Rocky campaigns

The candidates hoping to become Arizona’s next mine inspector agree that mining safety for workers and the public needs to be increased. How to accomplish that goal, just like everything else between the candidates, is a matter of debate.

Incumbent Republican Mine Inspector Joe Hart and Democratic challenger Manuel Cruz spar over just about all the issues, including who is really qualified to hold the office, how to increase mine worker safety, whether political experience is even necessary to hold the office and how to close abandoned mines.

Neither candidate is opposed in the Aug. 24 primary election.

“I’ve got the experience for this position,” says Hart, who was elected mine inspector in 2006. “My opponent is basically a delivery truck driver. I don’t mean to be derogatory, but the facts are the facts. He has not been willing to verify his mining experience.”

Cruz counters that he has spent years working in the mining industry, in Arizona and in other states, including Nevada and New Mexico. He adds that his résumé includes extensive training in mine safety, encompassing OSHA and hazmat standards, and says that as inspector he would make frequent trips to mining sites — something he says his opponent has not done.

“I plan to go out to the mines with the deputy inspectors, and talk with the safety directors and the workers, to find out how we can better serve them,” Cruz says. “This is not what the current inspector does.”

Cruz says he would be a more hands-on inspector, and claims there is a “lack of seriousness” in the existing mine-safety training.

“Right now they are not doing hands-on training,” Cruz says. “Their instructions are verbal and they utilize video tapes. The entire process needs to be more interactive.”

Cruz says shoring up the industry involves working more closely with miners. “One of the things that I want to do is instill a belief in miners that we can do a better job of keeping them safe.”

Hart says mining accidents are the most unnerving part of the job, and adds that while the industry has improved its safety record, more needs to be done to ensure that every mine worker returns home safely each night.

“That’s the worst thing you have to do in life, to tell a man’s wife that he’s not coming home,” Hart says. “We’ve come a long way in safety, but one person can’t do all of it. (Mining safety) is the responsibility of thousands of individuals, working together.

“I’m extremely proud of the work our staff has done. We have gone from 18 employees to 16, and are still doing the job we set out to do. It’s been a case of doing more with less as the budget is cut.”

Hart says his extensive experience in industry, government and business gives him an advantage over Cruz.

Hart worked his way through the ranks during a 20-year career at Duval Mining Corporation, starting as a laborer and progressing through the ranks to foreman and then superintendent. He is also served as an Arizona legislator for 10 years.

“You need someone with the people skills to work with the Legislature, and with the environmental interests,” he says.

Hart says the Arizona mining industry, which is sometimes hampered by extensive regulation, has benefited from his diplomacy skills.

“We need to make Arizona a more-friendly place to mine,” Hart says. “In one of the last pieces of legislation I was involved with, we worked with ADEQ and environmental folks to make sure that mines can get permits in a more-timely manner.”

Cruz thinks his direct, man-of-the-people approach will resonate with voters.

“I want to bring down the statistics, and give miners the training that they are not getting now,” Cruz says. “It’s not so much about trying to be a politician as it is about getting the job done.”

He adds that he would be a more hands-on director of the office. “You have to go out and see what the deputy inspectors are doing, what issues they’re addressing,” he says. “It’s important to get out there, rather than sitting behind a desk.”

Hart says deft political skills may be a virtual requirement for the next mine inspector as the Arizona mining industry continues to emerge from the recession. “It’s been tough doing the things we’ve done with the economy the way it is. But we have brought a lot of money in from the private sector,” Hart says.

A portion of that money has gone toward one of Hart’s main initiatives while serving as mine inspector — closing abandoned mines. A report by his office estimates 9,900 mines have been abandoned across the state, including more than 3,200 identified as “dangerous and unsafe.”

“We closed 37 dangerous holes near Mammoth in a week-and-a-half,” Hart says. “We’ve closed many mines, and we’ve done it with very little money,” Hart says. “I would like to continue what we did in our first term.”

Cruz counters that Hart has not done enough to close abandoned mines. He plans to introduce an adopt-a-mine program, encouraging residents, organizations and corporations to donate money for mine closures. He would establish a website featuring before-and-after pictures and the costs of closing mines.

“They could depict mine closures courtesy of a bank, or Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” Cruz says. “Perhaps winter visitors would participate, as well.”

Cruz says the state also needs to get tough with the owners of lands dotted with abandoned mines. “Owners need to be held responsible,” he says.

Ultimately, safety is still dominates both of the candidates’ longtime platforms.

“Injuries have been going up consistently over the past 10 years,” Cruz says. “Safety protocols need to be stepped up.”

“This is not a one-person job,” Hart says. “If one person thinks he can rectify all the problems in mining, he’s fooling himself.”