Local opinion: As a chef, I rely on good roads

The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

People usually know me as a chef. They know BOCA on 4th Avenue. They might know me from Top Chef Portland or from cooking on Food Network and Telemundo Internacional. When I travel, I get to talk about Tucson’s food, our creativity, and why this place matters. I’m proud to put Tucson and our region on the national stage.

But most people don’t think about this: None of that works without strong infrastructure.

I live in Oro Valley, and my restaurant is in the City of Tucson. My life and my livelihood stretch across the entire region, and that’s how most of us experience Pima County. We don’t see it by municipal boundaries. We think about how easily we can get where we need to go. As a local restaurateur with a destination restaurant, I rely on good roads to bring customers to BOCA. Safe, well-maintained roads make it possible for people from across the region to visit and enjoy all that Greater Tucson has to offer.

I also have a teenage son who drives all over. Like every parent, I worry about his safety every time he pulls onto the road. I think about congestion and whether our streets are designed for the reality of how people move today, not how they moved decades ago.

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At BOCA, transportation is deeply personal. About a third of my employees take the bus, a third drive, and a third ride their bikes. That means the transportation system has to work for everyone, not just cars, not just one neighborhood, not just transit, and not just one city.

When roads are unsafe, when transit is unreliable, or when bike routes are incomplete, it doesn’t just slow people down. It affects whether someone gets to work on time, whether they get home safely, and whether a small business can operate smoothly.

That’s why I am supporting Propositions 418 and 419. These measures start with a simple idea: we’re a region, and we should plan like one. They look at transportation the way people actually use it — across city lines, across communities, and across modes of travel. A regional approach means smarter planning, faster project delivery, and better use of state and federal funding.

As a business owner, I know that strong infrastructure supports workers and customers. As a parent, I know it affects safety and peace of mind. And as someone who represents Tucson beyond our borders, I know that how we move says a lot about who we are.

If we want Greater Tucson to keep thriving and earning national attention for the right reasons, we have to stay connected. Propositions 418 and 419 will help us do that without raising our taxes.