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OPINION
THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 30, 2022
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Color alone not the only criterion for Supreme Court BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist
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nited States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced his upcoming retirement on a Wednesday morning. Within the hour, reporters, pundits and politicos had settled on a must for the 83-year-old’s successor: The next justice, the 116th in the history of our nation, must be a Black woman. This certainty dates back to a promise President Biden made during the 2020 primaries. Struggling to get traction, especially with Black voters, Biden went to South Carolina needing a jump start to his campaign. His promise at a February 2020 debate: “I’m looking forward to making sure there’s a Black woman on the Supreme Court to make sure we in fact get everyone represented.”
The applause was loud. Biden won a seven-way primary with 49 percent of the vote. I understand we live in a nation where 108 out of 115 members of the highest court in the land have been white men. I understand and see value in diversity, of justices who bring different perspectives and cultures to the court – even if they tend to vote in lockstep with either one of America’s two dominant, disastrous political parties. But for days I’ve been scouring the news waiting for someone to say what to me seemed abundantly obvious: Shouldn’t the President, a Democrat, nominate the most qualified liberal justice to the court, as opposed to filtering out candidates based on race and gender? I mean this as no slight to the jurists on the shortlist: Ketanji Brown Jackson, who currently sits on the D.C. Circuit Court of
Appeals, considered the second most-important court in the country. Harvard-educated, a former editor of the Harvard Law Review, Brown Jackson clerked for Breyer early in her career. Also getting serious consideration is Leondra Kruger, who currently sits on the California Supreme Court. Kruger previously clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens and, as an assistant U.S. Solicitor General, she argued a dozen cases before SCOTUS. If either of these two amazing Black women is the most-qualified choice for the Court, then I celebrate the appointment. Ironically, next year the Court is scheduled to hear a case on affirmative action in education. The original lawsuits contend that Harvard and the University of North Carolina discriminate against Asian students, who scored higher than other racial cohorts on admission criteria like grades, tests scores and extracurriculars, but
were scored down on qualities like courage, kindness, personality and likability. The end result? A racial quota system that kept the number Asian students artificially low in favor of admitting a more diverse student body. The concept that every facet of life requires equal representation by skin color is a shaky proposition, easy to turn on its head. For example, the National Basketball Association in 2020 was about 74 percent African-American, 17 percent white, not quite three percent Latino and Asian, and six percent players of other races. Today, non-Latino Whites comprise 58 percent of the U.S. population. Latinos make up 19 percent, Blacks 12 percent. Imagine the insanity that would ensue if the NBA mandated that each 15-man
nesses for the next 20 years. I’ve been saying for years that we must craft a regional transportation plan to replace Prop 400. It needs to assure regional equity and flexibility, and it needs to be something voters across the County can support. I’m grateful we have a governor who understands the important role infrastructure plays in our economic future. I know there are leaders in cities and towns across Maricopa County who understand this, too. But I also know what the political environment is like right now. I know that things that used to be non-partisan are now viewed through the lens of Republicans and Democrats, good and evil, winning and losing. We cannot let politics derail progress. Investments in infrastructure and technology are just good basic government. They should be non-partisan. Even Congress seems to be getting the message. The federal infrastructure bill
passed by both chambers and signed by the President will be good for Maricopa County. I’m confident those dollars can be used to support worthwhile projects. But to make the most out of taxpayer dollars, we need consensus about our goals. And we need to think through some key questions like: • What projects or investments are going to be needed to maintain or improve our high quality of life? • What framework will best enable the efficient movement of commerce and how do we ensure continuity as transit crosses city or county boundaries? • How will we account for and take advantage of the possibility of autonomous delivery and passenger drones? • What place does fixed rail have in our transportation future? Crafting and getting voter approval for a new regional transportation plan is probably my biggest priority moving forward. But it’s not my only focus. Infrastructure means nothing without
people. Right now, we are the #1 ranked county for attracting skilled workers. If we want to retain that distinction, investing in our education system needs to be a priority. Again, politics shouldn’t play a role here. We don’t need to pit one type of school against another. Parents should have many good options about where to send their kids. Our universities and community colleges ought to have our full support in attracting the workforce of the future. It’s no accident Maricopa County has been the fastest-growing county in the United States for the past several years. Leaders of the past made tough decisions and smart investments that paved the way for individuals, families, and businesses to thrive here. Now it’s our turn. Let’s get to work.
see LEIBOWITZ page 25
Infrastructure growth critical to Maricopa County BY JACK SELLERS Tribune Guest Writer
A
s we enter year three of the COVID-19 crisis, I can’t help but think about what
we’ve lost. The loss of life, the loss of livelihoods. Those have been devastating. And we must do everything we can to limit the health and financial impacts of the pandemic in the coming months. But I also think about the loss of time. Elected leaders and policy makers have focused so much on the here and now that long-term planning has been largely neglected. There can be no more delays. It’s time to get to work on assuring a prosperous future for our region. So, what does that mean? Above all, we need to invest in critical infrastructure and technology that will make us attractive to individuals and busi-
Jack Sellers is a member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and a former Chandler City Council member. ■
