Arizona: Jan Brewer

November 6, 2009 - 05:29 pm
NEWS FEED: Blog for Arizona

SWAG Update: Early Filers for 2010

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Now that local elections are all but over for the counting in Tucson (and a possible recount in Ward 3), it's time once again to update the early filers with the Arizona Secretary of State for 2010. You can play along at home at http://www.azsos.gov/cfs/CommitteeSearch.aspx

The big news today: Terry Goddard, the state's highest-elected Democrat, filed paperwork Friday morning announcing that he is exploring a run for governor next year. Political Insider Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and former Arizona Democratic Party Chairman and 2006 U.S. Senate candidate Jim Pederson previously announced that they would not run. Former Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano has also decided not to run

November 5, 2009 - 12:55 pm
NEWS FEED: Arizona Republic

Democrats target Brewer with Socratic method

 As Gov. Jan Brewer prepares to announce her election bid today, Democrats have unveiled a new weapon in their campaign against her: the rhetorical question.
Not since Socrates and Plato were talking politics in Athens have we seen as many question marks as turned up in a press release last night from Jennifer Johnson, who attributed the following remarks to party chairman Don Bivens:
How can she convince voters she is actually qualified to lead? By blaming the Republican leadership she battled all year? Or by blaming the Democrats she ignored all year?  Her resume is filled with job losses, ...

read the rest of this post

November 5, 2009 - 10:39 am
NEWS FEED: Blog for Arizona

The Accidental Governor to announce she will run for governor

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Accidental Governor will find that succession to office is so much easier than election to office.

Jan Brewer will announce today that she intends to run for governor in 2010. Apparently she believes that gross incompetence and abject failure are to be rewarded.

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports:

Gov. Jan Brewer is expected to put an end to the questions about her candidacy this evening (Nov. 5) with an announcement that she will seek a full term as governor. Brewer is scheduled to speak at Westmarc's 17th annual Best of the West awards dinner. One source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Arizona Capitol Times the announcement would be made at the event.

November 5, 2009 - 10:39 am
NEWS FEED: Blog for Arizona

The Accidental Governor to announce she will run for governor

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The Accidental Governor will find that succession to office is so much easier than election to office. Jan Brewer will announce today that she intends to run for governor in 2010. Apparently she believes that gross incompetence...

November 4, 2009 - 02:44 pm
NEWS FEED: Blog for Arizona

Fourth Special Session on Tap

Posted by azBlueMeanie:

It appears the Accidental Governor and the GOP insane clown posse leadership have come to a tentative agreement on a Special Session, but leadership hasn't polled their membership on the specifics of any proposed spending cuts to know whether the bill has the votes necessary to pass. The Accidental Governor does not want to call a Special Session unless she is assured of the vote in advance - unlike the open-ended fiasco this past summer. So the agreement in actuality remains in doubt.

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports:

Legislative leaders and the governor have reached an agreement on the framework of a special session later this month.

October 20, 2009 - 11:46 am
NEWS FEED: Arizona Republic

Brewer Chief of Staff Kevin Tyne to take leave of absence

Gov. Jan Brewer's chief of staff, Kevin Tyne, will be taking a leave of absence, sources confirmed for the Insider Tuesday morning.
Stepping in to replace Tyne is Eileen Klein, Brewer's chief budget adviser and the director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting.
No explanation has yet been offered for Tyne's departure, and the Governor's Office has not confirmed the staff change. However, Tyne has been a target of critics for months - with some accusing him of micro-managing that has slowed operations within the Governor's Office, and others suspecting he is a key force behind Brewer's continued insistence on a temporary ...

read the rest of this post

October 20, 2009 - 10:48 am
NEWS FEED: Arizona Republic

Gov. proposes bringing mental health care into AHCCCS

Gov. Jan Brewer's long-awaited report on how to improve Maricopa County's mental health care system came out this morning, and it contains a dramatic proposal: take the adults from what is known as the general mental health population, which includes people who have less serious mental illnesses, and bring them into the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. The general population is currently served by the Department of Health Services.
People who do not qualify for AHCCCS would continue to receive treatment through DHS and its regional behavioral health authorities -- Magellan, in Maricopa County.
As for the seriously mentally ill, whose illnesses ...

read the rest of this post

October 19, 2009 - 12:52 pm
NEWS FEED: Arizona Republic

Weekend insiders (the extended version) ...

Do as we say, not as we do … Perusing the list of proposed state agency budget cuts this week, we couldn't help but notice who hadn't submitted proposals: Namely, the people who will be doing all the cutting.
Absent from the budget fray so far are the House of Representatives, the Senate and the Governor's Office. Gov. Jan Brewer's office had asked each agency to prepare a list of cuts up to 15 percent in an effort to eliminate the $1.5 billion budget deficit. But the decision makers have so far exempted themselves from the process.
In the House, no proposal ...

read the rest of this post

October 10, 2009 - 05:28 pm
NEWS FEED: Blog for Arizona

Presented without comment

by David Safier

From the Arizona Guardian (subscription only):

Health care and child care facilities will have to pay thousands more to be licensed in Arizona under new fee schedules released Tuesday that are intended to make businesses shoulder the regulatory cost.

The largest child care centers will see their licensing fees increase 90 times over, while small behavioral health group homes will pay quadruple their current costs.

Across the board, the facilities that care for Arizona’s youngest, oldest and most infirm will over the next three months go from paying some of the lowest regulatory costs in the Western region to the highest. Advocates say that's likely to increase the supply of unregulated care and raise costs as the fee increases are passed on to families.

September 23, 2009 - 11:43 am
NEWS FEED: Blog for Arizona

The Accidental Governor is unpopular even among Republicans

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Accidental Governor, Jan Brewer, has never lost a political race in more than a quarter century in politics. If she wants to keep her perfect record intact, she should retire. Who needs this? The Accidental Governor is unpopular even among Republicans and is vulnerable to challengers in the GOP primary should she choose to run one final race.

The AZ Policy Wonk blog at Arizona Capitol Times reports Poll: Brewer’s ratings slip among Arizona Republicans (excerpt):

Only 22 percent of the 800 people interviewed for the latest Rocky Mountain Poll (conducted Sept. 9-18 by the Behavior Research Center) said they approve of Brewer’s performance.