Somerton Mayor Gerardo Anaya joined in on a Zoom video call Thursday with mayors from throughout Arizona and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kelly.
They discussed local efforts on reopening their communities during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mayor Anaya said Somerton officials have worked to educate the bilingual community on how to reopen safely.
“Most of our mom and pop businesses are owned by only Spanish speaking families so as a city what we’ve tried is to meet with them and educate them as much as possible to the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act) or any other resources that are available,” Anaya said.
Kelly, a Democrat who is running against Republican Sen. Martha McSally, spoke about challenges securing relief funding as cities and towns across Arizona face budget shortfalls.'
“We also need to make sure that communities have the resources they need to ensure essential services not just this year but next year like law enforcement and fire and ambulances are maintained,” Kelly said.
The other mayors on the call were Tolleson Mayor Anna Tovar, Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans, Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell and Casa Grande Mayor Craig McFarland.
