Arizona Daily Star takes Jan Brewer to task for lying about headless bodies
How can we trust Jan Brewer?
Fact Checking Governor Debate
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The only fact check of the governor debate I have found to date is by Rhonda Bodfield at the Arizona Daily Star. Brewer-Goddard debate: Here's who had the facts. I will use some of what she has done as a starting point and add facts I believe are relevant that Bodfield cannot provide you with the word/column space limitations at the Star and her editorial constraints.
JOBS
In her inaugural address in January 2009, Jan Brewer announced "the legislative leadership, my transition team and I are not sitting idle while the new government in Washington plans another trillion dollars in deficit spending. No, we are planning a massive stimulus package of our own, to make Arizona the most economically vibrant place in the world." http://azgovernor.gov/dms/upload/Jan%20Brewer%20Inaugural%20Address%201-21-09.pdf.
No "stimulus package" was ever proposed by Gov. Brewer nor enacted by the Republican leadership of the Legislature. It never happened.
In her State of the State Address in January 2010, Jan Brewer announced that "I have created the Governor's Commerce Advisory Council. Working with other Arizona business leaders, they will transform the Department of Commerce into an engine for job creation. Finally, I will convene a summit of leading CEOs of national and international companies in the near future to discuss job creation opportunities in Arizona." Arizona State of the State Address 2010.
However, it was not until May 27, 2010 that Jan Brewer announced the Commission on Privatization and Efficiency (COPE), which was established in January of this year and announced as part of Governor Brewer’s State of the State Address. http://azgovernor.gov/dms/upload/PR_052710_BrewerAnnouncesCOPECommission.pdf. "The commission’s initial report (due July 30, 2010) will focus on short term recommendations, while the final report (due December 31, 2010) will propose structural changes to position the state for long-term stability."
It was not until June 29, 2010 that Jan Brewer, by Executive Order, established the Arizona Commerce Authority, unveiled its board of Arizona C-Level Executives, and committed $10 million to advance Arizona’s economy through its approach to economic development. The move starts the transition of the old Arizona Department of Commerce into the new, quasi-public Arizona Commerce Authority. http://azgovernor.gov/dms/upload/PR_062910_BrewerEstablishesNewAZCommerceAuthority.pdf
Sports and real-estate mogul Jerry Colangelo will co-chair the Arizona Commerce Authority with Governor Brewer. Colengelo's privately owned sports empire is heavily subsidized by taxpayer dollars for stadiums and related expenditures, not exactly a business model most Arizonans would find acceptable.
As Terry Goddard pointed out during the debate, the first meeting of the Arizona Commerce Authority is not scheduled until September 23, 2010. Colangelo to co-chair Arizona Commerce Authority. Terry Goddard's point was that Jan Brewer lacked any sense of urgency and failed to aggressively deal with Arizona's unemployment crisis. The facts support his point.
Goddard several times noted that Arizona's economy has lost 128,000 jobs since Brewer took office in January 2009[.] According to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, the job loss is actually higher: 143,000 jobs down since the start of 2009. Brewer-Goddard debate: Here's who had the facts.
Arizona's unemployment rate of nearly 10 percent doesn't come close to showing the full picture of just how tough the state's job market has become. Arizona's official unemployment rate not the full picture:
Arizona's official unemployment rate, the percentage of the labor force actively looking for work, was 9.6 percent for July. The official rate is adjusted for local factors but is based on a federal survey. That survey offers other ways to characterize unemployment:
• U-3 reflects how many people surveyed are unemployed and actively seeking work. It's the basis for the state's official rate.
• U-6 is a broader measure. It counts people actively looking for work, but adds those who gave up looking in the past year and part-timers who can't find full-time work.
| U-3 | U-6 | |
| 2010* | 10.8% | 18.5% |
| 2009 | 10% | 18.1% |
| 2008 | 5.9% | 10.7% |
| 2007 | 3.9% | 7.4% |
* Figures are a 12-month average ending June 2010. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Arizona's unemployment rate is at Depression level unemployment. The unemployment numbers reflect an Arizona economy overly dependent upon real estate development and construction of new homes and businesses. With the collapse of the real estate bubble beginning in 2006, Arizona's principal economic driver collapsed. With thousands of foreclosed and abandoned homes in surplus inventory, it is not going to come back any time soon. "Arizona has lost so many jobs in the recession that it may take another four to six years for the state to return to the job levels it reported at the beginning of 2008," according to economists in a report released by the Arizona Department of Commerce in August. Arizona jobs forecast predicts rebound at mid-decade.
Jan Brewer badgered Terry Goddard during and after the debate with her attack line "where's your plan, Terry?" and "he doesn't have a plan." Jan Brewer is wrong. The Goddard "Emergency Job Recovery and Economic Development Plan" includes 11 Initiative Categories, each followed by a menu of specific plans designed to stimulate the growth of Arizona’s economy, and it has been posted on his campaign web site for weeks. http://www.terrygoddard.com/uploads/2013/original/Jobs_and_Economic_Recovery_Plan.pdf.
Jan Brewer's attack point that "Terry Goddard has no plan" is false and she knows it. The point that is debatable is whether Goddard's plan can generate 300,000 new jobs, which he said was derived from consultations with economists and business leaders. We will never know unless his plan is actually implemented.
Jan Brewer claimed that under her administration she's brought thousands of jobs into Arizona and millions in capital assets. Brewer-Goddard debate: Here's who had the facts:
Her staff has circulated a list of 33 projects that have come to the state since the beginning of 2009, bringing a total of more than 7,200 jobs and more than $2.8 billion in investments.
On the list: Sargent Aerospace and Defense, which is pegged for 175 new jobs in Marana, with $15 million in investments. The company announced in June that it plans to double the size of its operation here.
Brewer's role? Lisa Short, Sargent's director of strategic planning, credited the town of Marana and Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities with making sure the company wasn't lured away by California or Florida. Marana offered to help speed up development and provide tax credits for money spent on the construction. She did say the Commerce Department is helping the company explore state tax credits as well.
She said she couldn't commit to the 175 jobs listed on the chart, saying the growth is contingent in part on the economy.
Reporters should post the list and follow up with each of the companies on the list to verify whether or not the governor's office has played any direct role in attracting those businesses. From this one example, I suspect that there are suprious claims of direct involvement to pad the numbers.
All polls are not created equal
My Take on the Brewer-Goddard Clean Elections Debate
Brewer: I did it for the money
