With the new redrawn district lines for the Arizona State Legislature, we will be electing a new state senator and two new representatives in November’s election for Legislative District 1.

Arizona is unique among the states in that we elect all of our legislators every two years rather than having a slightly more prestigious senate whose members serve longer four-year staggered terms. All the districts are contiguous. The short tenure and identical means we basically have a House and House-Plus, both subject the biennial whims of the moody electorate.

For the last 10 years our former Legislative District 6 has been dominated by less populous but more politically active Snowflake area of Navajo County, with all of our officials, save one, coming from Snowflake and its environs. The district’s Democrats have attempted but failed to elect candidates from Flagstaff and the Verde Valley.

This cycle of all six nominees from the major parties are from the Prescott area as our new Legislative District 1 is one that essentially overlaps Yavapai County but includes the eastern portion of Sedona on the Coconino County side of our border.

As with all things Yavapai County-related, the Prescott side dominates our politics. Nominees before the primary and since winning the nomination have stayed on the western side of Mingus Mountain except to come to this side to milk current and potential supporters for campaign donations and then head back over the hill before darkness falls and the vampires and werewolves emerge — at least that’s how it feels, considering the candidates have behaved this cycle.

Candidates only coming long enough to shake hands, collect checks, gas up and go home is that something that both Republicans and Democrats running to be representatives have done this cycle. Who knew that ignoring future constituents would be the most bipartisan act from both sides?

It’s unfortunate that candidates can’t be bothered to visit and don’t know our names unless they appear in the bottom right corner of a check because if this is how the candidates plan to campaign, this is how they will govern, ignoring our needs for those on the Prescott side and every two years for the next decade.

There is some logic in that we in the east have roughly 70,000 residents compared to the 160,000 on the west, but the irony of this choice by these candidates is that the Prescott side of Yavapai County has been fairly entrenched in its partisanship.

The Republicans have a majority, but the minority Democrats are fiercely loyal to candidates on principle regardless of their ability to win.

On our side of the mountain, however, voters tend to be more independently-minded. With razor-thin election chances, it would behoove these candidates who desperately want to win to meet with nonprofit organizations, clubs and nonpolitical groups to court their votes. One would think that they would campaign a bit on this side of the mountain, hoping to pick up enough independents and party line-crossers to push them over the finish line on election day.

But there is something notable in the fact that none of the legislative candidates have taken us up on the offer for interviews. Keep that in mind, dear voters.

So, if one or two or any of the candidates choose to attend a public event, give them the benefit of the doubt even if they’re not in your party. Go see what they have to say because they’re at least making an effort to speak to their future constituents without the promise of unmarked envelopes with which they can buy ads to court more voters in Prescott.

Once elected, we should press our local town and city council members to put their own partisan lean and regional interest aside to press the winners with one voice about issues that concern the Verde Valley directly, such as preserving the Verde River from water table encroachment by Prescott, allowing the regulation of vacation rentals, better supporting public schools, boosting and encouraging workforce housing and public works projects to benefit us all.

Christopher Fox Graham

Managing Editor