Public Safety

Support for public safety is my highest priority. While most people think of Public Safety as Law Enforcement and Fire Departments, I also include the Office of Emergency Management, the Health Department, and Highways and Floodplain departments under that umbrella. While I have over 20 years of experience working with the law enforcement side of the house, I have worked with these other departments on issues from flooding, sinkholes, and large-scale incidents such as the Sawmill, Horseshoe II, Lizard, and Monument Fire to name a few. With two decades of building strong working relationships with first responders from City, County, State, and Federal agencies, I understand what can be required to navigate these types of incidents.

With our current border issues and high-speed pursuits, we were able to work with outside funding sources to ensure that a nationwide issue was not being laid upon the backs of Cochise County taxpayers. Emergency responders need the tools to keep us safe because, without Public Safety, we do not have the quality of life we deserve.

Environmental

Water is a massive issue in my district, from the San Pedro Adjudication to the groundwater decline in the Sulphur Springs and San Simon Valleys. We need local control over our water, and I will relay that to our state partners.

This issue does not end with the concern over water availability, though. Ground subsidence has affected areas of all three valleys. Our highway and floodplain department needs to be prepared for more of this and have a plan to mitigate it.

As a county, we must actively seek grant funding from sources like Conservation Districts to promote groundwater recharge and prevent catastrophic flooding, as we’ve seen in Bowie, Willow Lakes, and St. David. By working through flood control districts and learning from past incidents, we can better prepare for and mitigate future issues.

Growth

I like our county the way it is, but I have begrudgingly agreed that we need growth. That growth must align with who we are as a county and what we are. Part of the Comprehensive plan that needs to be updated this coming year identifies areas where growth will most likely occur and identifies areas that should be preserved as open space. It also addresses things like transportation, water assurance, and light pollution.

Growth is inevitably coming, but we must remember who we are. It needs to be planned, and housing needs to be balanced with industry. Economic growth needs to be priority 1 when talking about growth.