Issues

Why challenge the incumbent Supervisor?

Some politicians ARE good at talking . . . but have they gotten the job done?

Supervisor Bronson’s latest mailer proclaims that she is "working hard to get the job done."  She cites her accomplishments as:.

1.  "To ensure that our neighborhoods are safe."
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department crime statistics show no decrease in crime 1995-2007. On average, each year in Pima County there were 13,528 Part I crimes (major crimes, including 22 homicides/year), and 20,232 Part II crimes [ see a graph].

2.  "To conserve our natural resources from runaway urban sprawl."
She has voted to up-zone more than 8000 acres. That's an area equal to Stone to Wilmot and Grant to Broadway! (Development Services Rezoning Records).
She did NOT sign on the resolution to oppose the Rosemont mine the first two times it was presented.
She allowed staff to lobby the Army Corp of Engineers to delist the Santa Cruz River as a navigable river - thus weakening the Clean Water Act as it applies to Pima County.
[Nogales International article August 22 2008]

3.  "To bring good jobs to Pima County that pay decent wages."
Yet unemployment in Pima County when she was elected 12 years ago was 3%
Now unemployment in Pima County (July 2008) is 4.9%
[ Statistics from Pima Association of Governments].

One job left undone was to fill her appointments to the citizens’ Budget Advisory Committee. That committee has never met for lack of a quorum.  An important vehicle for citizen input has been denied. [ Pima Clerk of the Board: Boards and Commissions]

The County Administrator testified that Supervisor Bronson had “no input” into the decision to deny the Democratic Party public records relating to how our votes are counted.  [But see Tucson Weekly article, August 28 2008] The Democratic Party, at its biennial county convention unanimously passed a resolution asking her to cooperate with her own party.  She refused and allowed the County Administrator to exercise her responsibility for her.  Her “hard work” here occurred out of sight of voters and Democrats.

Study sessions are hard work.  They are opportunities for the Supervisors to study, discuss and analyze data provided by county staff in order to cast intelligent votes.  Yet, Pima County Supervisors have only met three times in the last 12 years to study the issues. (10/22/2002, 4/27/2004, and 2/22/2005)  During the six years Supervisor Bronson was Chair, she could surely have called together these study sessions rather than simply accepting the direction of the County Administrator.

Maybe it's time she had a rest?