HB 2787: The bill to split Maricopa County into 4 (Phoenix, Mesa: condo, how much)

[bobsell]

Originally Posted by smoochaz

We should learn from other states that have tons of counties (eg, NJ) and look at why they're taxed so high.

More money for cronies.

That's why.

[Steverino63]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

I'm 100% in favor of splitting Maricopa County into smaller counties, but my reasoning has nothing to do with politics. The fact is: Maricopa County is TOO DAMN BIG. It encompasses over 9,000 square miles, making it one of the largest counties in the nation, and it's even larger than some states. No other county which includes a major metro area is this large. Even L.A. and San Diego counties don't encompass anywhere near the land area that Maricopa does. Most other counties that are this large are usually rural. Maricopa County is largely urban/suburban. So think of it from this direction, instead of worrying about "gerrymandering", or anything political. I'd even be in favor of splitting Phoenix and some other Valley cities into separate communities, but that's a different topic.

And Navajo and Apache counties AREN'T "too damn big"?

[Steverino63]

Texas is nutbar enough without Aridzona sending more yahoos here.

[Steverino63]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Now, in contrast, Maricopa is the LARGEST "urban" county in the nation in terms of land area. There is no legitimate reason why it has to be over 9,000 square miles, much of it empty desert. Even Los Angeles & San Diego counties (fairly large land masses) pale in comparison to the size of Maricopa County. I truly don't understand why you want to keep things the same, especially having a "progressive" mentality on many subjects. Or could it be that you just don't want to see a small blue county surrounded by a sea of red? I try to look beyond politics and see the need for separation based on practical matters.

And, what happens if there IS a break-up, and 20 years from now, those "suburban counties" are't Republican? Back to you.

[Hschlick84]

Anyone think this will make another comeback next year or two?

[swaysway]

Yes, they’re still talking about it. I listen to Charlie Kirk and they were talking about it.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by Hschlick84

Anyone think this will make another comeback next year or two?

Originally Posted by swaysway

Yes, they’re still talking about it. I listen to Charlie Kirk and they were talking about it.

It will be talked about, but it won't happen. Even if you could get the narrow Republican majority in both houses of the legislature to pass the proposal, the Governor would veto it.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

It will be talked about, but it won't happen. Even if you could get the narrow Republican majority in both houses of the legislature to pass the proposal, the Governor would veto it.

Yup. The right wing legislative ambitions are dead for at least the next four years. Even if Hobbs quits, we still have a Democratic governor in Adrian Fontes.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Yup. The right wing legislative ambitions are dead for at least the next four years. Even if Hobbs quits, we still have a Democratic governor in Adrian Fontes.

There's nothing right wing about this idea, so let's put politics aside and think logically. Splitting Maricopa County would be the correct thing to do for all the reasons I previously mentioned. We now have yet another valid reason for why the county should be divided into several smaller counties: the 2022 election. What it came down to was too many people submitting ballots, but not enough people or machines to count them. To make matters worse, some of the tabulation machines weren't even working properly! More paperwork = longer process. The bigger the county, the bigger the bureaucracy. Large bureaucracies often translate to reduced productivity, as we saw with the slow tabulation process in this last election. Smaller government is better for everybody overall.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

There's nothing right wing about this idea, so let's put politics aside and think logically. Splitting Maricopa County would be the correct thing to do for all the reasons I previously mentioned. We now have yet another valid reason for why the county should be divided into several smaller counties: the 2022 election. What it came down to was too many people submitting ballots, but not enough people or machines to count them. To make matters worse, some of the tabulation machines weren't even working properly! More paperwork = longer process. The bigger the county, the bigger the bureaucracy. Large bureaucracies often translate to reduced productivity, as we saw with the slow tabulation process in this last election. Smaller government is better for everybody overall.

While you may have non-partisan reasons for advocating the partition of Maricopa County, there is no doubt that last year's bill had polticial motivations. It was payback for the Board of Supervisors' refusal to indulge in lies and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Now that the battle lines have been drawn, it will be hard to approach this issue from a neutral point of view.

Regardless, if I think logically about this, as you suggest, I see no obvious advantage to breaking up the county. There's no reason to believe that four separate counties would automatically be more efficient than one. They might very well be less efficient if they lose economies of scale they currently enjoy and don't have experienced staff to manage their operations.