Sen. Ron Gould, R- Lake Havasu City, issued the following statement about legislative leadership.

“I want to commend Senate President Bob Burns and House Speaker Kirk Adams for their resolve in dealing with the perplexing decisions by Gov. Brewer in her continuing effort to push for a tax increase on Arizonans.

Like many legislators, I continue to be mystified by the governor’s unwillingness to stand up for Arizona taxpayers and join the Republican majority in protecting them from higher taxes.

Gov. Brewer’s decision to file a lawsuit today is nothing more than a media stunt and a complete waste of time. It’s sad that she is so dug in on the idea of higher taxes that she feels the need to bring the judiciary into this battle and in doing so fall back on the tried and true tactics of our liberal friends on the left.

Her lawsuit comes on the heels of her speculation that there may be a government shutdown, which, like the lawsuit, is nothing more than a transparent attempt to generate attention and try to intimidate the Legislature into acquiescing to her wishes.

It’s time for Gov. Brewer to stop playing political gamesmanship and put the interests of Arizona taxpayers first. She knows there is a budget on the table that does not include tax increases, I would encourage her to drop her support for higher taxes and commit to signing that budget into law.”