Thursday, May 1, 2008
Another legislator retires for financial reasons
Representative Jennifer Burns, a moderate Republican from southern Arizona, announced that she will not seek re-election, saying that the $24,000 salary makes the job very difficult. Burns is one of the few in our legislature who actually devotes most of her time to her job serving Arizonans, while many other legislators have outside income from jobs they do when the legislature is not in session. Many of those legislators with outside jobs spend their time at the legislature working for legislation that benefits their industry. Jennifer Burns has been a rare, refreshing exception, fighting for the best interests of her constituents, as she sees their best interests anyway, instead of her own gain. But her district is larger than many states, and driving her Jeep around meeting with constituents is not getting any cheaper. She says she is considering going into lobbying, where she can make considerably more money. Her district is Democratic-leaning territory, perhaps making it a little easier for Democrats to gain the seats they need to take control of the Arizona House of Representatives for the first time in over 40 years. Still, a Democratic House is a bit of a longshot.
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3 comments:
Wanna make a bet? We will take the House in 2008!
She is "considering going into lobbying".
Hello, that is the standard career path for a politician! The pay in the legislature is low, but that is more than made up for by the mega-bucks one makes once one quits the leg. and becomes a lobbyist. "considering going into lobbying" my ass! I'm sure that was the plan from day one!
As to Sameer's comment, yes, I suppose some people will serve in public office with the idea they can do much better for themselves financially down the road by lobbying. But if that's the case, why serve 6 years and then leave to lobby? Why not be poor for 2 years, then go get a nice lobbying job? Moreover, if you look at our current legislature, there are several members who hold outside jobs in industries that survive solely because they make money off the government. The Arizona Education Association has gone after one Representative for making nearly 6 digits in a part time job for a student tuition organization that exists solely because the legislature created a tax credit supporting such organizations. So, while you can't lobby and be a legislator at the same time, you can get paid to work in a non-lobbying job for an organization or industry and then go introduce and vote on bills that affect the industry paying you. In other words, if the idea is for legislators to make money, they don't really have to wait until they retire, do they? But if they want to be a full time legislator, they have to make a financial sacrifice.
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