AZ Political Podcast: Andy Biggs’ running mate Sine Kerr outlines plans for Arizona

Former state Sen. Sine Kerr, Republican Andy Biggs’ pick for lieutenant governor on Arizona’s gubernatorial ballot this fall, says Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs should be pointing the finger at herself instead of criticizing Kerr on water issues.

Kerr told me on the AZ Political Podcast that Hobbs’ “too little, too late” water policy means we’ll be getting too little water from the Colorado River to meet the needs of a growing Arizona — a state where Kerr has lived since she was 3 years old (and where her family has farmed for almost as long).

The old saying, “whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting,” isn’t about water pistols at pool parties — it’s about the age-old tug-of-war over water in the West. And this fall, the fight over Colorado River water won’t just happen among the seven states that share it — it’ll also take place in the political ring of the governor’s race.

Kerr defends her decision to resign from the Governor’s Water Policy Council in 2023 by calling it a “sham of a council” that Hobbs hoped would produce a “predetermined outcome.”

She says that Hobbs put “radical environmental groups” that were anti-agricultural on the council — forcing Kerr, a former chair of the state Senate Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee, to quit.

We do talk more about water, but Kerr and I also talk about:

• The border and how cross-border labor affects agriculture
• Her family’s history (which included her mother crossing the border from Mexico)
• Whether gender is important in politics (we’ve had more women governors than any other state, after all)
• Data centers and their place in Arizona’s economy
• Her unusual first name (pronounced like “Tina,” by the way)

I hope you enjoy getting to know Sine Kerr, because whether you’re a fan of her politics or not, she will always have a place in Arizona political history as the first lieutenant governor nominee.

The AZ Political Podcast is available at KTAR.com, the KTAR News app and everywhere you get your podcasts.

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