Editorial: Bee helps avert budget crisis in state

We criticized State Senate President Tim Bee late last year for skirting the spirit of the resign-to-run law in Arizona.

The Republican from Corona de Tucson retained his Senate seat and waited until January to announce his congressional candidacy. We thought he was making a mistake.

Bee wanted the best of both worlds politically — his seat of power and his campaign against incumbent U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. We were skeptical about his ability to remain effective and work across the aisle during the legislative session. We thought he would be gone so often, raising money to match Giffords in fundraising, that his legislative work would be an afterthought.

We still think Bee violated the spirit of the resign-to-run law. But we were wrong to question Bee’s effectiveness.

Just when it looked as though the Legislature would be deadlocked over budget proposals, and just when we thought state government might be shutdown without money to operate, Bee came through. He showed why he’s one of the best legislators in Arizona history by finding a compromise to solve a $2 billion budget crisis.

Bee stood above politics and put taxpayers and common sense first as the legislative session drew to a close. He took heat from Republicans for refusing to endorse major cuts to state agencies. And Democrats thought Bee and the Republicans broke Senate rules as they worked to derail a gay-marriage referendum.

As the budget crisis seemed to deepen and possibly lead to a shutdown, even Bee’s supporters were wondering if he did the right thing by staying in the Legislature. Gov. Janet Napolitano would not be blamed for a budget impasse. She would be able to blame it on legislative leaders, notably the Republican majority.

Back in December, when we editorialized on the subject, we thought Bee’s decision was more about staying in the limelight during the doldrums of the congressional campaign than anything else.

In reality, Bee took on both responsibilities to remain an advocate for Pima County and Southern Arizona. He’s the only Tucson Republican in the Senate and was a powerful force for getting Southern Arizona business — not just Phoenix and Maricopa business — done in the State Capitol.

Bee will be remembered for building consensus on issues and moving bills through the Senate. He worked with Napolitano when he knew it was in the state’s interests, and he opposed her when he thought she was wrong.

Bee’s reputation for effectiveness will test Giffords in the congressional seat. While Bee was in Phoenix, balancing the budget, Giffords was holding Town Halls throughout her district, highlighting her ability to engage and produce results for voters. She was just in Sahuarita on Tuesday, hosting a community dialogue on water issues.

As good as Bee is at back-room negotiations, Giffords is equally skilled at shaking hands with voters in one-on-one situations.

Whether Bee ousts Giffords or not, he can be proud of the budget he forged with Democrats to keep the state in the black. Bee came through as advertised, and his supporters can brag of that.

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