Do Pima County Leaders Have Standards?

We could say, “If it wasn’t for double standards, Pima County wouldn’t have any standards at all.”

The most recent example of double standards in Pima county is in debating the road bond which will appear on the ballot this November. The board of supervisors voted 4-1 (Supervisor Miller was the only no vote) to ask the voters for $430 million dollars to reportedly fix half the road issue. It appears that the Board of Supervisors were too gun shy to ask for over $800 million dollars again – the last time, $800 million dollars’ worth of bonds appeared on the ballot, they all failed other than $22 million dollars for an expensive Pima Animal Care Center. However, the projects which were not approved by the voters were still funded without needing the bonds – against the wishes of the voters.

Now for the double standard example:

It is acceptable for the Green Valley Council, a private group in Green Valley which receives $75,000 in tax money from Pima County each year, to come out in support of the road bond.
It is also okay for Beth Borazon (Supervisor Christy’s Chief of Staff) to speak in favor of the bonds while on the clock for Pima County.

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However, when a private citizen Joe Boggart who was the only no vote on the bond committee (a volunteer position) submits a position on the bonds which clearly discloses he served on the committee but is not speaking for the bond committee – just as a private citizen, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry threatens a $5,000 fine for speaking against the bond issue.

Joe Boggart also spoke out against the road bonds at the board of supervisor meeting where the road bond was approved to appear on the ballot:

The County Administrator and the Board of Supervisor majority has overseen the down fall of Pima County roads, while always finding money to fund World View, give tax dollars to American Airlines, buying a bowling alley for more than appraised value, investing money in golf courses to bail out friends while the county administrator unilaterally forgave $100,000 in property taxes.

The bottom line is that the voters of Pima County do not trust the Board of Supervisor majority and the county administrator based on years of not repairing the roads, always finding money for their pet projects, using bond funds for other than their intended purpose, and opting to complete projects which were rejected by the voters.

Look for a monumental opposition effort to defeat the bonds – nothing has changed since the last time, except it appears that the second highest paid county administrator in the country is more desperate. We live in:

• the highest property tax paying county in Arizona
• the 8 poorest metropolitan area in the United States

and those who have repeatedly failed us are asking you to agree to trust those who have failed to keep the roads in decent condition over the last 20 years to more of your money.

They say your taxes won’t go up, but you don’t believe them … do you?

About Albert Vetere Lannon 103 Articles
Albert grew up in the slums of New York, and moved to San Francisco when he was 21. He became a union official and labor educator after obtaining his high school GED in 1989 and earning three degrees at San Francisco State University – BA, Labor Studies; BA, Interdisciplinary Creative Arts; MA, History. He has published two books of history, Second String Red, a scholarly biography of my communist father (Lexington, 1999), and Fight or Be Slaves, a history of the Oakland-East Bay labor movement (University Press of America, 2000). Albert has published stories, poetry, essays and reviews in a variety of “little” magazines over the years. Albert retired to Tucson in 2001. He has won awards from the Arizona State Poetry Society and Society of Southwestern Authors.