The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writers.
As two women who have joined many other Tucsonans advocating for equitable opportunity and representation — for women, people of color, and LGBTQ people — we urge voters to vote yes on Proposition 409. After two decades, it’s time to raise the salaries paid to our mayor and City Council members.
Current salary levels, $42,000 for mayor and $24,000 for City Council members, make it virtually impossible to recruit qualified, competent candidates who truly reflect the beautiful diversity of Tucson.
We know that we will get what we pay for. Right now, we have been lucky that the caliber of the mayor and members of the City Council are not what we are paying for. We want engagement. We want expertise. We want excellence. We want availability. We want them to come to our community and neighborhood events. We want them to represent us to the state and federal governments. We want them to manage a nearly $1.5 billion budget. We want them to manage over 4,500 employees. We want them to be available for just over 500,000 Tucsonans. We want quite a lot. The question is: are we willing to pay for it?
We support Proposition 409 to pay a more reasonable, competitive salary to our elected officials because:
- • The current salaries for these highly specialized, highly skilled jobs virtually require the people who take them to work for less than minimum wage. At the current level, we, the voters, are entitled to approximately 40 hours per week from the mayor and 30 hours per week from a City Council member if we pay them $15 per hour.
- The current salaries nearly ensure that we have an opportunity to elect only those who are independently wealthy enough to do this job as a hobby, have a spouse or partner who makes significantly more money or who are retired and receiving benefits.
- The current salaries generally require our elected officials to hold a “second job” to make ends meet. Yet, most of these “second jobs” are not available to our elected officials because of conflicts of interest (any employer with dealings involving the city are likely ruled out) or scheduling conflicts that arise given the time demands tied to adequately serving Tucsonans.
We know representation matters. We know bringing diverse voices, perspectives and experiences to the table where decisions are being made that impact us all matters. Our entire city will be richer for it! All it takes from us, the voters, is the willingness to invest in the people who step forward to serve! We encourage all city of Tucson voters to say yes to Prop. 409. Let’s fulfill our vision of a City Council and mayor who reflect and represent us in our full and beautiful diversity, with competence, dedication and excellence by making the choice to pay for what we want. Vote yes on Prop. 409!
