“Their majorities haven’t helped them.” – Rep. David Schapira, a Democrat from Tempe, speaking Nov. 4 about the need for Republican leaders to negotiate a budget fix with Democrats.

“The question is whether we will have the votes for it. We don’t want to have those debates (publicly) if we don’t have the votes.” – House Majority Whip Andy Tobin, a Republican from Paulden, speaking Nov. 4 about the possibility that Republican lawmakers will push for cuts that would drop the state below the maintenance-of-effort minimums required by the federal stimulus plan.

“It’s the Goldilocks principle. You want to make sure things are not too big and not too small, but just right.” – Citizens Clean Elections Commissioner Louis Hoffman on the difficulty of adjusting funding levels for publicly funded candidates for the 2010 election cycle to prepare for the possibility that matching funds will be ruled unconstitutional.

“Unless Democrats vote for a referral, it is dead. Unless some Republicans join with them to vote for that referral, it is dead. And my third sentence is, I have to decide whether that is a good thing or not.” – Sen. Jonathan Paton, a Republican from Tucson, commenting on the possibility that the Legislature will pass Gov. Jan Brewer’s proposal for a temporary sales tax increase.

“Well, short of mining the minerals for them, I don’t know what else we could do to accommodate mining in Arizona.” – Sandy Bahr, a lobbyist for the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter, reacting to an ad hoc committee hearing on mining regulations.