Sen. Gail Griffin wants a piece of Pima County for Rosemont Mine

Posted by AzblueMeanie:

On Tuesday, the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted to oppose the Rosemont Mine in Pima County. Supervisors OK formal objection to Rosemont Mine. "The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to send the Forest Service a formal objection to the agency’s tentative approval of the mine and its final environmental impact statement. The letter is expected to compel the federal agency to respond to Pima County’s long list of concerns over the planned copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains."

So Rosemont Mine and its supporters have proposed a novel idea: they will seize part of Pima County and give it to to Santa Cruz County, where they apparently believe people are more amenable to being bought off with Canadian "loonie" to approve their mine. This is some in-your-face corruption.

The Green Valley News reports, Griffin introduces bill to move Santa Cruz County line north:

State Sen. Gail Griffin on Tuesday breathed life into a bid to bring Green Valley, Sahuarita and the mines into Santa Cruz County, though the idea hasn't proven popular locally.

* * *

Griffin said she introduced the bill at the request of constituents, doesn't expect to have trouble getting it through the Legislature, and wants to hear “about any possible unintended consequences” it may bring about.

Griffin, a Republican whose District 14 skirts the eastern edge of Green Valley, introduced SB 1357, which would put a boundary change to a vote in Santa Cruz County and to those affected in southern Pima County.

That "constituent" is Emmit McGloughlin, " a former Tucson City Council member who now lives in Sonoita, and formed the Santa Cruz County Committee for Quality Jobs more than a year ago to explore moving the county line from Amado to Pima Mine Road, which is where Griffin's bill would put it."

Geezus, there's a bad penny turning up again. I thought Emmit had quietly faded into ignominy years ago, never to heard from again. You should have stayed there, Emmit.

McLoughlin said Tuesday night that a boundary change would add 798 square miles to Santa Cruz County, including Green Valley, Sahuarita and Corona de Tucson, along with the Freeport-McMoRan and Asarco mines and the proposed Rosemont Mine {of course].

Griffin's bill requires a vote on both sides of the county line “in the next general election.”

Former state Rep. Randy Graf floated this idea back in 2008. You can bet Mr. Rules of Golf has something to do with this.

This is yet another example of when Tea-Publicans and their corporate masters can't have their way, they simply rig the game.

Comments

[BruceJ]

Emmit the Dimwit is still alive??? He came to my 7th grade history class and was LAUGHED AT for his antics ats city council and the BS he fed us. (Just for some time scale, I passed the double nickel mark a couple years back.)

In particular I remember him bragging about playing his bagpipes loudly mainly because it pissed off his neighbors.

The Tea-Publicans are nothing new...

[Frances Perkins]

Gail Griffin was dim bulb in her first stint in the Legislature as a lap dog for the real estate industry. Anything they wanted she said yes. Now returned after doing less damage on the Cochise County board, where she never saw a remote subdivision that did not need approving, she is back In Phoenix with her shill, "approve anything", environment be damned mentality. But this is a new one, even for her, a sort of neo-secessionist.

[diane]

Griffin says she has had no contact with Rosemont officials! Publicly-NO, privately-yes. How much did she, and her cohorts, sell their soul for? Perkins says she is a dim bulb; must also be related to Forest Gump (Griffin); "I'm not a very smart woman!". The definition of an "honest politician" is: one who hasn't been caught yet. Give us a break Griffin; nobody is as naive as you seem to think we are. I thought the idea behind our constitution was for "We the people, not "we the pacs, special interest groups, and large corporations." I also reviewed SB 1357; and its original purpose involves children. Thus, this is tacked on as pork barrel to get it passed.

[AZ BlueMeanie]

That was my first reaction as well, "he's still alive?"

[Edith Fletcher]

I may be somewhat unusual in that I have recently lived in both Pima and Santa Cruz Counties. I lived in Green Valley for 8 years and still own a home there. I married in July moved to my husband’s home in Elgin, Santa Cruz County.
I can understand that Santa Cruz County would welcome tax revenue from Green Valley. The suggestion was made that taxes would go down if Green Valley were part of Santa Cruz County. I find that very hard to believe. My husband’s property taxes here in Santa Cruz County seem very very high, especially since the part of the County outside of Nogales gets almost no services, as was noted aloud by one of the county supervisors for Santa Cruz County.
I cannot imagine that Green Valley or Sahuarita people would derive a single benefit. The losses would be considerable. One example: Losing access to the extensive collection of Pima County library books. People now have very convenient access to all those books, being able to order on-line and pick them up in Green Valley. Santa Cruz County, on the other hand, is a poor county that cannot afford nearly so many books. My personal experience with the Santa Cruz Library system has saddened me. My local library – Sonoita – is tiny (funding constraints). I asked the volunteer who was working if I could order books through the Santa Cruz library system. She said that, although theoretically I could order them on-line, their experience has taught them not to encourage this. Rather she said, if there was one book I might want, she would call the main library in Nogales and hope that I would get the one book, although their experience actually getting the books from Nogales has not been positive.
Sheriff’s Department: In Green Valley, we take for granted that the local Pima County Sheriff office is manned and is available to help. Contrast this with Santa Cruz County. Funding constraints limit what the Santa Cruz County Sheriff is able to provide by way of services, with the needs of Nogales being such that the other roughly 90% of the geographic area of the county gets very limited service. Indeed, in Sonoita and Elgin, I have almost never seen any sheriff’s vehicles.
Green Valley has traditionally had ties to Tucson, not so, to Nogales. I admit that I prefer Tucson with all that it has to offer. I also admit I was taken aback when I went to the Social security office in Nogales. You take a number to wait your turn, and Nogales they call out the numbers in Spanish.
I would ask the people of Green Valley to consider very carefully how severe their losses would be if they became part of Santa Cruz County. Let their tax dollars continue to go to provide the services that they need.

Edith White Fletcher
Elgin AZ (Santa Cruz County)

[Pamela]

Regardless of where the LD line is, Rosemont Mine would destroy the water supply and tourist industry for the area.