Sen. Paton's Mid-Session Abdication

Pima County Democratic Party Chair Jeff Rogers offers the following statement regarding Sen. Jonathan Paton’s departure from the Arizona State Senate:

"State Sen. Jonathan Paton's decision to quit mid-session means that his ambition trumps his job description and he'll run from a challenge, if it means running for higher office. Paton leaves a legacy of failure at the state's most dire moment. It's a legacy that has Arizona's neighborhood schools ranking dead last in class room funding. It's a legacy of failed policies that have left Arizona with the nation's largest budget deficit per capita. None of the other 49 states were hit as hard as Arizona because Paton and his colleagues spent 20 years building a fiscal house of cards that could not stand up in a storm. And Paton has refused to be a leader, leaving Arizona's legislature wtihout a balanced budget eight months after the constitutional deadline. Now Paton wants a promotion from voters, when any private sector business would fire him for cause."

###