Pima Dems Oppose Proposed Closure of Cherrybell Post Office.

Pima County Democratic Party

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jeff Rogers
Chair, Pima County Democratic Party

January 9, 2012_­

Cell – (520) 360-0924
Office – (520) 624-4700
jrogers@pimadems.org

Pima Dems Oppose Proposed Closure of Cherrybell Post Office.

The Pima County Democratic Party’s Executive committee voted last week to endorse the resolution being put forward by the Pima County Board of Supervisors, opposing the US Postal Service’s proposed closure of the Tucson Processing and Distribution Center at the Cherrybell Postal Facility.

The party joins the Board of Supervisors in opposing the closure for the following reasons:

• The loss of 440 jobs, loss of $30 million in economic activity, and the loss of $4.8 million in federal, state, and local tax revenues;
• Delaying the ability of the US Postal Service to identify anthrax attacks and distribute the prophylactic antibiotic treatment to Pima County residents in a timely manner;
• The violation of state election law concerning distribution of vote by mail ballot and backup facilities;
• Disenfranchising Native American voters on the Tohono O’odham Nation;
• Delaying time sensitive victim notification letters required by court rule and statute;
• Delaying time sensitive court hearing notices to self-represented litigants in both Family Law and Civil Litigation in Pima County Superior Court;
• Delay of time sensitive road closure notices;
• Delay of timely mail delivery to and from service members at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and Fort Huachuca; and
• The loss of a local bulk mailing discount, causing unnecessary harm to local businesses.

“This is the latest in a long line of Phoenix-first decisions being made at our expense,” said Pima County Democratic Party Chair Jeff Rogers. “This is a move so poorly conceived and so harmful to Southern Arizona, that I’m surprised the Republican-controlled State Legislature hasn’t endorsed it. This is a needless loss of a mail distribution center that will leave the entire state with only one distribution center — in the Phoenix area. A state the size of Arizona needs a larger distribution network for time sensitive mail.”

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