Today the Arizona Supreme Court refused Governor Jan Brewer's request to provide her with a fuller explanation of why they reinstated Colleen Mathis, the chairwoman of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC), after Brewer and the GOP legislative pinheads had removed Mathis three weeks ago during a hastily called special session.
The Arizona Supreme Court on Wednesday shot down Gov. Jan Brewer's request that it reconsider its decision to overturn her removal the chairwoman of the state's Independent Redistricting Commission. Arizona Republic
In their statement this afternoon, the Court told Brewer that they could not "identify conduct that provides a constitutional basis for (Mathis') removal." The Supremes also denied the Governor's claim that the Commission had violated the open-meetings law.
The AIRC was established by voters in 2000 in order to create a redistricting process that is not subject to political meddling. The only provision for removing a Commission member is "substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct in office, or inability to discharge the duties of office," which Brewer could not demonstrate. In fact, if you listen to her interviews, she can't explain at all why she removed Mathis. Some observers believe she did so after hearing from freshmen GOP Congressmen Ben Quayle and David Schweikert, whose races would be more competitive given the draft districts.
That word "draft" is important. The AIRC has not finished its maps and is still holding public meetings. So for Brewer to interfere beforehand, said the Court today, is out of bounds.
The clarification order said Brewer's contention that the commission's draft maps don't follow constitutional mapping criteria isn't a legal basis for removal before final versions have been approved. RealClearPolitics
According to Brewer's spokesman Matthew Benson, the Governor
will review the order with her lawyers, talk with legislative leaders "and decide the best course of action..."
Brewer has hinted that she may still try to remove Mathis, as well as the two Democratic Commission members. Let's hope she does decide to pursue the matter further, as a new poll shows more Arizonans oppose her partisan overreach:
The new poll also found that 31 percent of those surveyed said they approve of Brewer’s decision to “impeach” Mathis as chairwoman of the redistricting commission, while 43 percent opposed it. Twenty-six percent of respondents said they were “not sure.” Arizona Republic
The same poll shows that her overall approval has dipped to 42 percent, with 49 percent disapproval. Keep at it, Jan! Keep sticking your nose into voter-approved initiatives, like the AIRC and medical marijuana.