1,500 protest cuts on Capitol Mall

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by David Safier

It's going to be interesting — far too weak a word, but the only one that comes to mind — to see how the reaction to the proposed budget cuts build over the next few days (From what I hear, the Republicans plan to have their budget finalized by the end of the week, so there's not much time). Today, 1,500 people gathered at the Capitol. I believe there's another rally scheduled for Wednesday.

Jesús de la Garza, superintendent of the Chinle Unified School District, drove nearly six hours to attend the protest. He said hacking at public education funding to balance the budget is not in the best interest of the state.

"Hopefully we don't have to do this every year, every month," said de la Garza of the protest. "But we will if we have to. Full-day kindergarten impacts every school district in the state. That's a critical time of development. We know the difference. The benefits are evident."

And look who was one of the organizers of the protest. Here's a hint. It wasn't a student radical or an idealistic teacher.

Florence Unified School District Superintendent Gary Nine, a leader of the protest, thanked the crowd for giving up their Sunday afternoon for their children, their students.

"Slashing education is something that history has already proved is a mistake," said Nine. "I've never carried a sign. I've never protested. But we are wide awake and we are a force to reckon with."

Rebecca Rios is the only legislator mentioned in the story.

Assistant Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Rios, D-Apache Junction, said the protest was one of the largest crowds she's seen on the Capitol Mall. She encouraged the crowd to keep the pressure on their elected officials.

"Protests like this can make the difference," said Rios. "This speaks to the fact that people are concerned and are not going to sit still. They need to write or call their specific legislators and the governor and ask them how they're going to vote."

Maybe the Republicans overplayed their hand. Much too much, much too soon.

But they'll still win if their obscene budget cutting proposal is the starting point for negotiations or compromises. They need to be shamed into starting over, with all options, not just budget cuts, put back on the table.

I wonder how Jan Brewer is feeling about now.

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2 thoughts on “1,500 protest cuts on Capitol Mall”

  1. Anything but spending cuts – nice option.

    I hear a socialist agitator song…

    What does the law mandate?
    A balanced state budget.

    How should we achieve that?
    Raise taxes.

  2. Jan Brewer has feelings? Who knew! From her pronouncements, one (this one, anyway) thought she was too wedded to ideology over reason to be bothered with “feelings”. I’d love to be wrong!!!!

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