PHOENIX — Republican Jay Feely and Democrat Amish Shah disagreed on plenty during Wednesday’s Congressional District 1 debate, but on Arizona’s water, they sounded a lot alike, KTAR News reported.
Feely, a former NFL kicker and broadcaster endorsed by President Donald Trump, said water is an issue where he disagrees with the administration. He argued Arizona should not absorb most of the Colorado River cuts when it does most of the conserving.
“If cuts need to be made, then the upper basin states and the lower basin states should make those cuts equally,” Feely said.
Shah, an emergency physician and former state lawmaker, said water would be his top priority. “Fight like hell for every drop,” he said on the Arizona Clean Elections stage.
In August, the federal government ordered Arizona to give up 760,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water per year in 2027 and 2028, the largest cut of any state.
The two split on data centers. Shah said voters have told him they do not want them in the district because of noise, traffic, water and electricity. “AI is coming at us quick, and we are going to need data centers,” he said. “I just don’t want them in CD 1.”
Feely called that “really hypocritical,” noting Shah supported state tax breaks for data centers as a legislator, and said the industry adds $27 billion to Arizona’s economy. Shah responded that AI “wasn’t on the radar” when those tax credits came up.
Shah also said he backed the strikes on Iran’s nuclear program but argued the administration mishandled the war, and said he does not think people in the country illegally should be on Medicaid.
Sources: KTAR News. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Education Department (TA63) / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
