YUMA COUNTY LAWMAKERS PRAISE GOVERNOR’S EDUCATION FOCUS

By NORA AVERY-PAGE
Cronkite News Service

PHOENIX (Monday, Jan. 14) _ Lawmakers representing Yuma County were pleased to hear Gov. Janet Napolitano focus on education, border safety and the state’s new employer sanctions law in her State of the State Address on Monday.

“These are the most important issues to me, and Yuma citizens,” said Rep. Theresa Ulmer, D-Yuma. “I think that education will have the biggest impact and that planning for the future is also extremely important.”

Ulmer, Rep. Lynne Pancrazi, D-Yuma, and Sen. Amanda Aguirre, D-Yuma, praised Napolitano’s suggestion that every student who earns at least a B average and stays out of trouble receive free tuition at community colleges or public universities. They also supported her call for raising the dropout age from 16 to 18.

“The more we invest in our children’s education, the better. Yuma County has very high dropout rates, and we need to help our students as much as possible,” Aguirre said.

“It’s important for children to have a path to success, so that everyone has the chance to achieve the American dream,” Ulmer said.

The three lawmakers said that border safety is vital to Yuma County’s growth.

“We need to make sure our borders are safe by providing the Border Patrol with what they need,” Ulmer said. “That’s the key component to quality of life there. We need to continue to fight head on to keep our borders safe and reduce violence.”

The lawmakers supported Napolitano’s call for reworking the employer sanctions law, which penalizes those who employ illegal immigrants.

“It’s important to clean it up and make it workable,” Ulmer said.

“Agriculture is the No. 1 industry in Yuma, and we are losing even legal workers and losing the industry because of the bill,” Pancrazi said.

Pancrazi said Yuma County would benefit from the governor’s suggestion of an optional three-in-one driver’s license that would allow employers to check the citizenship status of potential employees.

Pancrazi expects opposition from Republican leaders on that idea.

“Will Russell Pearce approve it? Hell no!” Pancrazi said of the Republican representative from Mesa who championed the employer sanctions law.

The legislators said they appreciated Napolitano’s focus on the future despite the state’s budget deficit. The governor compared the progress that could be made in the state to chapters in a book, with education at the top of the list.

“It’s a commitment to moving forward, with our eye on the prize _ education,” Ulmer said. “We also need to have the pieces in place for economic improvement.

“I feel optimistic, despite the big job ahead of us,” Aguirre said. “We have to be conscious of what we do and have a big heart.”