Tucson Weekly: The Skinny (December 17

Skinny CITY SLICKER: Last week, District 12 state Sen. Ann Day told the afternoon daily all about her proposed legislation that will supposedly make both annexation and incorporation more difficult. Well, a closer look at that legislation reveals it will really make incorporation all but impossible while leaving the annexation process the way it is.
Day's bill would retain the current criteria for incorporation by petition--signatures from 10 percent of the registered voters would be needed to call an election. And it reduces the number needed to incorporate by petition without an election. Under current law, if two-thirds of the registered voters sign a petition, the town is automatically formed. Day's bill would drop that number to 50 percent, a meaningless inclusion because she also adds two more provisions.
Day would require that in addition to the existing petitions from registered voters, two other groups must sign off at 50 percent--a majority of those who own property and a majority of those who own over 50 percent of the property in any area wishing to incorporate within six miles of an existing city or town. And even that it isn't good enough, because the existing town would then be given the option of attempting to annex the area under the same criteria.
City annexation czar John Jones complains that the new provisions that would make incorporation all but impossible would also make annexations impossible for the same area.
According to an earlier court deposition, Jones has had a copy of Day's proposed bill for some time. In fact, he appears to be one of the few who does have a copy, since the bill has yet to be filed.
It's starting to smell like Day's bill is a simple attempt on behalf of the City of Tucson to destroy any further incorporation efforts. Wonder who the bill's real author is?
This empowerment of out-of-town property owners is precisely what's wrong with current annexation laws. Why are those who live elsewhere entitled to be part of the decision as to how the residents of a community are governed? Why are their rights so important? Why should they have any right to determine which town their property is in? Didn't we resolve this about 1776 when we told all the original out-of-town land owners to take a hike?
NO ARGUMENT: The City of Tucson's attorneys are presenting--to the media, not the courts--a new interpretation of incorporation law. They're maintaining that should Casas Adobes and Tortolita be successful in striking the 1961 law empowering existing cities to veto new towns within six miles of them, the struggling towns would still not legally exist. Because, according to this warped logic, if the 1961 law is stricken there would have been no way for them to have incorporated.
Huh? There was incorporation law present before 1961 that will still stand--that's how we got Phoenix and Tucson. And there have been many other towns--like Marana, Oro Valley and Sahuarita--incorporated since 1961. Are they saying these towns would be gone too?
No legal brief with this preposterous notion has yet been presented, but you can bet that it's the fall-back position to keep Casas Adobes and Tortolita in court even longer--at the expense of Tucson and other taxpayers--if those towns win their case to strike the 1961 law.
One interesting note. State Sen. Ann Day told the Tucson Citizen that she agrees with this as yet-to-be-presented legal opinion. Are you beginning to notice a trend?
OFFICE POLITICS: They're already moving around--well, at least thinking about it--for all those local Pima County offices up in the year 2000. GOP state Sen. Ann Day is making noises about running for the Board of Supervisors in District 1 for the seat now held by Republican Mike Boyd. Boyd is making noises about running for the open seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission, a job he thinks might even be a softer touch than the county supe seat he barely functions in. Plus the Corporation Commission pays a lot more.
Day will start out with a major carry-over of about 50 grand from her state Senate campaign fund, money garnered mainly from insurance and medical types as a reward for handling the state Senate Health Committee. Considering her shameful corporate lapdog voting record, she'll need it--and more.
Also mentioned in District 1 is retiring City Parks Director Jim Ronstadt, father of Tucson Councilman Fred Ronstadt. And Sally Slosser, who came close to knocking off Boyd in 1996, may try again, even though her attempt to incorporate Catalina Foothills failed miserably.
The rest of the Board is expected to run again, unless District 5 Demo Raul Grijalva gives up his seat to run for mayor of Tucson. Expect all but Demo Dan Eckstrom in District 2 to have at least some opposition, including Democrat Sharon Bronson in District 3, which is the most marginal seat, and recently re-elected Supervisor Ray Carroll in District 4, although he should be in good shape as long as he doesn't waffle on his commitment to oppose a half-cent county sales tax without a vote of the people.
There will be a passel of legislators term-limited out besides Day. One is Sen. Keith Bee in District 9, who may run for the House again just to stay employed. And both House members in all-GOP District 9, Bill McGibbon and Lou Ann Preble, will also be gone. Expect McGibbon to run for state Senate. Meanwhile, Jonathan Paton, who lost in a three-way GOP primary for the District 9 House seat, will probably be back for a second run for the open seats.
Only one incumbent is affected in all-Democratic Districts 10 and 11, state Sen. Victor Soltero. Expect one--or both--House members to attempt to move up.
Besides Day, state Rep. Dan Schottel's tenure is over in heavily GOP District 12 , and he may seek Day's seat. So may freshman GOP Rep. Steve Huffman.
Demo state Sen. George Cunningham in District 13 is rumored as a possible statewide opponent against Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl. Should Cunningham try it, Demo state Rep. Andy Nichols will no doubt go for promotion, and we expect that newly elected GOP state Rep. Kathleen Dunbar would at least consider it, although rumor has it she's already chickened out. District 14 Democratic Sen. Ruth Solomon would have one more term if she chooses not to run for Tucson mayor in 1999, as would state Rep. Marion Pickens. The other District 14 representative, Herschella Horton, is in her last term and would probably seek Solomon's seat if it's open.
The temptation for all these state legislators will be to seek one of those nice, juicy county line offices that begin paying $60,000 a year plus bennies in 2001. Assessor, recorder, treasurer, and school superintendent are up. Pima County's two longest-serving public officials, GOP School Supe Anita Lohr and Treasurer Jim Kirk, have both been around since 1968 and may hang it up after 32 years each. And while Democratic County Assessor Rick Lyons and County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez are expected to seek re-election, we expect that $60 grand and term limits on legislators to draw some opposition.
Only none of them can tell us until January 2000, because under the state's resign-to-run law, they all have to keep mum. It's a statute that, like all those other pointless reforms, has done so much to give us "better government."
NO SWEARING: Just when we thought the Tucson Unified School District could slip no further into absurdity, there came a plan last week to administer oaths of office to Carolyn Kemmeries and Rosalie Lopez, winners of the two Board seats that were up for grabs in the November 3 election.
Lopez wisely smelled a rat. She wondered why two new members would be sworn in on December 8, even though their terms don't begin until January 1. Moreover, the terms of the two outgoing members, Gloria Copeland and Brenda Even, don't expire until December 31.
How do you have seven members on a five-member Board? The pre-term swearing was scheduled to occur last Tuesday, just before the Board was to slip into executive session. Lopez also noted, correctly, that the little ceremony was not noticed on the Board agenda, so it would have resulted in a violation of the Open Meeting Law, because at least three of the members of the current Board would have been there.
But there were more questions, all of which TUSD legal bumblers and other staff answered with the usual "this is the way we always do it." A certificate of election, to be prepared and signed by Anita Lohr, Pima County superintendent of schools, was late--and, get this, blank. TUSD staff told Lopez and Kemmeries not to worry about those little details. Lopez pressed for more answers and stayed away when she got none. The certificate, by state law, must be returned to Lohr the same day as the election. No provision was made for this delivery.
Turns out the proposed swearing-in ceremony was primarily a show for Board President Joel Tracy Ireland, who bounded into TUSD headquarters and announced he was there to swear in "any candidate who wanted to avail themselves" to him.
Huh? Any candidate? Does that mean the Rev. Joel was going to swear in the seven losers in the November 3 election? A quirk in state law allows any Board member to swear in newly elected members. That may work, Ireland, for your little circle jerks with fellow Board member James Noel Christ and the rest of your buddies, but it doesn't play now. Lopez will be properly sworn in January 1 by a judge. Lopez did, even in this little TUSD-created fiasco, what those who voted for her expected. Not business as usual.
Meanwhile, Kemmeries ought to learn to take no lip from Ireland--someone who was nasty and unfair to her when she was a TUSD administrator.
STRIP TEASE: Tom Tomorrow, the political cartoonist who has graced these pages since 1992, might be making his television debut this weekend on Saturday Night Live. (We say "might" because Mr. Tomorrow tells us that "the word 'tentative' should really be emphasized--if the guest musician runs 15 seconds too long, I'm gonna get bumped. So let's all keep our fingers crossed.")
Seems Señor Mañana has been cooking up some animated shorts for SNL. (Although we concede that it's a small reward for spending a precious hour-and-a-half tuned into the sad sack of skits SNL has sunk to in these sorry years. We recommend taping the show and employing that fast-forward button.)
And, if you're still out there scrambling to finish your Christmas shopping, we'd remind you that Tom Tomorrow's latest collection of cartoons, Penguin Soup for the Soul, is now available in bookstores. The book joins previous Tom T. classics Greetings From This Modern World, Tune In Tomorrow and The Wrath of Sparky.

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