The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Mayor Regina Romero and Councilman Lane Santa Cruz are credited with getting “Black Lives Matter” painted on Stone Avenue downtown, but the story does not end there. What followed was a spate of wild accusations and a violation of law that has yet to be remedied.
Some weeks after the BLM mural hit the street, a Tucson organization called Back the Blue decided to ask that a thin blue line be painted on a city street by the police station to show support and appreciation for the Tucson Police Department. President Tim Cesolini sought help from City Councilwoman Nikki Lee, who helped with the application process contacting Tucson Department of Transportation and City Manager Michael Ortega. Ortega reviewed the application and approved it.
News of the permit reached Mayor Romero, who tweeted, “Requests from white supremacists have no place on our City streets,” and, “I unequivocally disavow this effort that serves to incite and divide our community, and minimizes the Black Lives Matter movement. This request should never have been approved and I am calling on the City Manager to immediately reverse his decision. All public art requests, especially those that use city resources, should be treated on a case-by-case basis and consider whether they reflect our City’s values. Requests coming from a known white supremacist sympathizer clearly do not pass this test. This is unacceptable.”
Shortly after the tweet went out, Mr. Cesolini was contacted by the city and told that his permit approval had been rescinded. It was he who Romero accused of being a white supremacist.
When asked by KOLD News for proof of her charge against Cesolini, Mayor Romero provided a 5-year-old post by Cesolini that included the words “If you can fly yours,” along with a photo of a man waving a gay pride flag in a parade and a a photo of a Confederate battle flag flying from the bed of a pickup truck. That was it.
It appears that Romero is willing to use cancel-culture techniques to deny an opportunity for expression to one group while happily providing that opportunity to a group of her fellow travelers.
Lee also caught flak for her involvement. In a written statement she said, “Unfortunately, in doing my job of being a responsive local government official and escalating constituent concerns/questions, I have been accused of supporting white supremacists and white supremacy organizations. I am disgusted at this allegation, and equally disgusted at the continued tactics at play to divide our community for the sole purpose of pushing political agendas forward.”
In response to requests by KOLD for comment, City Attorney Mike Rankin concluded a statement with “I advised the city manager that we should not consider or grant any permits authorizing people to paint or otherwise mark our streets (or a permit to close the street for that work) for the purpose of conveying a message, regardless of the content of the proposed message. Doing so would open up our streets as a public forum for this purpose, and ... that could quickly run out of control.”
Rankin’s legal opinion stated that, “the award or denial of a permit request could not be based on the content of the message or the identity of the applicant/speaker”; yet the mayor’s objections were based solely on the content and the identity of the applicant.
Romero’s action is illegal, according to the city’s lawyer, and is still in force over a month later. It is time to lawyer up.
