Sept. 2008 "The Mayer's Corner"

By Mayor Phil Gordon

During my years as Mayor, I have made it clear that my number one priority,

and the number one priority of this city, is public safety. And it was issues relating to public safety that I recently addressed during a short trip to Washington, D.C.

My first stop was at the Department of Homeland Security, to have a serious discussion with FEMA Director David Paulison. FEMA, of course, is the Federal Emergency Management Administration. Because of our innovative prevention, rescue and recovery programs and partnerships, FEMA has held Phoenix as a national model. For our part, the City of Phoenix developed and committed to a specific, long-term plan. For its part, the Department of Homeland Security had pledged to continue funding our program without making cuts for the next two grant cycles.

Nevertheless, we were disappointed to learn that our funding allocation had been reduced by $350,000 over last year’s. In spite of the fact that our community, and our needs, continue to grow.

These cuts may very well slow down our plans to fully implement our interoperability program, which allows all public safety departments to talk to each other. Or this reduction could delay getting the equipment we need to enhance our emergency response capabilities.

I had a productive conversation with Director Paulison, who pledged to work with me and find a way for them to keep their promise to the people of Phoenix. At the local level, we cannot continue to “do more with less” – and in Phoenix, we won’t accept reductions that impact the public’s safety without a good, healthy debate.

Next I headed over to Capitol Hill to meet with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The topic was a program called LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program). Essentially, in the colder parts of our country, low-income residents can receive assistance in paying their winter heating bills.

In the Sonoran Desert, we have the reverse problem. We have residents who, in the summer months, have real trouble feeding their families and paying their cooling bill. Sadly, we have all seen media reports about people who lose their lives to the summer heat waves.

Between 1994 and 2004, more than 400 deaths in Arizona were attributed to excessive heat as the primary cause. With summer temperatures averaging well over 100 degrees, this increased burden is especially hard on the very young, the elderly and disabled who are on fixed incomes and can no longer afford to cool their homes. APS recently reported that there has been a 52 percent increase in the number of households having difficulty in paying the utility bills and an increase of 20,000 families being disconnected compared to a year ago. So we’re asking for fundamental fairness here – in what is quite literally a matter of life and death – and asking the federal government to treat the summer heat waves the way it treats the winter cold snaps. Senator Sanders quickly grasped our concern and our argument. And I think we have found a real friend on this issue.

So that’s the quick recap of my public safety pilgrimage – except to add that I did it all with my nine-year-old son, Jake, with me. We managed to find a couple of hours to walk the Capitol Mall. As we sat on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and looked out at the reflecting pool, we talked about the wonderful principals on which our country – and our Constitution – were founded. It was a good trip, which took place in just a little over 24 hours, and which I paid for myself. And, as always, it was even better to get back home, to Phoenix.