Props 111 and 112

Prop 111 and 112 are… you guessed it, amendments to the Arizona State Constitution! Shocking, yes, I know, but don’t worry there are some propositions this year that are NOT amendments, and I’ll get to those soon enough.

Prop 111 is an amendment which changes the name of the office of Secretary of State. Currently in our state constitution, if the governor cannot complete their full term, because they took a national position as Secretary of Homeland Security for instance, then the Secretary of State is the next person in line to succeed the governor. Governor Jan Brewer became the governor because she had been the Secretary of State under Janet Napolitano. This amendment would change the name of the position and how it is elected.

The Secretary of State would become the Lieutenant Governor and would be elected on a co-ticket with the Governor. The idea is that it more clearly defines the chain of command for the state and helps people to realize that the Secretary of State is actually the next person in line for the governorship. The argument seems to be that you can have a governor of one party and a SOS of another party and without an election the governorship can “change hands” so to speak.

Here is the problem with the amendment. The position of Secretary of State is an important position. If you’ve been on the website at all, which I hope you have because you’ve followed some of my links, you’ve discovered that the Secretary of State is actually in charge of a lot of things. Granted they aren’t glamorous things, but they are important things. Is a VP- type Lieutenant Governor going to do all of these things? Aren’t those things beneath a person who has the word “governor” in their title? I know I’m kind of being nitpicky here, but I think the net effect of this is going to be that the Secretary of State’s office is going to turn into an ADDITIONAL state office. We don’t need more offices and more staff members. We want smaller government on every level, not just the national level.

I’m also concerned about the entire premise of the measure. This all revolves around politicians not liking the fact that the people of the state can nominate a governor and a SOS from different parties. I’m sorry, I’m not really concerned as much about the parties as I am about whether or not someone is the best person for a certain position. Obviously I vote Republican almost exclusively, but that isn’t because I’m in love with the Republican Party, but rather because I haven’t been able to find any social, fiscal, and national security CONSERVATIVES in the Democrat Party. For that matter this bill would almost completely shut out a qualified candidate with a reasonable shot at an office like the Secretary of State, who may not be from either party.

I don’t see a significant net positive in this and I see some decent potential for negative consequences.

Prop 111 is a NO for me.

Prop 112 is an amendment to the Arizona State Constitution that brings in the deadline for ballot propositions from 4 months to 6 months before the election. The purpose is to give the government time to verify the validity of the signatures on any petitions.

Again, it’s a bipartisan measure that is supported across the board. So naturally I’m a little skeptical, but other than an urgent issue coming up that should be dealt with quickly (which the legislature could/should handle separately) it seems benign.

I hate to say this about anything, but on this one I’m almost completely indifferent. If it really does help them vet the signatures better then it is probably a good thing.

Prop 112 is a ho-hum Yes for me.

Summary:

Prop 106 – the Anti-Obamacare Prop – YES

Prop 107 – ending racial quotas in state hiring – YES

Prop 109 – protecting hunting and fishing in AZ - YES

Prop 110 – modifying the state’s ability on land trust deals – hesitant YES

Prop 111 – changing the Secretary of State to Lieutenant Governor – NO

Prop 112 – shortening the deadline for ballot measures – hesitant YES