Napolitano: Border is a priority

BY BILL HESS

Herald/Review -- 11/15/02

PHOENIX -- How to help rural Arizona counties, especially those along the U.S.-Mexico border, is one of the priorities Governor-elect Janet Napolitano said she will work on during her administration.

While the problems of border counties are not on the back burner, Napolitano said she will first take care of the state's budget crisis and clean up Arizona's educational woes.

Part of the state's economic well-being is tied to the border and the nations south of the United States, she said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

"Arizona is the gate to the south, and I don't just mean Mexico," Napolitano said. Mexico is the main trade partner for Arizona, but the governor-elect said Arizona has to look beyond its immediate neighbor to the south at markets in Central and South America.

Next week, Napolitano will travel with Gov. Jane Hull to Mexico to meet with Mexico's border governors and Mexican President Vicente Fox. "I'm going as an observer," Napolitano said.

A big believer in technology, she said she wants the federal government to do more at the ports of entry in Arizona to make it easier for traffic bringing the flow of goods north. With technology, the federal government can create cyberports instead of using a large numbers of people, who can be better used for other border functions, Napolitano said.

The whole border issue has to be addressed by the federal government, and that includes establishing a new guest-worker program, which she supports, she said.

Napolitano said she will not militarize the border by using armed Arizona National Guard forces. "The border has to be taken care of by the feds."

She also said that when illegal immigrants or drug smugglers come across the border, the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are the only ones who should handle the situation.

The governor-elect said she opposes any group of civilians acting, in her words, as vigilantes. "Law enforcement should be done by law enforcement."

Rural counties also are facing other problems, such as a lack of medical care as insurers flee the less populated areas of the state, she said.

Many doctors do not want to work in rural areas where the pay is less than in the more urban areas of Arizona, she added. "It's not going to be easy to fix the problem."

Napolitano also is looking for ways to help senior citizens on fixed incomes purchase less expensive prescription drugs. She said she is looking at successful state plans to adapt for Arizona's needs.

Her transition is well under way, and Napolitano said she is reaching out to Republicans to be part of her administration. "There are a lot of good people in the other party," the Democrat said.

For her to succeed as governor, Napolitano said she needs bipartisan support and has a history of working with people of different political persuasions. "We've had too much partisanship in Arizona. It's time for bipartisanship."

Once she takes her oath as governor on Jan. 6 and she makes her first state-of-the-state address to the Legislature on Jan. 7, Napolitano said she will go around the state and listen to the people.

"I don't intend to stay in Phoenix all the time," she said.