By Bruce Ash
Fletcher McCusker and the Rio Nuevo board voted to bail out the owner of the Manning House and they expect us suckers to pay $3,200,000.
Don’t get me wrong ……….. I admire anyone who steps into the spotlight to perform public service. Fletcher McCusker is a solid citizen. So are Alberto Moore , Chris Sheafe and Jannie Cox. But they foolishly acted in violation of state law and have breached our trust by voting for this bail out of a failed business.
After 10 years of mischief by City of Tucson appointed tools who ran Rio Nuevo, the last couple years of serious introspection– the first act of the newly constituted board is to run over Tucsonans again rather than complete the audit and focus on the Community Center which was why they were appointed in the first place.
If these guys can’t get it right perhaps it’s time to end Rio Nuevo once and for all. The intent of the Legislature and the Governor was clear. Follow the law. Act responsibly on behalf of the taxpayers. Stop making back room decisions. No more quid pro quo. No more half-baked ideas.
It’s not too late for the Rio Nuevo District to get with the program they signed up for and begin protecting taxpayers from the mistakes of the past rather than recreating them.