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A Tucson Democratic legislator is lashing out at Republicans, calling them childish for not entering into budget negotiations.
Republicans respond that they’ve tried to talk but have been rejected by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and Dem legislative leaders.
The comments by the House minority leader, Rep. Andres Cano of the west side Legislative District 20, came as Republicans are passing their own budget without Democratic input. That GOP budget is sure to be vetoed by Hobbs, Cano said.
“Instead of having a robust debate about the path ahead, Republicans are living in an alternate reality where they and only they still have the last word,” Cano said in a video posted Wednesday.
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He said he’s not willing to talk with Republicans until they move past the budget they’re passing. That GOP budget, he alleged, is part of a pattern of disrespect toward Hobbs, starting with the fact that they announced it the night before the governor presented her budget proposal.
“Arizonans want us to work together,” Cano said via text message Thursday. “The GOP is behaving like children because they no longer control the 9th floor (the governor’s office). We’re not going to empower their tantrums.”
Republicans have said they were the ones disrespected by Hobbs. Rep. David Livingston, chair of the House appropriations committee, likened Hobbs’ budget to “poking the bear.”
In a Jan. 17 hearing, Livingston was particularly offended by the fact that Hobbs’ budgeted eliminated line items for the so-called “freedom schools” at the state’s three public universities. The one at the University of Arizona is the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom.
“My members took it strictly as, let’s poke them in the eye on something they care about and take that away,” Livingston said that day.
On Wednesday, he said “I’ve reached out to the Democratic leadership team of this House to talk to the leadership about the budget. They denied me that. I have tried. They said no. I have reached out to the governor’s staff to do exactly the same thing, and they said no.”
He said the Legislature will send a budget, approved by Republicans only, to Hobbs next week. She can sign it or veto it as she wishes.
The conflict threatens to get broader. On Thursday, State Senate President Warren Petersen appointed a committee to consider the qualifications of Hobbs’ nominees for agency directors, suggesting the confirmation process may become a lever in the broader political struggle.
New party chairs in Pima County
Both the Republican and Democratic party organizations in Pima County have new chairs.
In December, the Democrats elected Eric Robbins, 57, a middle school math teacher with a masters in business administration from the UA’s Eller College of Management. He replaces Bonnie Heidler, who served one term before stepping down.
He said Thursday he began getting active in the party at the legislative district level before the 2016 election.
The party, Robbins said, has “work to do to get all the LDs at the same level of operational excellence.” He also hopes to ensure county Democrats are competing in every election.
“There’s no election that’s too small,” Robbins said.
That’s also an important challenge for Dave Smith, the new Pima County GOP Chair. Smith, 70, said he worked as a Tucson Police Department officer in the late 1970s, before transferring to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
In the Tucson area lately, “It’s been sort of a one-sided argument,” Smith said, referring to the domination of the Democratic Party.
“I think Tucson needs us to be representing our perspective on things,” Smith said. “I’d like to not just grow the party but win some local elections, or at least be competitive.”
He said he expects the Republicans to run at least one candidate in this year’s Tucson city elections, in which the mayor and three council members will be chosen.
Ciscomani to deliver big speech
U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, newly elected to Congress from Southern Arizona’s sixth congressional district, will deliver a speech to the nation after the State of the Union.
Pres. Joe Biden will deliver the annual State of the Union speech on Tuesday, Feb. 7. Ciscomani, a freshman rep, will give the GOP’s response in Spanish afterward.
Ciscomani, a Tucson Republican, said in a statement: “My message will be simple and straightforward: the American Dream is a dream worth fighting for. The people of my district in Arizona and Americans across our country want accountability, responsibility and sensibility restored in our nation’s capital.”
I-10 expansion issue still brewing
Arizona officials are still stinging from the federal government’s rejection of an application for money to expand Interstate 10, but they are starting to move forward.
State Sen. T.J. Shope and Rep. Teresa Martinez, both Republicans from Pinal County, criticized the federal decision and have introduced bills that would put $360 million in state money toward expanding the interstate, in the crowded, two-lane stretch between Chandler and Casa Grande.
The Senate transportation committee passed the bill unanimously Jan. 18.
Arizona’s U.S. senators, Democrat Mark Kelly and independent Kyrsten Sinema, also penned a letter to the federal Transporation Department Thursday, asking for a meeting to learn why the project was passed over in this year’s round of funding requests.
Photos: Saguaro National Park through the years
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Ha:san Bak, Saguaro cactus fruit harvest
Ha:san Bak, Saguaro cactus fruit harvest
Ha:san Bak, Saguaro cactus fruit harvest
Ha:san Bak, Saguaro cactus fruit harvest
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Contact columnist Tim Steller at tsteller@tucson.com or 520-807-7789. On Twitter: @senyorreporter
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Tim Steller
Columnist
Tim Steller is an opinion columnist. A 25-year veteran of reporting and editing, he digs into issues and stories that matter in the Tucson area, reports the results and tells you his conclusions. Contact him attsteller@tucson.comor 520-807-7789. On Twitter: @senyorreporter
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