If elections were won on resumes alone, Mark Brnovich would be a sure bet as Arizona’s next attorney general. A prosecutor at the local, state and federal levels, the Republican nominee for the office has helped put the most hardened criminals behind bars.
But what are his views on civil matters important to small-business owners? On October 9, NFIB members had an exclusive opportunity via a teleconference to ask him, and what they heard impressed and assured them—especially reassuring was one stop he made along the way of his career path: his years at the Goldwater Institute.
Making a particular study of barriers to entrepreneurship, Brnovich said he “put those ideas into practice as gaming director” for the state. “Small business is the backbone of the economy” and needs to be free of the regulations that “stifle prosperity.”
Another area of his expertise while at the institute was private property rights, where he wrote an alternative to eminent domain. “Taking from one person to give to another private person in the name of economic development” was simply wrong.
All NFIB members in Arizona were called shortly before the teleconference and asked if they’d like to listen. More than 1,000 did. Members from Mesa, Phoenix, Prescott Valley and Springdale took advantage of the opportunity to ask Brnovich a question.
Some highlights from his responses included:
- “Your role [as Arizona attorney general] is to enforce the law, not pick and choose which ones. I believe strongly in enforcing the law as it is, not what we want it to be.”
- As attorney general, he will make the lawyers under his watch realize they need to serve the public, not just be representatives for state agencies. Right now, according to Brnovich, there is too much of a “we can’t tell you how to do it, we just know you can’t do it” mentality that greets reforms state agencies want to make to better serve the people.
- In answer to one caller’s question about the Endangered Species Act, Brnovich called it “a huge mechanism to affect property rights. We need to push back on federal overreach.”
Immigration reform, independent contracting, and, on a humorous note, why his last name lacks an extra vowel were some of the other things he discussed on his 35-minute call with NFIB members, which can be listened to right here.
Members also voted on a poll question, results to your right, while the teleconference was going on. One of the many benefits of NFIB membership is the opportunity to speak directly with the top policymakers affecting the operation of your enterprise, either through teleconferences like this, monthly Small Business Forums, and the annual Day at the Capitol. Check your NFIB/Arizona web page regularly for future opportunities.
