Jerrad McMurrich grew up in Arizona’s “0-5.” That’s zip code 85705, one of the poorest areas in Arizona.
McMurrich, an emergency vehicle technician for the Tucson Fire Department, taught in a local high school for many years and knows his community like he knows the vehicles he keeps running.
And he knows what kind of damage the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” is going to cause for his fellow Arizonans.
People losing health care as Medicaid is gutted. Families going hungry as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, sees major cuts. Job losses, furloughs and cuts to public services, as state budgets are squeezed.
That’s why McMurrich is calling out his congressman, Juan Ciscomani, for supporting the bill and throwing his constituents under the bus.
Before the House passed the bill, McMurrich, a member of AFSCME Local 905, went to Ciscomani’s office to explain how bad the bill would be for working families.
“Our union went to his office to talk to him about the bill and encourage him to hear both sides of the fence,” McMurrich said.
McMurrich knew that lawmakers were being pressured to pass the bill for the wealthiest Americans, who will receive enormous tax breaks. “We went there to [tell him] to do what was right.”
But Ciscomani chose to vote against his constituents, siding instead with anti-worker extremists and billionaires.
McMurrich is angry that lawmakers like Ciscomani are willing to sell out working Americans to deliver for the super-rich.
“It breaks my heart to see them be so callous and greedy,” he said.
And McMurrich fears for the people in his community. He thinks of his former students who, without the health care that Medicaid provides, will suffer both physically and financially.
His message to Ciscomani now that the bill has become law: “I’m very disappointed in his decision. I wish he would have listened more to his constituents. I wish he would be more human.”
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