It was supposed to be quick: a special session of the state legislature... A blitz of sorts in the ongoing budget battle.
But knocking out a third of the deficit proved to be a tougher fight than expected.
A senator went AWOL and the vote collapsed.
It was billed as a mystery when Republican Sen. Thayer Verschoor didn't show up on the Senate floor.
Southern Arizona Senator Jonathan Paton says it's no mystery to him---he thinks Senator Vershoor wanted to avoid the vote.
"At the very minimum the public expects us to vote. And that didn't happen today because we didn't have all the numbers present. Craig Smith asks: "So rather than take a stand, this Senator effectively took a hike?" Paton:"......Yes.">
Senators were supposed to vote on a plan to balance the budget by cutting money for K-12 education, and social programs with the Department of Economic Security---and give state department heads the ability to raise fees to better cover their costs.
All the Senate Democrats voted no. With a few Republicans voting no, and Senator Vershoor's vanishing act, the measure went down.
Governor Brewer's a Republican but she wasn't shy about rapping some Republicans too.
Her statement thanks some legislators for trying to solve the budget emergency but says, "Unfortunately, every single Democrat and a couple of Republican extremists have, once again, thwarted this effort to slow government spending."
Craig Smith asked Sen. Paton:"What do you think of the severity of the language there?"
Paton: "I think she's accurate. I don't disagree with her. We have people in both parties that can't come to the reality that this is the worst budget crisis in the history of the state."
Meanwhile Democratic leaders are criticizing the Governor. She call the special session, then left the state for a Governor's conference.
Her spokesman says she felt Republican legislative leaders had things under control.
Lawmakers come back into session Monday to try to pass the budget cuts again.
