Ducey touts ag, border strength in Yuma
Governor delivers localized State of the State speech here
Gov. Doug Ducey delivered a customized version of the State of the State address he delivered last month Thursday in Yuma, highlighting the area’s contributions to commerce and security along the border as well as the robust agricultural sector.
After speaking of reducing regulations affecting the state economy, Ducey said, “We’re going to continue down this path of clearing obstacles, making sure Arizona is the best place in the nation to live, work, play — and farm.”
He said a tour of various farm operations throughout the county on a previous visit helped impress upon him the importance of Yuma’s fresh vegetable industry, led by its lettuce production which dominates the national market during the winter. “I’m proud of what’s being produced here, and you’ve probably noticed that I like to get behind the microphone and brag on the position that Arizona holds, because of the success of Yuma County,” he said.
The Republican governor branded the area as the “lettuce capital of North America” and lauded the success of its durum wheat growers, as well as noted the under-construction Almark Foods egg processing plant, which will create about 100 new jobs. DatePac’s shipment of its fruits all over the world and the planned opening of the MPW water-regeneration facility, serving industries needing pure water including automotive and refining, also got nods.
“This is just an example of the great work that’s happening in this part of the state,” he said.
The border ports of entry in San Luis ensure Yuma County has a role to play in the state’s relations with Mexico, which Ducey again noted is the state’s largest trading partner “times four.”
He pointed out three Yumans who sit on the board of his Arizona-Mexico Commission sitting in the audience: Julie Engel of the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation, Russ Jones of customs bro-
ker RL Jones, and Jonathan Lines, of roofing contractor Lines and Lundgreen and chair of the Arizona Republican Party.
“There’s so much more we can do here, this is a valuable asset to the state of Arizona. I know this Yuma County, and this Yuma region, is something I want every Arizona citizen to know more about and to better understand.
“And we couldn’t do this, what we do on the ArizonaMexico Commission, without the local support we enjoy in this community,” he said, citing the help of Mayors Doug Nicholls of Yuma, Jose Yepez of Somerton, Gerardo Sanchez of San Luis and Cecelia McCullough of Wellton.
A new Arizona Department of Transportation program, offering classes to Mexican truck drivers on how to meet the standards for U.S. border port inspections, has already seen enough success to be noticed by other states on both the Mexican and Canadian borders, Ducey said.
“This was actually an
idea which originated right here in Yuma, and something we’ve been able to bring to life,” he said. So far, three-tenths of the participants have been stopped at the border for a violation on their trucks, he said, well below the 5 percent average for other drivers, he said.
He said upgrades to the pedestrian facilities at San Luis Port 1, which held a groundbreaking ceremony in November, will allow faster passage for people traveling in both directions and have improved security measures for detection of illegal entrants and drug smuggling.
He also touched on statewide issues including what many say is a “technology boom,” helping to propel the state economy to bring a surplus of money into the state coffers.
Ducey said education is his top priority for “the additional dollars that we’re arguing about at the state Legislature,” while touting increases in spending for that category since he’s been in office, though such statistics are often disputed by his opponents.
“Per student spending is
up 10 percent in the previous three years, and dollars available for teacher pay, this is teacher salaries and new teachers, has increased 9 percent,” he said.
Ducey’s administration is also seeking to update the state’s water policies as the odds for a shortage to be declared on the Colorado River increase with this winter’s historically low snowpack, though he did not offer details.
“We’re working with the Legislature today to modernize our water policies and secure our water future, and do it before there’s a crisis. So oftentimes, we need a little bit of light and heat and leadership so that our legislature moves, and that’s what I’m counting on from you,” he said.
Throughout his term the governor has been re-enacting the State of the State speech, officially delivered to the Legislature on the first day of its session every January, to audiences around the state. This is the fourth year he has come to Yuma to do so.
Attendees packed Thursday’s event at the Pivot Point Conference Center, including Rep. Tim Dunn, R-Yuma, who was sworn into the Legislature in Phoenix two days earlier to fill the seat vacated when former Rep. Don Shooter was expelled by a House vote Feb. 1.
Yuma County Supervisor Martin Porchas, who is chairman of the Yuma County Democratic Party, also attended.
“That was great, what he said, I mean I think there are a lot of issues that he is looking at,” he said afterward, adding, “but he didn’t
say anything about HURF (Highway User Revenue Funds), the money coming back, I wish he would have touched on that so we could see what he thinks about that.”
HURF is made up of gas tax and other funds collected by the state and distributed to counties and cities according to a formula set in state statute, but for about the last decade much of those dollars have been diverted to the Department of Public Safety, which is also said to qualify because it provides law enforcement on state highways.
He also questioned some of the education budget figures Ducey talked about. “He mentioned it was a 9 percent raise that teachers have gotten,” he said. “From when I talk to teachers, I don’t think that’s the correct number.”
Among positive points, Porchas said, “I’m glad he’s aware that Yuma is a key to the state, of bringing in revenue and jobs, that we create in the wintertime and just the money that comes in from agriculture,” he said.
Ducey has extended past speech visits to see other sites in the area, but on Thursday he met with some water policy experts and farm owners immediately after the speech, as well as the media, before heading straight back to Phoenix, said John Courtis, executive director of the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce. The chamber sponsored the event with the GYEDC.