RESIDENT: Rep. Steve Smith, shameless

It is one thing to pat yourself on the back for something you may have accomplished. It is quite another when you are an elected official, do it publicly, while not being honest. Such is the case with the last op-ed by Rep. Steve Smith entitled “SMITH: We secured major funding for education/MUSD in budget.” Let’s break down what actually happened, and exactly what Steve Smith had to do with it.

Let me lay the picture clear for Maricopa residents concerning Rep. Smith’s “accomplishment.” The funding that Rep. Smith is referring to was part of the omnibus budget bill (in which the funds were a part of) that was passed in the Senate and then moved to the House for a vote.

Essentially, Republican state senators gutted the funding for public-to-charter conversion funds by slashing $33 million from the overall state budget set aside for this matter.

This was not a small or meaningless number, it was actually the second largest portion cut from the budget within this bill (SB1485), diluting the already anemic funds for public schools in Arizona.

When the bill reached the House, it was expected by many to fly through with the clear Republican majority. However, this was not to be. Six moderate and responsible Republicans, led by Rep. Kate Brophy McGee of LD -28, joined with the House Democrats in blocking the passage of the bill until amended, with many sighting the lack of funding for public education as their reason.

Absent from that list of six Republicans, was Rep. Steve Smith. In no article do I find a quote from Steve Smith indicating his wishes for the negotiation one way or the other. I find no information anywhere that shows his unique involvement with negotiating this issue. One may say that it was perhaps done behind the scenes. However, when a politician actually cares about something, they make a stand and make it known.

Steve Smith lives in Maricopa. Six other members of his party decided to make this issue a focal point of the negotiations, and he said nothing to the press. I will be a gentleman in this case, and will provide Rep. Smith the opportunity to show a quote from the floor debate perhaps (the official government record), in which his voice can be clearly identified as backing a move to restore these funds. Baring that submission, I would ask Rep. Smith to retract his article, as it currently stands as a slap in the face to informed voters that realize what actually happened … he voted the party line.

Recently, the funds secured by the House as a result of the stand taken by House Democrats and the six responsible House Republicans were axed in half when the budget was returned to the Senate. The budget is now back in the hands of House Republicans. When contemplating the coming negotiations, Smith said this to a Capitol Reports journalist: “I think we’re going to vote for a budget that 31 and 16 can vote for. We could keep holding out, but what good is it going to do?” Let me answer that question Mr. Smith. At most it would help our children get a better education, at the least it would show you care about that subject.

To the parents of students that attend MUSD schools, if you want leaders that tell you half truths and insult your intelligence, you can continue to back leaders such as Steve Smith. If you want leaders that place education as a top priority and will be clear and unambiguous in their positions on education, I would vote for a change in the representation for LD-11.

One final point. I would never have written this article just knowing that Rep. Steve Smith did not act. I had no choice but to write this article when he attempted to take credit for an issue he had no public stance on one way or another.