THATCHER — The Town Councils of Pima and Thatcher are in agreement that the legislative district serving the area should be rural in nature, without voters from Tucson or Phoenix negating locals’ votes.
Both councils passed resolutions calling for the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission to place Graham County in a district that is rural in nature. The resolutions were proposed by former state Sen. Sylvia Allen and brought to the councils by Terry Bryant.
“This seems like we’re just trying to keep our voice as rural Arizona counties. If they group us with bigger cities, we lose our voice,” said Thatcher Mayor Randy Bryce.
The Independent Redistricting Commission completed Friday its most recent round of public comment and issued the latest Legislative draft map, keeping together all of Greenlee and Cochise counties with most of Graham County. The district, now identified as LD19, would also include portions of Pima County, from the Santa Cruz County line north to just south of South Tucson.
Meanwhile, the San Carlos Apache Reservation would be placed in District 6, with the Navajo and Apache Nations; the Hualapai, Havasupai, Hopi, Fort Apache and Kaibab reservations; and Flagstaff.
A new draft Congressional map has not yet been released. The most recent draft — version 6.1 — places all of Greenlee and most of Graham in Congressional District 6, which extends south to encompass all of Cochise County, and west to include portions of Pima County, including Oro Valley and Marana, and to Coolidge and Casa Grande in Pinal County.
The San Carlos Apache Reservation would again be separate from the rest of Graham County, included in CD2 with all of northern Arizona, including Sedona, Prescott and Flagstaff. The next meeting of the commission is Tuesday, Oct. 26, at 8 a.m., in Phoenix. The public may view the meeting live online at Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission Meeting, October 26, 2021 – YouTube.
