Usually at this point so close to Election Day, it’s hard to go anywhere without seeing the names and faces of important candidates. But with just 12 days left until all ballots are cast, our governor is noticeably absent from the public scene.
After skipping out on the candidate forum at Phoenix’s Devonshire Senior Center, and again Wednesday in another forum on the Tempe campus, Gov. Jan Brewer is not painting a positive picture of herself as an official responsible to the public she serves. Add in the fact that her campaign is being financed with the public’s money from the Citizens Clean Elections Commission and this snubbing of the voters is difficult to take.
True, in September she did fulfill her requirement of one public debate, and it didn’t go well. But since then, she’s taken a sharp turn from her extended 15 minutes of fame this summer, when it was hard to turn on cable news and not see her face.
We get that she’s no soothsayer when put on the spot, at the podium, or in front of a camera. But as the leader of our state asking for another term, she shouldn’t be able to base four more years on the fact that she won without ever facing an opponent.
We hate to be cliché, but actions speak louder than words. Going AWOL and not even sending a representative in her place speaks poorly for her administration. Public debate is the best way for voters to see what she stands for, and by not jumping at any occasion to do so, she’s doing a disservice to her constituents and her state. Even if it’s unlikely that her presence at a candidate forum would be changing anyone’s mind, her presence as someone seeking the approval of the public is expected.
As of early October, the governor is leading her Democratic opponent Terry Goddard by 16 percentage points, according to Rasmussen Reports. This is a bit of a slide since last month’s 22-point lead.
It’s likely plenty of voters don’t care about her public appearance and have already made up their minds (or even cast their ballots). Maybe her name has been thrown around enough with the Senate Bill 1070 headlines that she’s guaranteed to be grandfathered into an odd incumbency.
Whatever the matter, it looks like she’s headed toward victory without having to speak for herself beyond the minimum.
The efforts by our student leaders at ASU to provide a forum for the candidates to speak should not go unnoticed. In inviting the candidates to the Tempe campus, they showed they are committed to increasing awareness of public affairs. It would have been easy to look past this event since the governor said early on she wouldn’t be showing up, and there’s little value to the one-sided debate. But in their own way, students showed their ability to hold officials accountable.
