Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

When Arizona enacted a law in 1972 effectively preventing farmworkers from organizing, Cesar Chavez and I met with local Latino leaders here who were skeptical that change could ever happen in the state.

I wanted to take a few moments to respond to your letter to me dated August 15, 2016. Based on your stated interpretation of my position expressed in the August 11th Commission Staff Meeting, I believe you may be drawing an incorrect conclusion.

This week the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released the news that there will not be a shortage on the Colorado River in 2017. This positive declaration can be attributed to water left behind in Lake Mead by CAP and its partners. However, Reclamation’s projection shows that without additional conservation actions, 2018 could be the first year of shortage on the Colorado River.

Arizona is a reflection of the demographic shifts of population happening in the nation. Latinos represent 30 percent of Arizona’s population and millennials between 18-33 years of age represent 42 percent of workers and eligible voters among the Latino population. Latino millennials represent the eruption of a powerful workforce of the future in Arizona.

We’ve made tremendous progress in the way we diagnose and treat cancer. But to leverage this progress, Arizona legislators should take advantage of these opportunities to pass evidence-based laws and support policies that are proven to save lives and money.

On August 26, Arizona women will celebrate women’s right to vote. Women will commemorate the sacrifices and perseverance of those who fought 50 years to secure for women the right to vote. Women stood in pouring rain and freezing snow. They were beaten, jailed, went on hunger strikes, were force-fed and called crazy for wanting to vote. The women experienced harsh conditions in prison with poor sanitation, infested food, and dreadful facilities.

For too long, our health care system has emphasized treating sickness rather than supporting wellness. The system has become a complex and difficult maze to maneuver and has resulted in countless missed opportunities to prevent disease.

We have a choice to make. We can go down the road of throwing support to those who want to send 11 million people home, or we could embrace the situation we helped create and find innovative, constructive solutions that will address the serious problems of illegal immigration and today’s skills gap in our work force. Reasonable reform will benefit us all. It is time to show the political will to turn in that direction.

I believe it is in the interests of all Arizonans, both those with solar and those without, to conduct an impartial study that recognizes the full benefits that distributed solar extends to all ratepayers.

On the border, most residents said they do not favor building a new wall.