Don’t dismiss Brewer’s perspective
I look forward to the perspective former Gov. Jan Brewer brings to the editorial pages of The Arizona Republic as a longtime public servant. However, the recent backlash from readers over her guest columns is not entirely unwarranted.
There is no question that Brewer’s time in office included significant accomplishments. Her role ensuring Arizona was included in Medicaid expansion was particularly important, and we thank her for that.
Yet we also know that her decision to sign into law the most sweeping negative immigration legislation in Arizona history, Senate Bill 1070, was incredibly damaging to the people and brand of Arizona, and many of us are anxious to put that history behind us. After signing, Brewer leaned into a narrative on the national stage that caused significant backlash.
It was a particularly difficult time for many of us who call Arizona our home and love this state for all its complexity and diversity. I know because our agency was immediately embroiled in a whirlwind of calls from reporters worldwide, asking, “What’s wrong with Arizona?”
We were caught on our heels. But the damage was done.
The economic impact suffered in the immediate aftermath was swift and brutal, costing the state $253 million
in economic output and more than $86 million in lost wages in the tourism industry alone, according to an economic report.
Even more compelling, it marred the essence of the Arizona brand, typically an ardent testament to a welcoming people who understand and celebrate our rich history and diversity spanning more than a century.
Real Arizonans are Chinese descendants who built our rail system; AfricanAmericans, like legislators Art Hamilton and Cloves Campbell; great Mormon and Jewish leaders, like the Udalls, Haydens and Goldwaters. Real Arizonans include 32 tribal nations that contributed significantly to our history and shape our state’s trajectory.
Real Arizonans know that the Mexican culture is in our DNA because the border crossed us. Many Mexican descendants were here before Arizona became a state. Chances are, if you are brown, you are indeed native born. Real Arizonans are business leaders, ranchers and farmers who know that our dependence on one another is critical to our ability to thrive.
How the period of SB 1070 occurred in the fabric of a larger history of Arizona will be debated for decades. In part, the dynamic of a mass migration of people to Arizona from all parts of the U.S. in the past few decades has clashed with our century-old identity as a border state. It has brought opportunities to exploit fear and pit white against brown, newer arrivals with natives or longer-time Arizonans.
SB 1070 was at the heart of that battle and on the wrong side of Arizona history.
The decisions of those in power have lasting and profound impact on their people. I fear we are now repeating front and center on the national stage what was a painful chapter in Arizona history, and predict it will not bode well for the current president to do now what the proponents of SB 1070 did then — to depict certain people so negatively that it undermines the very immigration challenges they suggest they want to fix.
So welcome Gov. Brewer’s perspective, and hope that she and other leaders will be open to those with different points of view about how we move Arizona forward in the best possible direction.