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- I'm sitting here with Ann Kirkpatrick

who's the Democratic nominee

for Arizona Congressional District Two.

Thank you so much for joining us.

- My pleasure.

It's a beautiful morning here in Tucson, Arizona.

- Gorgeous morning.

(upbeat music)

In layman's terms, could you explain the responsibilities

of a US Congress person, and how it differs

from a US senator?

- You know, you really have to be in touch

with your constituents, I mean, you're a representative

of the people who elected you.

And I feel like it's really important

to have a continuing dialogue with them after the election.

So one of the things I do is I set up working groups

on specific issues, and they give me ideas

about what kind of legislation to introduce.

So it's a very grassroots up kind of representation

when it comes to me, but not really telling people

what I wanna do, but listening to them,

hearing what they wanna do.

- So is that how you find your balance

as a congress person,

your work between representing Arizona constituents

and your more federal responsibilities?

- That's right?

As a member of Congress, I really make an effort

to get to know all my colleagues.

So I come from a bipartisan household.

My mother's family were Republican ranchers here in Arizona,

my dad's family were Democratic business people.

And I said, it always made

for really interesting family get-togethers

because we were interested in politics

and everybody had their own opinion.

But at the end of the day, we were family,

we were Arizonans, and we were Americans.

And I really treasure that upbringing now

because it gives me a temperament to go to Congress,

get to know my colleagues.

And the institution itself really isn't set up

to foster those kinds of relationships,

so you have to work at it.

And really legislating is about building relationships,

and I'm good at that.

- So why are you now currently running in District Two

as opposed to district one?

- Came down here after the 2016 election,

my second grandson was born early, a month early,

my daughter was in residency here, she's a neurosurgeon.

We came down here to help with,

help that family with the kids,

and help her finish residency.

And then when Martha McSally

who is the incumbent right now,

voted for the deadly Republican health care bill

that would have sent 20 million people

off of health care again.

I just said I fought too hard for this,

I'm not gonna stand by and watch it happen again.

So I jumped in the race to beat her.

- Could you talk a bit more about the Affordable Care Act?

I know that's something you voted for in 2010,

and are very passionate about.

- Yes, yeah, you know, I was told that if I voted for it,

I'd lose my next election.

But it was the right thing to do.

I did lose my next election, but have made a comeback.

And, you know, I hear from people every day, you see,

it's so important that we keep this healthcare.

Right after I lost my election,

I was actually down here in Southern Arizona

in a Mexican food restaurant, and a man came up to me,

an old cowboy, tears in his eyes,

he said, "Ann, I didn't vote for you,

"but thank you for voting for the Affordable Care Act,

"because otherwise my wife wouldn't be alive."

So very very emotional stories,

and, yeah, I'm gonna keep fighting for it.

- What do you believe are the most pressing issues

for constituents of District Two?

- Well certainly, keeping healthcare.

That's the number one thing I hear about.

- Yeah.

- But everywhere I go, whether it be the grocery store,

the gas station, walking in my neighborhood,

people come up to me and express their worries,

their concerns, their fears

about what's going on in the country.

So I hear from a lot of seniors

who are afraid they're gonna lose

their Medicare and Social Security

after the Republican enormous tax cut bill,

and after Speaker Ryan said, "How do we pay for this?

"Well, let's look at Medicare and Social Security."

So they're really concerned about that.

Hardly a person in Southern Arizona

doesn't know a DREAMer or a DACA recipient,

and they're really afraid they're gonna be deported.

So comprehensive immigration reform

is really at the top of the ticket for me,

we've got to get this done. - Could you tell us a bit

about the work you've done to support veterans?

- Yes, my father fought in World War two in the Pacific,

and so I've always had a place in my heart for veterans,

and I was the first person to call for an investigation

when we heard about the long wait times

at the Phoenix Veterans Hospital for veterans.

And so, was all the Veterans Services Committee,

and led that investigation and worked on legislation,

actually with Senator John McCain

to actually make a difference,

and continue to do that outreach with veterans.

Another bill that I was successful in getting passed

was for Native American veterans.

So, you know, they've served,

Native Americans have served in the military

at a higher rate than any other ethnicity.

And I found out that their VA benefits they were getting

were used against them in qualifying for housing.

And so, I passed legislation

to do away with that discrepancy.

That was a bill that helped Native Americans

all across the country.

It's little things like that,

just make a difference in people's lives.

- Yeah, absolutely.

What would you say to Millennials and young people

that feel totally disenfranchised and frustrated

by the partisanship in government

and don't see any hope for a changing?

- Climate change.

So I have a 27 year old son

who lives with us here in Tucson.

And the other night at dinner,

he basically said, "You know, your generation has left us

"with a mess, left us with a debt and deficit

"that we're gonna have to figure out how we pay it off.

"You've left us with climate change

"which is an existential threat to us,

"and we're gonna have to figure that out."

And he had a whole litany of things that he's right about,

that we need to address.

And I just said, "You know, the best thing

"I could think I can do, is run for Congress, win,

"and address that legislation."

They're facing, that generation is facing

really serious issues, and it's really important

that they vote in this election

for people who can start solving those problems.

It's not gonna be short-term, it's gonna be long-term.

And here in Tucson, we could take the lead

and being a solar capital of the world.

Here we have so much Sun, but I have a vision

of making Tucson a totally green city,

you know, gradually converting the city fleet, the buses,

everything to green alternative energy.

- Do you have a timeline you'd want to do that ideally?

- Yeah, ideally within the next 10 years.

But I wanna start working on that right away.

- Could you give us an example of a bill

that you've written, sponsored or co-sponsored,

that you are the most proud of?

- Yes, so I grew up on tribal land with the Apaches,

and we couldn't drink the water that came out of the tap.

It was contaminated.

So all my childhood, we boiled the water

before we could drink it.

So I had an opportunity

to work with Senator Kyle from Arizona,

who was a water expert to create legislation

on a water rights settlement for that tribe.

And it included damming up our old swimming hole,

and running a water pipe from there

to a water treatment plant, and running that water

all across the reservation

so people for the first time

could actually drink the water out of the tap.

And that was near and dear to me,

we got it past my first session,

and President Obama signed it into law.

So the work on that has already begun.

- We're gonna do some fun rapid-fire questions.

Who is your favorite female artist

of any genre, like musician singer?

- Linda Ronstadt.

So, I know her

actually when I was in college,

dated her brother,

way back in the (laughing) - Oh, no way! (laughing)

And she's been to Congress and testified

in front of my committees, and always gives me a big hug,

and people like, "How do you know Linda Ronstadt?"

it's a long story, but she's my favorite.

- That's awesome.

Well, thank you so much for joining us.

This was a real pleasure.

- Thank you.

- Thank you so much.

For more infomation >> Candidates & Coffee with Ann Kirkpatrick - Duration: 8:23.

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Natural Beauty Coffee Mugs Montage w/Music - Duration: 0:36.

For more infomation >> Natural Beauty Coffee Mugs Montage w/Music - Duration: 0:36.

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Airforce buys overpriced coffee cups - Duration: 0:28.

For more infomation >> Airforce buys overpriced coffee cups - Duration: 0:28.

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Candidates & Coffee with Representative Randy Friese - Duration: 6:31.

- I am sitting here with Doctor Randy Friese,

who is a member of the Arizona House of Representatives

for District 9.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

- Thank you Sara, my pleasure.

- What do you have to say to Millennials, or young people,

that feel totally disenfranchised with politics,

and the deep political divide in this country?

- There's always hope, and I'm so encouraged

by young people today.

Seeing their degree of engagement.

We didn't have that same level of engagement

in my generation.

Although you may think in the short term,

you're not affecting change.

Small actions today, create large repercussions

in the future.

You must absolutely talk politics to your friends

and neighbors, because you know what you find,

is that you agree on more things than you realize.

And when you realize that you're agreeing,

at least with the goal, you may disagree

on how to get to that goal, but if you realize

that you're agreeing on the goal, then you can,

you can get compromised and figure out a way

to get to that goal.

Arizona has a bicameral state legislature,

a house in the senate, so that house has twice as many

members as the senate.

Each member of the legislature can introduce bills,

Of course you have to get majority of people

to agree with you to pass the bill forward,

and then of course, it's gotta be signed by the governor.

- What are the most pressing issues you've found

for your constituents, and legislative district nine.

- Oh that's an easy question, education funding.

It is the state's responsibility to be sure that we have

a well funded uniformed system of public education.

And I believe that we're failing as a state.

We're not addressing it, we're not solving it.

The citizens are reacting and showing us,

you're not fixing this problem,

it's becoming more and more pressing.

Making sure that our balance between

corporate taxation, and creating an environment

that's helpful to business, is balance.

What we have neglected to consider

is making sure that Arizona is a place

that people wish to live.

Make it so that people want to move here,

then businesses will come and create jobs,

and an economy will grow.

- What originally got you in to politics?

- Well I'm a trauma surgeon.

In 2011, we had a mass shooting,

and I took care of those victims.

I took care of Congresswoman Giffords,

and that sort of flipped the switch for me.

- How do you balance your two careers?

- It's actually easier for me

when we're in session in Phoenix,

because we can work 12 hours a day, 18 hours a day,

at the capital.

In the interim, when we're not in session,

it's a little harder for me.

Working at the hospital, but then I'll frequently

need to go to Phoenix for a meeting, or for some reason,

and then it's harder for me to juggle.

I do trauma critical care, so I work in the ICU

and take care of extremely ill people,

and taking care care of these people as a team,

and I, and I get to be the team leader,

and everybody, everyone has input, everyone has ideas.

Those skills that I've been developing

for the past 20 years have helped me

move over in to the legislative sort of workplace as well.

- How do you ensure you reach all of your constitutes?

- Going out to the community, going to the schools,

going to events that people would like me to.

I'm a frequent writer of Op-Ed's for our local paper.

We're doing mailers, and lots of social media.

- What are some options that you see as feasible solutions

for medical care?

- Healthcare is very expensive.

It's our job as a state, and the federal government's job

to make sure that everyone has access to quality healthcare.

Moving towards a market or the exchange

that the Affordable Care Act set up,

and divorcing that benefit from your job,

I think is something that we need to start thinking about.

Healthcare is very expensive, also for employers.

The problem with the Affordable Care Act right now

is the people using exchanges,

tend to be high risk with their healthcare, and cost more.

If we can get more young, healthy people

on the exchanges, the cost of healthcare

following the exchange will come down,

the products available on the exchange

will become more robust.

My goal would be to transition us to

getting more people on the exchanges,

through the Affordable Care Act,

purchasing products on the exchanges,

and not having the expectation

that I'm gonna have a full-time job giving me my healthcare.

- What is an example of something you've done

to support or empower women?

- As the Democratic Caucus has been trying to get

the Equal Rights Amendment Heard.

Arizona's one of the states that never ratified it.

So we've been trying it get it heard

in our new state legislature, to move it forward,

and take us closer to that number.

- The ERA you said?

- The Equal Rights Amendment, yes.

We are the minority, but we represent 41 or so percent

of that body.

We are like water on a rock.

We're dripping water on a rock,

and over time, we will affect change.

- What is a piece of legislation

that you either sponsored, or co-sponsored,

that you are the most proud of?

- My second year in the legislature,

again, focusing on public education,

I noticed not only do we have a problem

with funding our schools down in Arizona,

we have a very big problem with teacher flight.

So I created a program that said

if you're a public school teacher,

a certified public school teacher here in Arizona,

and you've taught here for three years,

then you could go to the University of Arizona,

the Northern Arizona University,

or Arizona State University,

for 75% tuition reduction,

and get a masters degree or phD in education,

in the college of education.

Let's develop a second tier in the program

to help keep the senior teachers here,

where if you are a teacher of ten years or more experience,

then you, the teacher, your spouse, and your dependents

can go to any one of our state schools

for 75% tuition reduction, and get a degree

in anything you need.

We have to spend money to save money.

And if you build a retention program,

and at least put a dent in your teacher flight problem,

we're actually gonna be saving money in the long run,

and creating a stronger teaching workforce.

- What is the last TV show that you binge watched?

- I was a big fan of Lost In Space when I was a kid,

so I been watching the Netflix Lost In Space.

- The new Lost In Space?

Diamond Backs, Sons, Mercury, Cardinals, Coyotes,

or Road Runners. - Road Runners, yeah.

Runners, our new hockey team.

The Road Runners is our new hockey team.

- Who is your favorite female artist?

- Annie Lennox.

Been a fan of Annie Lennox for many, many years.

- Who is a political candidate that in 2018,

inspires you the most?

- I would say Beto O'Rourke in Texas.

I respect him because he is running as who he is,

in his home state,

and we need to see so much more of that in politics today.

We need people to tell us who they are, why they're running,

and what they would do.

- Well thank you so much for sitting with us today.

This was a real pleasure speaking with you.

- My pleasure, Sara, thanks for the invitation.