With just weeks to go before the May 17 special election, State Rep. Bruce Wheeler announced yesterday that he was now opposed to Prop 123.
“I was wrong,” the Tucson Democrat told the Weekly Monday.
Wheeler had originally opposed sending the controversial school-funding plan to the ballot, but had since said he supported Prop 123, which asks voters to dig into the state land trust to fund most of a $3.5 billion funding plan for Arizona schools. Wheeler even urged voters to support the plan in the state’s official voter guide.
Last week, he told the Weekly that Prop 123 wasn’t his preferred plan, but it “was the only game in town” and if it failed at the ballot, it would mean years of court battles before schools saw any new funding.
But Wheeler now says he doesn’t trust Republicans to stop cutting education programs, so the additional Prop 123 dollars won’t make a difference anyway.
“The attacks on public education are continuing,” Wheeler said. “They’re giving with one hand and taking away with another.”
Wheeler predicts that next year, Republican lawmakers will strip TUSD of its desegregation funds, which will result in a cut of roughly $60 million. (Legislation to do just that failed this year.)
On top of that, with the latest budget proposal that is floating around the Capitol this week, Republicans continue to hollow out the state’s finances with tax cuts, Wheeler said.
“In addition to corporate tax breaks that were enacted three years ago and are being phased in and that are going to cost us $350 million next year, they want other tax breaks?” Wheeler said. “I’ll say it again: Where is the sincerity in educating our kids this year, next year and the year after? Why is that money not going to schools, if they’re so concerned about them?”
“Prop 123 is a sham,” Wheeler said. “And I’m kicking myself for not catching what a sham it is until now.”
We’ll have an in-depth look at Prop 123 in this week’s Tucson Weekly.
This article appears in Apr 21-27, 2016.
Well, we all know what they say about hindsight, but Mr. Wheeler’s confession is indicative of what is wrong with too many of our so-called representatives at all levels of government in America – they are involved or enabling the shenanigans, or they are oblivious to what is going on – either way, they are not representing the people’s best interests. Perhaps a couple of grass root efforts to impose term limits that eliminate career politicians and a box for “none of the above” that force political parties to provide better candidates for office would be a good start. Then again, ensuring an uneducated electorate might be what the governor and his like-minded party boys had in mind all along.
The good people at noprop123.com have laid out the ups and downs of this constitutional amendment wrapped in political subterfuge. Dark money Ducey and his ALEC lapdogs at the legislature are privatizing our public schools at a breakneck pace. Thank you, Mr. Nintzel for your energy an insight on helping us understand this complex issue. And many thanks for Mr. Wheeler for his hard work on making a quality education available to every child in Arizona.
I agree with sgsmith’s comments and would add, specific to Mr. Wheeler, that he has exhibited similar ambivalence and inconsistency with regard to whether or not he will run for Congress this year. For over a year, he has gone back and forth about taking on Martha McSally, issuing veiled critiques of both Matt Heinz and Victoria Steele. Most recently, he said he might indeed run if Donald Trump is the GOP presidential nominee. Perhaps Mr. Wheeler needs to be more thoughtful and poised before issuing public utterances. Those invested with the trust of the voters need to be more poised and deliberative than he has recently demonstrated.
Who cares what Wheeler thinks. He originally endorsed Courtney Frogge for the AZ House and then withdrew that endorsement and went with Kirsten Engel. Seems like he has problems making and sticking with a decision.
He didn’t then he did then he didn’t? Goodbye Bruce. You are a waste of a State seat. Just as you were on the city council.
If 123 fails they will switch funding to the lottery. Many states have been successful racing the gamblers.
And phased din?
Come on proof this stuff.
Thanks, Bruce, for coming out against Prop 123. It helps a lot.
I find little to be wrong with seeing the light and changing ones mind. Sticking to a bad decision seems to me to be a greater mistake.
I’m glad he has changed his mind, and I encourage all voters to say no to Prop 123. The constitution of the state of Arizona should not be amended just so that Ducey and his gang can avoid paying what they should for education in this state. We the voters chose how we wanted to fund education, the courts have agreed with us, and Ducey and all other politicians who are refusing to do their duty should be held in contempt of court and forced to pay up.
The Republicans keep cutting taxes and fees for corporations and the wealthiest while starving our schools and the programs that help us all. And there have been no “new jobs” as promised, and we continue to languish. Raiding the state land trust is short-sighted and will only further impoverish the next generations.
I also think that the timing of this special election is aimed at keeping voter participation down so that this proposition can be slid in without a lot of oversight. Why are we paying for a completely separate election just so that the governor can avoid his fiscal responsibility? Vote no on Prop 123.
Mo’ money for illegals – there’s never enough
Analysis of the latest Census data indicates that Arizona’s illegal immigrant population is costing the state’s taxpayers about $1.3 billion per year for education, medical care and incarceration. Even if the estimated tax contributions of illegal immi- grant workers are subtracted, net outlays still amount to more than $1 billion per year. The annual fiscal burden borne by Arizonans amounts to more than $700 per household headed by a native-born resident.
http://www.fairus.org/site/DocServer/azcosts2.pdf
Following the 2011 redistricting I found myself a constituent of Bruce Wheeler, no longer ‘represented’ by him who is now our peerless Speaker, David Gowan. I’ve supported Bruce in his campaigns because I’ve known him to be intelligent and dedicated to working for the common good of the people he represents and all the people of Arizona. His changing his mind on significant public policy issues is to me an indication that his boots are not stuck in concrete nor is his head in the sand. A decision once made — support of Prop 123 and of Courtney Frogge as his replacement in the Legislature are two current examples — is not reason to remain locked into that decision.
In the case of Prop 123, the closer one looks at it the worse it shows itself to be. The promise of more money now for our starving schools is wrapped around with steel bands engraved “never adequate funding for public education in this state”. The desire to see 123 as a boon to our kids and their teachers has given way for this thinking legislator to the realization that it is a Doozy of a scam.
Along with Bruce and doubtless many other folks I offered my support to Courtney Frogge when she told me a year ago that she was running for the seat Bruce would be vacating. I didn’t stop to wonder whether others might be interested in running. Not until January did I even hear of Kirsten Engel, but when I did I saw a very impressive resumé, including more years of responsible professional service to the community here in Tucson than Ms. Frogge, a native Tucsonan, can boast. After lengthy conversations with both candidates I chose to support Ms. Engel as the person better prepared to represent LD 10 in the next legislature, along with incumbent Representative Stefanie Mach and Senator David Bradley.
Yes, nothing wrong with a person who has the courage to change their mind…would be better to research up front but better late than never. A couple of other things — we already have term limits. Those who think selling the golden goose today to give the schools $1 million while selling off lands that are like rent, a continual stream of income, while watching more development on the sold lands that drain the water level, need to review it again. Ducey is robbing Peter to pay Paul (the corporate interests). As for the illegal comments, the true story seems to be a bit different and the only sources I could find were Lou Gibbs and a foundation that is anti-illegals, neither of which stood up to fact check and all of which failed to separate out illegal and legal immigrants. “So, how much do illegal immigrants cost federal, state and local governments in the U.S.? Estimates vary widely, and no consensus exists. The Urban Institute put the net national cost at $1.9 billion in 1992; a Rice University professor, whose work the Urban Institute criticized, said it was $19.3 billion in 1993. More recently, a 2007 report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office examined 29 reports on state and local costs published over 15 years in an attempt to answer this question. CBO concluded that most of the estimates determined that illegal immigrants impose a net cost to state and local governments but “that impact is most likely modest.” CBO said “no agreement exists as to the size of, or even the best way of measuring, that cost on a national level.” What we need is a worker program that ran smoothly “back when we had a brain.” Not allowing Mexican workers to buy insurance or have a driver’s license, albeit a special one identifying short stays, is shortsighted and stupid. The more people we have insured, the lower the cost of insurance to you and the more drivers who are legal and have insurance, the less likely you are to be financially out of pocket if they hit your vehicle. Time for Arizona to kick ALEC and Koch in the ass and return to a civil society minus the crazy bills ALEC is vomiting out of the state capital. Oh, and the money for schools from the lottery — that’s why we passed it in the first place and the schools somehow were forgotten when they began handing it out. Another lie from the legislature.
Educators are so desperate they have had a lot of influence on responsible legislators who believe in education. Rep. Wheeler isn’t afraid to admit Prop. 123 just wasn’t, isn’t the answer. Will enough voters finally come to this conclusion also? Let’s hope so and see some changes in the legislature. A number of excellent candidates have stepped forward, now try to replace some in office. As for the contest in LD 10, completion is good and makes for a better General Election by smoking out differences giving voters the opportunity to learn more before they vote on “names”.
Why make our students suffer the death of a thousand cuts? Why don’t they just give students a small severance check after fifth grade, send them on their way and be done with it?
Wheeler, in this case you were non-thinking or deceived. With a little bit of consideration, anyone can see Proposition 123 is clearly a ploy to give Arizona Republican fat-cats yet another tax cut. If it passes, Ducey will say education is fixed for 10 years or more, and taxpayers are eligible for a new tax cut. We are going to have to send our kids to California to be educated.
If you send your kids to California, they better speak Spanish.
It is time for someone in the AEA, ASBA, AASBO to come out and apologize for getting us into this mess. We all make mistakes as Mr Wheeler has shown. It’s not how we make mistakes but, how we correct them that defines us.
The time is NOW. Stand up for what you have to know is a sham that will change our constitution & the way we fund public education forever…
It takes a good man/person to admit a change in a previously stated position, thank you for your courageousness. If more people stood up for righteousness with a well-educated look at issues, our country would be in much better shape.
Susan Hirsh, if you are raising kids in Arizona, wouldn’t it be best if they spoke Spanish, anyway? It seems like that would be a no-brainer when so many people around here speak Spanish as a first language.
Then why don’t we convert our money to pesos?
It’s not a sham, unless you are talking about Republicans in AZ cutting education funding …that’s a sham with an e on the end: SHAME on anyone that doesn’t put our kids education the State of Arizona’s top priority along side securing our Southern border! ~Robert Snedecor, Payson.
I like it when this website BANS people from commenting who have “right”wing views and do not want their country raped, physically and financially by mexicans and moslems.
Stay classy Tucson Weekly