Mailbag

Uhlich Makes Her Case

While I respect the Tucson Weekly‘s prerogative to take a
non-endorsement position on the race for City Council in Ward 3 (Oct.
8), I disagree with the rationale and want voters to know the full
story.

The Weekly reported that I “led an effort to delay a 25-cent
increase in bus fares last year, only to agree to an increase this
year,” and concluded that I was “waffling on budget issues.”
Unfortunately, the Weekly missed the point.

The truth is, I voted against the 25-cent increase in bus fares last
year because at the time, there were no assurances that the increased
revenues would stay in the transit system and allow us to improve bus
service across the city. The extra revenues would thus have amounted to
an added tax on Tucson residents who rely on public transit.

Because of my advocacy, the increased bus fares approved by the
mayor and council this year will actually go toward improved and
expanded bus service, to the benefit of those who ride the bus.

The Weekly also cited that I voted to cut Parks and
Recreation class fees when I was first elected, but this year stated
that those fees may need to be increased. Again, the Weekly missed
the point.

I did, in fact, vote to reduce Park and Rec fees in early 2006, to
make sure that families and seniors across Tucson have access to
quality Parks and Recreation classes at an affordable price. The vote
is fully in line with what I have consistently told voters, and what
has guided my public service: Above all, I will stand up for the
interests of Tucson families.

Since that vote, we have continued to prioritize Parks and
Recreation. But, of course, we find ourselves now in the deepest
recession since the Great Depression. Just like Tucson families have
done, the city has had to tighten its belt.

As part of balancing the 2010 budget, we scaled back the days that
city pools are open, reduced the hours for Parks and Rec centers and
eliminated virtually all nonpermanent staff in rec centers across
Tucson. We eliminated various classes. We spared KIDCO after-school
programs, but implemented a 50 percent reduction in team capacity for
adult sports leagues.

Now, after all these cuts, we still need to raise fees. That’s
why I voted earlier this year to begin raising fees in some rec areas,
but based on a sliding-scale structure so those who can afford to pay
more have that option, while others are not shut out.

My responsibility as a city leader is to make these tough
decisions after weighing all the facts.

I am grateful to the Tucson Weekly for giving me this space
to elaborate on my record. I ask for your vote in this critical
election.

Karin Uhlich

Democrat, Ward 3

Claim: Prop 200 Passage Could Lead to Cuts in Domestic-Abuse
Services

It’s challenging to keep up with the overabundance of information we
are asked to sift through on a daily basis. Sometimes, life feels like
one big game of Whack-a-Mole. The consequence of this nonstop barrage
and the need to focus on multiple concerns at the same time: Critical
decisions, with long-term, far-reaching consequences, are made before
our brains can even catch up. I fear this is the case with Proposition
200 (“Cost of Crime,” Oct. 1).

Prop 200 is an unfunded mandate to increase the number of safety
officers and first responders in our community. As the CEO of a
domestic-abuse agency, I can tell you how deeply grateful we are to
public-safety officers and first responders. Few agencies understand
more about the challenges facing our courageous police officers as they
respond to the thousands of domestic-abuse disputes each year. The
health and well-being of our community rests on the shoulders of our
police officers and first responders; they’re essential to our agency
to carry out our mission of providing opportunities to create, sustain
and celebrate a life free from abuse.

Here’s the quandary: In order to fulfill this mandate, which
permanently changes our city charter, critical funding that goes toward
domestic abuse, homelessness, hunger and after-school services would
probably be eliminated. There is just not enough money to cover this
unfunded mandate and continue to fund essential services that our
community requires for the citizens less fortunate.

All propositions are complicated, cumbersome and often loaded with
benefits and consequences, and they are all packaged in a three-digit
number with a quick tag line. The tag line for Prop 200, the “Public
Safety First Initiative,” looks wise on the surface.

Who wouldn’t like to see an increase in police and first responders?
But this price may be too high. It is essential that we understand this
is an unfunded mandate.

Each funding stream represents beds in Emerge! shelters and the
individuals needed to answer our 20,000 crisis calls each year. Rarely
in our community does a day go by when there isn’t a news story about
domestic abuse, and far too often, a domestic-abuse fatality. The
funding at risk represents lives.

What will the police do with the hundreds of people they direct to
our shelters each year if domestic-violence funding is eliminated
because of the unfunded Prop 200 mandate?

In the interest of slowing down the Whack-a-Mole” game that many of
us experience, I ask that we stop and consider the potential unintended
consequences of Prop 200 on the ballot.

Community resources are intricately woven together to meet the
complex needs of our community. It takes all of us.

Sarah Jones

CEO, Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse

If Tucsonans Pass Prop 200, All County Residents Will
Pay

On Nov. 3, voters in Tucson will decide the fate of Proposition 200—the Public Safety First Initiative.

Why should residents in Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita, Green Valley
care about this initiative? The proposition mandates that the city of
Tucson maintain certain staffing levels and response times for police
and fire departments. The proposition contains absolutely no funding to
meet these requirements.

No one can reasonably oppose the idea of increased or improved
public safety. That is not the question here. Rather, people should be
focusing on the additional costs that would be imposed on county
residents.

Very simply, the prosecution, defense and incarceration costs of
increased felony law enforcement can only be funded through an increase
in the county’s property tax. Or, to put it another way, we would need
to build more courtrooms, holding facilities, jails and administrative
facilities—all of which are county responsibilities.

The county administrator has estimated a property-tax increase of
8.2 percent (without eliminating any county services) would be needed.
This tax increase would be applied countywide—not just to
residents in Tucson.

Would you have voters decide on the number of soldiers, sailors and
airmen that the U.S. Armed Forces might need? Or, closer still, should
Arizona voters decide how many National Guardsmen are needed to protect
our state? Those decisions are best left to our elected leaders, as
flawed as they may sometimes be.

Bob Kovitz

Member, City of Tucson Parks and Recreation
Commission

Clarifying Remarks Regarding Compounds in Our Water

I enjoyed reading “Thirsty for Rocket Fuel?” (Currents, Oct. 1)
overall. However, there is one important clarification that is not
trivial.

Some compounds from pharmaceuticals and personal-care products, such
as ibuprofen, are probably not a concern because of the very large
volume of water one needs to ingest before receiving a single dose as
recommended on the label. Conversely, many pharmaceuticals (e.g., birth
control drugs or therapeutic hormones) are precisely those compounds
that are of concern, because they do interfere with normal hormone
function. In addition, there is insufficient data to conclude much yet
about how chronic low-dosage exposure to multiple pharmaceuticals may
(or may not) give rise to synergistic effects.

Jon Chorover Professor of environmental chemistry, UA Department
of Soil, Water and Environmental Science

Corrections

Due to incorrect information from a source, several listings in our
Pride section (Oct. 8) contained errors. For “Coffee Tawk,” the correct
contact is 624-1779. For “Senior Pride Planning Meeting,” the group
meets the second Tuesday of each month at Himmel Branch, Pima County
Public Library, 1035 N. Treat Ave. Call 624-1779 for info. For
“Wingspan Seniors Care Steering Committee Meeting,” the meeting occurs
from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., the third Wednesday of each month.

Due to an editing error, in “Yet More Evidence of the Obnoxiousness
of the French” (Mailbag, Oct. 8), several words were incorrect.
“Comment dit—or” should have read “Comment dit-on”; “numero un”
should have read “numéro un”; and “l’Academié
Française” should have read “l’Académie
Française.”

We apologize for the mistakes.

This article appears in Oct 15-21, 2009.