Brewer announces she’s running for governor

Saying she’s the person to guide the state out of its financial troubles, incumbent Gov. Jan Brewer formally declared her candidacy for a full term of her own.

In remarks prepared for delivery, the Republican incumbent said the fiscal problems, including the current $2 billion deficit, are not of her making.

“I inherited a budget deficit created from years of overspending and living beyond our means,” Brewer said. While she did not name names, the remarks were clearly directed at her Democratic predecessor, Janet Napolitano, who quit to become homeland security chief in the Obama administration.

And Brewer said “we” — meaning she and the Republican-controlled Legislature — already have made $1 billion in cuts. The actual figure, though, is closer to $700 million.

“Some of these cuts were not easy,” she said. “But tough times call for a tough leader.”

Brewer did not mention in her speech the single thing that is likely to define the campaign: her call to let voters enact a temporary 1-cent surcharge on the state’s 5.6 percent sales tax rate for the next three or four years. Estimates are that could raise close to $1 billion a year.

That already is the central point of what is shaping up to be at least a three-way Republican primary.

Brewer, in unveiling the plan in March, said the state clearly needs to cut its spending. And the governor has since made several public pronouncements that state government needs to be doing less.

She also is using federal stimulus dollars to balance the current budget.

But Brewer also said at the time the sheer size of the current and projected deficits, coupled with the fact those stimulus dollars will disappear within three years, means the state needs a temporary bump in revenues. The alternative, she said, is “decimating” education and social programs.

That plan, however, has brought out foes within her own party.

Tucsonan John Munger, a former state party chief and member of the Board of Regents, already has started his campaign. He has promised a plan to balance the budget by stimulating the economy with tax cuts.

“Her commitment to raise taxes is fundamentally out of step with the Republican Party and the exact opposite of what Arizona needs right now,” Munger said in a prepared statement.

Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker, who technically is only in the exploratory mode, already is touting his early opposition to Brewer’s tax plan, which was unveiled in March. But Parker, who has raised more than $51,000 in “seed” money, also has yet to put out a specific alternative to bridging what is currently a $2 billion gap between state revenues and expenses.

Also waiting in the wings is state Treasurer Dean Martin who also has said a tax hike — even one approved by voters — is not a solution to declining state revenues. But Martin said he is not yet ready to decide whether to try to oust Brewer or to seek a second term as treasurer.

A few other GOP candidates with less name recognition have also filed paperwork to run.

The survivor of the primary likely will face Attorney General Terry Goddard, currently the top statewide elected Democrat. He already has said publicly he wants to be governor, though he has not made an “official” announcement — or even formed an exploratory committee.

“We’re seriously thinking about doing it soon,” he said.

Goddard declined Thursday to criticize Brewer or the way she is handling the budget crisis. Instead he chose to focus on her more immediate political problem.

“She’s going to have to get through what looks like a highly contested Republican primary,” he said, adding her foes “clearly are dissatisfied with her time as governor.”

Goddard’s position on Brewer’s tax hike proposal is less clear than the Republicans who want to oust Brewer.

He opposed the proposal that Brewer ultimately crafted with GOP legislators, but not because of the idea of referring the tax hike to voters.

He pointed out that it was part of a larger legislative plan that also included immediate repeal of the state property tax, which hits businesses harder than homeowners, and future cuts in business taxes. Goddard said voters should be given a chance to vote not just on hiking their own taxes but on cutting other levies.

Pollster Earl de Berge said Brewer’s popularity has taken a hit because of the state budget crisis. A September survey done by his Behavior Research Center showed that only 24 percent of registered voters rated her performance so far as excellent or good.

But he said Brewer should not be seen as an underdog.

In fact, de Berge said he believes Brewer will get a lot of credit for being willing to propose a temporary tax hike that her Republican foes oppose.

“I think that’s going to prove pretty wise advice,” he said of Brewer’s stance.

He said voters have repeatedly shown they’re willing to tax themselves to preserve education and certain important services. That was borne out, de Berge said, when Maricopa County voters approved 17 of 21 ballot measures on Tuesday for school budget overrides to preserve classroom spending.

The political problem for Brewer, de Berge said, could be the damage done to her if the Republican primary turns out to be very contentious. He said that could sufficiently weaken her, to the benefit of Goddard.

Another difference between Brewer and at least one of her GOP foes is that she will use public funding for her campaign.

That drew derision from Munger, who is collecting private donations and said it “underscores her utter lack of public support.”

But to get public money, Brewer would need to collect 4,410 donations of $5 each to prove she has some base of support. If she qualifies, Brewer — and anyone else who gets the same donations — would get $707,447 for a contested primary and, whoever survives, would be entitled to another $1,061,171 for the general election.

Parker campaign publicist Jason Rose said his candidate is likely to accept public funding if he runs. But Martin said if he gets in the race he probably will use private dollars.