Maricopa spends “A Morning with the Governor”

Jul 3, 2006

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Maricopa area residents packed the Province Town Hall Friday morning to attend a community forum on growth and development. The event, a partnership between Arizona’s Governor Janet Napolitano and Maricopa’s Mayor Kelly Anderson, gave attendees the opportunity to ask the governor questions while offering her a Maricopa “good morning.”

Many area residents wanted to spend “A Morning with the Governor.”

As the program stated, “The City of Maricopa is a microcosm of the rapid growth and development that is underway throughout the State of Arizona.” Mayor Anderson invited the Governor to Maricopa to “share her vision of how the State can work for and with local municipalities to meet the changes of growth together.”

Following refreshments catered by On the Go Bistro, Mayor Anderson, introducing Governor Napolitano, noted, “This is the second time in nine months that you’ve been here. Either we’re doing a great job, or we’re causing too much commotion. We gave you the key to the City of Maricopa on October 7th; it still unlocks the city whose residents take ownership and settle for nothing less than success.”

Maricopa Mayor Kelly Anderson welcomed Governor Janet Napolitano (seated with Vice-Mayor Brent Murphree) to the city for the second time in nine months.

Councilmen (from left) Kelly Haddad, Edward Farrell, Joseph Estes, Will Dunn and Steve Baker were present for the event.

In his opening remarks, Mayor Anderson mentioned that, although most kids are older than the City of Maricopa, what sets it apart are its passion, creativity and sense of awareness. He noted the population growth and the 52% of all residents with higher education degrees, the water conservation partnerships with Global Water and USDA, the grade separation project, land use and density issues in the over 400-square mile planning area.

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano spoke to various issues and responded to questions from the audience.

Governor Napolitano also spoke to infrastructure issues, asking, “How are we going to grow?” Responding to her own rhetorical question, she noted, “Growth for growth’s sake is problematic. Growth with quality is Arizona’s future.” She told the audience that the legislature is looking to invest in education, transportation and quality of life for Arizona’s residents–all infrastructure issues. “People are voting with their feet,” she added. “They are coming to where the future is brightest, where they can make a living.”

“The four topics, which invariably come to the forefront in Arizona, are education, immigration, transportation and litter. They all really blend together,” added the Governor. She spoke to each of those topics, answering questions from the audience as well:

Transportation:
According to the Governor, the State has earmarked $307 million for roads. They are looking for ways to take transportation off the freeways, including the possibilities of high-speed and regular rail service. “We know we’ll have to expand I-10,” she noted. By 2040, according to the Governor, Pinal County will be the second largest county in Arizona. “It’s not just little Pinal County any more; this is a big deal,” she said. Water and the preservation of open space will be extremely important, while area roads will require financial sources other than just state ADOT funds.

The governor also announced the recent appointment of Maricopa Public Works Director Bob Jackson to the Highway Expansion Loan Advisory Committee.

Napolitano indicated that the State would be happy to facilitate discussions between neighboring tribes and the city regarding transportation corridors. Ak-Chin Community tribal community chairperson Delia Carlyle explained the long history of cooperation between the tribe and the City of Maricopa. “We may say we’re from Ak-Chin, but, you know, our zip code is 85239.” Carlyle also announced that the Governor would later attend the presentation of a special EPA Region 9 award for Ak-Chin’s environmental
accomplishments.

Education:
“Investment in education is really investment in the kind of graduates we’re going to have,” explained Napolitano. “Jobs are coming in part because we invested in education.” She used next summer’s opening of a second Arizona medical school in Phoenix as an example.

Glenda Sulley, speaking from the audience, thanked the Governor for her unwavering support of education. “I think we’ve turned the corner,” noted Napolitano. “Next year the emphasis will be on middle and high school math and science.” She explained the addition of all-day kindergarten as well as the districts’ abilities to build in advance of the School Facilities Board’s funding. “We need to kind of get ahead of that,” she added.

A new state program, called First Things First, will tax 80 cents per pack on cigarettes, with funds designated for early childhood education programs (ages 0-5). That age group is one of the two fastest growing ones in the state. “Every dollar spent will reap $9-$17 later on,” explained the Governor.

Healthcare:
“This is part of infrastructure,” explained Napolitano. The State put in $20 million to alleviate the nursing shortage. Now the emphasis will be on emergency rooms and trauma centers. One of the big questions is how to enable older people to stay in their homes after they lose their ability to drive. “By 2020, 75% of all Arizona residents will be over 60,” she noted, adding that the 85 and over group is one of the two fastest growing in the state (in addition to the 0-5 age group).

Veto of HB2575:
“We need five supervisors,” Bill Bridwell, President of the Western Pinal Republican Club, told the Governor. “You, in a matter of hours, decided to veto, holding your opinion superior to a substantial number of those in Pinal County.”

Napolitano responded that there were other counties and others individuals opposed to moving from three to five county supervisors, partially due to the cost. “I felt we need to wait for the next census,” she added. “I’m in the office to make tough decisions, and I’m going to continue to do that.”

Recycling and Litter:
“We need to develop a culture of conservation,” Napolitano explained, announcing the new statewide anti-litter campaign titled “Don’t Trash Arizona.” “This is our home,” she said. The program is designed to help avoid fires due to cigarette butts tossed from car windows, to curb roadway debris leading to accidents and to save money. (ADOT spends an average of $2.3 million per year just to remove litter from the freeway system.)

Drugs:
“Meth really is an epidemic now in Arizona,” noted the Governor. It crosses every demographic line, is huge in Indian country and is what crack cocaine used to be in the eastern cities. One in five avoidable childhood deaths are attributable to meth,” she added, responding to a question from Carl Diedrich in regard to Maricopa’s Drug Prevention Coalition, and indicating that the State would provide local and regional task force support.

Illegal Immigration:
Governor Napolitano, speaking about the federal government’s contributions to the illegal immigration problem, stated, “They need to help out the states that are shouldering an undue burden. There are 32,000 prisoners in our jails, and 4,000 of them are here illegally.” Smiling, she told the audience that she sent the Attorney General a bill for $217 million for incarceration costs. “A month later,” she laughed, “I sent another bill with a 30-day late fee!”

With regard to the massive resources coming to the border, Napolitano noted, “You show me a 50-foot wall, and I’ll show you a 51-foot ladder!” Her answers to the problem include streamlining the visa process, tamper proof ID cards, employer sanctions that really mean something and the use of technology at the border. “Mexico City needs to engage,” she added.

The Governor took time to recognize Maricopa Unified School District Superintendent Alma Farrell for her many contributions to the district, wishing her “a happy retirement.”