Napolitano’s year of pain
May 30th, 2008, 11:27 am · Post a Comment · posted by Le Templar
GOV. JANET NAPOLITANO (as found at azgovernor.gov)
I knew it has been a frustrating legislative session for Gov. Janet Napolitano, but I was stunned to learn just how badly her agenda has fared so far in 2008. As Tribune writer Mary K. Reinhart points out in that story, a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall disrupts everyone’s best laid plans. But with more seats held by Democrats and sympathetic Republicans, it certainly seemed like Napolitano would match what she has accomplished in prior years.
Napolitano is cagey in that she offers up proposals in the State of State address that she expects to give away or let Republicans play with and heavily modify. This strategy allows critics to believe they have won a victory over Napolitano, but in fact they have to compromise and hand Napolitano the issues she really wants. This is how Napolitano won passage of full-day kindergarten and funding for the Science Foundation of Arizona, among other priorities.
The challenge, even after more than 5 years of her administration, is figuring out which proposals she sincerely wants and which ones are simply negotiating positions.
For example, last year Napolitano proposed spending $30 million for a new school of construction management at Arizona State University. From the outset I thought this issue likely would drop from the negotiating table as it didn’t fit Napolitano’s central agenda of promoting math and science education. And it did.
But the idea is back this year as part of a $1.4 billion borrowing package promoted by ASU and the other state universities. Napolitano has offered her support for this package, too, but is smart enough to recognize there’s no hope of it passing the Legislature this year. So I’ll bet there are other, smaller matters in her proposed budget that will receive approval instead simply because critics have been more focused on stopping the huge university spending plan.
Legislative Republicans caught on to this strategy a couple of years back and have undertaken their own version of horse trading. That’s how they convinced Napolitano to approve the 2006 cuts in income and property taxes and $5 million in funding for new school voucher programs for disabled students and children in foster care.
This year, Republican leaders have been more interested in making deeper budget cuts to avoid the borrowing and budget gimmicks that Napolitano prefers. The fact that we have reached the end of May without serious negotiations between her office and Republican leaders on the next budget means the Republican strategy hasn’t gone over well with fellow lawmakers.
On the other hand, as Reinhart pointed out, Napolitano and her fellow Democrats aren’t really getting anything out of this process, either.
What we have is a real stalemate at the state Capitol. Maybe talk about state government shutting down on July 1 isn’t just fanciful doom saying, after all.
