Click the play button on the video window to the see the storyPHOENIX -- After striking out with her fellow politicians, Governor Jan Brewer is taking her message to you.
She is fighting to have the legislature let you decide in November if you to pay one cent more in sales tax to offset what she calls “devastating” cuts to education and social services like child protective service.
MORE: Governor vetoes part of state budget, calls legislature back
State Leaders have repeatedly rejected the idea of a hike. The state current has a 5.6 percent sales tax. So on Thursday, the Governor met with news outlets.
It was one of the rare times she’s spoken directly to the media.
We asked her some targeted questions about what will happen if the legislature does not see her way during a Monday special session.
We also asked her to respond to claims that she has not been working in a bipartisan way.
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ABC15:
What makes you so confident you can get it done on Monday and if it doesn’t happen what do you do next?JB:
Well, I said from the beginning I will not decimate education. So, I had to call them back into special session. And what I had to do is, because there was no line items in the Department of Education, I had to line item all of education.Today is a new day and I’m looking forward and I think we can get it resolved.
ABC15:
And what happens if they say, "Absolutely not, we’re not doing it'?JB:
What happens is, we don’t get a referral to the people of Arizona is that education is going to be decimated. So, this is an opportunity to go to the people and ask them do they support a one-cent tax, temporary, to support education and those most at risk in the state of Arizona, and I believe that they will agree with me. ABC15:
In one of your statements, there is the idea of working in a bipartisan way, especially on Monday, in order to reach a compromise. But a lot of the state leaders are telling us this was their compromise and they made it happen. I know on Tuesday you were trying to work with some Democrats but some feel it’s too little too late.JB:
I’ve said from the beginning this wasn’t a Republican problem, nor was this a Democrat problem. It is a problem that is facing Arizona and it’s going to take all of us to resolve it. ABC15:
Any thoughts for the critics who say they wish you had extended the olive branch sooner, earlier, worked in a more bipartisan way yourself?JB:
I believe that I did. I said way back in February that it wasn’t a Republican problem, it wasn’t a Democrat problem, it was an Arizona problem. A crisis which we have never seen and that we do need to work together, we need to take off our political hats and we need to solve the problem. I think the public, I truly believe the public realizes that there are certain things that people of Arizona want. For example, I think they believe that if there’s an issue out there where a child is not being protected, or being abused, they want an investigator on that. We need to have the dollars to do that. The Governor’s closing thought during the interview was grim.
If the State doesn’t figure out a way to increase revenue she said we will be facing an even bigger budget problem in the years to come.
JB:
It’s only going to get worse. This year is horrible, next year is going to be just terrible, terrible, terrible and the third year it will be so insurmountable that we probably won’t ever be able to get it turned around.
Viewer Twitters Gov. Brewer a question
On
Twitter.com, we asked if you had any questions for the Governor.
MyFEMy responded and asked, "Jan, when are we going to begin capitalizing on our state's abundant solar energy? Why aren't we leading the nation in this yet?"
Click here for Gov. Brewer's response
