By Mila Besich-Lira Special to Copper Area News Publishers
With the primary election just days away candidates from all races have been dropping by to visit. During her #AZValuesAZFirst tour through Congressional District 1 former representative Ann Kirkpatrick she stopped by for lunch at Porter’s Cafe in Superior.
- While she spent some time chatting one on one with voters, she also took a few moments to speak to the crowd about her views and her support of mining and the Resolution Copper project. She explained that the Resolution Copper project is a kick start to building a diversified economy in the copper corridor.
When Kirkpatrick was elected in 2008 she introduced the Copper Basin Jobs Act that would have allowed for the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation act to be approved in Congress. Her legislation was developed through gathering stakeholder consensus. Her bill died in the session after only a few hearings and never received a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Paul Gosar Republican who was elected in 2010 also introduced a land exchange bill during his term as the Congressman for CD1, his bill was approved by the House of Representatives but has not received a hearing in the Senate.
With the upcoming elections and Congress out for a recess it is not expected that the legislation Gosar introduced will move any further through the legislative system. This will means that the candidate elected in November will need to work with the company to introduce new legislation to approve the proposed land exchange for the Resolution Copper project.
Bruce Richardson a spokesman for Resolution Copper stated in an email that “We appreciate Ms. Kirkpatrick’s strong expressions of support for the project and the thousands of jobs it will create and look forward to working with her again if she is successful in her bid for Congress.”
Kirkpatrick also addressed the fact that the federal government needs to do a better job of supporting education in rural school districts. Rural districts are often surrounded by federal lands and Forest Service that do not generate any tax revenue for school district’s which leaves rural districts at a disadvantage to schools that have higher property values supporting them.
Prior to her visit in Superior she stopped in Kearny to visit with residents at the post office. Following her visit to Superior she had a scheduled stop in the Globe-Miami area.
Kirkpatrick is running against Wenona Bennally Baldenergo in the democratic primary race August 28th. Kirkpatrick is the front runner in the primary. The Republican party is expected to elect Jonathan Paton. He is running against Patrick Gatti and Doug Wade in the Republican Primary.
To comment on this article and others visit the Copper Area News Facebook or send us an email at CBNSun@MinerSunBasin.com