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The voters of Arizona elect our state legislators to go to work on our behalf. Among their most important responsibilities is passing a state budget — determining how billions of taxpayer dollars will be spent.

Yet the Republican leadership of the Arizona House recently decided to send all state representatives on recess for a month after working just one day in May — and without getting a bipartisan budget deal done.

We both served in the military — Edgar served in the Marine Corps, and Holly served for 26 years in the Air Force, retiring as a colonel. In the military, mission comes first. You identify the objective, bring people together, work through disagreements and challenges, and stay focused on the mission until the job is done.

The country depends on that kind of commitment. Arizona should expect no less from its elected officials.

Going on recess for a month when the work is unfinished is exactly what's wrong with politics today. It's nothing new — both chambers went on five recesses last year.

Rep. Kevin Volk spoke out to stop the recess. His objection was not partisan; it was principled. He argued the Legislature should remain at work, continue negotiations, and fulfill its responsibilities to the people of Arizona. For a moment, it appeared there might be bipartisan support to do exactly that. But in the end, every single Republican representative voted to recess.

Even if a budget is passed before the June 30 deadline, Arizonans should ask why this critical work — the primary responsibility for which they are being paid — was left until the final weeks of the session.

Rather, the GOP-led committees have been wasting time discussing bills that have already failed, bills that only have party-line support, and partisan nonbinding resolutions. This while serious bills proposed by Democrats — aimed at lowering the costs of prescription drugs and preventing insurance providers from denying owed coverage — are not being moved forward by Republican leadership.

Neither of us believes public service should be about blind partisanship. Arizona once had leaders such as Sen. John McCain, a fellow veteran who was willing to challenge his own party when he believed it was the right thing to do. That independent spirit seems increasingly rare in today’s Legislature, where party loyalty too often takes precedence over independent judgment and problem-solving.

The state budget will determine how nearly $18 billion of taxpayer money will be spent. That responsibility should not be rushed, delayed or treated as an afterthought. Every legislator represents roughly 250,000 Arizonans whose voices deserve to be heard in the process.

If lawmakers fail in that mission, hard-working Arizonans will bear the consequences.

We believe that government should be mission-driven — not operating crisis to crisis or recess to recess. That has been our focus inside and outside of our military service.

There is a lot of work to be done — tackling costs of living, improving education, securing our water, and protecting our communities. We're running for office to put the mission of solving problems and serving people first, with a deep sense of responsibility to the Arizonans we serve.