VOTE BY AUGUST 1

IF YOU HAVE NOT MAILED YOUR BALLOT BY NOW FOR THE AUGUST 1ST DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY, THEN DELIVER IT OR FILL OUT THE BALLOT IN PERSON.

For more details, including how to vote in person on or before Election Day, check the City Elections “Find A Polling Place” HERE.

You can hand deliver your ballot to any of the city’s designated locations. * Dept. of Housing at 310 N. Commerce Park Loop
* El Pueblo Neighborhood Center at 101 W. Irvington
* The Donna Liggins (NW) Center at 2160 N. 6th Avenue

* Pima County Recorder Downtown Office at 240 N. Stone Avenue
* Pima County Recorder Elections Dept. at 6550 S. Country Club Road ===================================

PLEASE BE SURE TO VOTE FOR MIGUEL ORTEGA FOR WARD 1 ===================================

Primary Election notice: WE’VE WON!

YES, I know, the election isn’t until next Tuesday, so how can I claim that we have already won? Am I a clairvoyant? Do I have a slate of phony electors to substitute the real ones with? (Yeah, I know we don’t do that). Well, how dare I say we have already won? Allow me to explain…

It was just a few short months ago that some of us neighborhood and community activists were bewailing what looked like a free run of no opposition for council member Lane Santa Cruz (LSC). Thank whatever deity, Miguel Ortega stepped forward and we could not have found anyone more fit for the job, but at the time we were desperate to find ANYONE who would at least put their name on the ballot just so there would be some type — any type — of opposition. That is what democracy is supposed to be about: the competition between different ideas on how to run things, presented to the voters for their

1 of 13

choice. Who likes a one party state or having only one candidate to vote for? Yet in spite of a terrible performance in office, it seemed like LSC would get a free ride, thereby encouraging her lack of accountability and responsiveness, the very features everyone seemed to be complaining most about. A free ride could only make things worse. (“See! Everyone LOVES ME!”). Ugh.

Such apathy seemed inconceivable to me at the time. How could no one care about her legendary lack effort in constituent services (except if you need a bike fixed). LSC has alienated whole swaths of people with her highly unpopular moves: from ignoring the concerns of south-side residents near La Cholla/36th and the dangerous traffic fiasco created on So. 12th Avenue to infuriating west- side residents in trying to amputate El Rio from Ward 1 with her redistricting shenanigans. The there was her “Defund the Police” vote in opposition to the Tucson Police Budget — promoting collective punishment on the entire department because of a few bad incidents. Even her fellow council members

know that her endemic lack of response to constituent calls for assistance have forced many to contact the other council offices to get some help. As one constituent noted to us:

“After trying over and over again to get a call back from Lane without any success, I finally tried a new

tactic: I showed up at one of her stupid bike riding promotion events and finally got to talk with her, if only very briefly. That is the only way I have found to be able to reach her.”

Recently however (and not coincidently during campaign season)— her office has been bragging about all the phone calls they are now making — we assume to make up for the nearly four years of ignoring everyone. I was told someone who has been trying to reach her for a year just recently got their call back! That is a VICTORY of sorts, ¿qué no? LSC is at least play-acting like she cares, now that she realizes that people are having a choice to dump her on the August 1st.

Pot holes that went unfilled for years on our south and west sides are starting to be fixed. The historic El Rio Neighborhood Center, which has been left in total disrepair and decomposition for years is now getting a massive make over. LSC even started a phony “Participatory Budget” show to supposedly allow residents a say in the budget process — while prohibiting people (like me) from seeing public records of her own office’s expenditures (in violation of State law). LSC is even pretending that she should be given credit for projected improvements at Joaquin Murrieta Park (like people are too dumb to know they actually voted for the bonds to improve it, and she deserves no credit).

  

“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.”

— Carl Jung

 

2 of 13

All of these recent attempts by LSC and the Ward 1 staff to finally begin to do their job — things that should have been done for the past 4 years — can be attributable to one cause: THE CAMPAIGN OF MIGUEL ORTEGA. One can only speculate how many of those phone calls would never have been returned and how many potholes would not be fixed if she had no opposition. “Power concedes nothing without a demand.” said Fredrick Douglas, and it is the Ortega campaign that has demanded accountability and we are, finally, getting a little bit of responsiveness. SO THIS IS THE FIRST GREAT VICTORY — LSC AND HER STAFF HAVE FINALLY STARTED TO GET TO WORK.

The second great victory we have achieved in this campaign is the exposure of the inherently corrupt political structure in the City of Tucson. This includes our rotten election laws, which promote the proliferation of “dark” money from outside political action committees along with a lazy and compliant press. Whether it be the “Clean Elections” scam (which should be known as the “Incumbent Protection Act”) or the City Attorney’s utter lack of enforcement of campaign rules for LSC’s benefit, the system is wracked with corruption on behalf of those in power. I mean really, have you ever seen so many ads everywhere — mailings, newspaper postings, even YouTube ads — for a simple city council primary race? This nonsense is supplemented by a media of sycophants too afraid to challenge the powers-that-be for fear of losing their access to power or loss of revenue for the flood of campaign ads besmirching their pages.

If you look at the flood of propaganda pieces being sent out in support of LSC, you will see how many of them (almost all) are being sent by outside Political Action Committees (PACs): there is the notorious Mijente PAC (where LSC sent 12 people on an expense-paid trip to Philly) and the mis-named “Working Families Party” PAC from the East Coast, along with LUCHA PAC from Phoenix, and who knows who else might show up before the end. All of these out of town PAC’s are flooding LSC’s campaign coffers with money and resources which, frankly, should raise the rankles of every self-respecting Tucsonan. Maybe it will, we will know soon enough.

Yet all the local press seems obsessed with is a PAC called the Arizona Prosperity Initiative that put ONE hit piece out on LSC highlighting her votes against the police budget. Supposedly this PAC is tied to some Trump/Kari Lake promoter, which proves the Ortega campaign is directed by

fascists, no? Sick stuff.

   

“Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.”

— George Bernard Shaw

3 of 13

Doesn’t anyone (other than me) find it ironic that this McCarthite tactic against Miguel is being used by the same people from Regina Romero’s last campaign who had an outright and a prominent GOP/Trump operative as HER CO-CHAIR FOR HER MAYORAL CAMPAIGN! There was no outrage from our local media moguls, no clutching of their bleeding hearts, about a Trumpite running a Tucson Mayoral campaign. But some right-winger with no connection to Ortega gets the media’s knickers in a twist which has them shamelessly implying a totally unsubstantiated guilt by association. (There IS no guilt, because there is no association.) What blatant hypocrisy.

I received a call from a reporter who wanted to know if I had any ties with this right wing “Prosperity” PAC because their mailer had a photo of the Mijente party in Philly saying “spending your taxpayer dollars on vacations!” The reporter found it curious that only we at BOG NEWS had exposed the junket and only the righty PAC had picked it up. I explained that Bog News goes out to hundreds of people so I don’t know who ends up with it or how, but agreed that I TOO FOUND IT CURIOUS THE PRESS HAS NOT PICKED UP ON THE MIJENTE DEAL (!), especially as the

documentation was provided to all of them.

(I don’t think the reporter got my point).
There has been no follow-up since it was suggested that the money listed in the Ward 1 budget was from a “grant.” Nobody has ever seen this “grant” and I presume none of the press asked for it. We still don’t know the 12 lucky LSC supporters who got an expense paid trip to Philly to party.

The lies emanating from the LSC camp is also quite revealing. In the latest hit- piece claims — with the endorsement of the Mijente, Lucha, WFP, and Planned Parenthood — that Miguel “refuses to answer whether he supports abortion rights.” Yet all the press (or anyone else) has to do to refute this is to go on the Ortega web site (ortegaforcouncil.com) and read his public position on the issue:

“I believe in easy access to contraception and abortion, and I believe overturning Roe was wrong. I will make sure we do everything in the City’s power to protect reproductive rights.”

Sounds like a pretty clear answer to me. I have been a financial supporter of Planned Parenthood for many decades, but no more. If two candidates are running with the same position on reproductive rights and PP favors one over the other, they better explain. As far as I know, gender is the only difference between the candidates on the abortion issue. I have the organization for an

“Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything, That’s how the light gets in.”

— Leonard Cohen

4 of 13

explanation, and I am still waiting. Maybe I will get a response AFTER the election.

Of course, without an independent media acting as public watchdogs, these lies are spread by LSC and her PACs without any challenge or refutation. The hit piece even used the Arizona Daily Star for distortion, putting in quotes an attack on Miguel about being “nasty and divisive” and attributing it to the “Arizona Daily Star of July 2” — thereby giving the impression that this was an editorial by the Star rather than what it was: a nasty letter to the editor by one of LSC’s cronies. Yet the Star remains silent on all of this crap, even when they are used like a tool.

This collusion between the press and the politicos would probably not have been so obviously exposed to the public if not for the Ortega campaign. Those who wanted to give the Arizona Daily Star or the Tucson Sentinel the benefit of the doubt that they would be objective have now learned from direct experience what “manufacturing consent” is all about. Does anyone remember when “The Skinny” in the Tucson Weekly used to kick ass on a regular basis? Most contemporary reporters now are milquetoast wallflowers afraid of writing something that might annoy someone, somewhere. Many of my liberal friends who used to be so enamored by these local media rags now see for themselves what dupes to power these boujee bootlickers have become.

SO PEOPLE WAKING UP TO REALITY OF A WORTHLESS LOCAL PRESS IS ANOTHER GREAT VICTORY to which we can thank Miguel Ortega.

But even with the establishment’s full-court press to favor the incumbent, some truth has squeaked through the cracks. For example, our illustrious Boss Tweed-like Mayor (look it up) has decided to enter the Primary fray by publicly declaring she knows that Miguel’s heart is full of “hate.” Again, no one in the media has taken notice: the Mayor of Tucson has accused a fellow

Democrat, one that she may have to serve with on the city council, of having a heart full of HATE. Wow.
This is not something that happens every day, even in whacked-out Arizona. But she can vomit forth such tripe seemingly without question by any reporter.

Like the lies spread by LSC that Miguel is anti-choice, this description of a “hateful” Miguel would be laughable to those who know him if it was not so sickening. But we must give credit to the one good quote afforded him by Jim

“One story everyone can safely cover is how much we hate each other. There’s no institutional or commercial taboo that story violates.”

― Matt Taibbi, from “Hate, Inc.”

5 of 13

Nintzel in the Sentinel, HERE where we can see the validity of this “hate” claim directed against Miguel by Her “Honor”:

“I have a grocery list of reasons why I’m running against Lane. And none of those reasons are based on hatred for Lane,” Ortega tells Nintzel…
“In fact, I’ve often said that I like Lane very much. If it wasn’t for the stark differences that we have in policy, I would be campaigning for her.”

—Miguel Ortega

Does this sound like a real toxic right-wing anti-abortion trash-talking misogynistic macho figure bursting with pure hate against this innocent brown woman they are trying to convince the voter he is? In fact, while Lane (and her outside PACs) have flooded the mail demanding: “Miguel, leave the trash talk where it belongs!” no one can cite one friggin’ example of him trash-talking against Lane (or anyone else). Why does the press not hold public candidates for office accountable for these lies and slanders? (Answer: because they want to promote the slanders).

Similarly, LSC and her stooges have been busy claiming that the delay in the financial reporting by the Ortega campaign proves there is corruption and dark forces that they are trying to hide from the public. WTF? The Ortega campaign doesn’t have over $100,000 like they do to hire people to run the campaign. We have volunteers who are sweating blood and operating on a shoe-string budget to get the message out. One of those unpaid (and under-appreciated) persons tasked to do the financial reports got sick (with his whole family) when the report was due — on top of a full time job to deal with. It is not some big criminal conspiracy to send in the report late, and the report has since been filed and can be found HERE. Read it yourself.

Does the report show that the delay in reporting was due to Ortega hiding all the “dark” money contributions, as slanderously asserted by city crony Karen Uhlich and chief Menlo Park gentrifier and former
Regina aide Mac Hudson?

The exact opposite is true; a review of the report
shows no “dark money” — just the opposite: that the
Ortega campaign actually SENT BACK donations
from developers, something LSC has refused to do (“they are my friends” she says). Again, where is the press on this? The financial facts obviously don’t match the false narrative Duh Machine has tried to sell to the voting public.

   

“I can’t believe what you say because I see what you do.”

– James Baldwin

6 of 13

Also, if you are looking at the financial statements, look at all the money LSC spent for for printing other campaign stuff paid to companies from outside of Tucson — (Chicago and Berkeley) instead of a local union shop like The Gloo Factory. Very progressive of them. Very supportive of local business they claim to love. They probably aren’t even union shops.

Finally, the Ortega for Council campaign has been victorious in BRINGING TOGETHER A DIVERSITY OF PEOPLE who are working tirelessly for a cause bigger than themselves and their own self interest. Young and old, male and female, straight and gay, brown and white, in the Ward and out (but mostly in) we have all formed a bond and maintained our integrity in the face of Duh Machine with a war chest many times larger along with a mean vindictive streak against anyone who dares to question them. Some of our best supporters will not use their name or go public with their support in fear of what Duh Machine will do to them. Thankfully, we have seen the unification and solidarity of people who may have had conflicts with each other in the past, have even been political opponents (we love you Sami!), but who have all come together for a common cause: to elect a council person who serves the community first.

When all is said and done, the final financial reporting will probably show that the Ortega campaign was outspent 10 to 1, but as the fight against TEP Proposition has shown, money doesn’t always decide everything. Sometimes people see through the hype and actually vote for real change.

The strength of Miguel Ortega is that he
understands that, while he may be the “head
figure” of the campaign, the effort is part of a
broader movement bigger than just the
promotion of one individual. The Ortega
campaign didn’t plaster the candidate’s face in
a narcissistic attempt to promote image over content (do they think we’re so dumb to believe we’re voting for Frida Kahlo?). He hasn’t trash talked — but they certainly have.

The Ward 1 movement formed around Ortega demands fairness: in redistricting, in the equal distribution of resources for everyone in the ward, in dealing respectfully with people no matter their race or origins or gender, in short: a movement that treats everyone — car drivers and bike riders, west-siders and south-siders— with equal respect.

I think our progressive coalition could possibly win this election in spite of everything thrown against us, but I also believe we have already won quite a bit.

  

“It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.”

— Leo Tolstoy

7 of 13

Whatever happens, everyone (including Bog readers) are welcome to our “Victory” Party on election day August 1st, starting at 7 pm at Mariscos Chihuahua in Barrio Hollywood (although some of us may start drinking earlier!). Come and share a toast with us and share with us on WHAT WE HAVE ALREADY WON! Hopefully, our victory will also include the election of a new council member in Ward 1.

A final thought from Chris Hedges:

“Perhaps in our lifetimes we will not succeed. Perhaps things will only get worse. But this does not invalidate our efforts. Rebellion — which is different from revolution because it is perpetual alienation from power rather than the replacement of one power system with another — should be our natural state.”============================================================

PUBLIC SERVICE NOTE: OPEN MIC FRIDAY, AUG. 4TH!

The Barrio Hollywood Open Mic will continue, without, alas, the man who made it all happen: Ray Armstrong. In his memory we will try to keep his vision alive. Hollywood Open Mics will be on the First Friday of each month, the next one being August 4th at the historic Trini Alvarez El Rio Golf Course at 1400 W. Speedway starting a 6 PM.

Our theme for the month will be THE BLUES, in honor of International Blues Music Day, and the fine folks at El Rio Golf are making up a special menu (rumor has it that it includes pulled pork and other goodies!).

PLEASE SUPPORT BARRIO HOLLYWOOD, EL RIO, AND THE BLUES!============================================================

 

“In politics stupidity is not a handicap.”

— Napoleon Bonaparte

LETTERS! The following are (great) Letters to the Editor of the Az Daily Star:
8 of 13

Another election year, and the westside Joaquín Murietta Park is again “discovered” by City officials. In 1970, hundreds of westside residents fought to create Joaquín Murietta Park so that our kids would have somewhere to play and swim and families could gather. As Western Little League parents and officials in the 1980s-1990s, we worked with many parents to make sure our park and swimming pool were maintained. We helped develop a Joaquín Murietta Master Plan.

Last election cycle, the Ward One Council office trotted out the Joaquín Murietta Master Plan. Once the election was over, Murietta Park was tossed aside. Another election year, and again, Murietta Park is “discovered.” The disrepair of Murietta Park is disgraceful. The beautiful green space of yesteryear is today a neglected brown space. A tree is growing in the long-shuttered swimming pool! We urge Ward One residents to vote for Miguel Ortega for City Council – he listens to and respects the people whose taxes sustain the City.

Salomón R. Baldenegro and Cecilia Cruz

I am an avid golfer and my favorite course has always been Trini Alvarez El Rio Golf Course. I was very happy (as were many others) when west-side residents protested the city’s plan to sell off El Rio to private developers. The local activists joined in solidarity with the golfers and we scuttled the plan (hoping the city learned their lesson).

However in a political act of retribution against those who preserved the treasured green space, council member Lane Santa Cruz attempted to redistrict the El Rio precinct out of Ward 1, clearly trying to carve up and divide the unity of west-side barrios as punishment for their successful efforts on behalf of all those who favor green space and recreational opportunities over the destruction of such.

Ward 1 deserves a council member who doesn’t divide, but listens. For this reason I encourage every west and south side voter to vote for (D)Miguel Ortega happening now.

— Jim Duffy Westside

I was relieved to read Regina Romero’s newsletter on what went wrong with the 36th St and La Cholla housing plans. In legalese, she admitted: The city put the cart before the horse. There were NO zoning meetings or hearings; just meetings about the layout for the subdivision!? Governance without representation is not a NIMBY stance; it is unconstitutional. Westside residents spent many City Council meetings watching final zoning hearings while we were denied the whole process. Why? Because the city used ‘Flexible Lot Development (FLD)’ to sleaze past what the city now acknowledges as a ‘Major Change of Condition’. What a sweet deal to kiss developers into Tucson to fill housing needs!

Thanks to Steve Kozachik and Kevin Dahl, who listened and voted with us, we were able to curve ball around FLD. Now YOUR Neighborhood doesn’t have to fight to rezone for cluster housing!! Lane Santa Cruz and Romero supported the developer. Please vote for Miguel Ortega.

Martha Lynne Southwest side

Lane Santa Cruz has suggested that those who opposed the change of annexation at 36th/La Cholla represent a “loud minority.” In 2005, 800 neighbors successfully opposed a 225 housing development here. Jose Ibarra, supported constituents and called for the City to establish a fund to preserve open space—land catty corner was being preserved. In 2020, June-November, dedicated Westside neighbors collected 476 signatures from our richly diverse neighborhood. 472 people opposed removal of annexation and dense-packed development. 31 people wrote emails expressing opposition. These were sent to M&C 11/20/20 with documents outlining opposition reasons: the Tumamoc Area Plan, traffic, environment. On 2/8/2022 M&C (save two) voted to remove the annexation promising verbally to preserve some open space and include 14 units affordable housing: units now gone. LSC disrespects the people who worked long hours to make sure their neighbors’ views were heard. Vote for Miguel Ortega who respects community neighborhood activism.

Yvonne Reineke West side

9 of 13

Last year, Council Member Lane Santa Cruz approved TEP’s proposal to build an electric substation in flood and erosion zones in Ward 1, which could put at least eight westside neighborhoods at risk of power outages in the event of a flood. As a Certified Floodplain Manager, I and over a dozen other floodplain professionals know this site is dangerous because it has been flooded many times. Unfortunately, Santa Cruz approved the plan without consulting experts. We had a meeting at Ward 1 in March 2023 (long after the approval) to express our safety concerns to Santa Cruz, who did not attend.

According to campaign finance reports, two months later Santa Cruz accepted the maximum legally allowable campaign donation from a TEP vice president.

Ward 1 deserves a representative who will listen to experts and prioritize public safety and neighborhood concerns over TEP’s profits. Miguel Ortega will listen to all his constituents and has pledged to not take money from TEP, which is why I support his campaign.

Steve Dolan Westside

Communication between the Ward 1 office and constituents is weak, in my experience. When the news broke about the City Council voting to convey 10 acres near downtown to the Tohono O’odham, I had many questions as I would with any developer. My letter to my council person, Lane Santa Cruz, included questions about what type of development might be under consideration (housing, a hotel, a casino?), what zoning would be applied and would nearby residents have a say in the decision-making.

The reply was tardy and ignored my questions. I received a tutorial on the historical injustices toward Indigenous Peoples. I replied that although I haven’t been here for centuries — and I am aware of the host of injustices wrongly placed on tribal members — I was born at St. Mary’s Hospital and have been a property owner in Barrio Hollywood for 45 years.

My questions should have been answered. I voted for Lane Santa Cruz once, but in the August Democratic Primary, I will vote for Miguel Ortega.

Debbie Collazo Barrio Hollywood

As a Tucson Native, neighborhood activist for over 30 years and Ward lll resident since 1968 I would like to ask you to consider giving your support to Miguel Ortega for Ward l councilperson.

I had the pleasure of working with Miguel when he was a Ward lll council aide. Miguel helped our neighborhood navigate issues with his calm, caring manner. He was always responsive to our questions, willing to help find the answers in a timely manner.

You can learn more about the issues Miguel is concerned about in the June 25th Newsletter of Tucson Crime Free Coalition. It is an article from the Arizona Republic featuring interviews of our primary candidates. It is a very informative article about most of the candidates in the Tucson primary. Unfortunately Mayor Romero and Councilperson Santa Cruz did not respond to the questions.

Please take time to read all of the candidates statements. They are telling and we must be an informed electorate for the health of our city.

Jane Evans Northside

I received our esteemed Representative Grijalva’s endorsement for the Tucson City Council Ward One incumbent. Not so much surprised, but disappointed that Grijalva would be unaware of the lack of leadership, interest and involvement the incumbent, Lane Santa Cruz has shown for her Ward One constituency during her first and hopefully last term. Raul Grijalva has built a sterling reputation in our community from his days on the TUSD Board, as a Pima County Supervisor and for the last several years as southern Arizona’s Congressman.

However, Grijalva should sit this one out and not reward the incumbent with his endorsement. Especially, when it’s obvious that Miguel Ortega challenging Santa Cruz for the Council seat, brings the kind of commitment and passion that Raul Grijalva has shown for decades. I urge the Tucson Ward One voters to support Miguel Ortega and bring back true representation and leadership to the south and west sides.

Jerry Anderson
Downtown
(Former city council member from Ward 3)

10 of 13

As a neighborhood advocate for over 30 years and a resident of Ward 3 for longer than that, I have seen a multitude of people running for local office and have worked to help a few of them get elected. I am supporting Miguel Ortega for the Ward 1 City Council seat because he has proven that he cares about the integrity of the barrios, about building up our less advantaged neighbors and organizing residents so that they can have input into the decisions that impact them where they live. He does not belittle those who do not agree with him. Instead, he listens to people, he is open to new ideas and above all, he knows how to get a job done. I have seen none of those qualities in the incumbent who has had three years in office and very little to show for it. Miguel Ortega was a darn good council aide in Ward 3 for 5 years and when he resigned from his position it was when the office was doing some of its best work with constituents. Unlike his Ward 1 opponent, Miguel believes that decisions affecting residents need to be open and above board. Miguel will be a uniter, not a divider, and he will be a full-time council member, who responds to constituents’ concerns while being respectful of all constituents, other council members and City staff. Vote for change, vote Miguel Ortega

Bonnie Poulos Midtown

As a citizen of Ward 1 I was excited to vote for Santa Cruz and Romero in 2019, but cannot support either of them today because:

1. 1)  the City broke its annexation promise to this area at 36th/La Cholla;
2. 2)  2) the Tucson water rate increases that charge less to commercial and more to residential customers (even though Phoenix charges all customers at the same rate);
3. 3)  3) the many years requesting a bus line that runs down La Cholla and Greasewood to connect the west side with PCC and St Mary’s medical center (just to get to St Mary’s Rd by bus you have to travel east of I-10 to 6th Ave then travel north);
4. 4)  4) approval of TEP’s Cottonwood substation along an unstable area of the Santa Cruz River bank and
5. 5)  5) the lack of response or acknowledgement from the Ward 1 and Mayor offices to email or phone messages. I am supporting Miguel Ortega because we deserve better representation for all residents.Abreeza Zegeer Westside

July 12 writer stated in the Star that we should read “an article from The Arizona Republic featuring interviews of our primary candidates,” to learn more about the issues Miguel Ortega is concerned about.

Hmmm? So, Tucsonans should be learning about our LOCAL candidates from the Phoenix newspaper, rather than seeing their responses to well thought-out questions posed by our LOCAL newspaper, The Arizona Daily Star? The Star did an excellent job laying out specific questions, tied to issues of interest to LOCAL Tucson residents (rather than Phoenix concerns). This IS the LOCAL Ward 1 seat that they are campaigning for. That writer added, “Unfortunately Mayor Romero and Councilperson Santa Cruz did not respond to the questions” posed by the Phoenix questionnaire, while ignoring that they were both very direct and specific in their responses to the LOCAL questionnaire, although her preferred candidate was not as direct in his. Incidentally, I reside in Ward 1, the other writer resides in Ward 3.

John Roldan

I had to laugh at the mailer in support of Lane Santa Cruz that I received. Referring to her opponent in the Ward 1 Democratic primary race, it blares in large type, all caps, “Miguel, Leave the Trash Talk Where it Belongs.”

Whoever concocted that hasn’t seen the video recently released of Lane Santa Cruz confronting Tucson Police in 2020 as they tried to manage a volatile crowd situation. Her language was worse than trash talk. This was a city council member talking to police who were having rocks and water bottles thrown at them.

Miguel Ortega is the best candidate in Ward 1. He will bring people together, not alienate them.

Debbie Collazo West side

11 of 13

Note from a reader:
About Lane’s “trash talk mailer” against Miguel:

As I’ve understood it in the past, independent expenditure campaigns cannot coordinate with a candidate’s campaign.

The “trash talk” mailer included that it was “Paid for by the WFP National PAC (www.workingfamilles.org). Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.”

This would lead one to believe it’s an independent expenditure.

The address from which it was sent — 734 W Polk St in Phoenix — is the same as that listed for the registered agent of Mijente, Marisa Franco.

Mijente PAC is running several aspects of Lane’s campaign.

WHO IS MARISA FRANCO?

Inquiring minds would want to know, but unfortunately there are no such minds in the Tucson media world. But WE know who she is… (and we ain’t sayin’).

 

Finally: a Letter to the Editor that the Daily Star REFUSED TO PRINT (from your Bog Man):

I concur with other Ward 1 voters who have expressed disappointment with council member Lane Santa Cruz.

In spite of her promotion of “participatory budgeting” I have made numerous requests to see the Ward 1 budget which included the payment of over $15,000 of taxpayer dollars for roundtrip airline tickets and individual hotel rooms at the Sheraton Philadelphia for twelve people to attend a festival
to “explore multi-media experiences featuring trending Latinz initiatives, dance, or peruse the feria” and “whatever feels right to you!”

Sponsored by an organization called “Mijente” they are a Political Action Committee “supporting Lane by making a contribution to Mijente PAC today.”

Arizona Law [Title 39] requires that these records

“shall be open to inspection by any person at all times during office hours.” but no response seems to be standard practice at Ward 1.

We can change to a more responsive city council in the Primary Election if voters check the name of Miguel Ortega and mail in their ballots by August 1. Please do so!

Scott D. Egan Barrio Hollywood

  

MIGUEL: WIN LOSE OR DRAW: THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS STANDING WITH US!

EL RIO BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE!

12 of 13

… AND THANK YOU STEVE K — let us hope you will no longer be the lone voice of reason at City Hall!

“Local government is your first and most direct touch with public services. If we don’t answer our phone or respond to your email, your options for getting answers are reduced to you trying to navigate a huge and largely unresponsive bureaucracy on your own. I am supporting Miguel Ortega for the Ward 1 city council seat because I have seen his constituent service work during his time as chief of staff in the Ward 3 council office, and I know he gets it.

Constituent services takes numerous forms. Yes, it’s helping you address issues such as accessing city services. And yet it’s also representing your interests on macro-scale issues such as rezonings, preserving your quality of life and standing strong in the face of challenges from institutional threats that may be counter to your interests.

During the rezoning of the Benedictine Monastery, I took action that ended with the preservation of that iconic structure in perpetuity, even at the threat of prolonged litigation. During the proposed rezoning of 6th Street and Campbell I joined with neighbors saying “no” to a proposed redevelopment. We said “come back and talk when you’ve got a reasonable proposal.” One year later we’re back at the table trying to find that proposal with the development team.

On a similar note I know Miguel Ortega would have stood firmly in opposition to the proposed development of La Cholla and 36th Street. He would not have given up the open space, treated constituents dismissively, and walked away from commitments made at the time the area was annexed. And he certainly would not have followed giving into the rezoning by now taking money from the development team. I know we share the value of forcing the hard community engagement that may have ended with a “no, come back when you have a reasonable proposal.” That’s not what ward 1 residents got.

During the runup to the proposed TEP franchise agreement vote I was the only member of the mayor and city council who openly opposed the deal. For west side residents it proposed using your money for the next 10 years to promote the aesthetics of other parts of the city and scattering crumbs of dollars onto undefined climate work — with no guarantee that even that would end up in your neighborhood. The voters saw through what the rest of the mayor and council supported and voted Prop 412 down. In contrast, Miguel Ortega had the courage and integrity to write his own editorial in opposition to Prop 412. I have invited TEP back to the negotiating table. A table that next time will include members from the community. That’s a value I know I share with Miguel.

When it comes to defending values and joining forces with constituents Miguel has shown by his actions he will hear you. When others proposed closing Manzo Elementary School, Miguel was there to oppose that action. It was 2012 and I worked alongside Miguel and others to preserve not only Manzo but also Sewell Elementary school in Ward 6. While 11 schools were closed, because our advocacy TUSD spared Manzo and Sewell. When others wanted to sell off El Rio golf course, Miguel and his team came out in opposition. I was there openly voicing that same opposition. The proposed sale to Grand Canyon College was eventually stopped and instead upgrades to Joaquin Murrietta Park were funded. I know our teamwork would have preserved 36th and La Cholla until an appropriate development was agreed on — with community involvement. And we just demonstrated that we can effectively push back against the large local utility until an appropriate proposal is ready to go to the voters.

The ballots will be mailed out July 5th. The primary election for the Ward 1 seat will decide who wins in November. Do not sit out the primary. Vote for your seat at the table, vote for your voice in the conversation, vote for excellent constituent services, vote for responsible use of your tax dollars, and vote for somebody who has a track record of standing up to institutional challenges to your values. Vote for somebody who will represent you, and who has a history of doing exactly that.

I would appreciate you joining me in supporting Miguel Ortega by casting your ballot for him as the new Ward 1 city council representative.”

Steve Kozachik, Ward 6 City Council Member

 

13 of 13