Independent candidate for Pima County Assessor Suzanne Droubie turned in over 8,200 signatures on Tuesday. Droubie was required to gather 4,798 signatures to have her name placed on the general election ballot in November.
Droubie said in a statement released today that she is running as an Independent, because people who value properties should be independent. Droubie told the ADI that there are many reasons she decided to run, but “the main reason is the amount of tax dollars being spent on unnecessary litigation by the current Pima County Assessor.”
Droubie, one of the first Independent candidates to run in Pima County, reports that she has received “extremely positive” feedback.
Droubie hopes to “create an open door policy making the Assessor’s office accessible to everyone through a user friendly website, an onsite public computer access terminal with personal assistance, and information transparency.”
According to Droubie’s website, she worked in the Pima County Assessor’s office for 6 years, before taking a position with Pima County Finance and Risk Management as a Project Manager in the Property Litigation section.
“In July of 2015 Suzanne wanted to take a more active role in helping the tax payer by becoming an advocate for them in the Pima County Property Tax appeal system by taking a position with Paradigm Tax Group,” reads the website. There she worked with taxpayers and business owners “explaining the valuation process, addressing concerns, and resolving issues.”
Droubie claims on her site that “over the last several years she has seen many critical aspects of public service and customer service deteriorate to the point of public neglect due to the actions of the current County Assessor.”
For years it has been widely believed that County cronies, under the current Assessor Bill Staples, have benefitted from favorable appraisals, while County critics have suffered with inflated valuations.