Early Balloting Begins October 2!

First of all, thank you all for your votes in the Primary.  Even though we didn't have any opposition, it is important to establish momentum before the General Election.

The last day to register to vote is October 6 and the last day to request a mail-in ballot is October 22.

Also, remember to VOTE FOR TWO STATE REPRESENTATIVE CANDIDATES!  Almost one-third of voters vote for only one candidate, usually by mistake.

Don't throw away your voice.  Vote for two!

End-Of-Session / 2009 Budget Update

The 2008 legislative session finally ended June 27.  Now, it is time to evaluate the results.  Unfortunately, the 2008 session was dominated by the enormous deficits we had to address in both the FY2008 (the then-current year) and FY2009 budgets.

The FY2008 budget (passed in 2007) projected revenue that was nearly $1.5 billion too high!  I voted NO on that budget plan because I predicted then that revenues would be at least $1 billion short, largely due to the real estate downturn and declining sales taxes, especially on vehicles.  It turned out I was right.

Even though we knew for sure that revenues would be at least $600 million short as early as August, 2007 (less than two months after the budget passed), Governor Napolitano refused to call a special session to address the issue or order her department heads to reduce spending (which she could have done).

Once the 2008 session started, the governor made clear she was opposed to meaningful spending cuts, as were just enough free-spending liberal Republicans in both the House and Senate.  New debt was their preferred solution to keep spending money the state (that means YOU) didn't have.  By the time an agreement on a revised FY2008 budget was reached with the governor, it was mid-April and we were warned by State Treasurer Dean Martin that the state would run out of legal spending authority very soon.  Since the chance to make meaningful cuts had passed, we had no choice left but to drain most of the Rainy Day Fund and use accounting gimmicks (including a relatively small amount of debt) to balance the 2008 budget.

The final negotiations then began on the FY2009 budget, which was about $2 billion out-of-balance!  Despite using up all of the easier solutions in FY2008, the governor and the same free-spending liberal Republicans were steadfastly against meaningful spending cuts.  Once again, Governor Napolitano wanted to obligate you and your children to massive amounts of new debt to not only balance the budget, but actually increase spending by over $1 billion more!  Once again, I voted NO! 

It was totally irresponsible to knowingly set up a constitutional crisis in 2009 or 2010, but Governor Napolitano and her cronies did it anyway.  The fact is, the state constitution requires a balanced budget and there will probably never be a 2/3 majority to raise taxes, but voter-protected automatic spending increases cannot be modified by the legislature, even during a recession.  If you thought FY2009 was difficult, just wait for FY2010!

We need to keep (and elect more) common-sense legislators who will stand up to Governor Napolitano and oppose her fiscally irresponsible spending policies.  That is the real reason for this mess.  We must look for solutions that don't burden our children with debt and create good jobs to help soften the effect of future economic downturns.

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