EL CENTRO — In response to bargaining unions wanting a larger pay increase than the county will offer, Imperial County Commissioner Chairman John Hawk, in supervisors' comments Tuesday, spoke about how expensive California is.

Hawk and his extended family recently traveled 50 miles and crossed the border into Arizona.

“We went to a state right across the border where gas was $2.70 a gallon,” he said.

Besides gas prices being much lower than in California and Imperial County, Arizona also has some of the lowest taxes in the nation, as well as the lowest regulations.

“Let me tell you folks, I understand when there is a higher cost of living in this state,” he said. “It is.”

Hawk added that he is not saying Arizona is a better state than California because he knows a lot of Arizonans hav

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