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SIERRA VISTA — Taxes. Budgets. New mines. Illegal immigration. Water.
These and other issues on the minds of local voters were discussed by candidates for Legislative District 25 on Wednesday night in the Sierra Vista City Council chambers. The nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Cochise County sponsored the forum as part of its mission to get people involved in government decisions.
About 20 people attended, including four candidates. They were Ric Boyer and Pat Fleming, both Democrats seeking a state representative seat. There are two seats available. The two Republican candidates for representative — Timathy Davies of Marana and David Stevens of Sierra Vista — did not attend.
Manny Alvarez and Mary Ann Black are seeking the district’s senate seat. Alvarez is a Democrat; Black is a Republican.
  
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Audience members were invited to submit questions, which were then put to the candidates by League of Women Voters moderator Barbara Kuttner. Some people who were viewing the forum on television phoned in questions. After a question was posed, each candidate was given two minutes to reply to it.
The following is a quick recap of just a portion of the candidates’ comments.
Education was the top priority for all the candidates at the forum.
Boyer repeatedly said he wants to see Arizona’s education move “to the head of the class” when compared with other states.
That will not be an easy task as the state struggles with a budget deficit.
“Clearly, we’ve spent too much money,” Boyer said.
The expenditures are one issue. Then there is the state’s income. Boyer wants to reform the Arizona’s tax structure.
“We use property taxes, which is an Eastern formula,” said Boyer, a Hereford resident. “Eighty-five percent, plus, property in the East is privately owned. You tax it. Here, 85 percent of the property is government-owned. You can’t tax it. And that’s just one thing. You’ve got all kinds of exemptions that shouldn’t exist anymore.”
Boyer’s appetite for reform came up again when Kuttner posed the question, “What is your position on proposed new mines here in Arizona?”
“Economically, it’s a reality that we need industry,” Boyer said. “Arizona has a rich history in mining. I think our dilemma, or the issues with mining, are that our statutes are 19th century statutes regulating a 21st century industry … in terms of technology and safety standards, as well as the tax structure.”
Black favors new mining projects.
The Democrats are not in agreement on mining.
Although Alvarez said he is pro-mining, Fleming, a Sierra Vista resident, said she has talked with the rural residents of the district.
“And these people have a strong opinion that they don’t want any new mines coming into their areas,” Fleming said. “They say that with determination. They say it because they’re concerned about the effects that a new mine would have on the water source.”
Water was a key topic during the night. The county’s authority in denying subdivision permits based on 100 years of water adequacy was discussed.
There are “holes in it,” Black said, regarding the law. “There’s no set amount of water that’s adequate, so how do you tell whether a subdivision has adequate water or not? It doesn’t have any criteria.
“So there are some things that will have to be done for that water adequacy bill,” Black said, referring to SB1575, which was adopted by Cochise County. There has been concern that the bill’s definitions do not provide any protection for existing wells.
Fleming said she also would like to review that Senate bill. She came to this area in 1969, “and when you looked down Highway 92, and you looked to the east, and you looked to the west, there weren’t those kinds of lights that you would (now) see at night. It’s part of the process of living, and that is increasing population … it has to be thoughtful of the people who surround it, and it has to be within reason and common sense.”
In other water politics, there was discussion about the Legislature’s creation of a potential water augmentation district in the Upper San Pedro Subwatershed. That district ultimately will be created or rejected by the voters.
“I’m glad you asked that question,” Alvarez said. “It’s one of my favorites, to be honest with you. I worked on that bill before it passed, and, of course, I was a no vote on it. I don’t believe that we need that separate level of government. I don’t believe that we need to go back and tax our property owners on top of the water bills now, and I’m still not too much in favor of that bill yet, until I see the end results …”
Black is an appointee to the water district’s pilot board. She also opposed the district’s creation but sees her appointment as an opportunity to raise issues of water conservation instead of augmentation.
One of the illegal-immigration questions focused on the “path to citizenship” that some American political leaders have endorsed for illegal immigrants who have long resided within the United States.
“I don’t believe in amnesty, if that’s what you’re saying,” said Alvarez, a lifelong Elfrida resident.
Black made a similar strong comment against illegal immigrants, saying her ranch in Hereford is overrun by the crossers.
Boyer and Fleming both agreed illegal immigration is mostly a federal issue that could be most effectively dealt with from that perspective.
Davies and Stevens, the two Republican candidates for representative, each submitted a statement that was announced by Kuttner. Stevens is currently on a defense contractor assignment in Kuwait.
“I am running for your representative because I don’t feel we have had the representation we deserve,” Stevens said.
“I am concerned about jobs and the economic stability of our communities. I want our borders secure, and I want illegal immigration stopped. I believe in protecting our property and water rights.”
Stevens’ statement had more to say, including, “I want our children to receive a first-class education, and we should put high student achievement as the goal we should strive for. I believe in less government, lower taxes, personal responsibility, and I believe in the free enterprise system.”
Davies’ statement included the following: “It is time for common sense in the Capitol. As a native resident of Arizona, I have seen a need for this, firsthand. It is time to stop spending more money than the state has available. I believe everyone should expect a government that secures our borders, lowers taxes, provides school choice and respects the individual’s right to the Second Amendment.”
District 25 is a vast, rambling, rural area that covers all of Cochise County except for Sierra Vista/Fort Huachuca and a swatch of southern Santa Cruz that includes Nogales and extends west of that city and also covers the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation. It even includes a sliver of Maricopa County.
Herald/Review City Editor Ted Morris can be reached at 515-4614 or cityeditor@svherald.com.
Independent wrote on Sep 19, 2008 5:57 PM: