OPINION:
Sometimes the desert can turn into a swamp. It happened last week in Phoenix, when Arizona politicians gathered for the end of the legislative session to tell their constituents one thing before proceeding to do the opposite.
There’s no better example of legislative legerdemain than the state House’s decision, by a 34-22 vote, to send Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs a bill banning speed cameras statewide. The measure’s goal is to “Ensure that the purpose of law enforcement remains to serve and protect and not to generate revenue for governments.”
Everything lawmakers did appeared to be proper and correct on the surface, but state Rep. Justin Wilmeth, Phoenix Republican, called out the shenanigans on the House floor. “This bill will pass, and it will get vetoed. We know that,” he said.
Two years ago, Ms. Hobbs cited fake photo enforcement industry statistics to justify vetoing an identical bill. Instead of wasting time on a doomed proposition, the chamber could have acted on the Senate-passed resolution that would have created a statewide referendum on the issue. Such resolutions bypass the governor’s desk and allow voters to decide.
The Republican leadership delayed final consideration of that resolution until late in the evening two days later, knowing four Republicans would be absent. Had the measure been brought up earlier, it would have had the votes required for passage.
Democrats were also in on the game. State Reps. Alma Hernandez and Consuelo Hernandez voted in favor of the ban they knew would be vetoed, but they mysteriously had a change of heart just when their votes would have helped put the same ban on the ballot.
“It’s almost as if we’re more interested in making a show of solving the problem than actually solving the problem,” said state Rep. Alexander Kolodin, Maricopa County Republican.
Lawmakers understand public sentiment better than anyone else, and they have no doubt that a plebiscite would guarantee the elimination of these money-printing devices. Residents of Peoria, Sierra Vista and Tucson have already voted by a 2-1 margin to outlaw photo ticketing within city limits.
Politicians have a financial incentive to ignore the people who put them in office. Under the “clean elections” program, a 10% cut of each traffic citation is placed in a fund that is distributed to the campaign war chests of candidates, rescuing them from the indignity of having to work to raise cash.
“The photo radar scam is the way that our friends across the aisle fund their war machine,” Mr. Kolodin explained. “They run candidates in noncompetitive districts and then funnel the money — taxpayer money — over to candidates in competitive districts all on the backs of hardworking Arizona drivers who are denied due process when they receive their traffic tickets.”
Like their counterparts in Washington, Republican leaders in the Grand Canyon State claim they will drive a stake into the heart of the photo radar industry “next year.” The same empty promise has been repeated for nearly 18 years.
The expected veto by Ms. Hobbs tees up the topic in what is certain to be a heated gubernatorial contest. U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs is stepping down in 2026 in the hopes of securing the Republican nomination for that race, a move that President Trump has endorsed.
Given his legitimate efforts to stop photo radar during his former statehouse service, Mr. Biggs may have what it takes to drain the Phoenix swamp.
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