Reveles: Informed voting will bring to public office the best person

My comments at the March 21 board of supervisors meeting regarding Pinal County’s economy:

Mr. chairman, congratulations to both Joe Biden and Donald Trump for their expected victories in yesterday’s presidential preference election here in Arizona.

As this election season gets underway, now is a good time to urge all civic-minded Americans to engage in truthful dialogue about candidates seeking our votes.

Democracy demands no less than candor and honesty in examining what each candidate for office offers the voter. I firmly believe that informed voting, rather than partisan voting, will bring to public office the best person.

Additionally, timeliness in our discussions is another essential element for ensuring that the election choices we make will positively improve Pinal County residents’ quality of life.

As folks begin to focus on this campaign year’s impending choices, we must also acknowledge the important duty of our free press to report on how our elected officials vote on public policy measures that affect our lives.

Prominent in our local news this week has been recognition of the significant economic boost Pinal County is experiencing as a result of the CHIPS and Science Act. A federal law that has been positively acknowledged by some members of this board, and an economic boost that, in all candor, became reality only because Democratic members of Congress voted for the CHIPS Act, while all of Arizona’s Republican members voted against it, and President Joe Biden signed it into law.

A viable democracy requires that voters be informed of these facts by the media, as uncomfortable as the facts may be for the partisans among us.

In this spirit, I encourage all of us to thoughtfully engage in respectful dialogue designed not to embarrass one candidate or political party over the other, but rather to enlighten each other so that we can make informed voting decisions.