As an elected official for Pinal County for almost 30 years, I have never been accused of not speaking up for myself and my constituents. I am amused, quizzical and disturbed by Mary's attempt at deductive reasoning. As a current member of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors we have intentionally not taken a position on the Florence Copper Project, eventhough we all want more good paying jobs in Pinal County. This is NOT a county issue. This is a local issue to be decided by the people, Mayor and Council in Florence. I am a big advocate of local control.
As to the allegation of me lobbying our legislative delegation to grant permits for this project, anyway. First let me say that a Republican delegation from our area would probably not listen to Pete Rios, a Democrat, nor can any legislator say I lobbied them on behalf of Curis. Secondly, Mary must not understand how state government works. No legislative approval is necessary if the Governor decides to move forward with this project on state land. This would be an executive decision, not a legislative one!
So Mary, let me speak for myself, since you are clearly playing politics and trying to mislead the people of Florence. I have never taken a position officially or unofficially to support Curis and in-situ mining, regardless of who works for who.
