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| GOP
stalls
confirmations
until
Napolitano
fills
board |
-
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- By
Howard
Fischer
- East
Valley
Tribune/Capitol
Media
Services
- April
20,
2004
|
| Republicans
in
the
state
Senate
are
blocking
confirmation
of
the
executive
director
of
the
School
Facilities
Board
as
well
as
two
of
its
members
because
the
governor
has
left
a
third
board
slot
vacant
for
a
year. |
|
Senate
Majority
Leader
Tim
Bee,
R-Tucson,
said
several
members
of
the
GOP
caucus
have
questioned
why
Gov.
Janet
Napolitano
has
so
far
failed
to
nominate
anyone
to
the
spot
on
the
board
that
is
supposed
to
represent
a
taxpayer
organization.
Napolitano
refused
to
renominate
Kevin
McCarthy,
director
of
the
Arizona
Tax
Research
Association,
who
had
been
placed
on
the
board
by
Jane
Hull,
Napolitano’s
predecessor.
But
Napolitano
has
submitted
the
names
of
two
others
for
Senate
approval:
Frank
Davidson,
a
new
appointee
to
replace
Mike
Wicks,
and
Peter
Granillo,
a
current
board
member.
She
also
has
named
Bill
Bell
as
director
of
the
agency,
which
also
requires
Senate
approval.
But,
Senate
President
Ken
Bennett,
R-Prescott,
said
the
confirmations
will
not
come
to
the
floor
until
Napolitano
submits
a
replacement
for
McCarthy.
Bennett
said
the
post
Napolitano
has
so
far
ignored
is
"critical."
He
said
that
person
is
supposed
to
represent
taxpayers
on
the
board,
which
is
responsible
for
dividing
up
hundreds
of
millions
of
dollars
each
year
in
tax
dollars
to
build
and
repair
schools.
Gubernatorial
press
aide
Jeanine
L’Ecuyer
said
the
move
has
not
been
intentional.
And
she
denied
that
the
governor
was
looking
for
a
legal
way
to
name
someone
other
than
a
member
of
the
Arizona
Tax
Research
Association.
But
L’Ecuyer
acknowledged
staff
members
were,
in
fact,
looking
for
some
answers
about
who
they
could
put
into
that
position.
"There
was
an
issue
of
what
the
definition
is
of
a
‘taxpayer
organization,’
"
she
said.
McCarthy
said
it
was
understood
when
the
board
was
created
that
the
Arizona
Tax
Research
Association,
whose
membership
includes
corporate
and
some
individual
taxpayers,
would
have
one
of
the
nine
slots.
He
said
that
is
because
other
members
have
specific
agendas.
For
example,
it
includes
a
teacher,
a
registered
professional
engineer,
a
school
board
member,
an
architect
and
someone
with
experience
in
demographics
—
a
person
who
could
determine
where
growth
in
school-age
population
is
likely
to
occur.
McCarthy
said
he
is
unsure
as
to
what
influence
he
had. |
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