I was at the capital on Tuesday and watched the floor proceedings Wednesday night and Thursday. Almost every Republican legislator I talked to on Tuesday agreed this was a bad budget, yet only one Vic Williams from LD26 (northwest Tucson) voted against it. I would encourage every one to send him a thank you message. I did not talk with the other two Republicans (Konopnicki LD5 and Qulland LD10) who voted “No”.
For a fleeting moment during the House vote, I had a glimmer of hope. The voting stalled at 30, one short of the 31 needed. Could reason have prevailed? Were there enough traditional Republicans willing to stand up to the leadership and end the insanity? I quickly scanned the vote reporting board, trying to identify the Republicans who had not cast their vote. It could happen; all five left had previously expressed opposition in one form or another. It was possible. As Rep. Lucy Mason rose to explain her vote I hung on every word. As she decried the process and articulated her concerns, I began to think we had prevailed. The vice-like grip Leadership had on the legislature was about to crack. And then she said, “I will be the 31st vote” and voted “aye”.
As a republican myself, I cannot understand why the leaders of my party are intent on pushing public education over the cliff. Although I often do not agree, I understand the philosophical ideas behind many of the policies they champion. I would gladly engage in a debate about the future of education. Some of their ideas might even be worth a try. But what they are doing now, defies reason. It is intellectually dishonest and in some cases down right hypocritical.
The examples of hypocrisy are numerous; I will only site one. Inserted into the K-12 education bill (HB2639) at the last minute was a provision stating, “a school district shall not adopt policies that provide employment retention priority for teachers based on tenure or seniority.” While he was answering a question on what would happen to all the corrections officers when Arizona’s prisons were privatized, Appropriations’ Chairman Kavanagh (a former NY cop) said he was sure a transfer system based on seniority could be worked out. The concept of seniority is equitable for constituencies he cares about, but not for teachers.
I am the chair of the AEA Republican Caucus. On Tuesday I was joined by the other officers of the Caucus in participating in the March4Schools Heat Wave. I couldn’t help but think, if we had gotten to two more Representatives, could we have stopped this. We need your help. If you are one of the more than 8,000 Republican AEA members, your voice is desperately needed at the capital. Please contact me for information about how to get involved. Chrisackerley@cox.net
Friday, June 5, 2009
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Great insight, Chris. I have colleagues at work who are registered Republicans who also cannot understand what some of these legislators are doing.
ReplyDeleteYour example of prison guards having their seniority respected and teachers not being treated equally is the perfect example of how some of these representatives are simply being mean-spirited.
Sorry, but after these continuing shenanigans I cannot understand any public employee being caught dead saying they are a Republican
ReplyDeleteThe conservative extremists have the Arizona Republican party in a strangle hold. There aren't that many of them. When the average member of the party realizes this, maybe they will claim their party back.
ReplyDeleteRepublicans will invest in schools. They want good, safe schools for their kids and their communities. They need to deliver this message to the Russell Pearce's and Andy Biggs's of the world.