Jan Brewer - Governor

Brewer makes points with a personal plea

Gov. Jan Brewer is making the temporary sales-tax increase personal.

She began her annual speech to East Valley business and community leaders with a captivating, emotion-filled story about her parents to drive home the point that Arizona's future rests on making a series of hard choices.

For a governor who normally isn't much of a public speaker, the speech was frank and passionate, leaving no question why Brewer wants East Valley voters to support a temporary statewide sales-tax increase during these tough times.

There is a lesson in this for other cities as they finalize budget cuts and send their own financial questions to voters in May. If leaders want support for their ideas, they've also got to make things personal.

Take a strong stand. Connect what they're saying to their own lives and experiences.

Don't use words such as "appropriation" and "expenditure." Instead, explain what the average resident stands to gain or lose. Don't assume that simply naming programs will suffice. Talk about the services provided and connect them to real people and real life.

Show them how the recession has forced people who've never had to rely on government to do so now because their jobs have evaporated.

Though Brewer essentially recycled the points she made during last year's East Valley breakfast, this year's speech was far more persuasive. She reeled in listeners by speaking their language, got them thinking, then got out of the way. - Wednesday