Campaign contributions become hot topic in Tucson City Council race

Opponents of Tucson City Council Member Lane Santa Cruz are pointing to campaign contributions they say represent “bad optics” for the incumbent candidate running for reelection on Tucson’s west side.

Santa Cruz received $500 — the maximum contribution allowed from an individual — from Keri Silvyn, an attorney specializing in zoning and land use with the law firm Lazarus & Silvyn. Another attorney at the firm, Rory Juneman, donated $250 to Santa Cruz’s campaign.

Silvyn is a familiar figure in Tucson who’s represented several developers throughout the region, including a development on the southwest side that changed zoning regulations in sparse Sonoran desert land to cluster more residences per acre.

Council Member Steve Kozachik and Miguel Ortega, one of Santa Cruz’s Democratic opponents in the race for the Ward 1 City Council seat this year, criticized the council member for taking the money.

Silvyn oversaw collaborative efforts between the city and developer Forestar Group Inc. for the controversial housing development near South La Cholla Boulevard and West 36th Street. City Council approved the development in February last year.

Santa Cruz said they engaged with neighbors about the development for more than a year and a half and helped reach compromises with the developer to leave about 70% of the area as open space while requiring some of the housing to become affordable units.

They said, “It’s laughable that I would sell my soul or I would be in somebody’s pocket for $500.”

The development, however, was met with pushback from neighbors who decried the loss of Sonoran Desert space and the redefining of an area that’s known for its open, rural nature. The new construction also overturned a promise the city made when it annexed the land more than 40 years ago that limited development to 36,000-square-foot lots. The new zoning allows housing in the development to be clustered into about 137 homes throughout about 60 acres.

Council Member Steve Kozachik, who voted against the rezoning, has endorsed Ortega, Santa Cruz’s opponent in the Ward 1 race. He wrote in an Op-Ed for the Star: “(Ortega) would not have given up the open space, treated constituents dismissively, and walked away from commitments made at the time the area was annexed. And he certainly would not have followed giving into the rezoning by now taking money from the development team.”

Kozachik later clarified in an interview that his Op-Ed comments weren’t “directed at Keri Silvyn and her team. The comment was directed at receiving money from somebody who was involved in a very controversial rezoning. The optics of doing that are bad.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

This election cycle, Silvyn has also maxed out $500 contributions to the reelection campaigns of Mayor Regina Romero and Council Members Paul Cunningham and Nikki Lee. Only Kozachik and Kevin Dahl voted against the development last year, but they’re not up for reelection this year.

Kozachik believes the “bad optics” don’t transfer over to the other recipients, as “They weren’t the ones who were directly involved in it,” he said.

Santa Cruz said those against the development represented a “loud minority” and their office “did our due diligence in hearing people out about their priorities.”

“Being in office, you have to make some hard decisions. But I certainly in no way benefit from having voted to support housing development in the city limits,” they said.

Ortega criticized the handling of the rezoning by Santa Cruz, who took the lead on community outreach for the development. In an interview with Democrats of Greater Tucson, he said the council member’s actions represent “probably the most controversial and the best example of why I feel that we need change in Ward 1.”

“The incumbent did not listen to the residents, removed that (zoning) condition and has been accepting the financial support of a team member who backed the development,” he said. “A lot of folks have been realizing this, and that has been the final straw for them in joining my campaign.”

Santa Cruz adamantly denies accepting donations from Silvyn was in bad faith. Rather, Santa Cruz said it was one of many contributions the candidate’s raised as the primary election nears on Aug. 1.

“I think it’s interesting to just focus on a very small segment of people contributing to my campaign when my opponent can’t show that level of support from folks in the community contributing to his candidacy,” Santa Cruz said.

As of the last campaign finance report listing contributions received through April 29, Ortega has raised $4,700 while Santa Cruz has raised $13,971.