Slideshow: Brewer's inauguration
Former Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer was sworn in as the state’s 22nd governor Wednesday afternoon, a position she took after former Gov. Janet Napolitano resigned to serve as the national Secretary of Homeland Security.
The inauguration took place in front of the State Capitol building, an invitation-only ceremony with the exception of state legislators, key political-party members and members of the press.
In her inaugural speech, Brewer promised to work to balance the state budget, which is facing a deficit she said could be as high as $4 billion by 2010, by cutting spending. She added that her administration would try to minimize the negative effects of these cuts on citizens.
“We know the necessary cuts to the state budget will have an impact on lives and livelihoods,” Brewer said. “Our task is to minimize that impact as much as we can, even as we keep our state moving forward.”
Brewer did not lay out any specific plans but said her solutions would be primarily to cut spending while keeping taxes low, a measure she said would attract growth and relieve the burden on taxpayers.
“We must keep our tax and regulatory burdens low,” Brewer said. “We want to make sure that beleaguered businesses in California and other over-taxed places … see brighter prospects in the cities and towns of Arizona.”
Brewer mentioned the state university system just once during her speech, emphasizing the need to keep higher education low-cost and highly accessible.
“[Citizens should be] free to pursue their education at one of our great research institutions at a cost that will not leave them with crushing debt,” she said.
The governor did not take a position on the Joint Legislative Budget Committee’s controversial proposal to cut state spending, which includes a provision of cutting at least $480 million in state funding to the university system.
Legislators who attended the event had different hopes and expectations for the new administration, which is facing a massive budget shortfall.
Rep. David Stevens, R-Sierra Vista, said a Republican administration would give the state the opportunity to “trim the fat” in its budget.
“[Gov. Napolitano] wanted to go into heavy borrowing and delayed spending, and that delays our problems,” Stevens said. “That doesn’t fix our current problems. Spending is too high.”
Stevens added that he felt the current budget shortfall was caused by excessive government spending in the previous two years, when Napolitano was governor.
“The money [the government does not] have this year, they spent in previous years,” Stevens said. “Had they been more conservative the last two years, we would have a balanced budget now.”
Rep. Tom Boone, R-Peoria, said he was pleased with the upbeat, positive tone of Brewer’s speech.
“I think it’s a great day for Arizona,” Boone said. “I thought she came across very positive and optimistic that we’re going to get [the budget crisis] solved, and that’s been characteristic of Jan Brewer her entire career.”
Rep. Daniel Patterson, D-Tucson, said he hoped Brewer, a Republican governor with Republican majorities in the House and Senate, would work across party lines.
“Gov. Brewer said she wants to be a governor for all of Arizona, and I look forward to trying to hold her to that,” Patterson said. “The state’s fairly evenly divided [politically] … so if you ignore the Democrats, you ignore an equal percentage of the people that deserve to be heard.”
Rep. Chad Campbell, D-Phoenix, said he hoped the governor would follow Napolitano’s example of investing in education.
“[Napolitano] was the most popular elected official in the state … and she invested heavily in education, which we know the public wants,” Campbell said. “We have to continue protecting education and investing in our university system.”
Reach the reporter at derek.quizon@asu.edu.
