KGUN 9 On Your Side, Tucson News, Weather & SportsAriz. governor vows to 'talk straight' on budget

Ariz. governor vows to 'talk straight' on budget

The Associated Press

PHOENIX - Gov. Jan Brewer says she'll "talk straight"
with Arizonans regarding the state's worrisome budget troubles as
she campaigns for a full term as governor and that her political
rivals should too.

"Whether it's good news or bad news, I will always tell voters
the truth - always - and then give them what I believe the solution
is. I trust the voters and I hope they trust me," she told The
Associated Press during an interview last week in her office.

Brewer, a Republican who became governor in January when
Democrat Janet Napolitano resigned to take a federal Cabinet post,
discussed the state's budget troubles, her election campaign and
other topics.

She faces both declared and potential primary challengers from
within her own party, as well as a likely general-election opponent
in Democratic Attorney General Terry Goddard.

With tax revenue hammered by the recession, the state faces a
$1.6 billion shortfall in the current state budget even after
initial work to erase red ink. A $3 billion shortfall is forecast
for the next budget.

"I'm going to talk straight to the people," she said. "I'm
going to give them the facts and figures. I'm going to tell them
exactly what my plan is and how we're going to turn us around in
Arizona."

Brewer has been criticized by many Republicans, including
declared challenger John Munger and potential foes Vernon Parker
and Dean Martin, for including a temporary sales tax increase in
her fix-it plan along with spending cuts and future tax cuts.

Clearly showing irritation, Brewer said her opponents are taking
"political rhetoric potshots" and shouldn't be given a free pass
on the budget issue.

"It's easy to sit on the sidelines and to shoot at the
incumbent sitting governor and not have to obviously put a proposal
out there," Brewer said.

Her opponents, she said, "ought to have a plan. They ought to
talk about what it is that they're going to do. It's pretty obvious
to most people of the state of Arizona that we have a deficit of a
magnitude that we have never seen before and that we cannot cut our
way totally out of this budget. That's going to take a lot of
different avenues and they need to be held accountable."

Goddard, who is formally "exploring" a possible candidacy, has
accused Brewer of a lack of leadership but hasn't provided a budget
plan of his own. He is expected to formally announce his candidacy
in January once free of constraints of Arizona's resign-to-run law.

Munger, a Tucson attorney and former state party chairman who
already has announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination,
says his "plan for prosperity" includes cutting business taxes to
encourage job creation, reducing benefits under the Arizona Health
Care Cost Containment System and eliminating more state jobs.

 Brewer, who won two statewide campaigns for secretary of state
after serving in the Legislature as a Maricopa County supervisor,
said her first campaign for governor will emphasize her long record
in public office.

"I'm proud of my record. I think that that people do know who
Jan Brewer is. I believe that they trust Jan Brewer and that if I
say something that it's not pontificating," Brewer said.