Roberts: What the heck is going on with Mark Brnovich?
I must say, some of Arizona’s leaders have really outdone themselves this year when it comes to predictability.
Gov. Doug Ducey moved resolutely forward on his plan to cut taxes every year, even as he tried to position himself as the education governor.
Secretary of State Michele Reagan did everything she could not to make our campaign finance laws more transparent – as promised during her 2014 campaign – but to actually make it easier for special interests to maintain their anonymity as they seek buy our elections with dark money.
Most of the all-Republican Arizona Corporation Commission has done all it can to block Commissioner Bob Burns’ efforts to get to the bottom of whether Arizona Public Service mounted a covert campaign in 2014 to get a pair of friendly regulators.
No rubber stamp for Gowan or APS
Then there's Attorney General Mark Brnovich. He’s been a pleasant surprise in his willingness to buck the powers-that-be in the GOP.
Early in the year, Brnovich launched an investigation into House Speaker David Gowan’s penchant for collecting state mileage reimbursements he wasn’t entitled to and using a chauffeur-driven state car for what appears to be personal business. Gowan asked the AG to look into it after the Arizona Capitol Times broke the story.
No doubt, he was hoping for a quick vindication from a fellow Republican as he ran for Congress. Instead, I’m told Brnovich’s investigation is continuing (and may have widened) as the year comes to a close. Gowan must be grinding his teeth down to nubs, given that he hopes to get back into the Legislature in 2018.
Though Brnovich, like most Republicans, enjoyed the support of APS during his 2014 campaign ($425,000 worth of support, in his case), like Bob Burns he has shown himself willing to go against the state’s most powerful utility.
In May, Brnovich released an opinion that Burns has the authority as a lone commissioner to pry open APS’s books. He also cited a court ruling that suggests Burns also could look at the campaign spending of APS parent Pinnacle West. Based upon that opinion, Burns launched his investigation and was promptly sued by APS.
Brnovich: Reagan left questions unanswered
In June, Brnovich appointed a special investigator to dig into Reagan’s handling of the May special election. Specifically, why more than a half a million Arizona voters didn’t get timely information laying out the pros and cons about a pair of propositions, as required by law, and why Reagan remained silent about it as early voting began.
Reagan blamed the vendor but Brnovich wasn’t convinced, saying her response “left some unanswered questions about how nearly 40 percent of the households for which the Secretary of State produced the mailing list received their pamphlets weeks after the statutory deadline and why appropriate election officials and the public were not immediately notified of the issue.”
Judge wants Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan to explain her voter statements
We’re still awaiting the results of that investigation. Brnovich on Thursday told me the investigation "is ongoing."
Now, Brnovich is taking on the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The state chamber, along with three other chambers of commerce, last week sued to stop the state’s new minimum wage from going into effect on Jan. 1. To the surprise of Prop. 206 backers, Brnovich is vigorously defending the 58 percent of voters who approved boosting the state’s minimum wage – taking their side over the interests of the business community that is a major funder of Republican candidates.
Wait: He's putting law above politics?
On Wednesday, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge sided with Brnovich, rejecting the chambers’ arguments that the new law is unconstitutional and thus refusing to put the law on the hold until its merits can be considered next year.
Brnovich vowed to fight on as the chambers inevitably appeal to the state Supreme Court.
“I will continue to do my job which is to fight for the will of Arizona voters & to uphold the rule of law,” Brnovich tweeted on Wednesday.
An attorney general who puts the law above politics?
I’m pretty sure he won’t be getting a Christmas card from Arizona chamber CEO Glenn Hamer.