Reform Party of Arizona
Platform for State and Local Candidates

This platform applies to candidates seeking to represent the People of Arizona in State and Local offices. In recognition of the distinctly different constitutional roles played by national and state/local elected officials, a separate platform will be developed for national candidates.

This platform was approved by the Reform Party of Arizona State Convention, January 12, 2002.

Please address all questions, comments, and suggestions to: weyrich_comp@yahoo.com.


Separation of State and Federal Concerns

Candidates for office shall restrict their campaigns to powers and issues delegated to the office they are seeking, as delineated in the State and Federal Constitutions. If elected, they shall likewise restrict their activities accordingly.

Election Reform

We support election reform to assure that only qualified voters cast ballots, and that furthermore to ensure that all votes are accurately counted.

Campaign Reform

Education

We recognize that more than money is required to improve education in Arizona. We therefore support alternatives to the one-size-fits-all public school systems, such as charter schools and tuition vouchers. We believe that Arizona schools should be controlled by Arizonans, and urge rejection of Federal programs that carry Federal strings and increase bureaucratic costs.

Legislative Reform

All State and Local programs shall include in their enabling legislation:

Stewardship Reviews

An independent auditor shall review existing government programs at least every 5 years for compliance with their enabling legislation and measurable effectiveness. Programs whose enabling legislation does not meet legislative guidelines for new programs shall be modified so as to comply or be eliminated.

Retrenchment

The overall budget of each department of government, as well as each line item of the Budget, shall be prioritized such that if unexpected costs arise, or revenue does not meet projections, there will be orderly retrenchment without deficit spending or tax increases.

Environment

We support a "wise-use" environmental policy that promotes conservation of our air, land, and water resources while respecting private property rights and encouraging compatible multiple uses of our public resources.

Families First

With the interests of the child foremost in our thoughts, we shall seek to protect the parental rights of both biological parents. We shall seek to lower the barriers to a stable, traditional family life that is in the best interest of all children. Parents have the right to be notified if their child asks for an abortion, or for contraceptives. There should never be any type of sexual examination of a child without parental consent, except under court order when there is probable cause of abuse, and then only at a physician's office or hospital with a parent or nurse present.

No family should ever be threatened with the taking of their child if they do not conform to government rules and regulations. The government should never interfere with how a family decides to rear their children, but in cases of real child abuse, authority should revert to the county where the child lives, and only under due process of law.

Affirmative Action

We must end the backsliding toward hyphenated-Americanism by abolishing quotas and set-asides and abandoning the futile politics of victims and villains. Instead of patronizing minorities by presuming that they cannot succeed without government assistance, we must work together to bridge our racial divide and rediscover what brings us all together as one nation and one people. As a Party, we will work to eliminate all forms of discrimination in government agencies, including reverse discrimination, and push for passage of a colorblind civil rights bill that ensures equal justice for all and special privilege for none.

Revise "Right to Work" Laws

We call for making Arizona more labor-friendly by revising the "right to work" provision of the Arizona Constitution, which favors currently employers at the expense of the workers. Specifically, employers shall be required to show just cause before termination.

Pro-Life

We affirm the principle espoused in the Declaration of Independence, that all persons are all endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and among them is the right to life. We recognize that personhood begins before birth, but hold that the life of the mother and fetus are of equal value in the sight of their Creator and equally entitled to the protection of the due process of law.

Right to Keep and Bear Arms

We uphold the US and Arizona Constitution's protection of the individual's right to keep and bear arms, and oppose the preemption of this right by local ordinance.

Private Property

Private property may not be taken for public use until after just compensation has been paid. Forfeiture laws in which private property is confiscated and the burden of proof placed on the citizen for its return must be abolished.

Corporate Welfare

We oppose public funding of private ventures, including sports facilities.

Hate/Thought Crimes

We oppose all so-called "hate crime" laws and other laws aimed at criminalizing thoughts.

Immigration

We call on AZ State and local law enforcement agencies to obtain the training needed to work with Federal agencies to increase enforcement of existing immigration laws.

We call on the AZ State legislature and Governor to give priority to creating laws that close any and all loopholes within existing Federal immigration laws.

We call on the AZ State executive branch to vigorously enforce all immigration laws within their jurisdiction.