The following request was submitted to Pima County via the app SeeClickFix by an anonymous resident of the Foothills. Below the request is a response that I drafted for the County Board of Supervisors, a board that consists of four Democrats and one Republican, in keeping with the political monopoly that has controlled Pima County and the city of Tucson for decades.
Request
From Anonymous
Moccasin Trail
Tucson, Arizona, 85750.
5/18/26 8:07:30 AM
Hello, our streets were just repaved and within days we started noticing broken glass distributed on our street as well as Chieftain Trail next-door. It seems to increase on trash days, but I am not sure. Is there something that can be done about this?
Response
Dear Mr. Anonymous:
It’s hard to believe that you’re complaining about a few pieces of broken glass after winning the paving lottery. You evidently don’t know how lucky you are to have your neighborhood street repaved.
Due to Republicans in Phoenix running the state for decades, the vast majority of neighborhood streets in unincorporated Pima County, including in the Foothills, have not been touched in decades—not even any seal coating and crack sealing, let alone repaving.
Heck, there are still some streets in the Foothills near the Tucson city limit that are dirt and look as if they were featured in the old “Rawhide” TV series, although there are million-dollar homes along the streets. Yippee ki yay!
Republicans are at fault again. As you may remember, Republican Clint Eastwood played Rowdy Yates in the series.
Road conditions explain why so many Foothills residents drive huge Range Rovers while singing an updated version of the “Rawhide” theme song:
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’
Keep movin’, movin’, movin’
Though they’re disapprovin’
Keep them Rovers movin’
Rawhide!
It’s surprising that you’re not complaining about the work crews of private paving companies leaving behind barricades, safety cones and sandbags. If they didn’t leave them behind in your neighborhood, you don’t know how lucky you are. The companies intentionally leave them strewn on the roadside or in the brush alongside the shoulder, because they’re owned by Republican fat cats in Phoenix who want Tucson to look ugly.
It’s presumptuous of you to expect the county to pick up broken glass on your street, as if we have a motorized street sweeper that sweeps neighborhood streets. Do you think this is Gilbert or Scottsdale? Unlike those rich Republican towns, Pima County has little money for upkeep or aesthetics. The claim that we have the highest property tax rate in the state is a falsity spread by right-wingers on local talk radio.
Chances are, glass bottles are falling out of a trash or recycling truck. But that has nothing to do with the county, as the county does not provide trash/recycling service. You contract for that with Waste Management or another private company, just as you contract with Rural Metro for private fire service. You should get on the private hauler’s case.
By the way, Waste Management is headquartered in a Republican enclave of Houston, and Rural Metro was founded in Republican Scottsdale. That’s where your money is going.
What will you be asking for next? Will it be a municipal park, ball field, senior center, dog park, swimming pool, tennis court, basketball court, community center, city hall, or decent library?
Sure, those amenities are missing in the roughly 30 square miles of the Foothills, but again, Pima County is not a true community like Gilbert or Scottsdale.
Of course it isn’t. The county is 9,000 square miles. Until we looked it up on Google Maps, we didn’t even know where your street was. As far as we knew, it could’ve been in Cow Lick, Arizona.
That’s not to say that you don’t have access to amenities and services. We see that your house is only 15 miles from the Kino Sports Complex on the southside of metro Tucson. If you have kids, it would be great exercise for them to ride their bikes to Kino to play ball. And if you need to meet with us or our staffs, or want to attend a supervisors’ meeting, you’re only 14.5 miles from the county building in downtown Tucson.
Don’t be an ingrate. Be thankful that your street was repaved, pick up the broken glass yourself, and be sure to continue voting Democrat.
Sincerely,
Pima County Board of Supervisors
Mr. Cantoni can be reached at [email protected].
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