Guest Blog: Building the Community We’d Like to See in Coconino County, Arizona

By: Coconino County Supervisor, District 2, Jeronimo Vasquez

For as long as I can remember, the outdoors has been an interwoven element of my life. For my family, it was something that we were always mindful of and it informed so many of the values that I continue to carry in my life today. I also come from a family of educators and they instilled in me the importance of education, community, and youth programming. Looking back now, my career aligns with so much of the teachings they shared with me.

I was born in San Francisco, California to parents that were community organizers that were heavily involved in the anti-war movement in Central America and a part of the Chicano and civil rights movement. My father was a third generation Chicano and my mother came from Guatemala. When I was a year old, my father decided to do his graduate research on the small indigenous farming community’s efforts in creating system for selling their apples to markets in local markets.  We relocated to a remote village in the highlands of the mountains of San Juan Ixcoy. Getting to our home would require a three-hour bus ride and a two-hour hike climbing over a 10,000-foot pass to get to our village. A few hundred people lived in this village, but I relished it. It was the first time I experienced rural life and thick forest and it catalyzed my deep appreciation and advocacy for the sweeping landscapes that provide so much. Eventually we moved back to San Francisco and when I was thirteen, my dad was hired at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, so we relocated once more.

Flagstaff became my playground, and I enjoyed exploring, and climbing through the caves that dot the mountains. To this day, walking to the caves at the base of Mt. Elden is one of my favorite activities. The time I spent outdoors left a profound impact on me, instilling a legacy of stewardship that I hope to pass on to my children, and to my community. These days my kids are older, and they groan when I tell them it is time for us to go out into the woods, but once we are mobile, their mood completely shifts. The outdoors provides us respite, and reconnection and I know that if we can cultivate this relationship in our kids, the special places that we love will continue to be protected for generations to come.

Kids are the future, and after working at Killip Elementary School for 14 years and leading community engagement efforts, after-school programming, and providing services and projects to empower the community, I was able to establish longstanding relationships with parents and families to better advocate and support my community. Being from, and entrenched in, the Killip and Sunnyside community has helped me in my current role as Coconino County’s District 2 Supervisor, and I am proud that I can show up in this way for them. Though becoming a county supervisor was never something I had imagined myself doing, it has felt like a natural progression that utilizes the community-based skillset I have been able to develop throughout my lifetime.

As a supervisor, my primary role is to ensure that the people’s voice is heard. I have a responsibility to my constituents, but also my elders and ancestors who made me who I am. My obligation is to help the next generation continue building upon what was left to us to care for. Something I love reminding our students is that we create the community we want to live in. Being a part of the county has also taught me how important teamwork is to the success of our county. It has not always been easy – in the summer of 2021, the Sunnyside neighborhood was hard hit by the Museum Fire flooding. At least 53 homes had interior damage, rendering them uninhabitable. Neighbors had to scrape over six inches of mud from their floors, and tackle mold that developed in the walls. Community members were understandably frustrated, and it was up to us to listen, support, and advocate for them. We were on the ground and in the neighborhood for days, making sure that we were addressing concerns and connecting community members with resources. We would then turn around and advocate these needs to the city of Flagstaff, and at the federal level.

One significant concern for community members is that this will become a regular occurrence. With our changing climate, it’s something no one can promise won’t happen again. However, we can support and advocate for mitigation tactics that will help upgrade our water and flood prevention systems and protect our forests by making them resilient against wildfires. This can come from the investments laid out in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was signed into law by President Biden last month that will address the climate crisis by enhancing our existing infrastructure to make it resilient against climate change.

We need healthy landscapes and healthy and safe communities to maintain our connection to the outdoors. I’ll look at my kids and grandkids and wonder what the world will look like for them when they’re my age. It motivates me to use the leadership opportunity I’ve been given to protect the lands we call home so that we can continue to pass down the values that my own parents and grandparents passed on to me.