus on all schools. "They're touting Arizona as No. 1 in choice, but we are near the bottom in outcomes," he said.

He said Arizona has one the lowest tax rates in the nation. Yet it misses the opportunity to lure jobs, such as those in the "green" energy and manufacturing fields, because it does not offer incentives as other states do.

"We need to look at bringing those companies here, giving people jobs and help our energy footprint by putting solar panels on every house in Arizona," he said.

-----

To see more of The Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.eastvalleytribune.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

NYSE:LCC,