Bridwell: Hollenbach’s right for Maricopa

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Dear Editor,

I guess I touched a sore spot with Pete Rios because it described his commitment to Maricopa as well, but my letter was a commentary on Rebecca Rios, Barbara McGuire and Ernie Bustamente. If you don’t really know who they are, that’s kind of what I was saying. Vote Pratt, Fillmore and Campos. They will work hard for you, and, believe me, you will know who they are.

But today let’s talk about David Snider and why I’m supporting Tom Hollenbach. Many of you will remember I ran against Snider last time, and I won the vote resoundingly in Maricopa and Hidden Valley. You were right in voting for me then and you’ll be right in voting for Tom Hollenbach this time.

Snider threw Maricopa under the bus trying to defeat the five-supervisor legislation when he redirected the County lobbyists to full-time pursuit of defeating the legislation away from defending Maricopa against the fines the legislature was levying against you for budget over-rides. You had the money and needed to invest it in your community, but a glitch in the state law said you couldn’t spend it. The result was a quarter million dollar fine that Snider could have defeated for you. I certainly would have. So would Hollenbach, Pratt, Fillmore and Campos. Couldn’t you use that quarter million dollars in the city coffers today?

Snider threw Maricopa under the bus again when you sued the developers that had been grandfathered from ever paying impact fees to Maricopa. The courts ruled that only Pinal County could reverse that deal. Has Snider ever even discussed that possibility? There will be homes built in Maricopa for the next 30 years that will never pay impact fees.

The county could negotiate a five-year cap on that exemption and require that any home built after five years from now will have to pay Maricopa’s impact fees. Snider won’t do that because those developers have directed thousands of dollars of campaign contributions to Snider. It would be a fair deal for the developers and for Maricopa. Tom Hollenbach will make those negotiations a priority when he’s elected as Supervisor.

Snider throws Maricopa, 40% of the district’s population, under the bus every month with his one day a month office hours. He’s in Casa Grande three days a week. Hollenbach will be in Maricopa multiple times per month and offer evening hours regularly so people who have to work during the day can talk to their county supervisor.

Snider and the county planners tried to throw the rural areas around Maricopa under the bus by severely restricting horse and other livestock ownership through zoning ordinance changes. Rural Pinal County rose up and defeated the process, but Snider has hoodwinked some equestrian supporters into believing he was against the changes. If so, why did he review those changes and permit the draft revisions to be posted without objection? His objections only came when faced with an angry mob on his doorstep. Tom Hollenbach is a lifelong supporter of equestrian and livestock interests. How do I know? Maybe it’s the horses in his backyard that he and his family have enjoyed and cared for over the last 30 years.

Under Snider’s watch the county budget has bloated to $450,000,000, a 250 percent increase while the population has only increased by 80 percent. With all that money where’s the county participation in resolving the grade separation at the railroad crossings? They approved the subdivisions and never made any allowances for the rail crossings. The county owes Maricopa an overpass. Don’t hold your breath waiting on Snider to help. Hollenbach will go to work immediately on finding the funding and a resolution to that issue.

Snider has been a lifelong bureaucrat who has always been paid through your tax dollars and only knows one solution to the county’s issues- your taxes. Hollenbach has been a lifelong private businessman who knows the value of your hard-earned dollars because he’s had to make a living the same way you do. Economic development is the heart of Hollenbach’s campaign and promise to Maricopa.

Snider and his wrecking crew in Florence have put this county behind the eight ball for the next two generations. The same crew that got us here cannot possibly find the solutions to our challenges. Thankfully Smith and Ruiz are gone, but we need to send Snider packing as well.

On November 4th it’s time for Maricopa to give Snider some of his own medicine and throw him and his cronies under the bus. Vote for Hollenbach and the entire conservative Republican ticket.

Bill Bridwell

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