I heard a report that Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs and the Glendale City Council have passed a resolution in favor of Jan Brewer's proposed budget.  I wrote Mayor Scruggs the following letter:

26 June 2009

Mayor Elaine Scruggs

City of Glendale City Hall

5850 West Glendale Avenue
Glendale, AZ 85301

Dear Mayor Scruggs:

I heard on the radio that the Glendale City Council has voted to support Governor Jan Brewer's proposed budget, including the ballot initiative to raise sales taxes in Arizona by 1 cent. I respect your concerns about the state shifting responsibilities and costs onto city and county governments, but I stand opposed to tax increases until state and local governments have taken reasonable steps to reduce expenses.

The first and most important step Arizona should take, in my opinion, is to pass SB1175, which would make it a class 1 misdemeanor under Arizona law for someone to be in Arizona who is not in the country legally. This bill would also require all Arizona law enforcement agencies to cooperate in the enforcement of immigration law.

I would like to hear Glendale's mayor and city council come out in support of that bill. I am unwilling to have my taxes raised by any level of government for the purpose of providing social services to illegal aliens and their families. It has been 23 years since passage of the Simpson-Mazzoli bill, and I am still hearing the same bleeding-heart complaints about breaking up families that pro-immigrant advocates used to promote the mass amnesty of 1986. The time for amnesty and excuses is over. It is long past time for effective enforcement of immigration law.

I hope that the city of Glendale will set a positive example in this area. Please let me know where you stand on this issue.

Sincerely,

John J. Lyon