Democrats gain 7 seats in Legislature

PHOENIX (By Amanda J. Crawford, Arizona Republic) November 21, 2006 — Democrats in Arizona's Legislature benefited from their party's national momentum and the popularity of incumbent Gov. Janet Napolitano, gaining more ground in the state House and Senate than they had in any election since 1990.

With the final votes tallied this weekend, Democrats picked up six seats in the 60-member House and one seat in the Senate, narrowing the GOP majorities to 33-27 and 17-13, respectively.

The gains dashed Republicans' hopes from a year ago of winning the two-thirds majority they needed in both Houses to overturn Napolitano's frequent vetoes. And the results have given Democrats hope that they can team with moderate Republicans to make their own imprint on state laws.

At the least, Democrats hope they can work to filter out what they consider the worst legislation before it gets to the governor's desk and help push through some of the governor's priorities, including better access to health care, especially for children and small businesses, and more cohesive planning to deal with the state's explosive growth.

"It gives us more clout," said Rep. Phil Lopes, D-Tucson, the minority leader. At the very least, he says, "we don't think it is as easy with 27 members for them to ignore us."

Optimists from both sides of the aisle say they are hopeful the new numbers will mean a more congenial working relationship between the parties, an improvement over recent sessions when conservative Republican leaders had the votes to push through legislation. That left Napolitano wielding her veto stamp and other Democrats sitting on the sidelines. The parties could find common ground on issues like education, immigration, transportation and health care.

"When the dust clears, it is going to force us to work together, which I think is a good thing," said Republican Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-Safford.

Democratic gains

In the House, Democrats picked up seats in Glendale/Phoenix, Phoenix/Paradise Valley, Yuma County, Tempe, Pinal County and north Tucson. In the Senate, Democrat Charlene Pesquiera gave the party the new seat after Republican incumbent Sen. Toni Hellon of north Tucson was defeated in the primary.

The gains in the House give the Democrats more representation than they have had since the 1991-92 session. Republicans also have controlled the Senate since then, except when the parties shared control with 15 seats in 2001-02.

Although the wins were greeted with enthusiasm by Democratic leaders, their hopes were tempered by deep divisions within their own ranks and the reality that their only true hope of getting their priorities through still lies with Republican legislators and the governor. Rep. Pete Rios, who lost his position as minority whip, points out that Lopes was selected to lead the party by one vote over Rep. Linda Lopez.

"We need to unite our caucus," he said, which he said must be the first priority. "Republicans are still in the majority in the Legislature, whether it is by one vote or nine votes. We do have to work cooperatively with the speaker whether we like them or not."

Role for moderates

The new numbers in the Legislature mean that moderates will play an even bigger role than they had in past years, with both parties looking to win over swing votes.

Konopnicki, who had weighed challenging House Speaker Jim Weiers for the leadership position, calls himself a conservative but says he has been labeled a moderate because he has not been lockstep with House leaders.

He said he hoped one of the areas the Legislature and the governor could find common ground on is immigration. Last session, Republican leaders instead pushed through legislation expecting it to be vetoed.

"I think it is going to cause Republicans to take a hard look at each other and decide how much better we can work with each other," he said. "There will be a lot of people asking questions about things and that will be good and healthy."

But don't look for too much work across the aisle. Napolitano may have worsened her relationship with Weiers by campaigning hard for Democrat Jackie Thrasher, who ousted Weiers' seatmate, Rep. Doug Quelland.