Posted on 10/29/2003 3:54:01 PM PST by hsmomx3
Business folks and main street voters in Arizona may not care all that much, if at all, about the ongoing spat between Republicans and Gov. Janet Napolitano over funding for the state's independent redistricting board.
But Monday events regarding the "inside baseball" restricting issue showed Napolitano's media savvy and knack for being able to stay ahead of the political curve.
Republicans have been criticizing the governor for a week or so for not including funding for the Independent Restricting Commission. That panel was given the responsibility to draw up legislative and congressional district lines and now faces lawsuits from Democrats who did not like its map making in 2002.
The commission says it's out of money and needs cash quick because the lawsuit trial begins Nov. 12. The GOP wants to appropriate the money during the special session. Napolitano at first resisted those efforts, even though it was her party who backed the creation of the independent panel in 2000. The governor wanted to see more info on how the IRC spent its $6 million appropriation, as well as for the Legislature to focus more on prison overcrowding and Child Protective Services issues during the special session.
Republicans early Monday began to hammer the governor on the issue and planned to keep that effort up throughout the day.
Napolitano diffused the issue Monday afternoon by including the redistricting matter on the agenda for the special session, which has gotten off to a slow start. Then the governor one-upped her GOP rivals and stole their media thunder by calling a press conference prior to the one they had scheduled for 5 p.m. Napolitano announced the state was sending firefighters to help California fight the major blazes in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas. The fire news and Arizona's help trumped the redistricting scrap.
The Republicans still planned to go ahead with their own press conference to criticize the governor for her delays on the IRC matter. However, the Legislature was first meeting on the matter in joint caucus. Officials from the redistricting commission made presentations before lawmakers and Democratic members took the opportunity to ask plenty of lengthy questions on the matter, thus delaying the start of the Republican press conference.
In the end, that media event did not start until well after 5 p.m. and despite appearances by Congressmen Jeff Flake, John Shadegg, J.D. Hayworth and Trent Franks, the press conference was sparsely attended by the media.
The governor was in Scottsdale Wednesday morning, appearing before a breakfast meeting hosted by Mayor Mary Manross and the City Council.
© 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.
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