The following is an original production of AZPM News.

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What's behind the sudden race to modernize the DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales, political troubles for a congressional candidate in Pinal County, and a conversation with Oro Valley Mayor, Joe Winfield.

I'm Tony Perkins, The Press Room starts now.

(upbeat music) Joe Winfield has said as mayor of Oro Valley, "The job never ends."

He's quoted as saying, "There are always things to do."

He's finishing his final term as mayor, and we're going to look at that to-do list with Joe Winfield today on The Press Room.

Thank you for being with us.

Absolutely, thank you for inviting me.

All right, we're gonna talk about first, a general sense of Oro Valley.

A lot of people think of it—it's just a series of neighborhoods and homes linked together by golf courses.

What about your community is important that people who've just heard about it should know about?

Oro Valley is an incredibly beautiful area.

Of course, we're nestled up against the Catalina Mountains, Pusch Ridge.

We have beautiful views of the Catalinas, the Rolling Hills, the Foothills.

What drew our family there were the schools.

We have seven children, and in addition to that, we're an outdoor family, and there's a lot of outdoor recreation opportunities.

We have phenomenal parks, trails, and easy access to recreation areas like Coronado National Forest, Catalina State Park, Tortolita Mountain Park, and others, as well as, as I mentioned, we have phenomenal parks in Oro Valley.

Water is an issue for all Southern Arizona communities.

Oro Valley is trying to bring more Colorado River water to its residents.

How much luck are you having as far as water issues are concerned, and have you made some progress there?

We have made progress, and we're fortunate that we have a very water conservation-minded community.

Oro Valley's in a good place, and unlike some other communities in Arizona, I say that because we have three water sources.

We have our groundwater.

We have Central Arizona Project water and reclaimed water.

We do have a project that's underway that will be completed in early 2027 called the Northwest Recharge and Recovery System.

That will bring an additional 4,000 acre-feet of Central Arizona Project water to Oro Valley.

What that means to the laymen is that would provide water for an additional 12 to 16,000 homes, just to kind of put that in perspective.

And so, with that, and as I mentioned, Oro Valley residents on average use about 7,000 gallons of water a month, but we're constantly looking for opportunities to conserve water and to encourage our residents to do that.

Well, you know, water is used a lot, of course, on the golf courses to keep them green.

And Oro Valley has a number of courses that are very, very important and very well-known.

How is water an issue regarding golf courses there?

I would say that that's where reclaimed, or reclaimed water comes into.

We have 45 holes of golf.

36 are watered with reclaimed water.

Nine are watered with groundwater.

We would, in an ideal world, we would like to bring reclaimed water to that nine-hole course, but it's just, it'd be very expensive to do that.

So again, we take a conservation approach.

Nine-hole course only operates about six to seven months out of the year.

So during the warmest months of the year, we close the course.

We keep the greens watered, but the main part of the course is not watered for about five months out of the year.

So that's a significant savings.

And some of our parks, for example, Naranja Park is watered with reclaimed water.

We have other parks that are not.

And so where it makes sense, we try to use the water that's available to us for those recreation purposes.

Now let's take a look at community development.

Oro Valley works with a 10-year general plan.

And voters get to decide on that.

They'll get to decide on the— the upcoming general plan in November.

What would be in Oro Valley's future over the next decade if voters approve this 10-year general plan?

Yes, this is, my family and I have been residents of Oro Valley for 30 years.

This will be the third general plan that I've been involved with.

And the plan is called OV Path Forward.

It's been under development for nearly three years.

And we've had almost 11,000 comments from our community.

So the plan really is a reflection of our community's expectations, our community vision.

A lot of times I'll be asked, "What is your vision for the community?"

And I say, "Well, my vision is the vision "that's been articulated by our residents," which is captured in the general plan, which we call OV Path Forward.

There's 12 areas that the plan encompasses, including public safety, parks and recreation, public works, you know, many of the services that a community provides.

There's nearly 300 actions that are tied to goals and policies within that plan.

So really what we've heard from our community and what's reflected in that plan is to continue to preserve the views of the mountains, to preserve open spaces.

Public safety has always been a high priority.

In Oro Valley, we're one of the safest communities in Arizona.

That will continue to be a priority.

Roads, the maintenance of our roads, again, is a high priority to our community.

That will be an emphasis.

We've made major investments in our parks and recreation, or during my tenure, nearly $40 million.

And that will continue to be an area of focus going forward.

There's always things that need to happen in a community that is growing like Oro Valley.

Pima County voters approved RTA Next last March.

What does RTA Next mean for Oro Valley residents, A lot of them who complain about the condition of their streets and roads?

Well, it means a number of things.

We have about 13,000 folks each day that come into Oro Valley to work.

We have an equal number that leave Oro Valley that go to various places within Pima County.

Specific to Oro Valley, we'll see improvements in a couple of major roadways.

Lambert from about La Canada to Thornydale.

And then also Shannon from Lambert to Tangerine, are two major road improvements.

Lambert will be a three-lane, Shannon... I may have that turned around.

Lambert will be a four-lane and Shannon will be a three-lane.

So those will be significant improvements in our community.

In addition to that, we have a dial-a-ride service that is just increasing year after year.

I think we've gone from 50,000 riders to over nearly 75,000 riders a year.

So it's been a significant increase.

And it's an important service that's provided to individuals and families that are not able to provide transportation for themselves.

So going to doctor's appointment or— or other destinations.

So RTA helps to fund that program.

We would not be able to provide the level of service without RTA.

And then in addition to that, there's numerous safety projects that enhance, that might be signalized intersections that aren't currently signalized, adding to our 36 miles of multi-use paths, adding to that system would be funded through RTA resources.

So it'll be a real benefit to Oro Valley.

But I want to underscore to the region as a whole, we don't live in a bubble.

As I mentioned, people come into Oro Valley to work, people living in Oro Valley leave Oro Valley.

And so that whole regional infrastructure is incredibly important.

Now, as we mentioned at the beginning, you're in your final term, but where are you headed next?

I first want to say that it's been a real honor to serve as mayor, and a humbling experience.

We have a wonderful community.

And so I'm really gratified to have had this opportunity.

My wife and I, Mariann, we have seven children and they're strewn all over the country.

We have 19 grandchildren.

And my kids, they were a little bit surprised that I ran for a second term.

They said, "Enough, Dad.

We'd like to see a little bit more of you."

So Mariann and I will see our children more frequently.

I worked for the National Park Service for most of my career.

We have a desire to visit as many of the national parks.

There's 63 national parks.

Of course, there's many other units.

Visit the parks and this wonderful country that we live in.

And do some other traveling.

And we also hope to serve the humanitarian mission for our church.

Is there any advice you would give to your successor in the mayor's office?

I think my advice is, you know, the great majority of people are incredibly happy with the community.

There's always, I think of it as a bell curve.

And on either end of that curve, you have folks that I don't know that they're ever going to be happy.

And I think my advice would be, ignore those folks on the fringes and focus on the folks that are in the center.

- Yeah.

- All right.

Oro Valley Mayor, Joe Winfield, thank you very much for being with us today on The Press Room.

- Really appreciate your time.

- You bet, I appreciate it, Tony.

Thank you We'll be back with more on The Press Room right after this.

When you want news that matters to you, turn to AZPM News.

Your voice, your news.

AZPM News at news.azpm.org.

All right, now we're back with our panel of journalists on the Press Room.

Let's introduce Susan Barnett, an independent journalist here in Tucson.

Eric Fink with KVOA News 4 Tucson and Noor Haghighi with AZPM News.

Thanks for joining us on The Press Room.

Let's start off with the border.

And there's a push to modernize the DeConcini port of entry in Nogales.

It's been in need of an update for a while, but now Republican and Democratic lawmakers are in a race, a bipartisan race, to get it done.

Susan, what's going on?

Yeah, so recently, representative, or Congressman Juan Ciscomani sent a letter to federal officials asking to expedite the process.

They're currently in an environmental review, and he cited issues with water, sewage water, that sometimes will get into the port of entry and fill it up, and border officers have to work ankle deep in sewage water.

So that's one of the main concerns that he cited.

And also, there is just a need to expand the port of entry.

DeConcini was built on the borderline, so it is very squeezed in between both sides in Nogales, Sonora and Nogales, Arizona.

And the modernization would require an expansion into the heart of downtown Nogales, which is where the city gets most of its revenue is through sales tax, so it could impact that, possibly if the expansion does proceed forward.

The construction was expected to begin in 2028, but who knows with this calling for them to expedite the process to see if that may be coming sooner Eric, who's gonna benefit most from this plan?

Is it Customs and Border Protection, or is it the citizens who use the port of entry every day?

Well, Tony, I think it's a bit of both.

I think it's certainly Customs and Border Protection, if you can take that away from the borderline, I think that's key.

And we know monsoon is coming in just a few days, and it's also going to be the shoppers, right?

The shoppers on the Nogales, Arizona side and those on the Sonora side as well.

So something that can be modernized, a little bit brought up to date, can really benefit everyone here.

We talked with Adelita Grijalva about the Karla Toledo case.

Last week, she had said the, of course, Toledo, the DACA recipient who was detained and targeted for deportation.

Susan, there is an important development in that case this week.

Tell us about it.

Yeah, earlier this week, Karla Toledo was, her charges were dismissed.

And this comes after being detained and arrested from her house and being sent to Eloy for a couple of days and then coming back.

Her case is dismissed, but her DACA renewal is coming up at the end of summer.

So she is very worried about that.

And she also, during her statements, called or highlighted the fact that 200 DACA recipients have been detained and deported.

So she made that call out to others to make sure that they are doing everything right.

Although we've seen that that doesn't necessarily keep you from being detained, arrested, or deported.

Eric, this kind of case was anticipated for a while, especially regarding DACA recipients.

Does this dismissal represent a precedent that's been set?

I'm not sure, especially if you talk to Toledo's attorney, Mo Goldman, who I heard from earlier this week, as that case was dismissed.

He said, he's hopeful that Toledo, whose DACA expires at the end of July, can get a renewal, but he's not holding his breath, he says.

He's hoping that this will serve as a reminder to Congress to act and provide a legal pathway for the hundreds of thousands of dreamers or DACA recipients who are here in this country and have been here for decades now.

But I don't necessarily know if it will be a precedent.

One of the things that he's concerned about is that he really hopes that the status can not only be renewed for her, but many, many others of his clients.

And Noor, as we said, the story's not over yet.

Yeah, of course.

She was dismissed without prejudice, so that means her case can be reopened.

They can target her again.

And like both Susan and Eric mentioned, I think her case brings up a really important issue that a lot of Arizonans are facing with their DACA expiring.

It's something that expires every two years and it has to be renewed.

And people have applied for renewal, they've applied months ago and are still waiting to hear back.

And in previous years, it typically takes two weeks or so to get the renewal.

So this is an unusual delay.

Now let's switch over to election season.

And Arizona's primary is still several weeks away, but maybe there's some clues about what we might expect, Eric, after the results from Iowa and California this past week.

Yeah, it's interesting, Tony, because we're still a good seven weeks away or so from our primary.

Our primary in Arizona is on the 21st of July.

Early voting begins later this month, it begins on June 24th.

California, my home state, interesting to see some of the more moderate Democrats doing well in the primary.

And some of the more progressive left candidates not doing very well in the primary.

Tom Steyer, for instance, came in third in a primary for a California governor.

In Iowa, President Trump's endorsed candidate actually lost the primary for governor there.

So now that could be an opening for Democrats to take a governorship that they haven't taken in some 20 years.

Focusing on Arizona, Republican Mark Lamb is the Pinal County Sheriff who wants to join Congress.

This is a contest in congression district five.

Noor, Lamb is in a scandal that involves religion and some ill-advised text messages.

Yes, indeed.

The former Pinal County Sheriff, he's running for LD5, that's gonna cover roughly 800,000 residents in the Phoenix area, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Santan.

And currently the Arizona Republic, as well as the LDS Church, they have recently investigated Lamb for, the investigations have found that he's sent sexually explicit texts.

And also there's evidence of racist texts to at least two women in recent years.

And him and his team have been fairly quiet about it.

He posted on Instagram, I believe, him and his wife posted on Instagram to say, "We're tired of the smear campaign and asking for people's support."

And he's also backed out of a Republican primary debate for LD5, so his opponent, Daniel Keenan, is gonna be debating on his own without Lamb.

So that's an interesting piece of the puzzle.

This is one of those cases where the president has endorsed more than one candidate.

What do you think the point is in doing that?

Well, he's done that several times.

Well, whether it be here in Arizona or in other states, and I think it's an appeal to his base to make sure to come out in a primary.

I will say one thing that's interesting about, especially Mark Lamb, who's running in CD5.

It's currently held by Andy Biggs, who's hoping to become the Republican nominee for governor in under two months' time.

It's a very conservative district.

So Lamb is hoping to play this pretty quietly and hoping his name recognition and party registration in CD5 can get him through to the general election matchup.

All right, let's switch over to childcare assistance.

And Noor, you've done some reporting for AZPM News that's examined local organizations' needs versus what the state is either willing or planning to provide.

What's going on?

Yeah, so local organizations are saying we are at crisis level and that affordable childcare period is like a luxury now for Arizona families.

Currently there are more than 12,700 children from over 7,500 families that are on the wait list to receive assistance from the Department of Economic Security for childcare to put their kids into daycare or preschool.

And one thing that local organizations are advocating for is a bigger funding boost in next year's executive budget.

We're gonna hear at the end of this month what that final budget looks like, but for now there's around $45 million going to the childcare assistance fund.

But local orgs are saying in order to sustain where we're at now and get rid of that wait list, $160 million are needed from the federal government.

I'm sorry, the state government.

Susan, if you're an individual who has more than one child, this is really a pretty high hill to climb.

Yeah, and especially as we get into the summer months when kids are off of school and parents have to find something for their children to do or keep an activity for them going, the parents still have to go to work.

And this is gonna be something that families are going to have to face.

There's not a lot of options we've seen also like in food banks, gas prices are very high.

So I think from all sides, families are just really feeling the impact of the economy and the lack of assistance that many are receiving over 12,000 families.

Quickly, let's go over to teacher pay.

And Noor, then in this past week, there's been a development as far as Tucson Unified School District and potentially a raise in pay for the teachers here.

Yeah, so in about a month, teachers in the Tucson Unified District are gonna see a $3,000 pay boost in the annual salaries.

And that's been something that the Tucson Education Association the Teacher Education Association has been a proponent of—that's the Local Educators Union— And so this is gonna be with funds from a proposition that was passed by Pima County voters last November.

And it's a big win because it puts the TUSD District starting pay at a higher level than the national and state averages.

So that's something pretty impressive.

Fantastic, let's look on the horizon, some of the stories you guys are looking ahead to.

Eric, let's start with you.

You know, I'm really looking ahead to a couple of different races, particularly the governor's race.

We know Governor Katie Hobbs, she's running unopposed, she's running for reelection.

She's very likely to face Andy Biggs, a very conservative Republican from the East Valley in that CD5 that we referenced just before, that primary comes up in a few weeks.

And then here in Southern Arizona, I think the one that we are all paying close attention to is Juan Ciscomani, a sophomore congressman now running for a third term.

He's won two very close races against his Democratic opponent.

And he's facing an opponent, or he will be facing an opponent this fall in JoAnna Mendoza, who is gonna try to unseat him.

And both parties, both Democrats and Republicans are gonna look to CD6, this perennial swing district, it's been a swing district for many years now here in Arizona, as key to helping them win the house in November.

Susan, what's on your radar?

Yeah, well, I'm taking a more hyper-local focus.

I will be covering South Tucson elections.

They're up for reelection.

There are eight candidates currently.

And South Tucson is a small incorporated city in, that's, you know, the city of Tucson is surrounding it, but it has its own city council, its own fire department, its own police department.

And a lot of the issues that I will be talking to the candidates about are public safety, how they view public safety and what are their solutions.

And also the city of South Tucson recently cut its grocery tax, which was its main source of revenue.

And they did that amid a budget deficit.

So also looking into how some of these candidates will look out for South Tucson's sustainability in the future.

And so, yeah, I'll be covering that for Arizona Luminaria so I'm very excited to take a deep look into what is happening on that very hyper-local level.

All right.

Noor, what's up for you?

I'm going to be taking a look at how the Amphi School District is transitioning as it consolidates four elementary schools this summer.

So we'll see how families are affected and how the district is moving ahead.

All right.

Thank you very much.

And that'll do it for The Press Room for this week.

Thanks to our guests, Noor Haghighi with AZPM News, independent journalist Susan Barnett, and Eric Fink with KVOA News 4 in Tucson.

I'm Tony Perkins, and that's The Press Room for this week.

We'll see you next time.

(upbeat music) (dramatic music) Support comes from Banner Health, a nonprofit healthcare system with an integrative health plan committed to giving back to Arizona.

Last year, Banner reinvested $1.1 billion into the Arizona community.

Learn more at bannerhealth.com.

This has been an original production of AZPM News.