Sen. Sinema
losing support
Sen. Sinema, I will never ever support you again. I will actively support any alternative in the next Democrat primary.
You apparently live in a fantasy world in which Republicans are capable of compromise or governing. They have repeatedly shown themselves to be anti-democratic. Yet you will not consider modification to the Senate filibuster rule to ensure the right to vote for all Americans and protect our fragile democracy.
What happened to the conscience of the 16 current Republican senators who the last time voted for the Voting Rights Act and currently remain in the Senate?
The slim Republican majorities in many state legislatures, such as Arizona, rule by simple majority and do not compromise with their Democrat colleagues since no filibuster rule exists at the state level.
Your stubbornness on the issue of holding dear to the filibuster, which was used historically to block civil rights legislation by southern Democrats, is simply illogical.
Michael Hamant, MD
East side
Annexation promises?
Re: the Nov. 22, 2020 article “Proposed 170-home project on west side drawing critics.”
Twenty-two plus months and counting. On the southwest corner of West 36th Street and South La Cholla Boulevard (60 acres) we neighbors have been fighting to retain our current zoning condition of 36,000 square feet minimum parcel size promised at annexation in 1979. There have been several meetings and many high-density Flexible Lot Development (FLD) site plans proposed — even a “possibility” of part of the 60 acres being preserved as a desert park. This area has large lots, mostly single-story homes, and border’s natural areas of Kennedy and Tucson Mountain parks. The meetings have included carefully designed questions that do not address the core issue: The annexation promise. Some impacts of this proposed FLD to the surrounding neighbors include a wall of densely packed two-story “heat island” dwellings, increased street congestion, more downstream flooding, and destruction of more than 1,000 saguaros and 1,500 Pale Verde trees.
What will the Mayor and Council’s decision on Feb. 8 mean for future annexations and their conditional promises?
Abreeza Zegeer
West side
I have heard this story before
Re: the Jan. 16 article “Funding Tucson’s transportation future.”
Reading Mayor Romero’s op-ed regarding the RTA reminded me of growing up and working in the Seattle-King County area watching the region struggle with regional issues, especially the pollution of Lake Washington. Cities and sewer districts were discharging effluent directly into the lake, making it unsafe to swim.
Leaders responded with a Federation of Governments (called Metro) made up of cities, sewer districts and the county to clean up the lake. New treatment plants were built and the lake was soon swimmable again. After this success, Metro assumed additional responsibilities and the Metro Council grew to 42 members who gradually began raising equity issues and creating dissension.
In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that governing boards where members did not represent equal populations violated the “one person, one vote” requirement of the U.S. Constitution. Metro did not comply, was dissolved and its responsibilities were assumed by King County. Metro was a success whose time had passed.
I wonder if the RTA is on the same path.
Michael Mulcahy
Northeast side
Cameras in classrooms
Re: the Jan. 11 article “Ducey explains state of the state.”
As a retired teacher, I have a suggestion that would not cost anything and would be better than cameras in classrooms, as one of our legislators has proposed. Instead of watching video streaming classrooms from afar, those parents could better spend their time by volunteering to help in their children’s classrooms. They could be there in person, not just to observe, but to act as a teacher aide. I believe that many teachers would appreciate the help in their overcrowded classes. I know that I would have. Furthermore, hearing that so many schools are finding a lack of substitutes, perhaps each legislator could find a day a month to sub in their local schools. That would give them an on-site view of what is really being taught and what is really happening in our underfunded schools.
Vicky Konecky
East side
Voting rights
I think Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s willingness to shoot down Democrats’ efforts to secure voting rights for all Americans while turning a blind eye to Republicans’ gerrymandering and rigging voting in their favor indicates she’s on the same page as Donald Trump, Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar and Sen. Mitch McConnell. If she can’t see that, she’s living in a fantasy world; if she can see it, but doesn’t care, Democrats are living in one by voting for her.
Jim Dreis
East side
Courage of senators
No one can deny that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s recent action to not modify the filibuster rule is an act of political courage. It takes courage to go against your party, and the majority of your constituents, to speak out about what you think is right. The question as I see it is: will any other senator show the same courage? Are all 50 Republican senators against voting rights; do all really believe that the election was “stolen” and that there is wide-spread voter fraud? Are the Jan. 6 “demonstrators” really patriots? Is pandering to your party more important than upholding your oath to protect and defend the Constitution? Time will tell.
Ronald Nowicki
Green Valley
Ward 1 forcing high-density housing in our neighborhood
Have you felt railroaded at a public meeting on a new Flexible Lot Development (FLD) project that doesn’t belong in your neighborhood? We recently attended the public meeting Councilwoman Lane Santa Cruz hosted, before it comes to a vote of Mayor and Council on Feb. 8. We were told we could only make comments on this project that day and at the Mayor and Council meeting Jan. 11. But we were discouraged at this meeting from making comments with “And what’s your question for the facilitator?” We were told our neighborhood had already had plenty of time; it was the developer’s time. Then our Councilperson told us we didn’t represent the ethnic mix (80% Hispanic)...we weren’t who she wanted to hear from.
We Tucsonans have a common problem. FLD descends on settled neighborhoods with housing that is unfriendly to the community. Please support us with a call to your councilperson and we will do the same for you. Tell them NO to the permit C9-81-45C at West 36th Street and South La Cholla Boulevard.
Marta Lynne
West side
Sinema, get rid of the filibuster
I am disheartened to learn of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s refusal to support President Biden’s plan to change the filibuster. I believe the abuse of the filibuster by the Senate Republicans is a betrayal of the American people, who overwhelmingly support the president’s agenda. Sinema was elected as a Democrat in Arizona. Her failure to support the Democratic agenda flies in the face of your constituents who, like me, are anxious to see progress for our country. She has let me down. She has let Arizonans down. She has let her country down.
The people’s work will never get done as long as the filibuster exists as it does today. I urge Sen. Sinema to reverse her decision and support the president’s agenda. I proudly voted for her in 2018 but if she continues to block the progress of these initiatives, I will not vote for her again.
Diana Smith
Catalina
Sinema limited if not reelected
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema can’t serve her corporate donors if she’s not reelected. I think we all recognize and understand that Sinema is more responsive to her corporate donors than to her constituents.
Whether she believes that the corporate mega-donors’ economic views are best for the country or not, her preference is clear.
However, she will not be able to represent mega-donors’ interests if she is not re-elected. She will not be re-elected if she does not pass voting rights legislation.
The current filibuster rules, sadly, are broken. They allow a single person to have absolute veto power.
Requiring 30-40 objectors to be present is not an excessive burden.
Should Sinema continue her present course, her mega donors will suffer — and by default, she will, too.
Her future wealth and influence depend on your response.
David Brooke Hatfield
Oracle
