Jan Brewer
Encyclopedia
Janice Kay "Jan" Brewer (born September 26, 1944) is the 22nd and current Governor of the U.S.
state of Arizona
and a member of the Republican Party
. She is the fourth woman, and third consecutive woman, to hold the office. Brewer previously served as Secretary of State of Arizona
, from January 2003 until then-Governor Janet Napolitano
resigned after being selected as Secretary of Homeland Security
in January 2009. Brewer became Governor of Arizona as part of the line of succession, as determined by the Arizona constitution.
Born in California
, Brewer attended Glendale Community College
where she received a radiological technologist certificate, but never earned a degree. She has served as a State Senator and State Representative for Arizona, from 1983 to 1996. Brewer also served as Chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, before running for Arizona Secretary of State in 2002.
Brewer came into the national spotlight when, on April 23, 2010, she signed the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act
. The act makes it a state misdemeanor
crime for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying registration documents required by federal law, authorizes state and local law enforcement of federal
immigration law
s, and cracks down on those sheltering, hiring and transporting illegal aliens. Brewer sought a full term as Governor of Arizona in the 2010 Arizona gubernatorial election
, and was elected on November 3, 2010, winning with 55% of the vote over Democrat
Terry Goddard
's 42%.
, to Edna C. Drinkwine (née Bakken) and Perry Wilford Drinkwine, a civilian supervisor at the Hawthorne Army Depot
in Hawthorne, Nevada
. Brewer and her older brother, Paul, lived solely in Hawthorne until she was ten years old. Perry died of lung disease when she was eleven years old, having been ravaged by the constant exposure to chemicals while at the depot. Shortly before her father's death, the family moved to California, seeking "dry desert air and clean ocean breezes." Brewer is of English
and Norwegian descent. Her maternal grandfather Emil Theodore Bakken was from Norway
and her maternal grandmother Carrie Nelson was from Minnesota
and the daughter of Norwegian immigrants. Meanwhile, her paternal grandmother Sarah Rosina Ford (original surname Wilford) was an Englishwoman from Buckinghamshire.
She married John Leon Brewer in Nevada, and worked briefly in Glendale, California
before moving to her husband's hometown of Phoenix, Arizona
in 1970. The couple later relocated to Glendale, Arizona
, where John became a successful chiropractor
, in addition to finding some real estate
success. Settling in Deer Valley, the couple have three children.
for three years, from 1983 to 1987, before deciding to run for the Arizona Senate
, where she would serve from 1987 to 1996. As State Senator, Brewer sought legislation with the intention of creating an office of Lieutenant Governor in the state, arguing that holding the office of Secretary of State does not make a candidate qualified for Governor, and that the office should be filled by a member of the same party, should a vacancy arise. During her last three years as a State Senator, she held the senior leadership position of majority whip.
In 1996, Brewer ran for chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, defeating incumbent Ed King, and would serve for six years on the board. She inherited a debt of $165 million, and by the end of Brewer’s tenure in 2002, she left Maricopa County in one of the strongest financial positions of any county in the nation. Governing Magazine proclaimed the County as "one of the two best managed large counties in the nation."
, to replace outgoing Arizona Secretary of State Betsey Bayless
. Brewer faced a tough primary race against Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio, who attempted to highlight her tenure as a county supervisor by accusing her of raising taxes, after the county had reported an increase in revenue. Brewer responded to the criticism by proclaiming that she had voted to lower the tax rate, and that the county had collected more revenue because of an increase in property valuations. Brewer ultimately won the primary race against DiCiccio. In the general election, she faced Democratic State Senator Chris Cummiskey and Libertarian candidate Sean Nottingham. During the campaign, she fought on a largely conservative, pro-life
rights platform, winning by a narrow margin of just 23,000 votes.
As Secretary of State, Brewer instituted a vote-by-fax program for overseas military troops, which would later be adopted by other municipalities, including San Francisco. Brewer also helped marshal changes brought about by Arizona Proposition 200
, which required citizens in the state to show proof of citizenship before registering to vote or applying for public benefits.
was selected by President Barack Obama
to serve as the Secretary of Homeland Security
in the United States Cabinet
. Arizona has no lieutenant governor, so the Secretary of State stands first in the line of succession if he or she holds that post as a result of an election. Despite her earlier quarrels with the line of succession while serving in the State Senate, Brewer was sworn in as governor after Napolitano resigned from her position on January 21, 2009. She is Arizona's fourth female governor and its third consecutive female governor.
In her inaugural address, Brewer promised to keep taxes low in Arizona, in an attempt to attract business from other states, including California
. Fewer than two months into her term, however, Brewer proposed a tax increase in front of the State Legislature, causing two Republican members to walk out of the address mid-speech. Attempting to rationalize the tax increase, Brewer stated that she was ultimately forced to ask for the increase due to the state's $4 billion state budget deficit.
On April 23, 2010, Brewer signed the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act
, otherwise known as Arizona SB1070, into law, making it "a state crime for illegal immigrants to not have an alien registration document," and requiring police "to question people about their immigration status if there is reason." It also makes it illegal for people to hire illegal immigrants for day labor or to knowingly transport them. In addition, it provides provisions to allow citizens to file lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws. A follow-on bill, said to address certain "racial profiling" issues with the original bill, was passed by the Arizona legislature just before ending their 2010 session, and was signed by Brewer on April 30, 2010. Signing of the bill has led to massive demonstrations in Arizona, Washington, D.C.
and many other cities across the United States, both for and against the legislation.
On June 3, 2010, Brewer met with President Barack Obama to discuss immigration along Mexico's border with Arizona, and how the federal government could work together with state officials to combat violence there. Brewer remarked after the meeting, "I am encouraged that there is going to be much better dialogue between the federal government and the state of Arizona now." According to press reports, about 1200 national guard troops will be stationed along the border, in a layout still to be determined.
On August 24, 2010, Brewer won the Republican primary, to face Arizona Attorney General
Terry Goddard
in the general election. Brewer was elected in her own right on November 2, 2010, to the office of Governor in the state's 2010 gubernatorial election
, earning 55% of the states votes over Democrat Terry Goddard
with 42%. This was not unexpected, as polling conducted after Brewer's signing of Arizona SB1070 had shown her as an early favorite in the general election, and she was sworn in for a full term on January 3, 2011 on the State Capitol grounds in Phoenix.
As a result of a ballot measure approved by the voters in 2000, redistricting
in Arizona is entrusted to a five-member panel with an independent chair. In 2011, Republicans wanted more favorable lines than those drawn by the commission, and Brewer sent a letter purporting to remove Colleen Mathis, the independent chair, from office. The Arizona Supreme Court
ruled that Brewer's action was illegal and it reinstated Mathis.
Brewer will not be able to run for a second full four-year term in 2014; the Arizona Constitution
limits governors to a total of eight consecutive years in office, but former Arizona governors will be allowed to seek third or fourth nonconsecutive terms after a four-year respite.
, as well as the Arizona Rifle and Pistol Association. On April 18, 2011 Governor Jan Brewer vetoed two bills one which set a mandate that anyone running for President must have proof of U.S. citizenship and the other being a bill which allowed guns on college campuses.
program, known as KidsCare, that provides health insurance to uninsured children whose families' income exceeds the Medicaid cutoff. According to the FY 2011 budget, enrollment caps will also be put into place for Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), thereby limiting access to the program. Brewer, at a press conference, said the state had no choice but to eliminate the free health care programs saying, "We do not have the money We are broke."
Brewer called a special session of the Arizona Legislature
to join in the class-action lawsuit by 21 state Attorneys General to challenge the constitutionality of that part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
that establishes a federal individual mandate to purchase health insurance. The mandate was considered by legislators and insurers as a quid pro quo for the inclusion in the legislation of popular changes which will prevent insurers from pre-screening applicants and/or applying higher premiums and coverage caps on people with pre-existing conditions and/or rescinding policies once a patient becomes seriously ill.
On June 27, 2010, Brewer appeared on "Sunday Square Off", which broadcasts on KPNX-TV. While speaking on the subject of crime related to illegal immigration, she was quoted as saying that "law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert either buried or just lying out there that have been beheaded", a claim that has been disproven.
On July 11, 2010 Jan Brewer announced that 10 million dollars given to her state by the federal government, most of which was intended to go to education, would instead go to enforcing border security.
Jan Brewer signed a law repealing legislation put into place by former governor Janet Napolitano
, which had granted domestic partners of state employees the ability to be considered as "dependants," similar to the way married spouses are handled.
According to an editorial in the Arizona Daily Star on October 13, 2009, the Department of Administration in Arizona "stated that about 800 state employees are affected and that the cost to insure domestic partners is about $3 million of the $625 million the state spends on benefits." However, the state was giving those employees another year of coverage, due to legal necessity: "A legal review determined existing contracts with state employees will be honored."
A federal lawsuit, Collins v. Brewer
, challenging Brewer's action is being heard in federal court. The plaintiffs, represented by Lambda Legal
, a LGBT
rights advocacy group, asked for summary judgment based on due process and equal protection claims. On July 23, 2010, U.S. District Judge John W. Sedwick
denied the due process claim, but based on the equal protection claim he issued a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the law pending a trial. Brewer said the state would appeal the decision.
and her position of Governor made her the recipient of much of the bill's criticism. In response to the various personal attacks launched against her, many of which called her a Nazi, she responded: "Knowing that my father died fighting the Nazi regime in Germany, that I lost him when I was 11 because of that... and then to have them call me Hitler's daughter. It hurts. It's ugliness beyond anything I've ever experienced." However Brewer's father died in 1955 (ten years after World War II
ended) from lung cancer, believed to be caused from constant exposure to chemicals while working as a civilian supervisor at the Hawthorne Army Depot
in Nevada
. Brewer's father never served in the military nor was he overseas during the war.
After Brewer's statement that "Our law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert either buried or just lying out there that have been beheaded," a Fox News team investigated the claim. They concluded that in the last two years only one human skull had been found, and that had been the result of animals. Six medical examiners in Arizona from Yuma, Pima, Santa Cruz, Cochise, Pinal and Maricopa confirmed that they had no records of decapitated bodies. Brewer later retracted her previous statement, saying, "That was an error, if I said that. I misspoke, but you know, let me be clear, I am concerned about the border region because it continues to be reported in Mexico that there's a lot of violence going on and we don't want that going into Arizona".
The Brewer administration has also been investigated by KPHO for hiring Chuck Coughlin and Paul Senseman, both lobbyists for Corrections Corporation of America
, as a policy advisor and communications director. Although Coughlin continues work as both a lobbyist and policy advisor, Senseman no longer does work for CCA. CCA operates six private, for-profit prisons in Arizona. After KPHO published its investigative report, Brewer's re-election campaign retaliated by pulling all campaign ads from KPHO.
in Glendale, Arizona
, receiving certification as a radiological technologist.
Brewer and her husband have had three sons, one of whom died of cancer
in 2007. Another son was declared criminally insane for the rape of a Phoenix woman in 1989; he has served 20 years in the Arizona Mental Hospital.
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. She is the fourth woman, and third consecutive woman, to hold the office. Brewer previously served as Secretary of State of Arizona
Secretary of State of Arizona
The Secretary of State of Arizona is an elected position in the U.S. state of Arizona. Since Arizona has no lieutenant governor, the Secretary stands first in the line of succession to the governorship. The Secretary also serves as acting governor whenever the governor is incapacitated or out of...
, from January 2003 until then-Governor Janet Napolitano
Janet Napolitano
Janet Napolitano is the third and current United States Secretary of Homeland Security, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is the fourth person to hold the position, which was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 21st...
resigned after being selected as Secretary of Homeland Security
United States Secretary of Homeland Security
The United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the body concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. The position was created by the...
in January 2009. Brewer became Governor of Arizona as part of the line of succession, as determined by the Arizona constitution.
Born in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Brewer attended Glendale Community College
Glendale Community College (Arizona)
Glendale Community College is a community college in Glendale, Arizona USA. GCC opened its doors in 1965. Since then more than 350,000 students have taken credit classes. Programs include associate degrees, certificate programs, industry-specific training and university transfer. The school...
where she received a radiological technologist certificate, but never earned a degree. She has served as a State Senator and State Representative for Arizona, from 1983 to 1996. Brewer also served as Chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, before running for Arizona Secretary of State in 2002.
Brewer came into the national spotlight when, on April 23, 2010, she signed the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act
Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act
The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act is a legislative Act in the U.S. state of Arizona that at the time of passage was the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration measure in recent U.S. history...
. The act makes it a state misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
crime for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying registration documents required by federal law, authorizes state and local law enforcement of federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
immigration law
Immigration law
Immigration law refers to national government policies which control the phenomenon of immigration to their country.Immigraton law, regarding foreign citizens, is related to nationality law, which governs the legal status of people, in matters such as citizenship...
s, and cracks down on those sheltering, hiring and transporting illegal aliens. Brewer sought a full term as Governor of Arizona in the 2010 Arizona gubernatorial election
Arizona gubernatorial election, 2010
The Arizona gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on November 2, 2010 to elect the Governor of Arizona. Incumbent Republican Jan Brewer ran for her first full term. Party primaries were held on August 24, 2010...
, and was elected on November 3, 2010, winning with 55% of the vote over Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Terry Goddard
Terry Goddard
Samuel Pearson "Terry" Goddard III was the Attorney General of Arizona, from 2003 to 2011, who also served as Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona from 1984 to 1990....
's 42%.
Early life
Brewer was born on September 26, 1944 in Hollywood, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, to Edna C. Drinkwine (née Bakken) and Perry Wilford Drinkwine, a civilian supervisor at the Hawthorne Army Depot
Hawthorne Army Depot
Hawthorne Army Depot is a U.S. Army ammunition storage site located near the town of Hawthorne in western Nevada in the United States. It is directly south of Walker Lake. The depot covers and has storage space in 2,427 bunkers...
in Hawthorne, Nevada
Hawthorne, Nevada
Hawthorne is a census-designated place in Mineral County, Nevada, United States. The population was 3,311 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mineral County...
. Brewer and her older brother, Paul, lived solely in Hawthorne until she was ten years old. Perry died of lung disease when she was eleven years old, having been ravaged by the constant exposure to chemicals while at the depot. Shortly before her father's death, the family moved to California, seeking "dry desert air and clean ocean breezes." Brewer is of English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and Norwegian descent. Her maternal grandfather Emil Theodore Bakken was from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and her maternal grandmother Carrie Nelson was from Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and the daughter of Norwegian immigrants. Meanwhile, her paternal grandmother Sarah Rosina Ford (original surname Wilford) was an Englishwoman from Buckinghamshire.
She married John Leon Brewer in Nevada, and worked briefly in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
before moving to her husband's hometown of Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
in 1970. The couple later relocated to Glendale, Arizona
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
, where John became a successful chiropractor
Chiropractor
A Chiropractor, according to the Association of Chiropractic Colleges , "focuses on the relationship between the body's main structures – the skeleton, the muscles and the nerves – and the patient's health. Chiropractors believe that health can be improved and preserved by making adjustments to...
, in addition to finding some real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
success. Settling in Deer Valley, the couple have three children.
State legislature
Going on to become interested in her children's education, Brewer began attending school board meetings in 1981, and quickly became "unimpressed" by the board's performance. Intending to run for a seat on the board, Brewer soon saw an opening in her local legislative district, and decided to run for State Representative. Brewer would go on to serve in the Arizona House of RepresentativesArizona House of Representatives
The Arizona House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its members are elected to two-year terms with a term limit of four consecutive terms...
for three years, from 1983 to 1987, before deciding to run for the Arizona Senate
Arizona Senate
The Arizona Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members representing an equal amount of constituencies across the state, with each district having average populations of 219,859 . Members serve two-year terms with...
, where she would serve from 1987 to 1996. As State Senator, Brewer sought legislation with the intention of creating an office of Lieutenant Governor in the state, arguing that holding the office of Secretary of State does not make a candidate qualified for Governor, and that the office should be filled by a member of the same party, should a vacancy arise. During her last three years as a State Senator, she held the senior leadership position of majority whip.
In 1996, Brewer ran for chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, defeating incumbent Ed King, and would serve for six years on the board. She inherited a debt of $165 million, and by the end of Brewer’s tenure in 2002, she left Maricopa County in one of the strongest financial positions of any county in the nation. Governing Magazine proclaimed the County as "one of the two best managed large counties in the nation."
Secretary of State of Arizona
In early 2002, Brewer created a campaign committee to run for the office of Secretary of State of ArizonaSecretary of State of Arizona
The Secretary of State of Arizona is an elected position in the U.S. state of Arizona. Since Arizona has no lieutenant governor, the Secretary stands first in the line of succession to the governorship. The Secretary also serves as acting governor whenever the governor is incapacitated or out of...
, to replace outgoing Arizona Secretary of State Betsey Bayless
Betsey Bayless
Betsey Bayless was the Republican Secretary of State of Arizona from September 5, 1997 until January 6, 2003. She was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Jane Dee Hull...
. Brewer faced a tough primary race against Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio, who attempted to highlight her tenure as a county supervisor by accusing her of raising taxes, after the county had reported an increase in revenue. Brewer responded to the criticism by proclaiming that she had voted to lower the tax rate, and that the county had collected more revenue because of an increase in property valuations. Brewer ultimately won the primary race against DiCiccio. In the general election, she faced Democratic State Senator Chris Cummiskey and Libertarian candidate Sean Nottingham. During the campaign, she fought on a largely conservative, pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
rights platform, winning by a narrow margin of just 23,000 votes.
As Secretary of State, Brewer instituted a vote-by-fax program for overseas military troops, which would later be adopted by other municipalities, including San Francisco. Brewer also helped marshal changes brought about by Arizona Proposition 200
Arizona Proposition 200 (2004)
Proposition 200, an Arizona state initiative passed in November 2004 with 56% of the vote, requires individuals to produce proof of citizenship before they may register to vote or apply for public benefits in Arizona...
, which required citizens in the state to show proof of citizenship before registering to vote or applying for public benefits.
Governor of Arizona
Governor Janet NapolitanoJanet Napolitano
Janet Napolitano is the third and current United States Secretary of Homeland Security, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is the fourth person to hold the position, which was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 21st...
was selected by President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
to serve as the Secretary of Homeland Security
United States Secretary of Homeland Security
The United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the body concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. The position was created by the...
in the United States Cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
. Arizona has no lieutenant governor, so the Secretary of State stands first in the line of succession if he or she holds that post as a result of an election. Despite her earlier quarrels with the line of succession while serving in the State Senate, Brewer was sworn in as governor after Napolitano resigned from her position on January 21, 2009. She is Arizona's fourth female governor and its third consecutive female governor.
In her inaugural address, Brewer promised to keep taxes low in Arizona, in an attempt to attract business from other states, including California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Fewer than two months into her term, however, Brewer proposed a tax increase in front of the State Legislature, causing two Republican members to walk out of the address mid-speech. Attempting to rationalize the tax increase, Brewer stated that she was ultimately forced to ask for the increase due to the state's $4 billion state budget deficit.
On April 23, 2010, Brewer signed the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act
Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act
The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act is a legislative Act in the U.S. state of Arizona that at the time of passage was the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration measure in recent U.S. history...
, otherwise known as Arizona SB1070, into law, making it "a state crime for illegal immigrants to not have an alien registration document," and requiring police "to question people about their immigration status if there is reason." It also makes it illegal for people to hire illegal immigrants for day labor or to knowingly transport them. In addition, it provides provisions to allow citizens to file lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws. A follow-on bill, said to address certain "racial profiling" issues with the original bill, was passed by the Arizona legislature just before ending their 2010 session, and was signed by Brewer on April 30, 2010. Signing of the bill has led to massive demonstrations in Arizona, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and many other cities across the United States, both for and against the legislation.
On June 3, 2010, Brewer met with President Barack Obama to discuss immigration along Mexico's border with Arizona, and how the federal government could work together with state officials to combat violence there. Brewer remarked after the meeting, "I am encouraged that there is going to be much better dialogue between the federal government and the state of Arizona now." According to press reports, about 1200 national guard troops will be stationed along the border, in a layout still to be determined.
On August 24, 2010, Brewer won the Republican primary, to face Arizona Attorney General
Attorney General of Arizona
The Arizona Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the state of Arizona, in the United States. It is an independent, constitutionally mandated office, elected by the people of the state to a four-year term....
Terry Goddard
Terry Goddard
Samuel Pearson "Terry" Goddard III was the Attorney General of Arizona, from 2003 to 2011, who also served as Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona from 1984 to 1990....
in the general election. Brewer was elected in her own right on November 2, 2010, to the office of Governor in the state's 2010 gubernatorial election
Arizona gubernatorial election, 2010
The Arizona gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on November 2, 2010 to elect the Governor of Arizona. Incumbent Republican Jan Brewer ran for her first full term. Party primaries were held on August 24, 2010...
, earning 55% of the states votes over Democrat Terry Goddard
Terry Goddard
Samuel Pearson "Terry" Goddard III was the Attorney General of Arizona, from 2003 to 2011, who also served as Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona from 1984 to 1990....
with 42%. This was not unexpected, as polling conducted after Brewer's signing of Arizona SB1070 had shown her as an early favorite in the general election, and she was sworn in for a full term on January 3, 2011 on the State Capitol grounds in Phoenix.
As a result of a ballot measure approved by the voters in 2000, redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
in Arizona is entrusted to a five-member panel with an independent chair. In 2011, Republicans wanted more favorable lines than those drawn by the commission, and Brewer sent a letter purporting to remove Colleen Mathis, the independent chair, from office. The Arizona Supreme Court
Arizona Supreme Court
The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. It consists of a Chief Justice, a Vice Chief Justice, and three associate justices. Each justice is appointed by the governor of Arizona from a list recommended by a bipartisan commission. Justices stand for...
ruled that Brewer's action was illegal and it reinstated Mathis.
Brewer will not be able to run for a second full four-year term in 2014; the Arizona Constitution
Arizona Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Arizona is the governing document and framework for the U.S. state of Arizona. The current constitution is the first and only adopted by the state of Arizona.-History:...
limits governors to a total of eight consecutive years in office, but former Arizona governors will be allowed to seek third or fourth nonconsecutive terms after a four-year respite.
Budget
As of 2010 she has advocated a raise in Arizona's sales tax from 5.6% to 6.6%. The proposal is intended to raise 1 billion dollars a year in order to reduce the $3 billion/year deficit.Gun rights
In July 2009, Jan Brewer signed SB 1113, which entitles persons in Arizona to carry concealed guns in bars or restaurants as long as they do not consume alcohol, and the business has not specifically posted a sign in accordance with Arizona law that guns are not to be permitted on the premises. Brewer also signed SB 1168, a measure that bans property owners from prohibiting the storage of firearms in locked vehicles parked on their lots. She signed SB 1243, which allows a person who is threatened to announce they are armed, or display or place their hand on their firearm before the use of deadly force. In April 2010, Brewer signed SB 1108, which removes the licensure requirement for law-abiding citizens who choose to carry a concealed firearm in the state of Arizona—the third state in the union with such a law after Vermont and Alaska. Brewer is a member and supporter of the National Rifle AssociationNational Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
, as well as the Arizona Rifle and Pistol Association. On April 18, 2011 Governor Jan Brewer vetoed two bills one which set a mandate that anyone running for President must have proof of U.S. citizenship and the other being a bill which allowed guns on college campuses.
Healthcare
In the face of a mounting budget crisis in Arizona, Brewer signed the 2011 legislative budget which eliminates the Arizona variant of the State Children's Health Insurance ProgramState Children's Health Insurance Program
The State Children's Health Insurance Program – later known more simply as the Children's Health Insurance Program – is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children...
program, known as KidsCare, that provides health insurance to uninsured children whose families' income exceeds the Medicaid cutoff. According to the FY 2011 budget, enrollment caps will also be put into place for Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), thereby limiting access to the program. Brewer, at a press conference, said the state had no choice but to eliminate the free health care programs saying, "We do not have the money We are broke."
Brewer called a special session of the Arizona Legislature
Arizona Legislature
The Arizona Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. There are 60 Representatives and 30 Senators...
to join in the class-action lawsuit by 21 state Attorneys General to challenge the constitutionality of that part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
that establishes a federal individual mandate to purchase health insurance. The mandate was considered by legislators and insurers as a quid pro quo for the inclusion in the legislation of popular changes which will prevent insurers from pre-screening applicants and/or applying higher premiums and coverage caps on people with pre-existing conditions and/or rescinding policies once a patient becomes seriously ill.
Immigration, border security and "headless bodies"
Brewer believes in strict enforcement of border security, with absolutely no amnesty for illegal immigrants entering the United States unlawfully over the Mexico – United States border. In addition to signing Arizona SB 1070, she has prohibited state and local governments from giving any public benefits to illegal aliens, in addition to making it a misdemeanor for a state or local government official to fail to report immigration law violations discovered while administering a public benefit or service. Brewer has also supported efforts to re-deploy the National Guard of the United States along the southern Arizona border, in an attempt to provide increased border security.On June 27, 2010, Brewer appeared on "Sunday Square Off", which broadcasts on KPNX-TV. While speaking on the subject of crime related to illegal immigration, she was quoted as saying that "law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert either buried or just lying out there that have been beheaded", a claim that has been disproven.
On July 11, 2010 Jan Brewer announced that 10 million dollars given to her state by the federal government, most of which was intended to go to education, would instead go to enforcing border security.
Same-sex marriage and domestic partnership
Brewer supported Arizona Proposition 107, which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman.Jan Brewer signed a law repealing legislation put into place by former governor Janet Napolitano
Janet Napolitano
Janet Napolitano is the third and current United States Secretary of Homeland Security, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is the fourth person to hold the position, which was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 21st...
, which had granted domestic partners of state employees the ability to be considered as "dependants," similar to the way married spouses are handled.
According to an editorial in the Arizona Daily Star on October 13, 2009, the Department of Administration in Arizona "stated that about 800 state employees are affected and that the cost to insure domestic partners is about $3 million of the $625 million the state spends on benefits." However, the state was giving those employees another year of coverage, due to legal necessity: "A legal review determined existing contracts with state employees will be honored."
A federal lawsuit, Collins v. Brewer
Collins v. Brewer
Collins v. Brewer No. 2:09-cv-02402-JWS is a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn Arizona's passage of House Bill 2013, a 2009 law which removes state health insurance benefits provided to domestic partners. The bill was signed into law by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer in September 2009, who is the...
, challenging Brewer's action is being heard in federal court. The plaintiffs, represented by Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender communities as well as people living with HIV/AIDS through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.Lambda's founder William J. Thom, Esq...
, a LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights advocacy group, asked for summary judgment based on due process and equal protection claims. On July 23, 2010, U.S. District Judge John W. Sedwick
John W. Sedwick
John W. Sedwick is an American lawyer and judge. He is currently a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Alaska....
denied the due process claim, but based on the equal protection claim he issued a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the law pending a trial. Brewer said the state would appeal the decision.
Controversies
Brewer's signing of Arizona SB 1070Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act
The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act is a legislative Act in the U.S. state of Arizona that at the time of passage was the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration measure in recent U.S. history...
and her position of Governor made her the recipient of much of the bill's criticism. In response to the various personal attacks launched against her, many of which called her a Nazi, she responded: "Knowing that my father died fighting the Nazi regime in Germany, that I lost him when I was 11 because of that... and then to have them call me Hitler's daughter. It hurts. It's ugliness beyond anything I've ever experienced." However Brewer's father died in 1955 (ten years after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ended) from lung cancer, believed to be caused from constant exposure to chemicals while working as a civilian supervisor at the Hawthorne Army Depot
Hawthorne Army Depot
Hawthorne Army Depot is a U.S. Army ammunition storage site located near the town of Hawthorne in western Nevada in the United States. It is directly south of Walker Lake. The depot covers and has storage space in 2,427 bunkers...
in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. Brewer's father never served in the military nor was he overseas during the war.
After Brewer's statement that "Our law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert either buried or just lying out there that have been beheaded," a Fox News team investigated the claim. They concluded that in the last two years only one human skull had been found, and that had been the result of animals. Six medical examiners in Arizona from Yuma, Pima, Santa Cruz, Cochise, Pinal and Maricopa confirmed that they had no records of decapitated bodies. Brewer later retracted her previous statement, saying, "That was an error, if I said that. I misspoke, but you know, let me be clear, I am concerned about the border region because it continues to be reported in Mexico that there's a lot of violence going on and we don't want that going into Arizona".
The Brewer administration has also been investigated by KPHO for hiring Chuck Coughlin and Paul Senseman, both lobbyists for Corrections Corporation of America
Corrections Corporation of America
Corrections Corporation of America is a company that owns and manages private prisons and detention centers and operates others on a concession basis. The company is the largest private corrections company in the United States and manages more than 60 facilities with a designed capacity of 90,000...
, as a policy advisor and communications director. Although Coughlin continues work as both a lobbyist and policy advisor, Senseman no longer does work for CCA. CCA operates six private, for-profit prisons in Arizona. After KPHO published its investigative report, Brewer's re-election campaign retaliated by pulling all campaign ads from KPHO.
Personal life
Brewer attended Glendale Community CollegeGlendale Community College (Arizona)
Glendale Community College is a community college in Glendale, Arizona USA. GCC opened its doors in 1965. Since then more than 350,000 students have taken credit classes. Programs include associate degrees, certificate programs, industry-specific training and university transfer. The school...
in Glendale, Arizona
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
, receiving certification as a radiological technologist.
Brewer and her husband have had three sons, one of whom died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in 2007. Another son was declared criminally insane for the rape of a Phoenix woman in 1989; he has served 20 years in the Arizona Mental Hospital.
External links
- Arizona Governor Jan Brewer official Arizona government site
- How pragmatism, hard work helped Jan Brewer rise in Arizona politics, Doug MacEachern, The Arizona RepublicThe Arizona RepublicThe Arizona Republic is a daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. It was ranked tenth in US daily newspapers by circulation in 2007.-Early years:The newspaper was founded...
, December 7, 2008
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