Kyl's Replacement Must be a Problem Solver
By Arizona Farm Bureau President Kevin Rogers
We all know that no one is irreplaceable but some will be sorely missed. Such is the case with Senator Jon Kyl. With the Senator’s announcement that he will not seek reelection in 2012, the replacement jockeying begins.
Senator Kyl is one of those rare elected servants that represent the model of a statesman, not a politician. His 26 years of conservative leadership has served Arizonans well. So many of us recognize that with his retirement Arizona loses a tireless advocate for national defense, foreign affairs and a friend of the agricultural community. We will miss him.
From purely an agricultural perspective, Kyl is one of a few lawmakers that understood Western water and power issues. Always trying to balance between the different water interests, he worked relentlessly on Indian water settlements. He knows that the word “navigable” must stay in the Clean Water Act to protect Arizona’s ability to regulate in-state waters.
He, with Senator McCain, just penned a strong letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to stop consideration of making dust regulations tighter with no consideration of our regional desert environment, thus causing harm to our state’s economy.
He championed estate tax reform that affected his farm communities because of Arizona’s inflated land values. He understood surviving family members having to sell farm and ranch land to pay the death tax.
Senator Kyl has never been an advocate for legislation dealing with farm support programs. But Kyl was a pragmatist recognizing that farm legislation would be dealt with in the Congress.
With legislation inevitable, he would be an ally in making sure Arizona agriculture was not put at a competitive disadvantage to other agricultural states.
Much to the dismay of many voters who believe the term “comprehensive immigration reform” means “amnesty”, Kyl braved alienating some of his political base and argued for border security along with visa reform. He did this in the face of his reelection bid in 2006.
That is why I call him a statesman.
My sincere hope is that candidates who are considering filling Jon Kyl’s shoes are versed in Arizona’s water and power needs, our labor needs, and the federal regulatory handcuffs that affect our economy. We need a Senator that is grounded in conservative principles but can distance themselves from the ideological extremes and be part of a solution.
That is Jon Kyl, a senator grounded in conservative principle that elevated himself through diplomacy and reasonable dialog to become a leader in the U.S. Senate.
