Arizona: Jack Brown

Rep. Jack Brown is running low in the patience department.
The St. Johns Democrat said he was casting ‘no” votes on House bills Monday as a protest against the hurry-up-and-wait pace of the state Legislature.
“I think we've spent way too long not doing anything, messing around — whatever verb you want to put in there — since January,” said Brown, who is the Legislature's longest-serving member with 32 years of service.
Brown noted the day's calendar had more than two dozen bills, which should have been dealt with weeks ago. Better planning could have averted the logjam, he said, so he'd ...

read the rest of this post

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: From the Arizona Republic Political Insider: Senate inaction proving costly: Rep. Jack Brown, D-St. Johns, made a rare floor speech Tuesday to mark the 100th day of the legislative session. Brown, the longest-serving lawmaker, noted that the...

Kirk Adams paid homage to the courage and determination of Arizona's pioneers moments after he was sworn in as speaker of the House of Representatives.

They came to a harsh and unsettled land amid dire warnings that they could never succeed, he said. The tribute to their quiet toughness was a deliberate message to Arizona lawmakers who were sworn in Monday to a new term in which they must close a budget deficit of roughly $1.6 billion for the fiscal year.

The times ahead will be tough, said Adams, a Mesa Republican. But the difficulties will be overcome, he said.

"I have been told that there is no way we will succeed," Adams said of the lean budget times that will dominate the legislative session.