Tucson Weekly: The Skinny (June 3

Skinny DIRTY WORK: Councilman José Ibarra got popped last week after he asked police officers to review any visits to the home of Republican Ray Castillo, a 62-year-old insurance salesman who is challenging Ibarra in the Ward 1 race. Castillo served one term on the Council from 1969 to 1973.
It was a clumsy move for Ibarra, who could have just had a campaign worker do the dirty work of requesting public records. Now his botched opposition research operation has backfired, leaving Castillo holding a card he can play to embarrass Ibarra until Election Day.
Ibarra admits he made a mistake, but denies breaking any laws. He's been cleared of any illegal activity by city attorneys and City Manager Luis Guiterrez, who rebuffed a request by Republican Councilman Fred Ronstadt to ship the investigation to the County Attorney's Office. Ronstadt reported Ibarra's action after the two taunted one another during breaks at last week's council meeting.
Ibarra and Ronstadt have sparred on numerous issues over the last year. Rontadt encouraged Castillo to get into the race, and his wife Pam is the manager of Castillo's campaign.
Ibarra's tactics so appalled Eddie Goldbaum Rios that he pulled a candidate packet to challenge Ibarra in the September 7 Democratic primary. A native who was on the training track for city manager before choosing a career in education, Rios says he's angered by the council's failure to create good jobs, as well as lingering needs on the westside for better parks, streets and policing. Rios is alternatively bemused and angered by the constant repeat of issues like the proposed Rio Nuevo development.
Ibarra won't have to call his police buddies to check up on Rios, a Desert View High School teacher and former City Council aide. He could use a spyglass from the westside council office on West Alameda, where Rios and his fine family live. In fact, Ibarra probably won't have to snoop on Rios at all, since he likely won't be able to make a run this year. Rios is caring for his ailing mother.
A 1972 graduate of Cholla High School, Rios has been a tireless worker and shining example at Desert View. He volunteers many nights and weekends for students, particularly Hispanics who are studying photography.
MC-CASH-IN: Molly McKasson, the leading Democratic candidate for mayor, has won an important early test of raising the threshold 300 contributions of at least $10 from city residents to make the initial qualification for matching city funds. McKasson reeled in 325 contributions for a total of $22,679, according to the Statement of Eligibility her crew filed with the city on May 28. McKasson has spent $8,180.
An audit of the campaign finance reports by outside certified public accountants must be completed before the city cuts a check.
Former Democratic mayor and ex-councilman Tom Volgy gave McKasson $100. Eighteen people, including Molly's mother, Betty McKasson, made $300 contributions.
Candidates who use matching city funds agree to limit overall spending to $150,170 this year--meaning a candidate could receive up to $75,085 from the city campaign account. Nearly all of the money comes from taxpayers. The cap for primary spending is $112,627.
Candidates for council seats must qualify with 200 contributions of $10 or more. Council candidates are eligible for up to $37,542 in city matching funds.
KIRK TO QUIT? Republican James Lee Kirk has held the Pima County Treasurer's post for 32 years. In his prime, Kirk liked to quip that he was the lowest form of political life: a Republican tax collector in a Democratic county. He never really drew serious opposition, because as he pointed out, anybody strong enough to knock him off usually opted to try for a better job.
That period in local political history is coming to an end. Term limits have unleashed a whole batch of state legislators hungry to increase their pension bases. Expect to see several try for county offices next year.
Kirk's lengthy tenure has probably become a handicap and he's finally vulnerable for being a part of the recent Pima County financial crisis. It was Kirk's office that allowed Pima County to borrow restricted funds from schools and fire districts to cover the massive deficit. Kirk's involvement in this fiasco isn't clear, but it's enough to stimulate some candidacies for the office.
One of those already in the hunt is Ken Marcus, who ran a respectable race for county supervisor in the 1998 GOP primary against Ray Carroll. Marcus is currently head of the Pima County Taxpayer's Association and would be considerably more pro-active than Kirk on openly discussing revenue matters. But don't expect him to be the only entrant.
In the meantime, we expect Kirk to finally hang it up on one of the longest political careers in Pima County history, going back to his tenure on the Tucson City Council in the late 1950s.
TORTOLITA TORT: The plucky Town of Tortolita fights another round in court on June 8. The Arizona Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on Tortolita's lawsuit against Oro Valley's attempted annexations of chunks of land in the heart of the fledgling township.
Tortolita lost the first round on this case in front of Pima County Superior Court Judge Chuck Sabalos, who apparently prematurely determined that Tortolita, along with Casas Adobes, would be disincorporated shortly by the higher courts. They weren't, leaving a slight problem: thanks to Sabalos' decision, Oro Valley has been allowed to annex territory in an existing town.
The Appellate Court had refused to grant Tortolita an injunction against Oro Valley's occupation of the contested turf, based on the grounds that no irreparable harm would come from it pending the final disposition of the case. Well, irreparable harm is close. Oro Valley has not only claimed the right to have cops patrol the area, but is poised to grant rezonings to out-of-town developers. The bulldozers are just awaiting the court's decision to begin the clearcutting.
Should Tortolita win this one, Oro Valley will face one more problem: the Town Council will have to figure out how to pay back a federal police grant for more than $600,000 they got based on the annexed turf.
THE NEXT BATTLEGROUND: Little Pinal County, our quiet neighbor to the north, is suddenly heating up. As growth restrictions tighten here in Pima County, raising the cost of development, it's no surprise to find the stuccodollars fleeing to greener pastures.
But the Growth Lobby now has a fight on its hands. Last week, Pinal County Citizens for Sustainable Growth delivered roughly 7,800 petition signatures opposing the recent decision by the Pinal County Board of Supervisors to rezone 3,000 acres for Rancho Coronado in Oracle. Developers hope to build 200 to 300 new homes a year.
Unless, of course, the citizens of Pinal County have a chance to vote on it. The group needed 2,800 signatures to put the rezoning on the ballot--the first referendum in Pinal County history. Of course, we expect the developers and Pinal County officials to do their damnedest to find a technicality to deny people their chance to vote.
On the same day the petitions were delivered, the morning daily told us about Pinal County's plan to build a 400-acre lake for recreational purposes, filled with CAP water. This monstrosity would lose a billion gallons of CAP water annually to evaporation and seepage so Pinal County residents will have a place to jet-ski.
Meanwhile, here in Tucson, we're being urged to cut our showers short and stop watering our plants--evidently, so there'll be plenty of water for lakes and golf courses and farms.

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