AZ Policy Wonk

Here’s the simple mathematics of representative government: Arizona taxpayers pay for lawmakers to show up and vote on every bill in the Legislature. Now here’s the flaw in that equation: Lawmakers get paid whether they show up or not.

Unfortunately, many Arizona residents were underrepresented at the Capitol during last year’s regular legislative session. It was a dismal performance by the 21 lawmakers who failed to show up for one out of every five floor votes.

There were many excuses: late-night votes, last-minute calls to the floor, the fact that their votes wouldn’t change the final outcome, etc. It’s true that the session was marked by poor planning, rules changes and an inability to gain consensus on many substantial bills. It’s also a fact that most lawmakers have jobs outside the Capitol, and many had to travel long distances to Phoenix from their homes in outlying areas.

Still, they were elected for a singular purpose that in some cases went unfulfilled. If they don’t vote, their constituents may as well have checked a box on the ballot for “nobody.”

In the Senate, two Democrats from Phoenix – Sen. Debbie McCune Davis and Sen. Ken Cheuvront – topped the list of missed votes. The geography is significant; they live much closer to the Capitol than Republican Sen. Sylvia Allen, who has to drive about six hours roundtrip from her home in Snowflake. Allen, by the way, didn’t miss any floor votes.

Rep. Rich Crandall, a Mesa Republican, missed 254 of the 382 House votes. Did you catch that – Mesa, a Phoenix suburb. In comparison, Republican Rep. Nancy McClain has a seven-hour roundtrip from Bullhead City and didn’t miss any votes.

For the same reason it’s important that voters recognize who is not representing them, they also should take note of those who make it a priority to be in chambers when it matters.

Eleven representatives and seven senators voted on every single measure that reached the floor. All of them were Republicans, and five of them were freshmen.

Last week, we published a list of lawmakers who missed the final vote on measures during the 2009 session (it didn’t include missed votes in committee). But we failed to call attention to those who had perfect attendance on the floor.

So, here’s a list of lawmakers who deserve a gold star – not necessarily for the way they voted, but for rising above the rest to make sure their constituents had a seat at the table when the state’s newest laws were crafted:

Rep. Frank Antenori, R-Tucson (District 30)
Rep. Judy Burges, R-Skull Valley (District 4)
Rep. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista (District 30)
Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills (District 8 )
Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Glendale (District 9)
Rep. John McComish, R-Phoenix (District 20)
Rep. Nancy McLain, R-Bullhead City (District 3)
Rep. Carl Seel, R-Phoenix (District 6)
Rep. Andy Tobin, R-Phoenix (District 1)
Rep. Jim Weiers, R-Phoenix (District 10)
Rep. Steve Yarbrough, R-Chandler (District 21)
Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake (District 5)
Sen. Bob Burns, R-Peoria (District 9)
Sen. Chuck Gray, R-Mesa (District 19)
Sen. Barbara Leff, R-Paradise Valley (District 11)
Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa (District 18)
Sen. Steve Pierce, R-Prescott (District 1)
Sen. Jim Waring, R-Phoenix (District 7)

During its 2009 Awards Luncheon, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Dick Hannon of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona “passed the gavel” to Chairman-Elect Don Robinson of APS. The organization’s annual event also featured awards and introduced a slew of new leaders.

Rep. Andy Tobin was named Representative of the Year for his work to support business-friendly legislation. Tobin used his time to thank the freshmen lawmakers for their hard work to understand a budget problem that none of them created. He reminded the business community that they’ve taken “a lot of bullets” from the business community over various issues.

He also pointed out that he supports Gov. Jan Brewer’s plan to allow voters to decide whether or not to enact a tax increase to part of the budget gap.

Tobin also urged business leaders to act boldly. “If you don’t lead us out of this crisis, who will?” he asked.

Sen. Jonathan Paton was honored as the Senator of the Year. He started his speech with a joke about his first trip to Phoenix as a legislator. “It was like coming from the colonies and going up to Rome,” he said.

He said he also believes the solution to the state’s fiscal problems would best be solved by business leaders, rather than the Legislature.

It’s the Legislature’s job to sweep away those obstacles and to secure our freedom, he said. “And one of the most sacred rights in this country is the right to a secret ballot,” a reference to his measure in the Legislature to send a message to Congress to reject so-called card-check legislation.

Paton also urged voters to eliminate the system of public financing in Arizona.

In addition to the awards, the Arizona Chamber also welcomed the following new board of directors members: Jim Campbell, Qwest; Bob Hanna, Procter & Gamble; Mitch Laird, Burger King; Tim Lawless, NAIOP; Mary Ann Miller, Tempe Chamber of Commerce and Jim Norton, R&R Partners.

2009-10 Officers and Executive Committee

Officers:
Chairman: Don Robinson, APS
Chairman-Elect: Reg Ballantyne, Vanguard Health Systems
Vice Chairman of Manufacturing/Chairman of the AMC: Mark Dobbins, SUMCO Phoenix Corporation
Vice Chairman of Finance: Eric DeBonis, Southwest Gas
Vice Chairman of Public Affairs: Jason Bagley, Intel Corporation
Vice Chairman of Membership: Doug Yonko, Hensley
Vice Chairman of Political Action: Alan Heywood, Prime Investments
Immediate Past Chairman: Dick Hannon, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona

Executive Committee chairmen:
Budget and Government Reform: Pat Barnes, Bank of America
Education and Workforce Development: Dave Howell, Wells Fargo
Energy: Ron Minegar, Arizona Cardinals
Environment: Jeff Homer, General Dynamics
Health Care: Dennis Dahlen, Banner Health and Mark El-Tawil, Humana
Legal, Regulatory, and Financial Affairs: Dawn Grove, Karsten Manufacturing
Small Business: Tim Jeffries, P7 Enterprises
Taxation: Mike Guggemos, Motorola and Dean Riesen, Rimrock Company
Technology and Economic Development: Bill Terry, IBM
Transportation and Infrastructure: Dave Berry, Swift Transportation
Water and Natural Resources: Gena Trimble, SRP
Workers’ Compensation: Rick DeGraw, SCF Arizona
Workplace and Insurance: Ellen Poole, USAA
Member-At-Large: Benton Davis, UnitedHealthcare
Member-At-Large: C.A. Howlett, US Airways
Member-At-Large: Ivan Johnson, Cox Communications