Gusse questions Smith on veterans’ bill vote

It’s not the first time Councilwoman Julia Gusse has gone toe-to-toe with state Rep. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa.

During Tuesday’s city council meeting, Gusse publicly expressed disapproval of Smith’s decision last year to vote ‘no’ on a bill that would have given a tax credit to individuals and corporations who hire unemployed military veterans.

Gusse, an Air Force veteran, delivered a prepared statement to Smith after he gave a presentation to council regarding the 2014 legislative session.

The councilwoman and state representative have quarreled over Smith’s no-vote within editorials. Gusse wanted Smith to elaborate on a summer opinion column he wrote, which responded to Gusse’s attack about his vote.

In the column, Smith stated: “This bill came down to the concept of ‘picking winners and losers’… I reject this ‘winner and loser’ mentality as I believe government should be promoting policy that is equally applied to all citizens or industries the same.”

Gusse held up a photo of Smith standing beside former state Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, who was defeated in a recall election in 2011 and a Republican primary in 2012.

“Mr. Russell Pearce was the loser in his run for Senate in 2012,” Gusse said. “You stand beside Mr. Pearce here but yet claim to refuse to pick winners and losers when talking about our veterans.”

Smith clarified he did not support policies that give a leg up to certain segments of the population or certain industries when it comes to jobs and businesses. Those benefits should be the same across the board.

“There’s a lot of people on unemployment,” he said. “There’s a lot of people that need jobs.”

Smith was one of 11 lawmakers who voted against HB 2484 in March. The bill never made it through the Senate.

Smith added he and other lawmakers were concerned for current employees within companies who might be fired by businesses who could then hire a veteran to receive a credit.

Gusse agreed there are a lot of people unemployed and who need jobs, but said veterans aren’t just any other people.

“There aren’t too many individuals in this country that are willing to sacrifice their life for this country,” she said.