Tucson Weekly: The Skinny (June 12

Skinny GRAND OLD PARTY POOPERS: Several local GOP leaders are already griping about the selection of Ray Carroll to replace the late John Even on the Pima County Board of Supervisors. Kathy Dunbar, GOP District 13 leader, accused the Democrats on the board of cheating District 4 voters out of Even's "legacy" by not selecting either Even's widow Brenda or his former aide, Barbara Huffstetler. Dunbar called for a change in state law to allow the party's precinct committee-people to fill vacancies instead of the Board of Supes.
Hang on. How does anybody leave a "legacy" of anything after less than four months in office? What was the "legacy" of presidents William Henry Harrison and James Garfield?
Get real. Even won the GOP primary by avoiding almost every issue and simply proving conclusively that he had a three-digit IQ, putting him ahead of incumbent Republican Paul Marsh. He won the general in a landslide because he ran in a safely Republican district against a delusional Democrat with no campaign.
As to the participation of the precinct committee members, we would remind GOP types that Supervisor Sharon Bronson asked the Pima County Republican Party for its choice early in the process. The group never made one, because too many Republicans wanted the job for them to meet and make a decision. So we're supposed to change the law to give a choice to people totally unable to come up with one when invited?
The real reason for the whining from certain GOP "leaders" is that they don't have a clue who Ray Carroll is. We suggest between now and next year they find out. Meanwhile, they oughta quit bitching about a process they refused to participate in.
WHEELS OF FORTUNE: While some members of the Republican establishment have already begun to plot against him, our newest Pima County Supervisor is already trying to endear himself to his constituents. Ray Carroll rejected a new Ford Taurus county staff was preparing for him and instead got the keys to an old pick-up truck from the motor pool. It's a great old political principle--never drive a car better than most of your constituents drive.
The other Republican on the Board, Mikey "The Flaky Waffleman" Boyd, broke yet another pre-election promise by picking up another county car. You may remember that Mikey grabbed himself some favorable ink a couple years back when he turned in his county wheels and drove his own car. That didn't last past the November election--we're told Mr. Phony-Baloney will be driving one of those nice Taurus sedans.
COMMITTEE CONFUSION: The City of Tucson has long maintained a citizen's budget advisory committee, which has become a useful tool in making budget allocations and served a watchdog function by enabling a group outside city government to keep an eye on where tax dollars go. Appointed by the mayor and council, the committee has been a boon in helping elected officials gather information and set priorities.
Pima County decided to install a similar group several years ago. When County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry brought forward his massive $694 million budget and advocated either a sales tax or an increased property tax rate to pay for it, some folks wondered where the citizen's committee was in the budget process.
Answer: nowhere. There wasn't any citizen's committee appointed. Only two supes--the late John Even and Sharon Bronson, the two new kids on the block--ever appointed a member! Supes Raul Grijalva, Dan Eckstrom and Mike Boyd, meanwhile, neglected to appoint anyone to a committee they created.
So the supes have held a big three days worth of meetings to discover what Huckelberry wants to do with close to $700 million. Maybe they--and we--could have used a little help.
CHIPPING AWAY AT THE CHARTER: District 14 Republicans unanimously passed a resolution opposing Pima County's upcoming charter government proposal, joining the Green Valley Republican Club as groups opposed to the county's mini-constitution. We expect several other GOP organizations to follow suit, building pressure on the Pima County Republican Party to do something almost totally alien to its nature--take a stand on an issue.
Several leading Democrats also think charter government is a bad idea, but they've yet to publicly declare themselves against it. The decision on the proposed charter will be made in the middle of summer by a very small number of voters--one of the first of the many flaws in a very flawed process.
WELCOME BACK, MAMMY YOKUM: She's baaaaack--Ora Harn, who saw her hopes of higher office melt away after she got her butt whipped in the District 10 state House race, has once again landed the mayor's seat up in Marana. Even though she got the fewest votes of any winner in the last council race, the Dogpatch Town Council voted to install Harn in the top spot.
Harn's rise coincides with Marana's recent bid to annex the Foothills Mall. Proving the adage that government can no longer afford its citizens, Marana's proposed land grab would also take in a minimum of single-family homes and a whole bunch of apartments.
Obviously, Marana officials want the revenue generated by the shopping center without the corresponding responsibility to the surrounding people who pay the bulk of those sales taxes Dogpatch officials want pouring into their corrupt coffers.
It's no coincidence the planned annexation, which would almost double Marana's current population of about 5,000, would mostly swallow a stretch of apartments on Ina Road. Apartment dwellers are easier to deal with than ordinary home-owners, because most apartment dwellers, unlike home-owners, have little interest in local government.
Just another scheme from the putrid sore of the northwest.
The annexation drive brings Dogpatch up against a group that has recently announced a plan to form a new "contract city," dubbed Casas Adobes. The group planning the northwest incorporation hopes state tax dollars earmarked for municipalities, likely combined with sales tax dollars from the recovering mall, would create enough revenue to allow Casas Adobes to contract out services. At the same time, they'd be protected them from the surrounding land-hungry communities of Marana, Oro Valley and Tucson.
Hey, staying out of Dogpatch is motivation enough for any sane person.
The annexation fever is growing--we've also been told residents in the area between Marana and Oro Valley north of Lambert Lane may try to incorporate in a defensive move to keep everybody else out. That would go far toward slowing growth in the area, and perhaps preserve a little more of that open space voters just said they were for in the recent bond election.
These plans aren't sitting well with the Tucson City Council, which recently voted to challenge the constitutionality of the new law--passed in the final hours of the last legislative session--that allows communities to incorporate against the borders of established cities.
Watch this story twist and bend in the months to come.
CONGRATS ON THE NEW GIG: Brian Mathie, for many years a co-owner of Jeff's Classical Records, has begun a new career as a part-time classical DJ on KUAT-FM. Mathie was looking for work after he decided to pull the plug on the 20-year-old classic emporium.
All of his friends and customers will be delighted to know that he's still around and doing a job he loves. And KUAT listeners will be happy to have a knowledgable and articulate voice.

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