TUCSON, Ariz. — Tucson Mayor Regina Romero voiced her concerns on a national platform, disagreeing with Governor Doug Ducey’s plans to reopen Arizona.
Appearing on ABC News Pandemic, Romero said she believes policy decisions should be based off data and advice from public health officials.
“Unfortunately Governor Ducey here in Arizona plans to lift restrictions much sooner than what the data is telling us that we should be doing. I’m very, very concerned because Arizona as you just said had one of the deadliest days that we’ve had on Tuesday,” said Romero.
She follows by saying the numbers the state is seeing does not follow the CDC guidelines issues by the Trump administration. Therefore, she believes Arizona should not be reopening at this time.
“We should not, Governor Ducey should not be making decisions based on his political agenda of reopening. All of us, all of the mayors throughout Arizona are very concerned about our economy but you know the continuation of the spread of COVID-19 will just continue pounding our economy if we do not do this right,” said Romero.
KGUN 9 reached out to the neighboring Arizona mayors in Marana, Oro Valley, Nogales, Douglas and Sierra Vista. Below are the statements we’ve obtained.
Statement from Mayor Ed Honea, Town of Marana:
“We appreciate Governor Ducey’s leadership and position on taking care of Arizona residents and businesses. His past actions have proven to be effective in reducing COVID-19-related cases, and I look forward to the continued easing of restrictions that will restart the economy while keeping Arizonans safe.”
Statement from Mayor Joe Winfield, Town of Oro Valley:
“The Town of Oro Valley has been following Governor Ducey’s executive orders. Our focus at the Town has been to encourage people to stay home and stay healthy, particularly our vulnerable populations. With the reopening of retail, barber shops, salons and dine-in restaurants, we continue to strongly urge the public and businesses to heed physical distancing and personal hygiene guidelines. These actions are important so we don’t lose the ground we have gained. On May 11, the Town will be opening the lobbies at Town facilities and some park amenities, such as dog parks, tennis and pickleball courts. The reopening of business activity needs to happen gradually, and the Town will take a similar measured approach in reopening facilities and services to support healthy residents and healthy employees. Again, each person should still follow the physical distancing and hygiene guidelines to see this through.”
Statement from Mayor Arturo Garnio, City of Nogales:
"Governor Ducey's first Executive Order regarding COVID-19 was: to stay home, stay safe, and stay connected. The Governor was following CDC guidelines. We need to follow the same guidelines to ensure that we can come back from this while following their guidelines to reopen the state. I know that everything will be done in phases, but we have to be very careful by maintaining social distancing and avoid gatherings in large groups. Our life in Nogales is different than in Tucson or any other city North of the border. We always have to take things as an international situation because of the cross border commute. We have to be very careful that we follow all CDC guidelines."
Statement from Mayor Robert Uribe, City of Douglas:
“The City of Douglas has taken every precaution recommended to us by the CDC and public health experts and has been operating within the limitations of our State of Emergency and the Governor’s “Stay at Home” executive order. We support Governor Ducey’s caution in opening the state back up and will continue to press for everyone to follow his “Stay at Home” direction. Our public facilities will remain closed and our City Council meeting on May 13 will be conducted via remote access which still allows for public comment. The incremental opening of our community and state is a responsible path to try and limit further exposure to COVID-19. As mayor, I applaud Gov. Ducey’s responsible efforts to keep the public healthy while also starting to open our businesses again.”
