Pinal County Supervisor and Board Chairman David Snider participated in the National Association of Counties’ (NACo) 2010 Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. His mission was to help ensure that the voice of the nation’s counties is heard by Congress and the Obama Administration.
The conference, held March 6-10, featured remarks from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Obama’s cabinet secretaries Kathleen Sibelius and Tom Vilsak, among others.
One of the main objectives of the legislative conference was to bring county officials face-to-face with federal government officials to discuss key county government priorities and specific legislation, regulations, and funding levels affecting essential services and programs.
“This year’s conference was a success in my opinion. I, along with Supervisor Bryan Martyn and Assistant County Manager Manny Gonzalez, were able to spend time with most of the members of our Arizona delegation or their senior staff talking about some specific Pinal County issues,” Snider said. “The three of us participated in a special meeting, set up by Representative Ann Kirkpatrick, with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) to urge his support for moving the Resolution Copper land trade legislation forward in the House – the discussion was positive and encouraging.”
“During a small breakfast with Senators McCain and Kyl, I was able to point to several federal regulations that effectively barred rural Arizona and Pinal County from access to any Recovery Act funding for road construction. Both Senators asked for more information and promised to look for ways to remedy the situation. One of Pinal County’s legislative priorities is to acquire federal funds for converting dirt roads to paved surfaces to help improve our air quality. The discussions were very fruitful.”
The county’s legislative platform, which was thoroughly discussed with each of Pinal County’s six Representatives and two Senators, includes several high priority issues: funding for widening Hunt Highway; funding for converting the county’s dirt roads to chip-sealed surfaces for the sake of motorist safety and to improve air quality; active support for the Resolution Copper mine project; and a continuation of FMAP funds (stimulus monies for health care programs).
In addition to meetings with Arizona’s delegation, discussions were held with Victor Mendez, Director of the Federal Highway Administration, about various transportation initiatives such as a high-speed passenger and commuter rail corridor between Phoenix and Tucson. We also met with senior representatives at the Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) office concerning our contractual relationship with them for the housing of ICE prisoners in the Pinal County Jail.
Jobs, economic recovery and restoring the partnership between local governments and the federal government were the main themes of the conference for more than 2,000 elected and appointed county officials from around the country. NACo President Valeri Brown (Supervisor, Sonoma County, Calif.) said: “it’s more important than ever that county officials pull together and speak with one voice to our federal representatives on the many critical issues affecting counties and communities.” Supervisor Snider added, “During the conference, our Arizona group met with White House staffer Michael Blake to review current administration initiatives. He is keenly aware of our concerns and has been engaged in our issues during the past year.”
Supervisor Snider has been an active member of NACo’s Energy, Environment, and Land Use Steering Committee for six years. The Steering Committee and its various subcommittees spent the better part of two days during this conference exploring such issues as the cap-and-trade legislation and hammering out policies that will govern NACo’s federal legislative platform.
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