Jan Brewer Sworn in as New Arizona Governor

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DALLAS - With Arizona's financial crisis worsening, Secretary of State Jan Brewer took the oath of office to become governor in Phoenix yesterday, replacing Gov. Janet Napolitano, the new director of homeland security in President Obama's administration.

Brewer, a Republican, automatically succeeded the Democrat Napolitano under the state's constitution, which does not provide for a lieutenant governor. Napolitano was the first female governor to succeed another when she took office in 2003.

Napolitano's predecessor, Republican Jane Dee Hull, was the first woman to serve as Arizona governor, moving up from secretary of state on Sept. 5, 1997, when Gov. Fife Symington was forced to resign after a felony conviction. Brewer is the fifth secretary of state to inherit the governorship through succession.

To replace herself as secretary of state, Brewer named former state Senate President Ken Bennett, R-Prescott. The fact that Bennett was appointed instead of elected removes him from the chain of succession. Attorney General Terry Goddard, a Democrat, is next in line if Brewer had to be replaced.

Brewer has already made several appointments, including Tom Manos as deputy chief of staff for finance and Brian C. McNeil as deputy chief of staff for operations.

"I have every confidence that they will guide us in our efforts to restore efficiency and fiscal responsibility," Brewer said in making the announcement.

Manos is former chief financial officer of Maricopa County and former director of the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority, which has financed more than 400 projects.

McNeil was executive director of the Arizona Corporation Commission for the past decade. Before joining the commission, he was the deputy director for budget and policy development at the Arizona Department of Health Services.

As a Republican, Brewer will work with a Legislature controlled by her own party. Napolitano consistently vetoed bills that sought to tighten controls on abortion and providing school vouchers.

Brewer, 64, was elected secretary of state in 2002 and re-elected in 2006.

Of more immediate concern than social issues is the shortfall of $1.6 billion in the $9.9 billion budget for the current fiscal year and a projected deficit of $3.2 billion in the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Legislative leaders hope to have a proposal to balance the budget to Brewer within two weeks. Budget proposals from the House and Senate appropriations committee chairs slash programs, eliminate jobs, and shift millions of dollars in costs to counties, cities, health care providers, and schools. Reductions to K-12 this year alone amount to more than $100 million.

Brewer has said that Arizona's financial problems are caused by mismanagement and the inability to say no. She said she would keep a tight rein on spending.

As secretary of state, Brewer killed one of the most ambitious bond programs in the state's history. Proposition 203, known as the TIME Initiative, would have allocated $42 billion over 30 years for transportation spending with the added benefit of economic stimulation.

Napolitano was one of the major proponents of the TIME Initiative, but Brewer ruled that the proposition lacked enough signatures to make the ballot. Of the 260,698 signatures submitted, 122,247 were invalid, Brewer ruled.

Brewer could run for election to the governor's office in 2010. Potential opponents on the Republican side include U.S. Reps. Jeff Flake and John Shadegg and Maricopa County attorney Andrew Thomas. Democrats could nominate U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, or Attorney General Goddard.

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