From the Arizona Republic Article "Cotera gets nod in close call" October 10, 2008. http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/WestValleyEditorials/35552

It isn't often that two candidates vying for the same office are almost equally as impressive.

It is going to be a tough choice for voters casting ballots in the District 12 Senate race. But the upside is that they really can't go wrong.

Rep. John Nelson, R-Litchfield Park, and Angela Cotera, D-Avondale, are both formidable candidates in the Nov. 4 election. Both would do a respectable job of representing residents in District 12, which includes Surprise and El Mirage, western Glendale and west Phoenix, and northern Avondale and all of Goodyear.

Nelson has served in the House since 2001 and is an experienced lawmaker. He has reached his term limit there, so now he's running for a seat in the Senate.

He is a retired civil engineer who served 16 years on the Phoenix City Council, is a moderate, straight-talking Republican. He's well respected and was honored in 2007 by Westmarc with a John F. Long Lifetime Achievement Award for his lengthy track record of civic and community involvement. This year, he received the League of Arizona Cities and Towns Legislative Champion Award and the Minuteman Award from the Arizona National Guard Association.

Cotera is a research astrophysicist at the Carl Sagan Center and formerly a nuclear engineer. She is also a brilliant newcomer to the state's political scene. She is a graduate of Emerge Arizona, a political leadership-training program for Democratic women. She is participant of Leadership West Class XIV and a member of the Avondale Planning and Zoning Commission.

She is prepared to take the usual problems facing Arizona and, with a new perspective, find original solutions. Her ideas are thoughtful and well-researched.

"We are at the tipping point," Cotera said. "What we decide in the next two to three years will affect us for the next 20."

And she's right.

Lawmakers need to reach deep into their box of tricks and find innovative solutions to deal with the critical mass of financial, housing, transportation and illegal immigration problems facing the state. Nelson counters that there are "no new ideas," just different approaches.

Both Cotera and Nelson pledge to protect state-shared revenues, sift through the state's budget and figure out where to make drastic and difficult cuts and support efforts to hamper illegal immigration.

The bottom line is that residents of District 12 are poised for solid representation with either candidate. But we believe these are unprecedented times that could benefit from a new approach. And as Cotera points out, her profession is based entirely on new ideas.

We recommend Angela Cotera for the District 12 Senate seat.