Thread: Arizona needs Napolitano a lot more than Obama does

Published: 06.09.2008
Our Opinion: Arizona needs Napolitano a lot more than Obama does
Tucson Citizen
letters@tucsoncitizen.com
Vice President Janet Napolitano. Has a nice ring to it. But we hope Arizona's governor, reportedly on the list of potential VPs for Barack Obama, stays put in Phoenix for the remainder of her term, through 2010.
The nation would benefit from having Napolitano in the No. 2 spot. She is a capable executive and tough-minded former U.S. attorney and state attorney general.
But the state would lose a lot.
Truth is, Arizona needs her more than Obama does.
Napolitano has wielded the veto hammer like no other Arizona governor, to the state's benefit.
She is the check on an unbalanced, Republican-dominated Legislature that veers from irresponsibility (inadequate funding of public education) to unnecessary meddling (yet another attempt to ban gay marriage).
Some examples:
• In April, Napolitano vetoed a GOP plan that would have forced local enforcement agencies to deal with federal immigration violations. Training costs could have hit $100 million, an expense she astutely determined our deficit-ridden state does not need.
• This week, the state House passed a new version of a bill toughening DUI penalties. Napolitano vetoed the original because it halved the duration that first-time offenders would have to use safety-enhancing ignition interlocks.
• Last month, she vetoed a measure allegedly intended to protect physical education, music and arts from K-12 budget cuts. In reality, as Napolitano surmised, the bill was an "empty promise" that did not offer added state funding and contained nothing to prevent local school boards from making reductions.
That none of her record 174 vetoes has been overridden is a testament to her clout and should force Republicans to consider Democratic positions as they approach crunch time on bridging Arizona's $2.2 billion-and-growing 2009 budget deficit.
Napolitano also has shown foresight in her executive orders. She has extended domestic partner benefits to state workers. That makes it easier for Arizona's universities to attract top talent.
And she issued an order requiring that all new cars in Arizona meet California's tough new standards for greenhouse gas emissions.
If Napolitano heads for D.C., where would that leave Arizona? With Jan Brewer. The secretary of state (Arizona has no lieutenant governor) would become the state's chief executive, giving Republicans control of two branches of state government.
That would be bad for Arizona. The state needs Napolitano's firm hand, not a rubber stamp.
A call to serve in Washington has to be tempting. But should it come, we hope Napolitano would say she's flattered and honored - but no, thanks.
She still has a job to do here.
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Must not forget...Gov. Janet Napolitano is term limited as Governor. She's already served as AZ's US Atty. She's likely to run for John McLame's Senate seat if she doesn't get taken into an Obama administration in some capacity. She did endorse him early even though the state went for Hillery in the primary.