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UpClose with David Schapira: Found some success at blocking legislation with ‘watchdog’ approach
The Senate minority announced an audacious goal this year — to put the spotlight on Republicans and their legislation. That task fell to a young father to articulate his party’s positions in a year when Republicans, who are control both chambers, don’t even need a single Democratic vote to pass emergency legislation.
The immediate challenge for Senate Minority Leader David Schapir[...]
UpClose with Russell Pearce: Recognizes he’s not ‘a party of one,’ can’t do whatever he wants
If you’re looking for proof of how much more conservative the Senate emerged after last year’s election, look no further than the selection of Sen. Russell Pearce, a Republican from Mesa, as the chamber’s leader.
Pearce is often perceived as unmovable, uncompromising, even single-minded — traits that may be good or bad, depending on which side of the aisle you’re sitting. Many[...]
UpClose with Chad Campbell: House Dems strive for transparency, cite ‘broken’ budget process
With a mere third of the House of Representatives being Democrats, Minority Leader Chad Campbell knew it was going to be an uphill battle trying to put a dent in the Republicans’ agenda this past session.
Predictably, the Democrats couldn’t get their proposals for tax reforms into the budget, nor could they stop a torrent of conservative legislation. But Campbell said that they did [...]
UpClose with Kirk Adams: Session was ‘culmination’ of legislative career
House Speaker Kirk Adams had quite the final year in the Legislature, authoring a major overhaul of the state’s public pension system and finally accomplishing last year’s goal of passing a bill aimed at making Arizona more business-friendly.
UpClose with Gov. Jan Brewer: Touts openness, says vetoes represent decision not to ‘blow a hole’ in budget
After two chaotic legislative sessions, things settled down a bit for Gov. Jan Brewer in 2011.
Having won an overwhelming voter mandate in November, Brewer no longer was the governor who simply inherited the job. And with her hard-fought battle for a sales tax increase won, she was no longer the Republican governor who spent most of her time feuding with her own party.
GOP-led Legislature focused on ‘sideshows,’ not mainstream agenda
If this unfortunate legislative session has to be remembered in years to come, it will be recalled as a time that politicians put sideshows ahead of seriousness. Birther bills, birthright citizenship, and tea party license plates are great at getting partisan activists riled up.
Distractions? Yes. Distracted? Probably not too much
Every circus has its sideshows. And this year, the state Capitol was crawling with them.
For the first time in more than a decade, lawmakers wrapped up their work in 100 days. And they did so in spite of distractions that came in the form of a roadside fracas that cost a Republican leader his post, a college football scandal that ensnared more than a dozen elected officials and a trag[...]
Freshmen reflect on 2011: Views mainly depend on party affiliation
With more than three tumultuous months under their belt, House and Senate greenhorns have been property initiated. And looking back, some of them seem a little shell-shocked, while others appear to be having the time of their life.
Tea Party Influence: New GOP legislators pushed ideological needle to the right
Friendly to faith-based legislation and deeply rooted in a small-government and fiscally disciplined philosophy, Arizona’s new legislators helped define and successfully push a conservative agenda at the Capitol.
Biggs, as Senate majority leader, less vocal in opposing bills
On several occasions, the Senate majority leader voted with the losing side — and against the majority in his caucus.
Those occasions are a stark reminder that the man Republicans picked as caucus leader is a fiscal conservative with a libertarian streak, who backs or supports measures depending on how they hew to or diverge from his reading of the U.S. Constitution.
Brewer finds her ‘sea legs’ after two tumultuous years
After two years of intraparty fighting, drama and chaos, 2011 must have been a welcome relief for Gov. Jan Brewer.
