Local officials have mixed views on Trump’s visit

Elected officials from the Yuma area were generally hopeful Tuesday that President Trump’s brief visit will help give the community a higher profile on the national stage, though there was some disappointment at its brevity.

Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls was part of the local greeting party at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, along with his wife and two youngest children, and said he was able to speak to Trump for “a few seconds.”

“It was definitely great to have him here. It was warm, so we talked about that for a second. He’s definitely following what’s going on in Yuma. He recognized me, which was a little bit of a surprise, and the work we’ve been doing here in Yuma city government,” he said.

He said he got a chance to speak with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. “I offered to provide whatever information or interaction the president and his administration would need or want to have about Yuma and just overall, our relationship with Mexico. So from that perspective I think it was good, just that we have maybe established some of that kind of relationship,” he said.

Although supporters and protesters gathered along 32nd Street near the base, Nicholls noted, “I was proud to say we had no incidents, no violence, in Yuma. I know there were different opinions on his visit, but they weren’t brought to any violent interaction.”

Rep. Charlene Fernandez, D-Yuma and minority whip of the House of Representatives, was out of town for Trump’s visit but said she was keeping in touch with Yuma County Indivisible, the group which organized the protest, as she was worried about the potential for violence as well as heat-related injuries.

She said presidential visits, including those to Yuma by George W. Bush in 2006 and 2007, generally had a well-defined purpose, a reason for the chief executive to come to town.

“I really don’t know why he stopped in Yuma,” she said. “I would have liked him to go to the border to see some of the issues that we face every day, but I want some action on it. So I would love for the people who work with him and for him and by him to see what actually happens at the border and to see how critical that cooperation between San Luis, Mexico and San Luis, Arizona and the rest of us, how that works and how critical that is to our economy.”

She added, “I hope someone let him know how high our unemployment rate is.”

Rep. Don Shooter, R-Yuma, is a longtime Trump supporter, but he headed to Oro Valley on Tuesday for the League of Arizona Cities and Towns’ annual conference to accept one of 10 “Champion of Cities” awards. Fernandez and another Yuma legislator, Sen. Lisa Otondo, are also getting the award.

He said, “I would have come if he’d have asked me.”

Initial plans for Trump’s visit included not only the visit to the border many people expected, but possible meetings with area farmers and local politicians, Shooter said: “If he were doing that, I probably would have showed up, but just to watch Air Force One take off and land, I do that all the time.”

Tony Reyes, chairman of the Yuma County Board of Supervisors and a Democrat, said he wasn’t invited to participate in the events around Trump’s visit, and it ended up being so short it was “hard to take it seriously.”

“To call it brief would kind of be an understatement,” he said. “They probably shouldn’t have used the gas to stop over, it probably cost us more as taxpayers and any benefit the trip was going to be.”

Reyes said previous visits from federal leaders focusing on the international border had involved much more preparation and substance. “The president, or whomever, sometimes it was the Homeland Security chief, they would come over and talk to different people, they would bring in their staff so they could listen to whatever requests there were,” he said.

Yuma City Councilmember Mike Shelton said this was never intended to be that kind of trip. “To me it was a very positive shot in the arm, highlighting a valuable, two valuable military bases we have, I think YPG was mentioned. But Phoenix is the main event,” he said, referring to the huge campaign-style rally planned there, expected to draw large protests and counterprotests. “And I’m glad we’re not Phoenix.”

Republican County Supervisor Darren Simmons was perhaps most directly affected by the visit Tuesday — he was supposed to fly to Salt Lake City for a conference on wild horses and burros. But Air Force One’s presence on the airfield shared by MCAS Yuma and Yuma International Airport delayed his flight long enough for him to miss his connection in Phoenix.

He was pleased about Trump’s visit nonetheless, especially the focus it brought to the collaboration between law enforcement agencies at the border.

“This is one of the few places where you can say it works, because the agencies work very well together. And everyone’s kind of against the (border) wall, but it’s really shown that it works here, in terms of decreasing illegal traffic and drugs coming across and vehicles coming across,” he said.

Nicholls said that overall he was proud of how the visit came off, with no glitches and peaceful demonstrations. “It was a good day, I think Yuma did a great job today,” he said.