Tucson Weekly: Recall Of The Wild (March 4

The Lastest Episode In Oro Valley's Moronic Political Sitcom.
By Tim Vanderpool
EVEN AS ORO Valley faces a mostly self-inflicted onslaught of growing pains--traffic gridlock, marginal infrastructure and groundwater abuse, to name a few--the biggest hurdle is just prodding voters to give a damn.
Go figure.
After all, who wouldn't be excited about OV's provincial political culture marked by a moribund Town Council, with a legacy of more petulant recalls than Don Diamond has pinkie rings?
Currents Just ask Cheryl Skalsky. A long-time Council member in this strapping bedroom burg, the 54-year-old politico was yanked from her mayoral post in April, following a temper tantrum that saw her cutting off speakers during a public meeting and finally just stomping out of the room.
It's hardly a Skalsky first: She was also given the boot in 1994, only to retain her seat when no opponent could be found.
Now she's on the rebound, fighting to reclaim her Council seat after the town's fourth recall in the past five years. Facing her in the Tuesday, March 9, recall election is campaign gadfly Wayne Bryant, most recently the loser in a Democratic primary against Tom Volgy, for Jim Kolbe's Fifth District congressional seat. In 1996, Bryant was an also-ran against Pima County Supervisor Mike Boyd.
Bryant is a vociferous steam-fitter, a union official, and president of the contentious anti-Skalsky Oro Valley Neighborhood Coalition. (She calls them the "Dead Bodies Club.") Others see the Coalition as the town's best chance for clamping down on growth.
According to many local observers, Bryant is also the mouthpiece for Rudy Roszak, another local player who was elected to the Council in a 1995 recall vote, quit a year later, and now apparently spends his spare time whipping up new recall votes.
It's a crowded sandbox, to be sure. But as the dust clears, both Skalsky and Bryant remain in a bruising contest, even though Skalsky's seat is back up for grabs in next year's general election.
BESIDES HER temperamental hubris, critics claim Skalsky has been a patsy for developers, pre-empted public sentiment by pushing through purchases of the Cañada Hills and Rancho Vistoso water plants without voter approval, and secretly hankers for a property tax. They also say she toadies-up to the area's omnipotent golf courses by letting them continue to pump groundwater.
Baloney, she says, claiming that Bryant's own wish-list would make a property tax unavoidable. That's because, among other things, Bryant says he'll get tough with the courses by forcing them to use reclaimed water. "And if I have to declare an emergency and get a vote across the board, that's what I'll do to stop them," he vows.
But tugging that gray water from Tucson toilets up to Oro Valley's putting greens is a multi-million-dollar proposition. It's unclear who'd pay the tab.
Skalsky says golf course watering is a Catch-22 (especially since resort behemoths like El Conquistador contribute mightily to the town's coffers). "I think Wayne Bryant would shut down the golf courses," she says. "He doesn't realize that many of them already have grandfathered rights to groundwater.
"Many of the things he wants to do means we'll end up with a property tax," Skalsky says, "and probably a lot more money from residents. One of the classic examples is that he wants to put a $35,000 impact fee on homes, and says the cost would be split among homeowners, developers and the county. But by law, the town would have to pay one-third of any impact fee."
Bryant disputes that, saying he doesn't support a property tax in any way, shape or form. "I'd run over a cliff first," he says. Instead, he'd call for an immediate audit of town coffers to see just where the money's going. "If we can put a halt to it now, and reassess where we're at, take a look at our sales to see what's coming in and going out--we should do it right away to see what the bottom line is. And then we'd present it to the voters and say, 'This is what we have to spend over the coming year to accommodate growth. What's your pleasure?' "
That dovetails with Bryant's pledge for a tougher stance against the kind of annexations now forcing embattled, neighboring Tortolita up against the ropes. "I'm totally ashamed and appalled by that," he says. "I firmly believe that every citizen has a right to determine their fate. After all, that's why (Oro Valley) was created in the first place."
Maybe so, says Skalsky, but those annexations were only to "square-off the town. You don't annex for money--you annex to enhance your town. As far as I'm concerned, the annexation we've done has one intent: If it's undeveloped land, at least we have control over the development. And we have real high standards."
She also lists get-tough ordinances enacted under her tenure, especially concerning hillsides and grading. "And since I've been on the Council, I've spent hours and hours negotiating for lower density," she says. "Now a lot of developments don't have the densities they could have had. Of course, my opponents bitch that I work with developers. Well, duh.
"The issue is that the town and the government does not own the land," she says. "The land is owned by people who have it zoned, and have the American right to develop it. The only way to stop development is to do something illegal against their rights. So then they sue you, and what do you have? A lawsuit you know you're gonna lose."
On paper, that contention could push Bryant, widely known for his Libertarian views, into a far-right corner. But he doesn't budge, instead calling Skalsky's stance "a cop-out. Every time a developer came before the Council--and believe me, I've seen it happen more than once--they wanted to down-zone and bring in more," he says. "And they were always given permission to do so."
The result, he says, are "homes crowded up against golf courses, narrow streets and a shortage of sidewalks."
Finally, and characteristically, this scuffle comes down to personalities. Skalsky says Bryant refuses to debate her; Bryant says the only debate request was a ruse for his ambush on a local radio show. Skalsky colors Bryant as a stooge for her arch-rival Roszak; Bryant claims to be his own man, though his press packet includes a two-page, anti-Skalsky diatribe penned by Roszak.
MEANWHILE, ONE ORO Valley retiree says he and his friends are weary of the whole sordid mess. "First off, we don't believe in recalls," says the resident, requesting anonymity. "Second, this infighting is endless. That's why the vast majority of people I talk to say they don't even care. And they don't plan to vote."
Regardless of whose legacy that speaks to, both Skalsky and Bryant apparently have plenty of work to do--even before Tuesday rolls around.

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