Picture's Worth A Thousand Words
The front page picture in today's Arizona Republic (Monday, June 8) couldn't have been more apt. Five legislators standing or sitting around awaiting, as the caption tells us, for "a House vote Thursday on a budget."

That's what most Arizona legislators have been doing for the past five months: Awaiting instructions from their so-called leadership on what budget to pass. It's a sorry story of democracy crippled by inertia and in the hands of a few people. The result is a Republican legislative budget package that is a disgrace; an assault on basic services while protecting special interests.

The Arizona Republic has done a credible job the last week or two in providing information on how the budget plans of Gov. Brewer, the Legislature's Democrats and the Legislature's Republican majority differ. But the newspaper has failed, so far, to give any accounting of what rank-and-file legislators have been doing for five months.

I ask because my two District 21 Representatives, Warde Nichols and Steven Yarbrough (both shown doing nothing in the picture) have been strangely quiet. (Nichols did surface briefly to help grab more tax dollars for private schools and his own private businesses). With all the idle time these past five months, why weren't they holding forums within the district educating taxpapers on the issues involved in the multi-year budget crisis, and soliciting suggestions on proper priorities.

That's what an involved, active State Representative would be doing. I regret that I don't have one in District 21, and I'm afraid many other Arizona taxpayers have the same problem.

Sheriff, Treasurer balk on budget priorities
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Treasurer Charles Hoskins are balking at a county Board of Supervisors request for suggestions on how they could cut their departmental budgets by up to 20 percent.

Of the two, Hoskins has the flimiest reasoning. According to the Arizona Republic, he sent supervisors an brief e-mail saying "until I have a better feel for how the current investigation of the Board and its employees might go" he won't submit anything.

What's he talking about? The Stapley charges? Supervisors' alleged pushback at Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas? Hoskins' remark smacks of a political end-run in the style of Arpaio. Hoskins, who has zero public recognition, needs to seek election if he wants to continue serving as Treasurer. Aligning himself with Arpaio's bravado could be his path. But, as Treasurer, he should be in the thick of finding ways to bridge the county's budget crisis. Instead he's playing politics.

Arpaio has an easier case to make, in theory. Law enforcement and jail supervision should be among the county services cut least. Unfortunately, Arpaio has a very public record on wasting manpower and money on his publicity crusades. He's not immune to belt-tightening. A 20 percent cut would almost certainly impact public safety. But supervisors aren't asking for a 20 percent cut; they're asking for priorities with a mind toward worst case scenarios.

Every county department head should already have been doing that. If Arpaio and Hoskins can't identify ways they could cut budgets while minimizing impact, they're guilty of dereliction of duty.

Brewer makes smart first impression
Give Governor-in-Waiting Jan Brewer high marks for taking a realistic approach to her new role in one of her first public pronouncements. She refused to rule out tax increases while the state deals with its budget crisis. All options are on the table, Brewer said.

That's as it should be. Some from the Republican Right are having fits already, but they don't understand the role of an elected leader. Brewer can't hobble herself and her office by sticking to hardline positions that sound great in an election but which might make governing responsibly very difficult.

The truth is Brewer will resist any tax increases. But this is no simple budget downturn. Something more than "cutting the fat" will be necessary. She -- and the Legislature -- can't rule anything out at this point.

Read the Arizona Republic story here.

Janet's departure -- a mini-scandal
Greg Patterson (Expresso Pundit) has uncovered a dirty little secret in the Governor's office:

"Then there's the fact that Governor's office didn't cap the vacation hours. Most state employees are limited to 240 hours of accrued vacation, but uncovered employees can save up to 320 hours. Quite a few of the Governor's staff are over this limit, with several of them in the 500 hour range and one staffer has more than 1,000 hours of unused vacation. That one person will get a check for nearly $40,000 upon leaving service."

This looks particularly embarressing in light of the current budget crisis. You'll be seeing a lot about these figures from Republicans in the coming weeks.

Goldwater Institute criticizes Arpaio

First, it was the excellent, five-part East Valley Tribune series detailing serious flaws in the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department operation earlier this year. Many Arpaio apologists dismissed the series as politically-motivated.

Now, a month after Sheriff Joe Arpaio was reelected by a comfortable margin, the Goldwater Institute chimes in with a 22-page Policy Report with the devastating title: "Mission Unaccomplished: The Misplaced Priorities of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office."

From the report's Introduction:

There is no question that Sheriff Arpaio and MCSO are “tough” on people arrested for or convicted of crimes—and that a large majority of Maricopa County voters applaud that toughness as evidenced by polls and past elections. But toughness is only one ingredient for a successful sheriff ’s department, and by itself is far from sufficient. In this report, we examine MCSO’s record in light of its vision as the office itself defines it:

The Maricopa County Sheriff ’s Office is a fully integrated law enforcement agency committed to being the leader in establishing the standards for providing professional quality law enforcement, detention, and support services to the citizens of Maricopa County and to other criminal justice agencies.

We find that too often, in a variety of ways, MCSO falls short of accomplishing this vitally important mission.

As Maricopa County confronts its intense fiscal woes, it's important that Supervisors read and heed this report, as well as the East Valley Tribune's earlier findings. But since they've shown no interest in exercising their oversight responsibilities in the past, that's probably just wishful thinking.

Complainer Arpaio may have a point
It's no surprise Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is looking for special treatment. That's his style, after all. But, when it comes to budget cuts, he may have a point. Arpaio is balking at a county requirement that department heads identify "20 percent of their budgets that could be cut," according to The Arizona Republic. Reports are due Dec. 8.

Across-the-board budget cuts are inappropriate for public safety agencies. That's not to say they should have a free hand, but they fall into a category which requires protection from meat-cleaver type budget adjustments.

That said, Arpaio needs to get on board with the need for additional reductions. For the past two years, he's had deputies running around interfering with other jurisdictions. It has been an expensive, publicity-building effort to support his re-election. Now the election's over, but the budget crisis is much with us and will grow worse before it gets better.

Perhaps it's time to consider scaling back the Sheriff's Department so that it runs the jails and provides coverage only to areas not otherwise served by a police department. This is not an era where fiscal and jurisdictional overlap should go unchallenged as the county looks for ways to save money with the least impact on services.

Short Takes ...
Announced cuts in Mesa's police department can't help but have an impact on public safety. More cuts seem likely in 2008, according to the East Valley Tribune. $7.6 million in cuts this year, $15 million next if the economy doesn't get better.

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"Southern Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva is being mentioned by bloggers as a leading candidate for secretary of the Interior Department," according to Tucson's Arizona Daily Star.

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Random Musings blog is already looking ahead to the 2010 Arizona political landscape, with some interesting conclusions and speculations.

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The Arizona Republic leads its Sunday edition with a warm, flattering piece on Republican Jan Brewer, who may be the next Governor if Janet Napolitano heads to Washington. A sidebar deals with Brewer's current job, Arizona Secretary of State.

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The Arizona License Plate Commission must approve an anti-abortion group's "Choose Life" specialty license plate, a Federal Court has ruled. The specialty plate battle has gone on since 2002.