The Accidental Governor: “mistakes were made”

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Negotiations are under way at the state capitol for a November special session to deal with the issue of state agency funding. I will have more when, or if, a special session is confirmed and there are more details.

Meanwhile, in a rare moment of candor, the Accidental Governor has acknowledged that she made mistakes as she pursued a budget deal with the Legislature, although she didn’t elaborate on exactly what they were. Arizona Capitol Times » Blog Archive » Brewer: mistakes were made (h/t Arizona Guardian for the video.)

“Obviously I did something wrong. There were mistakes made in an effort to get them to understand the problem that Arizona was facing,” Brewer told reporters on Oct. 19, following a roundtable discussion sponsored by the Tempe Chamber of Commerce.

Brewer told the crowd of about 25 that “bad times and bad choices were made probably on both sides, with the Legislature and with the Governor’s Office.”

When pressed on what specific mistakes she made, Brewer said she might not have done as good a job as possible of getting lawmakers to understand the magnitude of the state’s budget deficit, as well as the need for additional revenue. The governor has pushed for months for a temporary 1-cent sales tax increase, although the idea was rejected by the Legislature.

“I will take responsibility for that,” Brewer said. “I do realize they’ve got staff and they have the ability to do that. But maybe what I was trying to get done just wasn’t clear enough. Or maybe it was clear. I don’t know. But I’m sure that there were mistakes made on both sides. It was somewhat of a contentious session, much unlike what we have ever seen in the past in routine.”

Jan Brewer – a master of understatement.