Rep. Smith: Countering Gusse’s attack

It is unfortunate that once again Councilwoman Gusse has decided to initiate a public attack on me without even attempting to discuss her concerns with me directly (if you recall, just a few months ago Ms. Gusse recklessly compared my attempt to address the cost of illegal aliens in Arizona’s health-care system to the Holocaust, which caused some to question her making such a statement as an elected official).

Now in her most recent public accusation, Ms. Gusse comments about two pieces of legislation discussed at the Capitol this session, the first being the TPT (sales tax) bill and the second a proposed tax credit and preferential treatment relating to veterans.

Starting with TPT, while much of the initial language was great for Arizona as a whole in that it would streamline our over-complicated tax system, there were parts of the bill that would have been detrimental to Maricopa and other communities like ours, so I worked tirelessly for months with the all parties involved in an effort to keep the good parts of the bill and to remove the bad pieces.

As a matter of fact, I personally organized a last minute meeting with the Governor’s office and Mayor Christian Price just days before the final language was drafted to resolve the remaining details. When it was all said and done, after about a dozen meetings and countless hours, acceptable language was finally agreed upon and the bill was nearly unanimously passed, a bill that will now help ALL of Arizona.

Ms. Gusse’s only complaint relating to TPT was not that I fought vigorously to help to alleviate the concerns of our city, but that I was not there to actually vote for it. Here is where if she had simply reached out to me she would have known that the reason why I missed the vote was that my pregnant wife was hospitalized for nearly a week and I chose to be by her side through the ordeal.

Additionally, had Ms. Gusse researched my record, she would have seen that other than this time I spent in the hospital with my wife, it was the first time that I had ever missed a day or even a vote in the three years I have served in the Senate and the House of Representatives, something very few legislators can say.

Next, Ms. Gusse mentions that I voted no on HB 2484, a bill that would have given tax credits and preferential hiring treatment to veterans. While members of my family have proudly served in the military and while I do all that I can to help our honored veterans, I also hold true to my principles of supporting good policy as your elected official.