Gordon defends city's immigration efforts on C-SPAN
by Scott Wong - Aug. 14, 2009 11:44 AM

Viewers of C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" this week were eager to lash out at the show's guest, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, fixating on the city's national reputation as a safe harbor for illegal immigrants.

Mary, a caller from Milford, Conn., characterized Phoenix as a sanctuary city "riddled with illegal aliens" and suggested unemployment rates would be lower if the city took a hard-line stance against immigration.

Steve, from Cottonwood, said illegal immigrants were "killing the construction business," forcing citizens like himself to settle for lower wages.
And Wayne, a Tucson resident and a Phoenix native, accused the mayor of trying to undermine the efforts of his political nemesis, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, to crack down on illegal immigration.

"I live in Tucson because Phoenix is so violent," Wayne told the mayor. "You take the funds from Joe Arpaio who is the only one trying to do anything about immigration in our city."

"You are not on my side," he added.

Gordon has heard these types of comments before. And despite his sleepy appearance - it was a 6 a.m. interview - he coolly fended off the verbal assault.

Phoenix is the only city that has federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents embedded in its police department, Gordon said. And each year, Phoenix police arrest 15,000 violent criminals who are in the country illegally, those involved in human, guns and drug trafficking, he said.

"What we don't do is take those police officers away to start doing immigration inspection at workplaces or pick up individuals on the street because of the color of their skin," Gordon said.

The host of "Washington Journal" followed up, asking Gordon to describe his relationship with Arpaio, a man with whom the mayor has clashed in the past year.

"I don't think I'm on his Christmas card list," Gordon quipped.


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Nearly 40 percent of Phoenix's 1.6 million residents are registered to vote, but that doesn't mean those voters are scattered evenly throughout the city.

Far northeast Phoenix's District 2, represented by Peggy Neely, is home to 103,020 voters, while Sal DiCiccio's District 6, which includes Ahwatukee Foothills, Arcadia and Biltmore, has nearly as many, 101,960.

Compare that to central Phoenix's District 4, served by Tom Simplot, where less than half as many residents - 45,268 - have signed up to vote.

All eight City Council districts are supposed to have roughly the same number of residents, about 200,000 each, said Phoenix Elections Coordinator Mary Jo Slunder. Because city elections are non-partisan, Phoenix does not keep track of voters' political affiliation.

Simplot said the low registration figures in his and other districts have a direct correlation with the number of immigrants living there.

He sees the highest registration rates in the district's central core, from 24th Street to Interstate 17, where there are fewer immigrants. Registration tapers off as you move farther west.

"On the west side of the district, we simply have a lot of residents not eligible to vote," said Simplot, who is defending his seat against challenger Robert Dennis Johnson. "We have a large immigrant population in District 4, and our registration numbers reflect that."

Elections for even-numbered districts will take place on Sept. 1, while a special election for the District 3 seat, which was vacated by Maria Baier, is set for Nov. 3.

Here's the voter registration breakdown of other districts: District 1 (Thelda Williams) - 90,532; District 3 (Bill Gates) - 86,997; District 5 (Claude Mattox) - 55,759; District 7 (Michael Nowakowski) - 81,314; and District 8 (Michael Johnson) - 56,768.



Scott Wong covers Phoenix City Hall. Reach him at scott.wong@arizonarepublic.com or follow him online at phxbeat.azcentral.com.

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