In researching her summer 2002 CMC cover story, Born to Run, writer Christiana Dominguez ’01 interviewed more than a dozen CMCers who have run for public office, hoping to chart the motivating factors in their bids for election, reasons why CMC prepared them for public leadership, and lessons learned in their respective roles.

The following interviews did not appear in the original text, but are shared below as an online extension of the summer 2002 magazine:

Stephen Tully ’88 completes Arizona’s CMC legislative troika. Elected to his first term in 2000, Tully serves in the Arizona State House of Representatives along with Ken Cheuvront ’83 and Steve May ‘93. (Editor’s note: May later lost the September 2002 Republican primary for state representative in Arizona’s 11th district by a mere 58 votes.)

An attorney specializing in insurance defense law by trade, Tully says he has always been involved in politics. His parents, though not politically active, instilled in him an interest in history, social studies, and politics. While at CMC, he worked in then-Congressman John McCain’s office during the Washington Semester Program, later returning to work for Senator McCain during law school.

When a seat opened in Arizona, his party called, and Tully answered. With blessings of encouragement from both work and family, he ran for the state House and was elected in the fall of 2000.

Tully recognizes the “huge sacrifice” required when serving the public; constituent work often takes away from family time with his four children. So why make the sacrifice?

“I always felt like I could make better public policy, like I had an obligation,” he says. “I’m making at least a bit of a difference, and that’s all you can ask for. Someone has to mind the store. We’ve inherited a great legacy, due, in part, to the system of laws we’ve created here. Those things allow us to prosper and they need to be husbanded correctly.

“I would say to anyone thinking of running for public office, ‘Go try to get elected. Just keep fighting for what you think is right. Get up in the morning, put your pants and shoes on, and go fight!’”

For Jon Bagatelos ’90, reasons for running for public office are easily recalled. Having recently campaigned for a spot in the California State Assembly, Bagatelos’ subsequent loss in that election has not discouraged him, but instead was a great education in his first-ever race political race. “Now I can see how it can bring out the worst in people; how the good and talented might get scared off,” he says.

Bagatelos grew up on a farm in Dixon, Calif., and compliments CMC on its well-rounded political education. “College shouldn’t indoctrinate, and CMC didn’t,”he says. During his sophomore year he worked for California Governor Pete Wilson, whom he would later serve as foreign prisoner transfer coordinator.

Bagatelos' personal interests in politics come from owning his own business, a commercial glass company started with his father and brother, Nick ’86. Outside the office, he leads fundraising activities for his own political action committee in support of business-oriented candidates. During his State Assembly campaign, Bagatelos organized several “smaller ticket” fundraisers for the purpose of encouraging young professionals to become active in party politics.

“Smaller-ticket events help bring (potential nominees) in,” he says. “Young professionals who have started their own businesses don’t have a lot of time to get involved, but this was a way to get them active, hoping they’ll be bigger supporters later on.”

For Bagatelos, holding public office would be a chance to represent others with similar views; a chance to serve as a representative for a like-minded constituency.

Have you always wanted to carry a badge, but didn’t want to experience the requisite law enforcement training? Then the Tempe City Council may be for you. Besides the common perks of reserved parking spaces and expense accounts, council members are issued police badges, a practice that left Hugh Hallman ’84 feeling a bit cold.

Hallman not only turned down the badge, the parking spot, and other perks when he was elected to Arizona’s Tempe City Council in 1998, but unexpectedly committed to also reimbursing the city for all costs he incurred while doing his job. “I should not be spending the people of Tempe’s money,” Hallman insists. He did, however, allow himself to be paid the council’s modest salary, but his decision to reimburse the city was a costly one.

“In order to earn $9,000 a year [over the past four years], I’ve spent $36,000,” he says. But for Hallman, it’s a safeguard against compromised values: “a hard-cleaved line.”

Hallman was baptized in politics at an early age, licking stamps for political mailers for his mother, a Goldwater campaign worker. The interest in politics continued at CMC, where Professor of Government Fred Balitzer introduced him to national politics. Hallman was elected student body president in 1984, and upon graduating enrolled at the University of Chicago Law School before later returning to his native Tempe to practice law.

He says he cut his political teeth on local issues, focusing on municipal battles between Tempe and Phoenix, as well as regional aviation and economic development concerns. In his quest to protect Hayden Butte, a Tempe icon of great historical and cultural importance, he worked to stop development plans for the side of the mountain. “In doing so, this right-wing ‘wacko’ became the darling of the sandal-wearing hippies,” he says.

Hallman had been running for city mayor this fall, but the end of a long-fought court battle changing the mayoral term from two to four years nipped his race early. “I can’t [even] win a race in which I’m unopposed,” he jokes. As he eyes future potential races, however, Hallman is not insensitive to the necessary sacrifices of family and career time, though he seems drawn to service. “My biggest fear is that once I stop hitting myself in the head with this hammer I won’t want to pick it up again,” he says.

Local issues are what have kept him involved, so pursuing any opportunities to run at the state level and join his alumni friends in the Arizona House is “not something I think about,” Hallman says. Does he find it curious that so many CMCers have found political success in the Grand Canyon state?

“We [CMCers] are not low-profile people,” he says. “I suspect there’s something in the water.”

Christiana Dominguez ’01 has been a California Assembly Fellow, and entered law school at UC Hastings last fall.