Wednesday, August 8th, 2007...6:50 am
Well, Not So Much
I love looking for fissures among the Republicans as much as the next guy. Heck, I try to encourage such things. Then I go and get a bucket of popcorn and watch the fun. I’m thinking of calling them as home, “Hey, I saw Tim Bee talking smack about you at the bus stop…”
The Yellow Sheet noted last week that House Majority Leader Tom Boone is getting his own press flack, a guy named Alan Richardson. Although the article (which is only available by subscription) noted that Speaker Jim Weiers approves the hiring, they still tried to stoke the story that there is some deep split between Boone and Weiers.
Well, there may very well be a split between them, but I find it unlikely that Richardson was hired as an attempt by Boone to shiv Weiers. Why? Because it was Weier’s decision to do the hiring. “Hey, I hate you, here is a staff member so you can get into the paper more.”
I do however find two interesting things here. One is that Richardson’s last job was as spokesman for embattled Maricopa Schools chief Sandra Dowling (”embattled” is part of her title now). Trying to spin using a school for homeless kids as a family revenue source as a good thing probably got too much for the guy. It’s probably easier to spin Republican Legislative policies as well thought ought and good for the state. Not that much easier, but no one is being indicted.
Me being all whiny here, but the Republicans get two press flacks, hired at impressive taxpayer funded salaries, when the Dems get only one that is hired for, in one capitol observer’s words, ”dog food money”? Is the workload for a guy working for 33 members twice as big as the workload for someone working for 27? I’ll have to remember that one when a member, or a house spokesperson, complains about bloated bureaucracies with overpaid workers. I guess that the Democrats are just that much more efficient with the people’s money.
1 Comment
August 8th, 2007 at 10:36 am
Richardson worked for Sen. Gray before he moved to the County Superintendent office, so I think he is well liked by the NW GOP leadership. I think the notion of a huge rift is exaggerated. This was a weird budget process though, so who knows.
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