Maricopa representatives help open local census office

Tucson Rural local census office 3117 officially opened its doors last week, and Maricopa, which will be in its reporting area, was well represented.

Councilman Marvin Brown, assistant to the city manager Paul Jepson, tribal liaison Keith Betsuie, Delia Carlyle, Partnership Assistant for the Ak-Chin Community, Complete Count Committee chair Brenda Campbell and several committee members were in attendance at the event.

Officer manager Paul Fimbres welcomed guests, who also heard from Abe Li, the head of the Asian and Pacific Islander Complete Count Committee. That group represents the area’s Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean population. Dr. John Arnold spoke about the necessity of reaching out to the 115,000 migrant workers in Arizona and New Mexico, the fifth largest agricultural group in the country.

Pascua Yaqui deer dancers performed three dances as a cultural and ceremonial blessing for the new census office.

Assistant Denver Regional Census Manager Mark Helfritz called the 2010 census “the largest peacetime mobilization of the American population.” The census, according to Helfritz, will create a new picture of who we are as a nation and where we’re going. “We cannot do this without individuals taking ownership,” he said. That ownership begins with the complete count census committees in every city.

The goal for the 2010 census is to get a higher response rate than the 63 percent last time. “We must have an accurate count,” said Helfritz. “Missing someone for one year impacts the next 10 years.”

The census is required by law for representative government, and some Congressional seats will be on the line, based on re-districting after the census is completed. In addition, funding based on the census is critical for various federal, state, tribal and local programs. For example, for every person not counted in Maricopa, the community will lose $1,809.

Helfritz also talked about the Partnership Support Programs, “the selling portion of the census.” Congress has allotted funds in support of census outreach and promotion efforts. In Maricopa census partners already recognized are the Complete Count Census Committee, Maricopa Unified School District, HOAs, Friends of the Maricopa Public Library and the Ak-Chin Indian Community.

Area census jobs, both temporary and part time, are currently available. To learn more, go to www.2010censusjobs.gov or call 1-866-861-2010.

Photos by Joyce Hollis