David Garcia, the Democratic candidate for Arizona governor, visited Cottonwood on Thursday, Oct. 18.
Flanked by David Brill, the Democratic nominee for Arizona’s Congressional District 4, District 6 Arizona State Senate candidate Wade Carlisle, and District 6 Arizona House of Representatives candidates Felicia French and Bobby Tyler, Garcia made a pitch to Verde Valley voters in the final stretch of the campaign.
Garcia’s remarks focused on boosting education funding, expanding health insurance options, transitioning Arizona to alternative energy and working towards a less punitive criminal justice system, points he reiterated in a brief Q&A
session with voters in attendance.
After he spoke, Garcia sat down with the Cottonwood Journal Extra for a conversation on local issues that affect the Verde Valley in particular.
You mentioned trying to diversify the economy and bring jobs. In Northern Arizona, tourism is the No. 1 industry. What do you think would be a good alternative for tourism? What do you plan to do to bring other industries into Northern Arizona?
First and foremost we need to make sure we’re protecting tourism. My commitment to natural resources in Arizona is so important, because it is our biggest economic driver.
With respect to other industries, I am in favor of universal community college as a way for local communities to use education to develop economies that makes sense for their area.
I’ll give you an example. We were just in Payson. Payson would love to do more work with respect to having health care professionals, for example. Up in the Navajo Nation, a transition through our community colleges for those impacted by a shift from coal to other energy sources, particularly solar, would make tremendous sense for that area.
The burgeoning wine industry here started at Yavapai College. And so I’m a local control guy. I believe that solutions are best that come from folks at the local level. They make sense for that area. You get more buy-in, they’re more sustainable, and what works for Phoenix doesn’t work for Cottonwood; doesn’t work for Payson.
Allowing flexibility through higher education is a way for those communities to create solutions that make sense for them economically.
Here we are a few weeks before the election, is this your first time visiting Cottonwood?
This is our third time. I’m trying to remember the last time we were up here …. We’ve been up here before, just up the street at the Red Rooster, for example.
Doug Ducey campaigned in the Verde Valley in 2014 when he was running for election. We have not seen him since he became governor. How do we know that this isn’t going to be your last visit to the Verde Valley?
I get that question from rural Arizona and I guess I understand it, but I don’t get it to some extent. Look, Arizona is a beautiful place. I’m from here, born and raised. Cottonwood is beautiful. I look forward to coming back. I look forward to returning back here.
I was the associate superintendent [of the Arizona Department of Education]. I made a commitment to come out and go out to the people of Arizona. They gathered people, and I held to that commitment. Either myself or somebody from our team was out there meaningfully, and we’re going to do the same thing as governor.
During your speech, you talked about water issues, something that matters in the rural high desert. What’s your solution to water issues? How do you hope to help the state deal with droughts?
We’ve got a drought contingency plan on the horizon here. The way that you need to address this is through transparency and trust, and here’s where I think Doug Ducey has really been negligent.
You cannot have some stakeholders at the table at this issue. You need to bring all stakeholders to the table. From my count, it’s almost 50 different stakeholders that need to be here statewide to start a conversation with full transparency and trust about water in the future of Arizona.
Doug Ducey missed that opportunity in the beginning of his administration. I’m not going to miss it in mine. We will bring everybody together and begin this conversation. You’ve got to bring them all together because if you don’t, if you bring some of them, they point to each other.
In other words, if you bring developers, they’ll point to agriculture, or the water authority, or the tribes, for example. You’ve got to have them all there so you can build the kind trust necessary to take leadership in water.
We’ve done this before as a state. We’ve had leaders in this area and I look forward to bringing the next generation of leaders on the water issue.
On the water issue, in the Verde Valley, the source of the Verde River shares the Big Chino Aquifer with Prescott. Developments in Prescott are encroaching onto the aquifer. Do you have an opinion on that issue about the Verde River?
This is about having one shot at keeping our natural resources intact and understanding that I am not in this for a short-term solution, even if it’s a short-term gain, if it’s going to mean long-term loss for Arizona.
So I will always look out for a long-term interest in Arizona knowing that we only get one shot at our natural resources. We don’t get it back again, and I think we need to be very careful and take an approach that has gotten Arizona well before you and I were here to this point. And that is looking at decisions that allow Arizona to be sustainable for generations.
You mentioned marijuana decriminalization. There’s a developing marijuana growing industry in Camp Verde. What are your thoughts on medicinal marijuana and whether you think that Arizona should be expanding licenses for that industry.
I do. I do think we need to expand access to medical marijuana to include easier access for people with chronic pain. It’s a better, less-addictive alternative to opioids.
So for those in chronic pain, I think we should make it more accessible — or those with terminal illness, for example. For veterans suffering with [post-traumatic stress disorder] — I believe that medical marijuana is an alternative that we should have available. It’s in addition or beyond just painkillers and opioids. And I am in favor of expanding access to their populations.
A few months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized sports betting for states that want to do it. We also have a casino in the area. Should the Arizona State Legislature consider, whether that’s something that you as governor would push for, to allow American Indian casinos to conduct sports betting?
We have an agreement with our tribes based on exclusivity and I intend to respect the compact and the idea of exclusivity with respect to gaming in our tribal communities.
Under Arizona law, they’re still not permitted to do sports betting. Is that something that should be opened up?
This is a conversation with the tribes. Because gaming has been very important to tribes in self-determination. Any steps we take will be in conjunction with all of our tribes.
You’re not taking your own stance on whether or not there should be sports betting?
We have a compact with the tribes. Progress and the steps we go forward with in Arizona will be with our tribal communities.
Both you and Gov. Ducey have opposed Proposition 126, prohibiting the Arizona State Legislature from imposing a service tax.
Everybody has.
That’s actually a campaign that started in Sedona. Since it’s a campaign that started from this area, could you talk a little about why you oppose something residents in this area are supporting.
I haven’t heard much support for it — I think [just] Realtors. When you have the Koch brothers, and Democrats, Republicans, both sides against something, I think that Arizonans should take note.
My big issue here is that [Proposition] 126 handcuffs the state and the state legislature for making decisions going forward. And that is the primary reason I believe most everybody — everybody I’ve come across — is against it.
It’s going to handcuff the state and I think it’s not going to allow our elected officials, and for the state itself, to make decisions going forward that match the economy, that are flexible. It basically locks us in.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
