Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: Senator Kirsten Cinema spoke with leaders of Graham and Greenlee counties about infrastructure and water at a roundtable at Safford Regional Airport on Tuesday.

John Johnson

john johnson news@gmail.com

80 minutes.

Kirsten Cinema, who is nearing full term as one of two state senators, visited Graham County for the first time on Tuesday.

Cinema spent just 80 minutes on-site in Graham County. It was an efficient and seemingly good enough effort to hear from the local leaders themselves about the problems plaguing Graham and Greenlee counties.

“My biggest goal today is to hear from community leaders in Graham and Greenlee counties about their infrastructure needs,” Cinema told reporters after the event. “One of the things we’ve experienced during my time in the Senate is that while large cities tend to get more access and more attention from the federal government, smaller, more rural communities My goal is to ensure that every dollar that Arizona qualifies for under the new infrastructure law is accessed in rural Arizona.”

The roundtable was hosted by Ponderosa Aviation at Safford Regional Airport and was attended by various leaders from Graham County, Greenlee County and various municipalities. Safford City Councilman Michael Andazora Sr. helped organize the event, while Safford Police Chief Glenn Orr led local security with Captain Brian Avila.

Cinema said, “I’m really excited to be here with the leaders of Graham and Greenlee counties.” It means a lot to me… I just want you all to know that I work hard to deliver to Eastern Arizona Towns across Arizona Thank you for taking the time to tell us what’s happening in your country and city, and how our office can help you at the federal level.

This stop was part of a statewide tour attended by cinemas that visited local leaders and spoke about infrastructure and other issues important to them. As soon as the stop at Safford Airport was completed, the cinema boarded the plane to Tucson and turned off like a light switch.

Cinema opened with a talk about infrastructure investment and employment laws that she and another Arizona senator, Mark Kelly, have shaped. A big part of her goal is to make sure the money is fairly distributed across the state, “to keep the big guys from getting all the money,” Cinema said. I also want to ensure that the communities that power Arizona are fairly distributed, from small to large, from east to west, from north to south.”

The law would bring broadband to “every part” of the state, repair and build bridges and roads, secure investment in Arizona’s water future, and ease inflation by bringing products to stores. is useful for

“Our legislation is the result of Republicans and Democrats working together to strengthen Arizona’s economy through investments that promote jobs and opportunity,” Cinema said. “I am here because I want to work closely with you to make sure Arizona gets every dollar it is entitled to from our infrastructure investments.”

Since being elected to replace Jeff Flake as Senator in November 2018, Cinema has been something of a Democratic “John McCain Maverick.” Attorney General William Barr voted in one of the first ballots of 2019 to vote on the Inflation Reduction Act until it added a significant portion of drought aid and removed the provision to close the loophole in carried-over interest taxes. asked to withhold.

In person, she did not disappoint and expressed her independent spirit on numerous occasions while answering questions. expressed the meaning of

“It’s been a hard-fought weekend,” Cinema told the Hilla Herald. In addition to our $4 billion drought fund, we are truly proud that we have stood up for businesses to ensure that small businesses across Arizona are not in crisis. And I’m really proud of the work we’ve done to ensure that manufacturers, who are an important part of Arizona’s future, don’t face significant tax increases. Continuing the work we are doing to implement , Chip, Plus and, of course, facing a changing climate.The investments that this new law makes to address a changing climate are critically important to Arizona. am.”

While answering questions from Eastern Arizona College President Todd Haney about Pell Grants and college tuition, Cinema rejected the concept of loan debt forgiveness and “no tuition” as an alternative to expanding the Pell Grant system.

“Proposals from the left to make college free make absolutely no sense,” Cinema said. “Because what you’re doing is telling wealthy kids, it’s free for you. This makes no sense. They can afford it. Their families buy it.” It makes more sense for working-class people to help them gain access to education, whether it’s an accredited program at a community college or not. Whether you’re learning to be a welder or plumber, learning to be a nursing assistant, or wanting to transfer to a four-year college, a community college can help you get that training. It’s the perfect place for – technical training or traditional academic training.But it makes no sense to say that people who can afford it are going to allow loans.And that’s the fundamental problem does not resolve the

How the Inflation Reduction Act will spend $4 billion on water and drought relief

Graham and Greenlee counties, like the rest of the state, are suffering from drought, and water was one of the main topics. Cinema happily touted the addition of his $4 billion water and drought aid to western states in the Inflation Reduction Act passed by the Senate over the weekend, but Graham County and state governments said local An update on water rights issues was also provided. Safford. Graham County Supervisors Danny Smith and John Howard asked Cinema to assist the San Carlos Apache Reservation with the GRIC Water Settlement as part of the Arizona Water Settlement Act of 2004 and Gila Ordinance . Howard also spoke about the pressing need for new infrastructure along the Gila River.

Cinema said it will work with communities around Arizona to work together rather than compete over water resources, talking about a new water advisory board that was launched Monday.

Cinema advised that government funding would be readily available, but local town, city, and county governments are all ill-equipped to efficiently undertake the task of applying for funding. As such, Sinema suggested that various community groups come together locally to help them better win grants and funding for their projects.

“Our goal is to bring these regional leaders together and create regional consortia or working groups to jointly identify community needs, provide technical assistance, and help them bring these forward. Grant,” Cinema said. “Small towns and rural counties often don’t have professional grantmakers, which means one person does 12 jobs, so our office can help create grants. We can help them identify which grants are available We can provide a support letter Help them understand what the best face is to access these grants Please help me.”