Don’t call Brewer Governor Salt
OSetting aside for the moment that the can’t recall the punditocracy accusing a male politician of throwing a temper tantrum, it’s instructive to consider Gov. Jan Brewer as Veruca Salt, as the does in its bristling takedown of the governor.
The conservative magazine ripped into Brewer last week for her recent vetoes intended to remind lawmakers of her “moratorium” against bill signings until they agree on a Medicaid-expansion plan and a new state budget, calling her brand of hardball politics and support of expansion “unseemly” and “conduct unbecoming a chief executive.”
“In addition to elementary economics, the governor requires a remedial education in civics,” the editors sniffed. “Governor Brewer’s shenanigans are the political equivalent of holding one’s breath and stomping one’s feet. She is the Veruca Salt of governors.”
Brewer took a decidedly less petulant tone in her response via Twitter: “@NRO prefers #AZ citizens to pay into a program and see no benefit. That kind of logic is why they editorialize and I govern. #undefeated”
It’s clear Brewer is as determined as an Everlasting Gobstopper. As long as we’re recasting an Arizona Capitol version of the 1964 Roald Dahl classic, she might be better in the role of Charlie Buckets, assisted in her adventures by House Speaker Andy Tobin as Grandpa Joe.
Senate President Andy Biggs, or perhaps Rep. Carl Seel, could play Slugworth the spy. Rank-and-file lawmakers would be the Oompa Loompas. The final chapter has yet to be written, but voters will have to wait until November 2014 to find out who gets the golden tickets. »
Higher sales taxes will dampen consumer spending! So say many economic studies, and so said many critics of Arizona’s now-expired temporary sales tax. But it didn’t stop some closely involved with the salestax issue from making big-ticket purchases.
Both John Arnold, Brewer’s budget director, as well as Biggs bought new cars while the state sales tax was at the heightened rate of 6.6 cents on the dollar.
Yes, they both said, they were aware of the bigger sales-tax tab. But they also were aware of their respective spouses’ demands for a new car, and none of this business of waiting for a penny tax to expire. “Yes, dear” outweighed “tax fear” in these cases.
Then we have economics professor Dennis Hoffman, a self-professed impulse shopper. His IRS return arrived just in time to finance a trip to the home-appliance store, where he got a package deal on a deluxe cooktop if he also bought a bed. (Interesting marketing strategy there.) If he’d waited a few weeks, he could have saved a penny on each dollar spent.
“I turned my back on $45,” he said. But it was worth it, since he wasn’t willing to endure the grief from his wife of walking away from a package deal.
Seventeen people are vying for the justice of the peace vacancy at the East Mesa precinct and the one name that’s stood out is Keith Russell, the current assessor. East Mesa JP Mark Chiles resigned, effective May 31, amid shoplifting accusations.
Russell is serving a third term as county assessor. In his application, he said, “as a third generation native of Mesa, the opportunity to serve my neighbors in East Mesa as their Justice of the Peace is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The board mayappoint the new JP as early as this week. The board just finished the appointment process for a major county office, after Supervisor Max Wilson resigned this spring. If Russell is chosen for the $101,500-a-year post, the board would need to go through the process again to pick his replacement. The new assessor would need to run for the seat in 2014 to serve the rest of Russell’s term through 2016. The assessor’s annual salary is $76,600.
» Quote/tweet of the week “So who’s in the market for a new car?” — Rick Murray, chief executive officer, Arizona Small Business Association, at an event Friday to mark the end of the temporary sales tax.
» Biggs is still trying to figure out why Brewer vetoed five Senate bills after she warned lawmakers not to send her legislation until they started moving on Medicaid and the state budget.
After all, the Senate did exactly what the governor demanded.
“I don’t know how this body could have made more substantial progress than passing Medicaid and a budget and sending it to the House,” Biggs said.
Asked if he took the vetoes personally, he paused, “Yeah, kinda.”
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