Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

It’s been a dozen years since Arizona voters passed the landmark Citizens Clean Elections Act, allowing candidates to seek office without depending on corporate brass, labor unions and deep-pocketed special interests. Clean Elections has given community leaders, teachers and small business folk the chance to run for office and govern answerable not to Big Money, but to Arizona’s voters.

It is unfortunate that Arizona lawmakers keep striking down efforts to preserve short-term credit options for consumers of the state.

Every now and then a crisis emerges in which our response clearly displays what kind of people we are. Whether it is natural disaster or a man-made political crisis, our reaction sends an important message to others about our values, our sense of responsibility and how we solve problems.

When the slop is the trough all the pigs will be there. And many were there recently at Tom's Restaurant & Tavern for a panel discussion on renewable energy standards, specifically the 15 percent mandate passed by the Arizona Corporation Commission. Actually, the discussion was more about government subsidies than renewable energy standards; especially with respect to the notion that "everyone knows" these subsidies are needed to promote Arizona's nascent solar industry.

As of March 18, the state's primary source of transit operating money and federal matching dollars for expensive and specialized capital equipment was permanently repealed as part of the state's budget solution. Oddly, not a penny of that money came from tax dollars or the state general fund, yet it was redirected so that the state could capture the already-designated revenue.

As Arizona faces the most challenging economic times since the Great Depression, I believe the Legislature needs to recognize that it is time for more than just the same politics that helped get us into this mess. Instead, it is a time to reflect on long-term ways to ensure Arizona will have the resources to invest in education, job creation and sustainability.

H2153, sponsored by Rep. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix, seeks to retain control of public streets under legitimately recognized local governments, the towns and cities.

Every industrialized country on Earth delivers health care to its people at a far lower per-person cost than the United States. How do they do that?

When Phoenix realized that it faced a projected $245 million budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year, new City Manager David Cavazos requested that every department submit proposed budget reductions ranging from 7 to 25 percent. Those proposals were placed on his desk in November and early December. But when the Goldwater Institute asked for them, they disappeared into a black hole.

Seriously, are you happy with Arizona's leadership? I'm not. There's not a lot to be happy about right now. Arizona has become the only state in the union to eliminate its Children's Health Insurance Program, KidsCare.