Archive for the 'Arizona Legislature' Category
November 17th, 2009, 3:13 pm by Le Templar
 Sen. Meg Burton Cahill (left), Rep. David Schapira (center) and Tempe councilman Ben Arredondo
The Arizona Legislature is gathering in special session this afternoon, but isn’t expected to do much besides formally introduce the bills. So the biggest news from the Capitol could be the pending retirement of a veteran lawmaker that has encouraged an even better known Tempe politician to switch parties and prepare for a legislative race next year.
Sen. Meg Burton Cahill, D-Tempe, formally announced this afternoon that she’s stepping down at the end of 2010. Burton Cahill is popular among liberal Democrats because of her consistent advocacy for the poor and the disabled. But during her 10 years in the Legislature, Burton Cahill has been one of the most ineffective lawmakers.
As far as I know, she’s never gotten a single bill adopted into law. Moving bills through the legislative process is difficult when someone belongs to the minority party, but it’s certain possible. And other lawmakers with less experience have been more influential in leading the opposition from a liberal perspective (See Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix).
In fact, a newer member of the “team” from legislative District 17 — Rep. David Schapira, D-Tempe — has shaped more public policy than Burton Cahill during his three years in office. So it’s not a surprise that Schapira likely will seek to replace her in the Senate for 2011.
Catching a lot of people off-guard is the news that Tempe City Councilman Ben Arrendondo will switch parties from Republican to Democrat and campaign for the House with Schapira’s seatmate, Rep. Ed Ableser. A former high school teacher and football coach, Arrendondo has been active in Tempe and Valley politics for decades. His outlook on government spending frequently hasn’t been in line with the Republican Party platform. But he always was welcome in the GOP because he has been unbeatable in a community with a lot of swing voters, and because of his Hispanic background.
Picking up Arrendondo really bolsters District 17 Democrats as they seek to fend off a strong push by Republicans to regain at least one of the district’s three legislative seats. Until 2007, those seats had been split between the two parties for years.
Posted in: Arizona Legislature • Ben Arredondo • David Schapira • Ed Ableser • Meg Burton Cahill • Tempe's District 17 | 8 Comments »
November 12th, 2009, 10:48 am by Le Templar
As state lawmakers prepare for a likely special session next week on the state budget, they have received another big, flashing-red warning light that Arizona’s finances are stumbling downhill faster than most other states. Wednesday’s report from the Pew Center on the States really didn’t say anything different than most people in Arizona already knew. The Goldwater Institute noted way back in January that the scope of this state’s budget shortfall was not far behind California. By July, national media were talking about how Arizona’s deficit was one of the worst in the country.
But any holiday tends to be a slow news day (Wednesday was Veterans Day), and Pew took advantage of that to get a fresh round of broadcast sound bites and print stories covering its report.
One issue emphasized in the Pew report that lawmakers must pay attention to: the Legislature has used up most of the short-term spending fixes and accounting gimmicks. Balancing the budget will require serious, long-term policy changes. Huge spending cuts are inevitable, and higher taxes or additional user fees might be unavoidable as well.
Posted in: Arizona Legislature • Arizona government • Goldwater Institute • PBS' The News Hour • Pew Center on the States | 4 Comments »
November 10th, 2009, 10:31 am by Le Templar
 Rep. Doug Quelland/Cronkite News Service Rep. Doug Quelland, R-Phoenix, lost his administrative appeal Monday to stop the Arizona Clean Elections Commission from removing him from office. Once the commission acts on the ruling of the administrative law judge, Quelland can then go to Superior Court to make his case.
Quelland is accused of spending up to $15,000 of his own money last year in his bid for a House seat, while also taking public campaign funds. State law requires that publicly funded candidates who spend more than 10 percent beyond the state-imposed limits must be removed from office.
Former Rep. David Burnell Smith, R-Carefree, faced similar accusations in 2005. He tried to argue that the Clean Elections commission didn’t have the authority under the state constitution to remove him. But the courts rejected his plea and he became the first lawmaker in the country to lose his job because of campaign finance violations.
The immediate question will be if the courts can fast enough to determine Quelland’s status before the Legislature returns for its regular session in January? Or could Quelland represent his district and possibly vote on bills when the law says he shouldn’t be there at all?
Posted in: Arizona Legislature • Arizona government • Election issues • Citizens Clean Elections Commission • David Burnell Smith • Doug Quelland | 1 Comment »
November 6th, 2009, 4:30 pm by Le Templar
 Stephen Colbert It’s almost not fair anymore to point out when a popular comedy show takes another shot at Arizona state government. With a budget deficit of more than 20 percent (and perhaps double that for the next fiscal year), there are only bad choices and worse options for the governor and state Legislature. Someone is bound to poke some fun, no matter what they do.
But Stephen Colbert’s “The Word” has to be the best regular feature of any comedy show out there. The segment is a parody of Bill O’Reilly’s “Talking Points” commentary on The O’Reilly Factor. Between Colbert’s conservative persona, what he’s actually saying and the running counterpoint in words on the right of the TV screen, there will be two, three or even four levels of humor on display at the same time. Pure hilarity.
So I must call your attention to Tuesday’s “The Word,” when Colbert took on Arizona’s plan to sell nearly all of its prisons for cash to help balance the budget. While I’m not as troubled as other people by the concept of private prisons, I do understand their concerns. And Colbert’s final line really is a classic.
The segment is long at 4.5 minutes, but definitely worth your time.
Hat tip to Jim Nintzel at Tucson Weekly for writing about this first.
Posted in: Arizona Legislature • Arizona government • Arizona state budget • Bill O'Reilly • The Colbert Nation | Post a Comment »
November 3rd, 2009, 3:14 pm by Le Templar
 Sen. Pamela Gorman Gov. Jan Brewer is trying to reach a deal with the top two legislative leaders to call budget special session this month and reduce at least some of the projected $2 billion deficit. While everyone else waits, some key players are positioning themselves for what comes next.
Sen. Pamela Gorman, R-Anthem, has decided to publicly defend her colleagues from accusations that the Legislature refuses to address the budget crisis. Gorman took offense at a recent media column that suggested lawmakers have been sitting on their hands while the deficit climbs.
She fired both barrels at the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson (a popular target among Republicans). But the Daily Star apparently just linked to a column from Mark Evans at the Tucson Citizen web site, who referred to a “chicken Legislature.” However, Gorman’s underlying point still applies: Just because a journalist doesn’t like the strategies used by the GOP majority shouldn’t be a license to claim the Legislature has done nothing.
The Legislature adopted a budget twice that its analysts said were balanced (with revenue estimates that turned out to be too optimistic), but Brewer’s various vetoes kept adding more spending to the bottom line.
Of course, Gorman was blamed in various corners for those vetoes, as she was one of two Republicans who refused to join their colleagues in supporting Brewer’s call for an election on a temporary sales tax increase. That opposition was just enough to block the election proposal, which could have balanced out many of the proposed budget cuts the governor later vetoed.
Meanwhile, Senate President Bob Burns, R-Peoria, has re-emphasized his willingness to champion a sales tax election again. Burns was careful not to say he supports a sales tax increase. But reading between the lines, he seems to believe an election is the only route to closing the huge political divide in the Legislature that has made budget solutions so difficult to obtain. Whether a sales tax passes or fails, the voters would give some clear guidance to lawmakers about what they want to happen.
Posted in: Arizona Legislature • Arizona government • Governor • Bob Burns • Jan Brewer • Pamela Gorman • state budget | 1 Comment »
October 22nd, 2009, 10:34 am by Le Templar
The Phoenix Business Journal created some buzz yesterday with an online story that Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, is being considered by Gov. Jan Brewer to be the next director of the state Department of Public Safety. Pearce told KFYI radio talk show host J.D. Hayworth that he hadn’t spoken with Brewer about an appointment, but he would “seriously consider it.”
Pearce technically would be qualified to run DPS, considering his stellar career as a sheriff’s deputy and as the former director of the Motor Vehicle Division. But I’m surprised Pearce, as a former justice of the peace and an experienced lawmaker, failed to remember that he’s legally barred from the appointment.
The Arizona Constitution — Article 4, Part 2, Section 5 — says no lawmaker can take another public office until his or her current term expires. The only exceptions are for school teachers and school board members. The specific wording means the prohibition still applies even if a lawmaker resigns from office before trying to take another government job.
So, Pearce couldn’t become DPS director until January 2011 at the earliest. The six-year term of the current director, Roger Vanderpool, expires in three months. Brewer isn’t going to wait a year to bring Pearce on board, even if she presumed she would win the November 2010 election.
Just for confirmation, the Arizona Guardian reached a similar conclusion this morning in its “Guardian Angel” column.
Posted in: Arizona Legislature • Arizona government • Governor • Arizona Constutition • Arizona Department of Public Safety • Jan Brewer • Roger Vanderpool • Russell Pearce | 12 Comments »
October 20th, 2009, 11:33 am by Le Templar
 Kevin Tyne, right, the governor's chief of staff will leave the office in three weeks after intense, behind-the-scenes criticism of his management style/Capitol Media Serices file photo. Gov. Jan Brewer has finally given in to the growing political pressure to replace her closest adviser. Chief of staff Kevin Tyne will leave the state Capitol in three weeks to take a post with the Republican Governors Administration, Brewer announced on her Facebook page this morning. (Various media outlets starting blogging and tweeting about Tyne’s pending departure an hour earlier.) His replacement will be deputy chief of staff Eileen Klein. Brewer’s announcement came a few hours before Brewer is scheduled to meet with House Speaker Kirk Adams, R-Mesa, and Senate President Bob Burns, R-Peoria, to plan a possible November special session to address a $1.5 billion budget deficit.
Tyne has been at Brewer’s side for years, going back to her days as a Maricopa County supervisor. He was quite as effective as her deputy when Brewer was secretary of state. So he was the natural choice to take on the day-to-day chores of managing Brewer’s administration when she became governor in January.
But Tyne has been a focus of lots of criticism behind-the-scenes this year. As the Arizona Guardian recently reported (story is subscription-only), Tyne has received much of the blame for Brewer’s challenges in dealing with a Legislature controlled by her own party. Lawmakers claimed they were frequently blindsided by Brewer’s positions and maneuvering on budget issues.
As I read the complaints (and I have heard my share from Capitol sources), Tyne became a target partly because Brewer was once an accomplished state senator. Many political insiders can’t imagine she has forgotten that much since her time in the legislative halls. So if Brewer’s administration can’t get things done, it must be Tyne’s fault as her right hand, so the thinking seems to go. That’s point of view gets a boost with Klein moving up. She is a former chief of staff for the state House who has her own reputation for being tough but is among the most knowledgeable anywhere about the details of the state budget.
But Brewer is loyal to her friends and allies. Until today, she gave every indication she was going to keep Tyne despite the private efforts to push him out. It’s possible that Tyne is being a good soldier and he volunteered to step aside to help Brewer repair her relations with Republican lawmakers.
There’s also been some speculation this is a sign that Brewer will run for election next year. I wouldn’t go that far. Brewer has done almost nothing to prepare for a tough statewide primary, and she’s quickly running out of time to get a campaign organization off the ground.
UPDATE: Jan Brewer’s longtime public relations firm and campaign managers at HighGround of Phoenix have issued a statement coming to Kevin Tyne’s defense. Key quote: “It shouldn’t be a surprise today that politicos will attempt to assign blame to Kevin Tyne, but the reality is that Kevin was an equal to any Chief of Staff who has served any previous Arizona Governor.”
Posted in: Arizona Legislature • Arizona government • Election issues • Governor • Eileen Klein • Jan Brewer • Kevin Tyne • Republican Governors Association • state budget | 1 Comment »
October 9th, 2009, 2:32 pm by Le Templar
 John Munger of Tucson (right), a Republican candidate for governor, speaks with reporters Thursday night about his endorsement from former Gov. Fife Symington (left)/Photo by Capitol Media Services. A common trait in people who run for public office is a high level of self-confidence. Those who pull it off well act as leaders; those who don’t just act with arrogance. I’m still trying to figure out which camp John Munger belongs to a few hours after he told me this:
“If I had been governor last year, we would not have a budget deficit today.”
Munger, a Tucson lawyer and co-founder of the Commerce Bank of Arizona, was wrapping up a weeklong tour of the state after formally entering the Republican primary for governor in 2010. He was kind enough to stop by the Tribune office for about 45 minutes this morning to speak face-to-face about his candidacy. Clearly energized by the endorsement Thursday night from former Gov. Fife Symington, Munger said he could quickly resolve the state’s spending problems without the sales tax proposal from the current governor, Jan Brewer, and without “below the bone” budget cuts that would seem to be required if taxes aren’t raised.
In short, Munger is convinced the governor and state Legislature could kick-start the economy and thus rebuild the state treasury. He wants to pursue initiatives that conservatives and libertarians should love, including:
- Tear down the regulatory burdens that prevent businesses from expanding or relocating here. Munger’s promise: Most projects would receive state approval within 30 days. “I have clients in my little law firm that could create 500 to 1,000 jobs overnight if they just could get their projects approved.”
- Lower the corporate income tax and wipe out the property tax on business personal property. “Those aren’t a big part of the budget, but they are important to businesses who are making decisions about the future.”
- Get new highway construction underway with privately funded but state-owned toll roads. “We could get a $20 billion investment just for (an expanded) freeway from Phoenix to Flagstaff.”
Those are all fine ideas, great even. But they couldn’t possibly overcome a $3 billion to $4 billion budget deficit in the near future, could they? Munger insists they would, but most people at the state Capitol can’t imagine that because they are career politicians with too little experience in the business world. “It’s doable if we harness the power of the free enterprise system.”
Munger has a wealth of concrete ideas about what Arizona should be doing to address immediate problems and long-term challenges. I was impressed with his recent suggestions for state-based health care reform. He wants to convince investors to build a desalinization plant off of the Sea of Cortez to pipe water into the state. He wants to decentralize the state K-12 education by empowering school principals to make most budget decisions, getting rid of school district administrators, and using the savings to dramatically raise salaries for quality teachers.
Munger is probably right that current political trends in the state Legislature means he would have a Republican majority eager to embrace his agenda. But he has to get elected first.
On that subject, Munger says he’s clearly the best candidate for Republicans to send against Terry Goddard or any other Democratic candidate. Munger boldly predicted his four decades in Tucson would translate into more votes than Goddard in Pima County (usually viewed as tilting Democrat), and he would easily rally Republican voters in Maricopa County (where 58 percent of Arizona’s electorate live). “It’s my race to lose.”
Like I said, Munger is either a real leader, or is really arrogant. I can’t wait to find out which is true.
Posted in: Arizona Legislature • Arizona government • Election issues • Governor • 2010 elections • Jan Brewer • John Munger • Sea of Cortez • state budget | 3 Comments »
October 6th, 2009, 4:28 pm by Le Templar
 Kris Mayes, Arizona Corporation Commission chairwoman, finds herself trying to manage a budget meltdown while lawmakers feud with the governor (Tribune file photo). I’ve been watching from afar the pending crash of the Arizona Corporation Commission because it doesn’t have the necessary funds to keep operating as intended. It’s baffles me, because Republican state lawmakers have been chanting loudly that the best economic stimulus would be to create a climate that attracts new businesses and creates more jobs. But without budget fix soon for the corporation commission, requests to do business in the state will be delayed for months. That’s a jobs killer, not a jobs creator.
So what’s up with GOP lawmakers refusing to come to the Capitol to again adopt a relatively simple solution that passed before, but was blocked by a budget veto from Gov. Jan Brewer that targeted another issue?
I keep circling back to a statement first made by House Speaker Kirk Adams, R-Mesa, on the day that Brewer issued this veto. Adams said the governor had the discretion to use federal stimulus money to cover funding shortfalls at the corporation commission and several other state agencies, rather than expecting lawmakers to come back in special session to address it.
Adams’ implied message: Brewer created the problem, so it’s up to her to fix it or to take the blame for any fiscal meltdowns.
The challenge for Brewer is if she acts as Adams’ suggests, she will look as if she cares more about business lobbyists, tax collectors and lottery players, than she does for education, health care and public safety (areas where the lion’s share of stimulus money is likely to be spent).
Just this week, lawmakers finally are talking about another budget special session because this year’s deficit now appears to be $1.5 billion. But any action could be a month or two away, and the corporation commission will slow down the wheels of business creation long before then.
Posted in: Arizona Legislature • Arizona government • Economic development • Governor • Arizona Corportation Commission • Jan Brewer • Kirk Adams • Kris Mayes • state budget | Post a Comment »
October 5th, 2009, 5:06 pm by Le Templar
 Jason Rose (right) is the public relations specialist/political strategist who is in charge of attracting public attention to the likely campaign for governor of Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker (left). Now that Republican Vernon Parker is in the race for governor (almost), we in the media received today the first of what could be daily missives from his press agent, Scottsdale political provocateur Jason Rose. Typically, a candidate or business hires Rose’s PR firm to make a big public splash and then to keep the spotlight burning, as Rose and Co. specialize in attention-grabbing headlines and other tactics almost guaranteed to generate publicity — even though some of it makes the intended audience go “what the heck?” or “Ewwww!”
But what Rose is really good at is framing talking points and campaign slogans with instant emotional appeal that might, or might not, stand up to critical examination.
Today’s news release is an example of this. Parker (via Rose) wants to tap into widespread Republican opposition to Gov. Jan Brewer’s proposed temporary sales tax increase. Parker’s statement says Brewer wants to raise this tax before even reducing her own staff:
“Many Arizonans are suffering. Many state agencies are cutting. The Governor’s Office should do the same. I will,” Parker said. “Should I be fortunate enough to be elected Governor I would make these necessary cuts on Day One.”
Parker goes on to say, as Paradise Valley mayor, he has cut the town’s spending by 25 percent and the budget for mayor and Town Council by 54 percent. What Parker doesn’t mention is any reference to what those cuts were or how they might translate to the governor’s office. It’s important to note that the Paradise Valley mayor and council combined spent $83,108 last year and will spend $50,175 this year, a far cry from the $7.6 million set aside for the governor’s office this year.
Also, Parker’s math is a little fuzzy. Paradise Valley’s tax revenues are projected to be down by 25 percent from when Parker became mayor in June 2008 ($21.9 million to $16.3 million). But town operations will spend 16.4 percent less ($19.5 million to $16.3 million). The spending-to-revenue gap of nearly 9 percent will be filled with cash-on-hand saved from past tax collections. A similar savings account for the state was drained dry in January.
Parker also doesn’t mention a single position in the governor’s office that he would eliminate or any specific cost savings he would pursue.
Oddly enough, Parker (via Rose) could have made a stronger statement simply by highlighting the budget numbers for the governor’s office, which have risen by nearly $210,000 from last year as explained by the Legislature’s official budget summary. This stands in contrast with the state agencies that Brewer oversees, which have undergone at least three rounds of budget reductions and have been asked to prepare for another 15 to 20 percent in cuts mid-year. Parker’s news release includes a web link to the governor’s office budget, but fails to note the increase in spending.
UPDATE: Brewer’s press secretary, Paul Senseman, told me by email Wednesday morning that the governor’s office needed additional staffing so far this year to comply with tracking and auditing requirements for use of federal stimulus funds. But Senseman added Brewer plans to include mid-year cuts to her office when she sends new budget proposals to the Legislature in the near future.
Posted in: Arizona Legislature • Arizona government • Election issues • Governor • Jan Brewer • Jason Rose • Vernon Parker | 2 Comments »
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