GOODYEAR -- Legislative District 12 candidates for the Arizona House and Senate met Tuesday night for a debate that was dominated by concerns regarding education, development and the faltering economy.

The Republicans, led by state Senate candidate and current state Rep. John Nelson (R-Goodyear), proposed a program of spending cuts to balance the state budget, along with lower taxes and less government interference in commerce. The Democrats largely favored cuts as well, though focused more on what should be left off the budgetary chopping block than what should be put on it.

LD12 is currently dominated by Republicans, represented in the Senate by Robert Blendu (R-Litchfield Park) and in the House by John Nelson (R-Goodyear) and Jerry Weiers (R-Glendale). Blendu planned to run for the state House, but was defeated in the Sept. 2 primary by Weiers and newcomer Steve Montenegro.

It was the Republicans who had the clearer message, with all three candidates advocating fiscal conservatism and expressing skepticism toward solving the state's problems that put government at the helm.

Steve Montenegro repeated the famous Ronald Reagan line - "government is the problem" - which largely summed up the attitude of the Republican candidates. Montenegro, who immigrated to the United States as a child from El Salvador, said he "learned the more government you have, the less freedom you have, and the less government you have, the more freedom."

This attitude was evident when it came to tackling specific issues. Rep. Weiers flatly stood opposed to the idea that developers who construct housing tracts should be mandated to also build roads and schools.

"Every time the state steps in, it costs you money," Weiers said.

On the budget, the Democratic candidates acknowledged cuts were necessary.

Eve Nuñez, one of the two Democrats running for the House, told the audience that she advocated cuts "right across the board" to state programs in order to combat the looming state defict of between $1 billion and $2 billion, along with the selling of state land and ability of communities to sell bonds for school construction.

Yet Nunez added a caveat, saying, "We must make sure these cuts never affect kids or the elderly."

David Scanlon, who is also running for the House, said that in a time of such massive budget shortfalls it was irresponsible to cut taxes.

"It's not the time to be raising taxes either," he added.

Nuñez got no argument from the Republicans in her belief that cuts to state programs were necessary. Montenegro declared: "There are 142 state agencies - you can't convince me they're all vital to the survival of the state."

Jerry Weiers related his experience on the Appropriations Committee, as one state agency director after another tried to argue against cuts to their offices. Only one, he said, from a performing arts program, truly understood the nature of the financial situation the state is facing, and said he'd accept whatever cuts the committee deemed necessary.

"That man is my hero," Weiers said.

As the GOP candidates put their focus primarily on the budget, Nuñez, Scanlon and Angela Cotera, the Democrat running against John Nelson for the Senate seat, all placed education at the top of their list of priorities.

Celeste Castorena, the Green Party candidate for the House, joined the Democrats in advocating for an improvement in the state's education ranking, but was scant on the details for how that could be achieved.

Scanlon called education the "cornerstone" of a sound economy, but faced a blunt response when he espoused his belief that it was "incumbent upon the legislature" to direct where education funds go.

"I disagree," said Weiers, who said local control over schools was vital to maintain. "Otherwise why do we have school districts?" he asked.

Nuñez was similarly rebuffed after she called for more job training programs to deal with unemployment and underemployment in the state. Though Nunez, who is an ordained minister, said such programs could be faith-based, with no cost to the government, Montenegro took a hard line against the idea.

"We don't need more programs," he said.

None of the candidates shied away from the stark problems confronting the state, and at times it seemed that they were trying to outdo one another for who could give the most serious assessment.

Castorena came close, pronouncing that the country was "in a recession," despite the fact that the economy has been growing over the past two cycles.

It was John Nelson, however, who had the most dire outlook on the times ahead.

"If we don't have good jobs and good education, kids are going to leave the state," he said, touching on a worry most of the other candidates also voiced. "We need to create new jobs, but I don't think that's going to happen."

In a rare statement for a politician, Nelson expressed directly what had been underlying the night's conversation.

"There's not a whole lot I can promise you," he said.