Sources at the Capitol report that the Governor’s office received calls from a Tucson business interest and Tucson officials yesterday demanding that she dismantle the Rio Nuevo Board and replace them with a “city friendly” panel. Calls were also made to legislative leaders making the same demand.
According to sources, Senate President Steve Pierce, Speaker of the House Andy Tobin, and the Governor refused to meet the demands.
The callers reportedly want board members who will allow the City of Tucson to continue receiving TIF monies without real oversight and no one held accountable for the past practices. They argued that it was the civil thing to do.
The flurry of calls began after the Arizona Daily Independent revealed the potential conflict of interest issues of city friendly Board member Mike Irvin.
There are two openings on the board that are to be filled by Pierce, which the City wanted filled with “city friendly” Board members. That is not enough for the now scrambling special interests.
Those same special interests had attempted to pass legislation this year which would have eventually bankrupted Rio Nuevo and forced land sales. The legislation failed. However, Senator Al Melvin did pass a Memorandum which required the City to work cooperatively with the all volunteer Tucson resident Rio Nuevo Board.
Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik was angry with Melvin’s Memorandum. He went so far as to suggest that Melvin was senile. Last week, in his weekly newsletter Kozachik asked the staff at Arizona Daily Star to pick new Board members.
The Rio Nuevo Board voted on May 23, to eliminate the Vice-Chair position. The position was not created through statute, but by a demand from city friendly forces. Mike Irvin occupied that position.
Now that it is evident that the powers-that-be successfully thwarted action by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office against the City’s staff, the special interests want to proceed without interference.
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