COUNTERPOINT: In response to Rep. Smith accomplishments

Rep. Steve Smith (District 11) recently provided an article to InMaricopa in which he touted his legislative success in the Arizona Legislature during the 2013 session. He claims his work improved the lives for Maricopa, but his efforts actually focused on denying Arizonans health-care access, continuing to privatize public education, killing unions, increasing the access and availability of guns and denying Arizonans the ability to vote.

1. Yes, he’s helped create jobs. Too bad they are mostly low-wage.

Virtually all of the growth is anticipated to be in the Phoenix metro area. In Pima County, fully 40 percent of this year’s job growth and more than half for the rural counties will be in the leisure and hospitality sector, including bars, restaurants and, to a lesser extent, hotels and motels. These are among the lowest paying jobs in the state, acknowledged the Department of Administration’s director of economic analysis.

2. In every case, he voted in favor of school privatization versus strengthening public education. 
His sponsorship of HB1363 to significantly expand eligibility for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts could siphon off $20 million from traditional public education funding.

He was also a primary sponsor of HB2617, which makes it easier for preapproval of school tuition organizations to divert tax credit monies to private schools.

3. Rep. Smith is no friend of the average worker.

He voted against Arizona accepting all of the federal unemployment dollars for which it is eligible. By the end of the year, that could translate into 45,000 jobless Arizonans that run out of unemployment assistance. It also means a loss of $3.5 million a week to our local economy that would-be recipients won’t be spending on necessities like food, rent and clothing.

4. When it comes to access to health care, all Smith could say is “NO!”

He was a primary sponsor of HB2352 to prohibit the expansion of AHCCS (Medicaid) and HB2354 which denied services to childless adults.

5. Smith has one answer for the very complex immigration issue: build a border fence. 

According to an Aug. 16 article in Arizona Capitol Times, Smith’s Build the Border Fence organization is still struggling to raise money and has yet to erect a single fence post along the border. And much as he did a year ago, he still says he is on the verge of getting started. He has collected only about $275,000 since the effort began in 2011 and most of that money came in during the first few months. Only $1,833 has been collected in 2013.

6. The only electoral rights Rep. Smith supported are those who served legislators.

Although he failed to vote on HB2305 restricting the ability of Arizona residents to vote, he did vote to require a primary during recall elections with HB2282 and SB1449. He was a primary sponsor on HB2290, which if passed, would have allowed Russell Pearce to recoup $260,000 from the state for his recall election costs.