You would think the Pima County bond election is a simple yes or no issue.
There are campaigns urging you to vote all โYesโ or all โNoโ on the seven ballot propositions. Groups like the Tucson Association of Realtors, Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the local Democratic Party have endorsed yes votes, as did the Starโs editorial page.
But the beauty of the bond issues is that you can vote yes and no. Maybe the Pima County supervisors grouped the projects into separate ballot issues out of respect for the wisdom of county voters. Or maybe it was to ensure that at least some of the bond projects get done without risking them all failing.
Either way, weโre left with options, and I plan to use them. So let me be the first to form a โYes and No on Pima County Bondsโ campaign and offer a more complicated set of endorsements. Youโll find important projects and questionable ones in each ballot-issue, but youโre going to have to choose yes or no seven times. This is the way Iโm leaning.
Prop. 425: Road and Highway Improvements โ $200 million
This is probably the easiest vote of the bunch. Most of the money, $160 million, would go to road repair and pavement preservation all around the county. Financing road repair this way is not the best way to pay for it, but itโs the option weโve got right now.
The $30 million Sonoran Corridor is also the kind of infrastructure improvement that businesses should hope for from local governments. It would connect I-19 and I-10 south of the Tucson International Airport, linking the area where Raytheon Missile Systems operates to the UA Tech Park.
Leaning: YES
Prop. 426: Economic Development, Libraries and Workforce Training โ $91 million
This may be the hardest vote of the bunch for me. In the old days, when I was a business reporter and editor at the Star, I was often told of the tremendous value of incubators and public-private partnerships for the local economy. In short, I havenโt seen it.
Since the bulk of the money in this question, $35 million, would go to a UA Tech Park lab building in Tucson and an incubator in Oro Valley, Iโm casting a skeptical eye on the project. Thatโs even though I favor another expensive item, the $18 million Regional Orientation Center that would anchor tourist destinations on the west side of the Santa Cruz River.
Leaning: NO
Prop. 427: Tourism Promotion โ $99 million
Tourism in Tucson lagged in recent years, so Iโm innately attracted to the idea of trying to revive it. Still, many of the projects listed in this ballot issue strike me as โnice-to-haves,โ as Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller likes to put it. The Canoa Ranch New Museum/Orientation Center and Improvements would cost $10 million, but itโs a classic nice-to-have.
Then thereโs this one: $25 million for the renovation of the Old Pima County Courthouse and creation of a Jan. 8 Memorial. The courthouse is empty now because its functions were moved to a new building, and it is potent for use as a museum. One plan has long been to house the Tucson Museum of Artโs collection called Art of the American West in the building. This is not spelled out in the bond issue, so it is not guaranteed, but it is the plan, and itโs a powerful one.
Leaning: YES
Prop. 428: Parks and Recreation โ $192 million
This is the second biggest of the seven ballot issues, so if you are desperate for the countyโs taxpayers not to take on more debt, this is one where you could vote no.
It includes about $30 million in upgrades at the county-owned Kino Sports Complex, including $25 million toward a new soccer tournament venue.
The problem is that most of the rest of the spending is on parks projects spread around the county, so voting no will eliminate the immediate possibility of projects like a $5 million upgrade to Joaquin Murrieta Park or the $3 million renovation of the pool at Ora Mae Harn Park in Marana. Those projects matter a lot to the areas where we all live.
Leaning: YES
Prop. 429: Public Health, Welfare, Safety and Housing โ $105 million
This proposition is the grab-bag of Pima County bond issues. The biggest item is the $25 million Neighborhood Reinvestment Program, which lets stressed neighborhoods put money toward typically small local problems, like sidewalks or streetlights.
It also includes $20 million for the county affordable housing program and $18 million toward an expansion of Banner-University Medical Center South (the former Kino Hospital).
One of my personal pet priorities is also covered in this one โ $12 million toward pedestrian and sidewalk improvements. But for me, too much of the money in this question is slated toward nebulous programs.
Leaning: NO
Prop. 430: Natural Area Conservation and Historic Preservation โ $112 million
This ballot question would be more properly labeled โopen space land acquisition,โ because $95 million of the total goes toward such purchases. In large measure, how you vote depends on how you feel about continuing the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, passed by voters in 2001 to protect wildlife and hem in Tucsonโs sprawl.
Buying these lands would allow the county to pursue an Endangered Species Act permit, allowing for development in other lands because these open-space lands have been protected and offer wildlife habitat. Still, Iโve long been uncomfortable with Pima Countyโs status as a massive and growing land baron.
Leaning: NO
Prop 431: Flood Control and Drainage โ $17 million
This is the smallest price tag of any of the bond issues and the hardest for lay people to understand or question.
Therefore, considering the small amount at play and the fatigue that going through ballot issues induces, Iโm leaving it to the flood-control experts on this one.
Leaning: YES
