Battle lines firming up

by

by David Safier
After it looked like Brewer was planning to cave to R legislators last week and accept a hack-and-slash budget with no taxes, she issued a press release saying, yes, she still wants a temporary $1 billion per year tax increase. Today, she may have sealed the deal. The Accidental Guv, then the Oscillating Guv, may be the Stand Firm Guv — unless we hear something else tomorrow.

The use of federal stimulus dollars to help balance the budget may help keep Arizona's public schools afloat through the end of the fiscal year, but Gov. Jan Brewer believes it underscores the need for the controversial tax hike she is proposing.

As part of a second round of reductions the fiscal 2009 budget, Brewer authorized the use of $250 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for K-12 schools. The governor, however, had planned to use stimulus money to balance budgets for the next two years, and Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said that money likely will be gone by 2011.

A few of S. AZ reps are not planning to go along. Al, you first:

"I don't see any sympathy for it on the Republican side … in the House or the Senate," said Sen. Al Melvin, a Tucson Republican. "The votes are not here for that."

David Stevens, your turn:

"I have seen no increased support at all. And I haven't seen hardly any support for it whatsoever on the Republican side," said Rep. David Stevens, a Sierra Vista Republican. "It's not going to happen with me."

I have a non-rhetorical, absolutely earnest question: How is this thing going to end?

Discover more from Blog for Arizona

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.