Many speakers at a recent hearing in Yuma of the
Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission called for the creation of a Colorado River Congressional District
(See story here). Since the last redistricting Yuma County has been lumped into district 7 along with parts of the Tucson and Phoenix metro areas. Our upriver neighbors to the north suffer a similar convoluted district 2 shared with the western metro Phoenix area as well as a large chunk of Eastern Arizona containing the Hopi Reservation. It is no surprise that both districts have sent residents of the metro areas to congress to represent the interests of the mostly rural areas surrounding the Colorado River.
When looking at Arizona's current congressional districts it is interesting to note that only one seat is held by someone that lives outside the the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. It is argued that residents of Yuma, LaPaz, and Mohave counties have the deck stacked against them as they do not have local representation at congressional level. In fact the current district 7 congressman does not even have a Yuma office to serve City of Yuma residents. Many local residents feel that the Yuma area shares more common interest with the other communities that depend on the Colorado River than with the Metro areas of Tucson and Phoenix.
Perhaps it is time for Western Arizona to have a voice in Congress. What do you think?
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