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| Affiliation | Republican |
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| Name | K. R. Scott |
| Address |
, Arizona , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
Unknown
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| Contributor | RP |
| Last Modifed | Thomas Walker
Jul 16, 2008 11:49am |
| Tags |
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| Info | He has no greased political machine, no battalion of pollsters and political consultants, no wads of cash to buy credibility.
There is no reason for any cynical journalist to believe he could ever unseat Lisa Graham Keegan, the current Arizona superintendent of public instruction. But when he sits across from you and stares straight into your eyes -- speaks of his vision, of his dreams -- it is hard to dismiss K.R. Scott as a crackpot candidate. His eloquence does not belong to a fanatic.
"I have a deep sense of moral outrage," he said. "When I see things that are wrong, they offend me deeply."
His campaign began with outrage when Keegan refused to answer the questions of concerned parents at a Tempe town hall meeting which discussed the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) test. Every Arizona high school student will be required to pass this test in order to get a diploma.
Parents had some concerns about the test, which could make 12 years of their children's education irrelevant if they cannot pass it because they panic during tests. Or have trouble with English. Or have learning difficulties.
So they held a meeting to discuss their concerns with Keegan, who has fervently championed the test. When she arrived, Keegan pulled the microphones off the stage so parents could not ask questions. It got ugly when Keegan told parents that if they did not like the test they could, "Get over it."
"She showed me the very worst of what our political leaders have in them," Scott said, "a total disdain for the people who put them in office."
Scott decided he could not just get over it, so as the meeting dissolved, he stood up and announced his intention to run against Keegan. Four weeks before the election. As a write-in candidate. Even the politically ignorant understand that his chances of winning are about as good as David Duke's chances of becoming ambassador to Liberia.
Which brings us to his living room, recently converted into a campaign headquarters. Scott sits in the midst of a still chaos -- boxes of flyers on the floor, sprawling piles of studies on Arizona education, a table layered with newspaper clippings. His kids watch TV in the next room.
Scott sits behind a cluttered table, pondering his list of contacts as he growls into the telephone.
"If it doesn't happen, we'll fight here," he said to a supporter. "You fight the battles you can win."
Passion flows from him like an electric current. You can feel his energy when he stares directly at you and speaks about his reasons for running. He anticipates the question before you even ask: Does he really expect to win as a write-in candidate with no money?
"If you're asking if I expect to win at the ballot box, no," he said. "I will know I have won because I stood up. I did what nobody else would do."
He said he does not want to be in politics, that he is a parent and a teacher, not a politician. But he adds that although he probably will not win, he wants to send a message to all politicians who disregard the opinions of the people who put them in office.
"As long as there is a spark out there," he said, "I contend it can still be ignited.
"I am the pilot light of public consciousness."
Scott ran for office once before, for his local school board in New Mexico when he was 18.
"I felt the school board was out of touch with teenagers," he said.
He finished second out of five candidates. That same raw idealism propels him through this race.
Scott is a government teacher and understands the realities of modern politics. He does not have the money or the time to wage a winning campaign for a statewide race. Scott understands that, but does not seem to care.
"I don't want to live a life of quiet desperation," he said. "That makes me an idealist and I hope I never lose that.
"Sometimes you have to believe in something bigger than yourself."
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