Yesterday’s election brought expected outcomes (Republicans with few campaign resources were unable to dislodge any of the Democrats on the Tucson City Council) to the unpredictable (the incumbents in Oro Valley appear to be holding off their recall challengers).
But the big stunner of the night had to be the big defeat of the $815 million county bond package.
On paper, the bonds seemed a reasonable gamble. Pima County voters have almost always supported a wide variety of bond packages; just last year, they overwhelmingly agreed to borrow up to $22 million for a new animal-care center. Supporters of this year’s seven packages included Democrats and Republicans, business leaders and environmentalists. They had far more money than the ragtag band of opponents.
But voters said no—and in many cases, it wasn’t even close. Two out of three voters rejected the idea of borrowing nearly $99 million for tourism projects like big improvements at places like the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the Reid Park Zoo and the Tucson Children’s Museum. The closest proposition, $200 million for road repair, still lost by 8 percentage points.
There are plenty of theories about why the bond went down—and a combination of them probably explains why different people voted against them. Some people thought the price tag was too big. Some people don’t have a good feeling about their job or their retirement package and worry about bigger expenses. Some thought the projects were frivolous. Some hate taxes. Some just don’t trust Pima County to deliver.
Pima County Supervisor Ramon Valadez reminded the Weekly today that he had misgivings about moving forward this year with the bond package because he feared the economy still hadn’t recovered enough for people to feel confident about increasing their taxes.
“It wasn’t really the message of the opponents as much as fear,” Valadez said. “If you talk to business leaders, they’re starting to see the economy pick up, but until our working folks see that benefit, we’re going to be a similar place. If you go into the grocery store and your dollars doesn’t buy as much as it did five years ago and you’re not sure whether or not you’re going to pay your bills at the end of the month, even $20 a month may seem like a lot. I get it.”
Supervisor Ray Carroll, a Republican who supported the bond package, said he thought at least a few of the bond proposals would pass. He was particularly surprised to see the defeat of the road bond, which included $160 million for road repair as well as major funding for the start of the county’s proposed Sonoran Corridor, a new southside highway to link I-10 to I-19 and create a bypass near high-tech hubs like Raytheon and UA Tech Park.
“I don’t know how you’re going to get roads fixed with less revenue each year,” Carroll said. “This isn’t going make it any easier.”
The bond loss dampened the mood at the gathering of Democrats who were celebrating their reelection to the Tucson City Council at the Doubletree Hotel. While the Democrats were happy about their big wins, there was shock and concern about the defeat of the $815 million county bond package.
Rothschild, who faced no opposition, wryly declared victory before the first results were released.
“I’m pleased that I’m going to be able to serve the city for another four years,” Rothschild said. “I know we have great challenges ahead.”
Rothschild told the Weekly that he was surprised and disappointed by the failure of the entire bond package.
“I thought the voters of this community would support roads, would support parks, support economic development,” Rothschild said.
He said that the council now needed to see if there’s a way to persuade voters to support projects in Tucson.
“We need to go back and look at why the bonds failed,” Rothschild said. “We need to take a focused look at what our needs and projects are to improve the city. We need more road money. We need money for our downtown facilities. And we need money for our parks. It’s going to require a very focused, narrow strategy so that people will support paying a little extra for what they believe is a lot more.”
Ward 1 Councilwoman Regina Romero, who captured about 57 percent of the vote in her race against Republican challenger Bill Hunt, said that she was “really happy. I’m glad the voters saw beyond the mudslinging and trying to bring Tucson down. I’m glad they want to return us to the council. We have a really good team. Just like any other family, there are disagreements, there is push and pull, but we are on the same page and we want to move Tucson forward.”
But Romero added she was “feeling sad in my heart” over the voters’ rejection of the bonds.
“All these projects that would have improved quality of life and bring jobs not just to Tucson but the region weren’t supported,” Romero said. “It’s bad news for Tucson and bad news for the community.”
Romero said that funding for those kinds of projects, whether road repairs or park improvements, has to come from local sources.
“The days of federal funding, state funding, are gone,” Romero said.
This article appears in Oct 29 – Nov 4, 2015.
Just look at the debt piled on our national credit card by Obama. $19 Trillion and counting.
Anybody supporting these bonds should be voted out. Waste is a sin. They have wasted our money.
Jobs pay nothing in this state! We are already strapped for cash! Ask the big corporations to fund the road projects. They use them for their business. Start taxing rich people! Years ago top earners were taxed at 90%. That’s how our infrastructure was built to begin with. Further taxpayers have no guarantee the borrowed money will be used for projects approved by voters. There is too much coruption and fraud in the system to trust politicians with almost a billion dollars. The bond proposals looked like a Christmas wish list on steroids. Are the politicians that clueless as to what it is like to work two, three jobs and still not have enough money to pay everyday bills and buy food? The politicians are much too insulated to be able to connect with the people. Their only connections are with their rich backers.The Emperors have no clothes.
I am a property owner in Tucson who had to take a job in Phoenix. The city and county hasn’t supported me, why should I pay more for local workers and construction firms to get fat and happy on bonds? Take care of your own and we may be able to afford to give back.
Same old song and dance each time it comes up. How many times did the bonds pass and the money is gone and nothing to show for it. What are they doing with the money? Rio Neuvo comes to mind.
If we didn’t have to wait 5yrs or longer for the bonds to be spent on what they were intended for just maybe voters would approve,,everytime I have seen road construction signs declaring bonds are funding this project the date of the bonds is usually around 5-6 years old,,on another note everybody is accepting the outcome of the election so far espically the council members that kept their seats but they have a hard time accepting the voters choice on the red light cameras being taken down, Sierra Vista voted them down and within a couple days they were down,not the COT clowncil needs time to certify the election results before they come down,,,if these idiots won’t certify these results than I don’t reconize their wins either,,
“We need more money”… meanwhile there are buildings full of govt bureaucrats collecting paychecks and pensions. How many of those useless paper pusher drains on society are you willing to sacrifice to pay the bills? None of course! Those are your pals. You’d do anything to protect them, including going into bond debt with the poor of the city having to pay it back. If we cut the fat, we would have plenty of cash for roads, parks, and police.
we haven’t paid off the last bonds and why should home owners pick up this bill.
I have worked for the City of Tucson for 24 years.. I haven’t received a raise in 8 years.. I live in the county… And they wonder why the voters in either jurisdiction can’t afford this package? The disconnect between the board supervisors/city council is like the Grand Canyon.. no wonder they are surprised, they have no idea what they have done to their employees…
I showed up to vote. I voted NO on every single BOND.
If the city can’t fix roads and potholes with the money they have, why would I give them more money?
Who and how was construction scheduled on Campbell Road during the first week of Fall Semester at the U of Az?
Where was the city leadership during the Bus Strike? Or after it?
These are basic infrastructure issues that affect every day Tucson students and employees. Why would I want these people to have larger pots of money to waste?
Note that the Mayor and Council Members neighborhood roads are fine. Let them now pay to fix ours!
Thanks again to all of you. And please don’t fall for the “tax the rich” because when they run out of rich you’re all that’s left. Stop the lies and stop the waste now. No more delays.
Thanks again to all of you. And please don’t fall for the “tax the rich” because when they run out of rich you’re all that’s left. Stop the lies and stop the waste now. No more delays.
Juli says “Just look at the debt piled on our national credit card by Obama. $19 Trillion and counting.”
That wasn’t all Obama. Half of that was Saint Reagan and W
Bags says “I am a property owner in Tucson who had to take a job in Phoenix.”
Phoenix voters just approved $34 billion in bonds solely for transportation. No wonder they have the job you want. They get it.
4 more years! 4 more years! We CAN be number ONE!
5th poorest city in the country, and damn proud of it.
I refuse to give an increase of my tax money to support the top 1% or SALC or their members. I see the names representing different groups to promote the bonds, more likely to support their friend’s pockets. Lessen the amount of the bonds. Be specific and get it done. We have been burned too many times with Rio Nuevo and Urban Renewal. It is the same old story with some of the same players. They don’t care about the Tucsoneses or fulfill their promises. The top 1% just want to make Tucson to look like LA or Phoenix with wider roads, more freeways, get rid of Mexican culture and homes. You need to step back and serve the needs of the 99% in Tucson and stop kissing the behinds of the 1%.
Just think back in the days when areas like Casa’s Adobes & Tortolita wanted to incorporate the extra monies that are mandated by state law to municipalities are gone. This was promoted by the County Board as don’t incorporate we got this same as Green Valley then the state turned off the tap. Now the county is saying we dont got this. But if you give us monies we can get people to do a few rounds of golf take a tour gamble at the reservation see a desert zoo a city zoo and an old church. Look at retirement to a golf course and have the same white anglo intellectual neighborhoods in those communities rich retires are looking for. Plus making sure there is no flooding back and forth between retirement communities and the casinos sound like a gonga to you
Hey Rat, you have to tax the people who actually have the money. Hint: it sure ain’t the poor.
Very same people who voted no on bonds will be 1st to complain about condition of roads, etc & blame politicians…look in the mirror people: government is for the common good & you have to finance thru bonds or taxes or fees – you pay 1 way or another – next time your alignment gets knocked off from a pothole remember how you voted…the fall of Rome (USA) continues….
Common good has as much meaning as the checks in the mail. This was the good for the government bond initiative. Watch them funnel the money into expansion of do nothing jobs and pensions.
This was not a mandate.
This was not a vote of no confidence.
By more than two to one, Pima County and City of Tucson voters showed WE HAVE NO TRUST in our elected officials.
We DO NOT TRUST you elected officials to use the funds as they are supposed to be spent.
We DO NOT TRUST when you say “this won’t raise taxes” but of course you have to raise property or sales taxes to pay back the bonds.
We DO NOT TRUST you who buy land south of the airport for Ratheon, or try to turn Rillito park into soccer fields.
We DO NOT TRUST you who say we have no money for road improvements, and destroy Campbell Avenue’s turn lane to put flower pots there.
We DO NOT TRUST that you have anyone’s interest at heart other than your own, but more importantly you do not have OUR interest in mind.
We do not hate schools.
We do not hate good roads.
We wish all these things would be funded.
We DO NOT TRUST that if we give you these funds they will be ALL used EXACTLY as specified.
How will we trust you? If you pledge to use funds EXACTLY as specified; if you admit this will raise taxes and tell us by how much; if you pledge to quit raising property taxes OTHER THAN to fund propositions; if you stand up for honesty and integrity.
Ehud
First off, they are building new roads with previous bond money and they don’t have the money to maintain existing roads, let alone new ones.
“We need money for our downtown facilities” — there’s the disconnect there Mr. Rothschild. You may go downtown everyday but the vast majority of Tucsonans rarely if ever do.
Maybe some of the bonds might have passed if a noted supporter of the Bonds was not someone who keeps demanding that the City buy his closed hotel downtown and let him run it so that he would not have to pay property taxes. Or other supporters who use their corporations to avoid paying property taxes?
How about next time the County wants to pass a bond proposal, instead of saying how much it would cost the owner of a $150,000 home, the County says how much it would cost Raytheon, Asarco, and the other big corporations in Property taxes
Alexandra, Reagan debt was paid off and Congress balanced the budget in the early 90s by getting Clinton to sign welfare reform. The debt was Bush 2 and Dem Congress ($8T) and the rest has been Obama ($11T). Both are impossible to defend.
I voted yes on the proposals for all of the positive reasons people mentioned above, but I also agree with many of the reasons people were opposed to them. I am tired of the bad roads and the slow transport around town that contributes to carbon pollution and driver frustration. I’m tired of the lack of economic development and low paying jobs in Tucson. But, I am also tired of the powers that be thwarting the will of the voters by not following through on projects as directed by voters in a timely manner. Maybe, had there only been two or three proposals and had they been more specific about how the money would be spent more people would have been in favor. I also totally understand that the money can’t keep coming from the middle classes until we feel that our futures are more secure, our officials truly support and represent us, AND that all entities are contributing their fair share.
Overstatements abound! May I comment on just one? City of Tucson voters did not show no confidence in their elected officials, with all three Council members reelected by wide margins and with no organized opposition to our Mayor. And it is not at all clear as I write that City voters rejected the bond measures overwhelmingly.
RJFletcher…They don’t tax the poor? What do you call cigarette prices and lottery tickets? That’s a tax on the poor. Just don’t tell them.
I don’t see money being spent where it’s really needed: education and repairing existing roads. Teachers are lowest paid in the country. Rail line is a joke with the small number of people it serves and the short distance covered. Bus are routes not keeping up with urban sprawl, which is also a problem. Prisons seem to get more attention than schools.
I also don’t trust our politicians. Mayor re-elected because no one will to run against him. Big cause for celebration.
Before we go it alone, please pay back all the people over fined by Parkwise. The price of the fines were extortion.
The main reason the bonds were rejected is that the people who voted against them don’t understand economics. The avg. property tax bill for homeowners would have risen only $1.50 per month. That’s not even enough for a cup of coffee.
Who will benefit from the outcome of the rejection of the bonds and the red-light cameras?
Auto body shops – from the increase in wrecked vehicles once the collision rate returns to the pre-camera era; douchebag drivers – who will resume running red lights, mostly with impunity; and, uh…well, that’s about it.
After reading the comments posted, I have a lot more faith in the people of the City of Tucson. They are not stupid. Where did the Rio Neuvo money go? Why did years of talk happen and very little actual improvements? Jobs, Roads, Transportation, and schools are what people here care about. Is any government official really listening? And trust? Apparently very little of that for our elected officials. Also, one goes out and votes, the majority pass the proposition, and nothing happens, or it takes years, and years to be enacted. That is not how a city that knows how operates.
It’s no wonder we can’t have nice things (like roads that don’t destroy the suspension on your car) with all the cheapskate naysayers in Pima County.
The last comment above should be removed.
City employee, guess who else hasn’t had a raise in 8 years, most of the employed in Tucson. However, before you cry yourself to sleep at night, check out your retirement, holiday and health benefits. Compared to most jobs. then you will probably sleep pretty well.