Supervisors take last round of comments on redistricting 

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Pinal Map D Preferred
The Pinal County board of supervisors will vote Wednesday whether to accept this map of the new supervisory district borders. This version, known as Map D, keeps all of Maricopa in one district and moves the city to District 1, represented by Kevin Cavanaugh. [Pinal County]

The Pinal County Board of Supervisors met Tuesday morning to review and discuss the county’s redistricting process for County Supervisor district boundaries. 

At the meeting, the board introduced a new map – Map D – that had been developed over the past several days based on input from the public. A fifth option, Map E, also was introduced. Both those maps have Maricopa in supervisory District 1, which is represented by Kevin Cavanaugh. Maricopa’s current district, District 4, would move to the south and continue to be represented by Jeff McClure. 

Map D makes major changes to the current supervisory district lines, in particular to Districts 1, 4, and 5. Map E offers only minor differences from Map D, primarily moving voter precinct 67, which covers the far west and south sides of Maricopa including Hidden Valley, into District 3 on Map E while it is in District 1 on Map D. District 21, which lies southeast of Maricopa, moves from District 1 on Map D to District 3 in Map E. 

Maricopa City Councilmember Nancy Smith, who has spearheaded the charge to keep Maricopa in a single district and split Saddlebrooke out of the district, said she and those on the council she has spoken to prefer Map D. 

“We’re leaning toward Map D because although the population is higher than it is on Map E, it allows us to grow into our general plan area without modifications to the borders,” Smith said. “Plan E would require modifications a few years down the road. Both Maps D and E allow us to grow far better than Maps A, B or C.” 

She said she received positive input from the Supervisors about their final choice. 

“Based on the conversations I had today, they all seemed to be comfortable with Maps D and E,” Smith said. “They didn’t commit because they want to be sure they gave constituents time to comment on the proposals.” 

Smith encouraged Maricopa residents to send emails to the Supervisors or go on the Pinal County website and provide comment until noon Wednesday at https://www.pinalcountyaz.gov/bos/Pages/Redistricting2022.aspx 

Maps D and E keep Tortosa in the same district with the rest of Maricopa, rather than splitting it into District 3 and dividing the city between two districts, which was the proposal in Maps A and B. The final three maps, C, D and E, also leave the Saddlebrooke area, which lies just north of Tucson, in District 4 while moving Maricopa into District 1.  

Smith said that division was popular with both Maricopa and Saddlebrooke residents, based on the public comments.  

“I believe Maps D and E are a positive thing for both Maricopa and Saddlebrooke,” Smith said. “In the feedback the Supervisors got, which was a total of 127 pieces of feedback, 69 of those from District 4, the residents of th (the Saddlebrooke) area feel their interests are aligned with surrounding area and Pima County much more than Maricopa and northern Pinal County.” 

Vice Mayor Vincent Manfredi said he also prefers Map D. 

“I prefer Map D because it keeps the Maricopa area together and keeps us within our planning area,” Manfredi said. 

Citizens who want to give their comments in person to the Board of Supervisors may do so during the Call to the Public portion of Wednesday’s Board of Supervisors regular meeting, which takes place in Florence at 9.30 a.m. The final vote to approve the new map will be held at a special session meeting Wednesday at 1 p.m., following the regular meeting.