The Tucson City Council wants to mount a court challenge to stop the new law that redically changes how council elections are held in Tucson. This is the same council that made no attempt to prevent the law from becoming law. The excuses as found in the Arizona Daily Star, Sunday August 3, 2009, are:
“Romero said the city was busy balancing its budget in the past several months and didn’t know about the vote on the bill until the day it occurred. In addition, Romero said the city’s opposition wouldn’t have made a difference.”“Councilwoman Karin Uhlich also said the city was busy balancing its budget,…”
What incredibly lame excuses! Remember, this is the same council that has turned Tucson into a laughingstock due to Rio Nuevo.
These people actually oppose non-partisan elections and will use tax money to fight to overturn the new law. Let’s recap:
- These are the same people who wasted millions on Rio Nuevo.
- They felt it was more important to fund social programs than to fully fund the TPD.
- They promised to rid the city of the water admin fee to get elected and did not get rid of the fee.
While the degree of responsibility does not fall squarely on all the council members, the council as a whole has not fairly represented all of the city. The Southeast, mostly Ward IV, has been allowed to languish. Shirley Scott—Ward IV, perhaps should not be lumped with the other five Democrats on the council, because she has operated in a somewhat non-partisan manner. Yes Tucson has six council members and all are democrats. While there are areas of the city with heavy republican voter registration, Tucson still has disproportionate representation of six democrats running the City Council.
It is important to question why each ward cannot elect a representative of its own choosing. In elections around the country, congressional districts vote for their representative and no other. In the State Legislature the vote is for your representative and no other. In presidential elections we use the electoral system to determine how our state wants to be represented.
As for city elections, what party must you be to provide adequate public safety and to fill pot holes? What is wrong with being non-partisan and for each ward to send its reprepresentative to the Council? The last time this method of ward voting was put before the electorate was in 1993—16 years ago and well before the Rio Nuevo debacle.
