The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Whether you live in, work in, play in, learn in, worship in, or simply travel through Pima County, I believe you deserve better than you get from the county. I believe that a county that refused to budget for road maintenance for 20 years is failing us. I believe that District 1 deserves a county supervisor willing to call out the waste, and to invest hard work toward making fundamental improvements. I believe our county government evades accountability because it has grown too large and too powerful.
I am proudly a native of Pima County, a fiscal conservative, and a proven business leader. I look at the work of county supervisor as my duty to advocate for accountability, and as an opportunity to give back to our desert community.
But, realistically, it all comes down to this: My loving wife and I have made Marana our home, and we’ve welcomed an amazing son. We want him to find opportunity here in the years ahead, should he grow up to want to remain here. Those opportunities aren’t here now, and that’s because of the Pima County status quo, the go-along to get-along rubber stampers for the Chuck Huckelberry waste machine. They have actively driven out new opportunities. They have suppressed jobs, opportunities and wages. Even after more than 10 years, they suppressed our recovery from the 2008 recession, and you can find articles in this very newspaper speaking to that failed recovery.
Now we face a new challenge from the pandemic: The choice before voters in District 1 this year truly is to elect the person best equipped to support the long-term sustainability of our communities. I’m proud of my tremendously successful 15-year career with Starwood Hotels and Marriott International, including multiple “Most Valuable Peer” awards and multiple “Gold Star” awards for excellence. I’ve proven my ability to lead (and I can honestly say I’ve never been fired for failures in leadership).
I’ve proven that I can work with people even in an adversarial environment. I’ve proven my analytical abilities and my management of budgets and contracts. I’ve proven my capacity for high levels of guest service. Now I offer these powerful skills to Pima County.
I want to push the county to fix our roads with the resources we already should be using for our roads, not to pawn off that basic county responsibility. I want to recover safely but swiftly from the pandemic to come back stronger than we were before, not to mire the county in another decadelong slump. I want to work with the full spectrum of neighbors in District 1 to find common ground, not to assume that faceless voter registration numbers somehow describe what our neighbors need and desire.
As supervisor, I will focus on improving our roads and our infrastructure. I will fight the county’s perennial waste and failed crony deals. I will work to support a safe and swift recovery. I will represent you well. And I will be most grateful for your vote.
