Posted on 10/14/2005 2:20:40 PM PDT by Hadean
Republicans increased their advantage in the state House of Representatives Oct. 13, when Democrat Rep. Cheryl Chase changed her party registration at a GOP-sponsored event in northwest Phoenix.
“The once proud party I have always been a member of, including these last five years in the Legislature, has steadily become controlled by the liberal left and does not reflect the rural Arizona values that I hold dear and was elected to represent,” Ms. Chase said in a statement distributed to the media.
The District 23 lawmaker cited Gov. Napolitano’s hard-line “end- justifies-the-means governance” as one of the main factors in her party swap.
“There is no room for views that don’t comport with the governor’s or the liberal base she and [former state Democratic Party chairman Jim] Pederson serve so faithfully,” Ms. Chase said.
She told the Associated Press she was devastated in April when Ms. Napolitano vetoed a bipartisan forest health bill of which Ms. Chase was the prime sponsor. The governor later signed a revised version of the bill, which expanded tax incentives for harvesting forest products.
The legislator, who is in the midst of her third term, signed new voter registration paperwork while on the stage at Sandra Day O’Connor High School with a number of Republican office holders, including U.S. Sen. John McCain.
Ms. Chase’s switch gives Republicans a 39-21 advantage in the House; the majority party, however, remains one vote shy of the 40 votes needed to override a veto. Republicans in the Senate hold an 18-12 majority, two votes shy of the two-thirds requirement for overturning a veto.
Her departure from the Democratic Party was not entirely unexpected. In the Legislature, she was often at odds with members of her caucus and voted with Republicans on issues such as abortion, school choice and same-sex marriage. Ms. Chase also was the only Democrat legislator among dozens of Democratic elected officials – most of who were from rural counties – who announced their support a month ago for U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl’s re-election campaign.
House Minority Leader Phil Lopes, D-27, said he was disappointed in Ms. Chase’s decision and the way she handled the announcement.
“It’s really too bad that she couldn’t find the time to tell me or anybody else she was leaving,” he said. “That’s especially distressing because we always treated her as a full member of our caucus and respected her votes, even when she didn’t vote with us, even when she didn’t support us on budgets and education and improved healthcare.”
Mr. Lopes said he believes Ms. Chase is shifting parties because she thinks it will benefit her as District 23 experiences more growth and more Republican voters move to the area.
As of April of this year, Democrats held a 44.5 percent to 29.9 percent registration advantage over Republicans in the district, though voters in the district have historically voted 60 percent to 40 percent for Democrats. Since 2002, Republican registration in the district increased 10 percentage points.
Ms. Chase was recovering from minor foot surgery the morning after her announcement and could not be reached for comment.
“The once proud party I have always been a member of, including these last five years in the Legislature, has steadily become controlled by the liberal left and does not reflect the rural Arizona values that I hold dear and was elected to represent,”
good for her and us
If I read the last paragraph or two correctly, it sounds like Rep Chase will have a tough re-election bid in '06.
To quote Ronald Reagan, "I didn't leave the Democratic Party; it left me."
Let's see the MSM breaking the news with this statement!
Boy, Bush is really dragging the GOP down. Forester should be blowing Corzine out in NJ and he's only down by one in the polls. (Sarcasm off)
Do we have to let any elected Democrat into the Republican Party if they want to switch parties? Why wouldn't all Democrat legislators switch their party affiliation so that they won't have to run against a Republican to hold their job and if they lose to a Democrat they can still be happy since a liberal will still hold that seat.
It would be useful if there was a site maintaining an ongoing tally of officeholders who switch.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.