Al Melvin Week, Day 2: Cut State Employees' Pay. Not Mine.

State Sen. Al Melvin, a Saddlebrooke Republican, has a record of service -- to either a rigid ideology or to himself.

Pima County Democrats are christening the election season by honoring the state senator who has done so much to galvanize opposition to an out-of-touch Legislature. The countdown, in no particular order, of bizarre votes continues today.

In March, Melvin voted for a pay cut for the vast majority of state employees but against cutting his own pay. While he didn't explain his vote, his political boss Senate President Bob Burns simply said: "We sacrifice enough."

Melvin could argue, accurately, that his pay is set by the Arizona Constitution. Yet he simultaneously voted to unconstitutionally eliminate the State Children's Health Insurance Plan. He also sponsored a constitutional challenge that aimed to deregulate uranium mining.

"Al Melvin likes to say he's a belt-tightening guy," said Pima County Democratic Party Chair Jeff Rogers. "Just don't ask him to sacrifice personally. It's a bridge too far."

Taking a pay cut would have been a largely symbolic move but would have shown Arizonans that we are all in this together, Rogers said.

"'We're all in this together' is not a phrase Al Melvin seems to understand," Rogers said. "He's new to the senate but his ideas are old. After 44 years of control, the party in power has created the biggest budget mess in America. It's time voters show them the door and Al Melvin should be at the front of the line."

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