Phoenix Newspaper - Arizona Republic, Interviews TCFC, City Mayor and Council Candidates Answer Your Questions - Primary Election Wk 2 of 2
TCFC Newsletter June 25, 2023
The Phoenix Newspaper - The Arizona Republic, interviewed TCFC about Estevan Park in Barrio Anita
CLICK HERE to Read - "The removal of a Tucson homeless encampment leaves this community divided"
City of Tucson Mayor and Council Candidates Answer Questions from TCFC Members
Mayor Regina Romero (incumbent) and Ward 1 (incumbent) Lane Santa Cruz, are the only candidates that did not respond. All other candidates completed the questionnaire generated by our members.
TCFC leadership encourages our members to become knowledgeable on all candidates, and to support the ones they find best suited to lead our City. Campaigns are expensive, if TCFC members have the ability to make donations of time or money, please do so.
The Primary Election is on August 1st, 2023.
Click on Candidate Name to Read Responses:
MAYORAL CANDIDATES:
Regina Romero (Incumbent) - Democrat *Did Not Respond
Click Here: Ed Ackerley - Independent
Click Here: Janet Wittenbraker - Republican
Click Here: Arthur Kerschen - Libertarian
Ward 1
Lane Santa Cruz - (Incumbent) - Democrat *Did Not Respond
Click Here: Miguel Ortega - Democrat
Click Here: Victoria Lem - Republican
Ward 2
Click Here: Paul Cunningham (Incumbent) - Democrat
Click Here: Lisa Nutt - Democrat
Click Here: Ernie Shack - Republican
Click Here: Pendleton M Spicer - Libertarian
Ward 4
Click Here: Nikki Lee - (Incumbent) - Democrat
Click Here: Ross Kaplowitch - Republican
Seems like all the candidates are supportive of increasing salaries for police officers, fixing the homeless problem, and eliminating fentanyl from the city limits. Who wouldn’t be? Unfortunately, no one offered any specific solutions to these problems. I’ve been living in Pima County for 1 1/2 years as a refugee from Los Angeles County which at the time was a failing community and unfortunately still is. I do not want to see Tucson fail but it is following the same path as Los Angeles. Regarding the low morale of our police officers as evidenced by the City’s inability to recruit, salary is an issue but not the only one. Over the years, I’ve been associated with many Los Angeles County police departments, and many of my friends are officers from those agencies. “Defund the police” has a lot to do with with the problem and until the “City” realizes that the problem is not just simply salaries, the recruitment of qualified individuals for police officer positions will suffer. One thing that would help is for the Department to set clear standards on the use of force that are reasonable for both the officer and the citizen. I have never met an officer, and I have met hundreds from many agencies, that expressed to me that he would like to be involved in a shooting, that he hoped to be involved in a fight while on duty, or any other expression of hostility to the community. I’m am cerain that there are some wearing the badge that should be in some other line of work, but those are few and far between. This observation also extends to the armed citizen. Criminals should not be allowed to fire the first shot and the right of self defense/defense of others should be of parampunt importance. In addition, the failure to prosecute “broken windows” laws has led criminals to believe that they do not have to live within the norms set by the community. This is definately a problem in New York and Los Angeles, but it should cease to be a problem in Tucson.
As far as the drug problem goes, users should have access to voluntary treatment programs unless they are arrested for a (non-drug) crime. For those so arrested for a crime, they should be incarcerated in jail for a dry out period and then transferred to a secure setting rehab program. Bail for misdemeanors and low level felonies should become the norm and should take into account the number of past arrests, recent recidivism, past or present violence threatened or engaged in, previous bench warrants for failure to appear, and the overall attitude of the suspect. If pre-trial services or the prosecutor is not forwarding this information to the judges, the City’s court officer should provide a copy of a city initiated pre-trial investigation to the County Clerk when he files the case. This passing the buck, where no agency will accept responisiblity for providing the judges with the necessary information needed to make a bail determination, needs to end yesterday.
As far as the homeless problem is concerned, the City should read Martin vs. the City of Boise and Johnson v Grants Pass Oregon to understand what they can’t do, and then do what the city of Whittier, CA did which seems to be working the last time I looked. The city needs to utilize property it already owns or acquire such property, contract with a non-profit to manage the property and the people living there, and set the standards for remaining in the housing. Whittier also limited admittance to the city owned housing to those who could show a “nexus” to the city, e.g. born in Whittier, raised in Whittier, working in Whittier. Whittier claims they are saving money using this system through a reduction in the need for police services.
What would all this cost? I have no idea, but people running for public office should not only have an idea on what these programs would cost, but should also put forth an idea on how to fund them.
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