Phil Lopes

State Senate President Tim Bee: Campaign photoPHOENIX -- A day after Arizona House Speaker Jim Weiers (R-Phoenix) announced a proposal to resolve the roughly $2 billion budget shortfall the state faces in fiscal year 2008-2009, the state Senate has followed suit, rolling out its own plan to cover the gap. State Senate President Tim Bee (R-Tucson) and state Senate Minority Leader Marsha Arzberger (D-Willcox) appeared jointly at a capitol press conference to announce the Senate version, which Legislature Democrats and Gov. Janet Napolitano are likely to find more palatable.

"We believe this budget is reasonable, responsible and sustainable," said Bee at the press event announcing the breakthrough.

The Senate proposal calls for a $361 million in cuts to state agencies - $140 million less than what the House plan calls for. It also includes a K-12 rollover, in which payments to public schools are delayed by four weeks, which has the effect of pushing some payments into the next fiscal year. Coupled with reductions in building renewal, bonding for new school construction and $106 million in transfers out of the Highway Users Revenue Fund, the budget package totals $2.02 billion, which should make up the projected shortfall.

As the great Jimi Hendrix once sang:

"If six turned out to be nine/I don't mind"

In this case it's 7, as in LD7, where a Democrat is gearing up to take on Republicans Nancy Barto and Ray Barnes. That is the race to which House Minority Leader Phil Lopes (D-Tucson) was referring when he told PolitickerAZ that a "very qualified candidate" was considering a run in the Phoenix district.

However, don't count out LD9 for the Dems just yet. It appears there may still be a late entry into that race as well.

At the Arizona Democratic Party Convention two weekends ago, Gov. Janet Napolitano declared that the Democrats had their sights set on capturing the Arizona House this fall. Today, State House Minority Leader Phil Lopes (D-Tucson) told PolitickerAZ that the focus is as much on protecting seats as picking them up, but that the outlook is good for the Democrats to have a fighting chance at reaching their goal.

That may be bolstered by news that, in LD9, a "high quality candidate" may be preparing to jump into the fray, further shifting an already uncertain electoral landscape.

At Saturday's Arizona Democratic Party Convention, in addition to filliing in the final slots on the list of who'll go to Denver in August as Arizona's delegates at the Democratic National Convention, Arizona Democrats also presented a cross-section of where the party stands as of now.

While Gov. Janet Napolitano, the highest-ranking Democrat in the state, laid out the party's political goals to thundrous applause, Democratic activists pressed her to veto a bill that could put immigration enforcement in the hands of local authorities.