PHOENIX (AP) — Look for a turn to the right.
|
|
Brewer labels herself a “fiscal conservative Republican,” and by all accounts she had a reliably conservative record as a state legislator in the 1980s and 1990s. That was before she went on to serve as a Maricopa County supervisor and then secretary of state.
Her 14 years as a legislator ended over a decade ago, but people familiar with the state government and Arizona politics say they expect more of the same when Brewer is governor.
“She is what I would call a mainstream Republican,” said Carol Springer, a Republican now serving as a Yavapai County supervisor after previously serving as state treasurer and state senator. “She is very much anti-abortion and pro-vouchers.”
Just two years ago, while running for re-election as secretary of state, Brewer took conservative position after conservation position on an advocacy group’s voter-guide survey. The issues included abortion, private school vouchers, benefits for unmarried domestic partners, state spending restraints and the minimum wage.
That’s in contrast to Napolitano.
Napolitano didn’t fill out that particular survey but her six years as governor saw her often break to the left on policy questions that divided liberals and conservatives.
Those included abortion rights, environmental regulation, gay rights, labor relations and education policy.
The 2006 survey was conducted by the Center for Arizona Policy, an advocacy group for Christian social conservatives, for its voter guide on state election candidates that year.
The center lobbies at the Legislature on such issues as school choice, abortion, sex education and pornography, but the survey also included questions on broader matters such as state spending limits, property rights and appointment of judges.
Brewer said she supported private school vouchers, teaching abstinence-until-marriage in sex education, tough regulation of sexually oriented businesses and imposing tighter constitutional restraints on state spending.
On abortion, Brewer calls herself “pro-life.”
She said in the 2006 survey she favored prohibiting abortion except when the woman’s life is in danger and requiring mandatory disclosures and a 24-hour waiting period for abortions.
Brewer also indicated she opposed legalizing physician-assisted suicide, giving health benefits to unmarried domestic partners, raising the minimum wage, adding sexual orientation to protected classes in antidiscrimination laws, expanding off-reservation gambling and permitting use of eminent domain for economic development.
Deputy Secretary of State Kevin Tyne confirmed that Brewer completed the signed survey obtained by The Associated Press and said her responses then still reflect her beliefs now.
“However, she’s not really making policy decisions until she gets into the governorship and gets into that chair,” Tyne said. “She hasn’t laid forth her agenda.”
Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod declined to comment on Brewer’s survey answers or the group’s expectations for Brewer as governor.
“It’s not a done deal yet,” Herrod said of Brewer becoming governor.
However, another abortion opponent said he’s confident that Brewer will sign abortion-related bills that Napolitano vetoed.
“People don’t change their stripes that much,” said John Jakubczyk, an Arizona Right to Life board member and past president who has lobbied the Legislature on abortion for three decades. “She has always been a friend to the pro-life cause and I would suspect she would honor her commitments.”
The business community also expects Brewer to be in its corner.
While Napolitano had warm relations with the business community and signed some tax cuts, Brewer probably will be more responsive to concerns about the costs of environmental regulations and other burdens imposed on business, said Glenn Hamer, president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“I think you’ll see a governor with more faith in lower taxes and less regulation in attracting business,” Hamer said.
On the flip side, Sierra Club lobbyist Sandy Bahr said Brewer got failing grades as a legislator on report cards issued by conservation groups.
Brewer wasn’t a key player on environmental issues, Bahr said. “I just remember she was a bad vote.”
Added Bahr: “Obviously I would not expect her to be strong on environmental protection and not really promoting or taking a leadership role on issues like climate change or energy efficiency.”
Brewer said in an interview that she recognizes that climate change is a major issue.
“It’s something that I really want to get my arms around and get lots of information on,” she said. “But we also have to realize that we have an economy that we have to also be cognizant of and act responsibly.”
Meanwhile, Hamer said he’s confident that Brewer wouldn’t follow Napolitano’s lead in unilaterally taking steps to help unions.
Brewer, he said, “won’t be as cozy and as willing to advance the union agenda without consultation with the state Legislature.”
That could leave organized labor on the sidelines when Brewer is governor, working with the Republican-led Legislature.
“I’m more at a wait-and-see hold pattern,” Arizona AFL-CIO Executive Director Rebekah Friend said of her expectations for Brewer. “You can certainly say that Gov. Napolitano has been a friend of labor and working families in Arizona.”
Friend said she wasn’t surprised to hear that Brewer said on the 2006 survey that she opposed raising the minimum wage, which voters approved that year. “She has that position and the voters have another one.”
While Brewer said Dec. 5 that she wasn’t willing to rule out tax increases to help balance the state’s budget, Hamer expressed optimism that she would deviate from Napolitano by supporting repeal of a suspended state property tax.
Brewer said more recently she hopes the tax can be repealed but couldn’t commit to it. “If we’re able to financially do that, I would be supportive of that.”
A tax-cut advocate said he is optimistic that Brewer will offer a sharp contrast to Napolitano’s support for expanded government and increased state spending.
“It appears that the incoming governor, Brewer, would not have that as her objective,” said Tom Jenney, Arizona Federation of Taxpayers executive director.
However, Jenney said it’s not certain how Brewer will actually perform, especially in the state’s fiscal crisis.
“It’s one thing to have a philosophy. It’s really tough to make the required budget cuts,” Jenney said.
Former Gov. Jane Hull, a Republican secretary of state who also replaced a governor who resigned, had a conservative reputation during earlier legislative service. But Hull as governor was seen as a moderate, at least on some issues.
“Jan, I believe, will be true to her conservative roots,” said Springer, who served in the Legislature with Brewer. “She’s predictable. I don’t think we’re going to get a lot of big surprises.”
On the Net
Brewer transition: http://www.brewertransition.org/
Comments