Patrice Horstman — Coconino County District 1 Newsletter: December 2021

District 1 Residents,

It is the most wonderful time of year! Our beautiful mountain community is decorated for the holidays, families are rejoicing, and winter is finally here.

It is hard to believe that I have been your County Supervisor for almost a whole year, and I look forward to sharing some of the highlights from this first year with you soon. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us one year later, and new variants are emerging. We all must get vaccinated and, if eligible, boosted. Coconino County and our partners offer free weekly vaccination clinics listed at the end of this newsletter. Please get vaccinated to protect the health of our community this holiday season.

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the legacy left by Flagstaff’s son, Jim Babbitt. He set the bar for service to our community and has been an inspiration to me.

Happy Holidays and Wishing You All a Happy and Healthy New Year,

Patrice

In a historic visit to Flagstaff last month, United States Forest Service Chief Moore pledged $3.5 million of federal monies to the County Flood Control District for County watershed restoration measures on forest service lands located within the Museum Flood Area. This money will be used to stabilize alluvial fans and channel work to reduce sediment entering the Flagstaff neighborhoods of Paradise, Linda Vista, Grandview, and Sunnyside. This allows for more sustainable flood mitigation measures within Flagstaff.

In addition, Supervisor Horstman is pleased to announce that the Natural Resource Conservation Services approved the County’s request for funding under the Emergency Watershed Protection Program. This approval is expected to bring an additional $3.5 Million to the County for watershed protection and flood mitigation for private and municipal properties in the Museum Flood Area.

Every ten years, Coconino County’s Supervisorial Districts must be redrawn so that each district is substantially equal in population. This process, called redistricting, is important in ensuring that each Supervisor represents about the same number of constituents. To balance the population across the 5 districts, the district boundaries need to be revised.

Coconino County values feedback from residents and strives to have a transparent and fair process. The guidelines for redistricting include:

• Draw districts of equal population.

• Do not dilute the voting strength of racial and/or language minority groups.

• Preserve communities of interest.

• Districts must be compact and contiguous.

• Maintain traditional geographic and political boundaries.

• Do not create a substantial, long-term negative effect on a specific political party.

• Base the new plan on existing districts, to the extent possible.

• When drawing district boundaries, take into account current incumbents.

Coconino County staff is presenting proposed district boundaries to the Board of Supervisors. In the coming weeks, these proposed maps will be brought forward for public consideration during multiple in-person and virtual town halls. For more information on the Supervisorial Redistricting Process, please click here.

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) is in its final stage of considering new congressional and state legislative districts. The IRC’s proposed state legislative map does not reflect the stated goals or the sentiments shared by Coconino County and Northern Arizona residents.

The IRC’s proposal to split the City of Flagstaff into one legislative district with the Navajo Nation and another with Yavapai County is unacceptable. This proposed split does not meet the state constitutional mandates for competitiveness, maintaining communities of interest, equal population, geographical compactness, and keeping cities whole.

The Coconino County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a proposed legislative map that garnered significant public support. Coconino County’s proposed map includes the aforementioned constitutional mandate. Supervisor Horstman and the entire Board of Supervisors continue to advocate for adopting Coconino County’s map, which is politically competitive, maintains communities of interest, and importantly keeps the City of Flagstaff whole.

Coconino County’s communities are diverse in demographics, geography, and beliefs; however, we share the same concerns and experience challenges that must be preserved in one voice.

The IRC has begun a series of final decision meetings, which will occur throughout December and can be found here. This is the last opportunity to contact the IRC and let them know you support Coconino County’s legislative district map.