Tucson Sammy

It would appear that Councilman Nina Trasoff has really stepped in the cowpie this time. According to an article in the Red Star by Bob Odell, published on April 29, 2007 (here’s a link: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/180653.php ), Nina set up a complex real estate sale/lease deal that would have subsidized a downtown arts group to a six figure tune, with the potential of costing the City $1.2 million if things did not go well.

I wonder, considering the complexity of the deal, how firm a grip Nina had on this thing. I could be a case of “Staff Gone Wild!” either in the Ward, or the City Real Estate Department, or both. Either way, it belongs to her.

It’s interesting that the rest of the Council did not “circle the wagons” around one of their own – particularly a fellow Democratic. They also did not let the thing be removed from the agenda without discussion – something that they do for each other to avoid embarrassment, according to a friend of mine who served on the Council.

This does not bode well for her political future, particularly when she appears to be short on friends in high places, and her popular support is waning. Fortunately, her next election is 2009. There is plenty of time for people to forget this episode, and see her lovely smile on television – not to mention the coquettish charm she has in person.

In the movie “Carlito’s Way”, Al Pacino plays a former heroine dealer who is freed from prison on a technicality by his lawyer, Sean Penn – it is actually one of Penn’s best roles. Penn’s lawyer character also represents a mob figure, with whom he has been less than honest. Penn does a superb job of portraying his character’s descent from successful lawyer to a drug-crazed thug. At one point, Carlito (Al Pacino) is thinking out loud, and in reference to his lawyer friend he says, “You’re not a lawyer anymore, you’re a gangster now.”

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) plan and associated tax increase are coming up for a vote next month (click here for the website). An approximately thirty-five-member citizen advisory committee was formed. The committee included the usual suspects, plus the potential leaders of opposition groups; namely, Steve Farley (transit champion), and Carolyn Campbell (environmental champion). Unfortunately for the RTA, it did not include Ken O’Day, president of the Campbell Avenue Neighborhood Association.

Early on in the RTA “debates”, Steve took the lead in supporting the plan, while Ken took on the role of chief opponent. I went to an early one and watched Steve get frustrated at being challenged, and Ken get giddy when he thought he landed one on Steve. My fear was that these things would degenerate into a second rate “Steve and Kenny” drive time radio show. I was wrong. In a way, it’s worse.

I tuned in “Arizona Illustrated”, a locally produced television news magazine broadcast on the government network. The perennial host, Bill Buckmeister, had the Steve and Kenny Show on along with Jim Nintzel of the Tucson Weekly. Both Steve and Ken were dressed nicely (Steve looked quite dapper). Smiles slammed onto their faces as they were introduced in turn. As they spoke, their deliveries were polished, well modulated, and almost always positive. Even when Steve called Ken a liar – of course, he did not use that term, he did it with a smile. They were smooth, long-winded, very up beat and positive. Poor Jim could hardly get a question in edgewise. In every way, they were like two opposing candidates running for office.

Yikes!

Boys, you’re not activists anymore, you’re politicians now.

I’m afraid some of my worst fears are being realized. The first real business meeting of the new Tucson City Council met on December 13, 2005. Without going into great detail, I would like to offer some impressions.

We’re in the hands of the commies!!!….sorry…O.K….some deep breaths.

It would appear that the “progressive majority,” for which Nina Trasoff was hoping, is firmly in place. The meeting opened with a sort of high school skit (you know, a bunch of people take turns speaking while cheerleaders hold up signs on cue in the background) performed by the Pima County Interfaith Council (PCIC).

The PCIC, by the way, is a classic example of a leftist organization hiding behind the veil of religion. Many of the programs for which they were seeking funding are classic government-as-parent projects that occupy the kids after school. They were seeking tax money as a major funding source. I heard no reference to God or Grace as playing any part in the saving of “our children and youth.”

In the past, I’ve described Tucson City Councilmen as being either “hardshell socialists,” or “softshell socialists.” Here’s what I mean. At the council meeting, the hardshells (Leal, Uhlich, Trasoff) were demanding big money for socialism right here, right now, and to hell with any other considerations. They argued that the current situation was “unjust” at its inception, and that expanded social programs would “prevent crime” and be “an investment in our future.” They seemed very certain that the unwashed masses were on the verge of destroying society, and that it was only common sense to step in and save it. The softshells (Walkup, West) agreed in principle with the hardshells, they’re objections were purely logistical. They said that the “funding should be discussed as part of the budget talks,” and that sort of thing. No one, I repeat, no one objected, in principle, to the socialist plans. The only difference was that the hardshells were foaming at the mouth, and the softshells were not.

If you think that Councilmen Uhlich and Trasoff are not socialists, consider this: both women, as candidates, objected to any fees for KIDCO. The fees in question did not exist for poor people. The fees that were charged to the affluent were token fees – much less than a dollar a day. This provided an additional income stream to the program which increased its financial stability. Remember, people who had trouble paying were subsidized one hundred per cent. So what’s the problem? Fees for service – even token gestures – are not pure socialism. Pure socialism is all government, all the time. The fees corrupted their ideal; they will accept nothing less. This was evident at the council meeting.

I can see it now, in 2009 Mayor Walkup will announce the subsidized sale of a limited supply of rice cookers – just like Fidel!

O.K., I’m trying to “move on” past the election, but I’m having no success. I find myself contemplating my nationalization theory; specifically, I’m assuming the theory to be true, and looking back at events from that perspective. In other words, I’m recalling the statements of the Democrats and imagining what they would mean if spoken by their national leadership.

Don’t try this at home! In fact, I avoid doing this alone because occasionally it leads to hyperventilation, which can lead to a strong stomach cramp that can only be cured by breathing into a paper bag for a protracted period of time.

The Tucson Citizen (one of Tucson’s hapless dailies) stated that “Trasoff’s campaign is all anti-Ronstadt, with little attention paid to proposals for serving the ward and the city.” This is a fair description of both Democrat campaigns, and a precise picture of the party leadership activities at the national level. Even their affirmative campaign promises were reactions to the accomplishments of the Republicans – repeal the garbage fee, quicker implementation of impact fees, completely subsidize KIDCO, etc. Nothing creative or original was proposed.

Let’s translate some phrases that are repeated at both the local and national level (the wording might not be identical, but the assertions are the same). Uhlich says, “It’s about our values;” translation: “Republicans are out of touch with the people.” Uhlich says, “It’s about accountability;” translation: “Republicans are corrupt.” Trasoff says, “My opponent just doesn’t get it;” translation: “Bush is an idiot.” Uhlich says, “I support gun safety;” translation: “I don’t support gun rights, and I’ll use ‘safety’ as a ploy to deny the people that right.” These translations are mine, and not those of the candidates.

So, are the Democrats dullards with no vision or direction? I think not. It is more likely that they have a vision, and a direction in which they want to take Tucson – they just didn’t run on it. Is it a secret? Are there any clues?

How about the endorsements? Well, let’s look at the ones about which Trasoff boasts (taken from her flyer). Here are some: AZ Dem Progressive Caucus; Pima Area Labor Federation; Sierra Club / Rincon; S.AZ. Building Trades; Arizona List (State version of EMILY’s List); SEIU (a service workers union); Democracy for America / Tucson; Linda Ronstadt; Las Adelitas.

Where is my paper bag! I know better than to do this alone.

Jeez! This looks like a list of all the organizations that reserve tables at the local May Day celebration!

This is just too awful to contemplate. Let’s change the subject to…say…national Democrat party coordination at the state level! Now, I do not generally believe in dark conspiracies; but I do not believe in coincidences either. So when the Democrat governors of both Arizona and New Mexico suddenly declared states of emergency in their border counties, and threw some resources at border security, I smelled a plot rich with fertilizer.

Have the Democrats suddenly gone rational on us? No, Bush is a big open-borders guy, and they are the Antibush, voila! Seriously, someone in the party has finally identified border security as the big sleeper issue, and they want to get on the right side of it before the Republicans.

All politics is national…go figure!

I believe that it was Tip O’Neil who said that all politics is local. Newt Gingrich and the Republicans blew that idea out of the water in 1994 by winning the U.S. House of Representatives– for the first time in over forty years – on national issues. Did the Pima County Democrats go to the next level in last week’s election? In other words, did they make the local election national?

I believe a case can be made for the affirmative. Look, the Democrats didn’t just win, they slammed them. Trasoff won with 65 percent, while Uhlich won with 61 per cent. That’s a landslide in anyone’s book. Yours truly predicted a Democrat win based on the registration advantage, and their get-out-the-vote efforts – but that’s all they had. They had no real issues; in fact, all the candidates were generally in agreement on most things. There was talk about the garbage fee, but Uhlich avoided the topic and Trasoff was all over the map. Their bottom line complaint was that it was too inconvenient for poor people to secure their exemption. There was some complaining about KIDCO, the City funded after school sitting service. The bottom line complaint there was that affluent people had to pay a token fee. Neither these, nor any other specific issue in the campaign, were enough in themselves to bring the members of the “Evil Party” out of the woodwork on Election Day.

I agree that Dunbar handed the Democrats a useful tool by defending herself with the lawsuit, but it must also be remembered that there was little difference in the losing margins of Dunbar and Ronstadt, which suggests that Dunbar’s suit did not hurt her that much.

Both Dunbar and Ronstadt had the advantage of incumbency, and two stellar records.

Most of the Democrat candidates’ time was spent expressing fear over unseen dark forces plotting to steal from the mouths of women and children. Goofy, yes, but consistent with what the national mouthpieces have been saying. I recall Uhlich describing Dunbar’s suit as an attempt to intimidate -similar to what was going on at the national level…whatever that meant.

So with no significant issues, no big scandals, no Republican skeletons in or out of the closet (Jim Kolbe excepted), and strong Republican candidates, what was it that got the Democrats out to the polls? Irrational Democrat hatred of Republicans is my best guess – the national connection.

There was another national connection – the money. Locally, each candidate raised around eighty grand – both Democrats with involuntary tax money, both Republicans without involuntary tax money. The Democrats got another thirty grand from the State party. The Republicans got stiffed by their State party. The independent groups that favored the Democrats were supported by California union money, and the likes of moveon.org (I feel like washing my hands after typing that).

Fomenting fear and hatred is not a good long-term strategy, even though it’s working for the Democrats at all levels of government…for now.

…and a great darkness fell upon the land.

Just kidding! In case you haven’t heard, both Democrats skunked their Republican opponents. No hyperbole here, I forget the actual numbers, but Trasoff beat Ronstadt 2:1, while Uhlich beat Dunbar 3:2. Yikes! While your humble servant did predict a Democrat sweep, these margins are a surprise.

I stopped by the Hotel Congress early in the evening. I chatted with Steve Leal briefly after being the first to congratulate him on his victory (he’s running unopposed). He suggested that Dunbar might loose because of the suit she filed. He suggested that suing a teacher was the equivalent of kicking a nun in the eyes of the voters. I almost suggested to Steve that kicking a nun might increase Democrat crossover voting, but thought better of it. I thought him wrong at the time, now I’m not so sure.

There was no one else there that I knew, so a strolled back to The Manning House were the Republicans were holding their party. I enjoyed the walk immensely. The unseasonably warm weather made for moderate temperatures after dark. There was enough urban light that the streets were never really dark, though it was well after sunset.

There were a couple of restaurants and a club or two still open for business. A tall woman in a black ensemble stood in a doorway with three or four shopping bags lined up against the wall. I passed a street gentleman whom I passed by earlier – this time he declined to repeat the earlier entreaty for a monetary transfer to which I sent negative signals. I passed a couple who had paused in the middle of the sidewalk so the gentleman could photograph a rather plain shuttered window. He was in a baggy black suit, while she was wearing a sort of sex-kitten costume complete with whisker make-up. It occurred to me that I might tell them that the Democrats were at the Hotel Congress, but then I figured that they probably already knew that.

Downtown Tucson in the early evening is a snapshot of itself. It is not dead, neither is it alive and vibrant. It’s just there, much like the space between the inhalation and the exhalation – a moment of peace to be embraced.

I turned onto Paseo Redondo by the Redondo Towers Apartments and quickly found myself in front of the stately Manning House. The front was dark. The Republicans, presumably due to their minority status, had to enter through the back door. I followed a drive that led to the back. I knew I was in the right place when I saw the media trucks with their generators running and a series of cables taped across the sidewalk.

I ran into Brad Lang and his lovely wife and daughter. He works for Kathleen Dunbar at the Ward III office. We spoke briefly about the election. Brad is really too nice a guy to concern himself with election politics. The last time we spoke, a week or two ago, he expressed frustration over the Democrat assertion that Kathleen was controlled by “special interests.” He told me that he knew all the neighborhood association presidents in Ward III from seeing them at the Ward III office; he added that he had never met either Jim Click or Don Diamond, and would not know them if he saw them. I thought of explaining the strategy of applying an established national template locally, and pandering to a base that sees Republicans as stereotypes, but he seemed to be taking it too much to heart.

I entered the building and made my way to the hall. Along the way I met Judi White, head of the Pima County Republicans. She looked preoccupied. “Have you seen the numbers?”, she asked. I had not, but the first set of numbers broadcast by the news services indicated heap big bad news for the Republicans.

Fred Ronstadt was there. He answered some questions for a camera, then proceeded to retire to the courtyard to smoke cigars with the College Republicans. I waited a while before hustling a cigar for myself. It was a corona sized Macanudo, yum! By this time, Fred was off by himself an aid trying to get through to Nina Trasoff on a cell phone to offer his congratulations. I approached him and thanked him for his eight years of service to the community. We smoked together for a few minutes, then he had to go inside to make his speech.

I lingered outside – not wanting to abandon such a fine cigar – and eaves-dropped on the College Republicans. They talked about politics at both the national and local levels. They all seemed happy with the lunatic behavior of the Democrat leadership at the nation level, and hoped that it continues. At one point, one of the leaders complimented the rest for their efforts. They seemed mildly disappointed, but undaunted. By the way, they were not dorks with horn-rimmed glassed, blue blazers and ties; they were regular kids complete with body piercings.

I went back inside to hear the end of Fred’s speech. Kathleen Dunbar had arrived. She followed Fred’s speech with one of her own. I waited around until I had a chance to thank Kathleen for her four years of service to the community, then I split for the Democrat party.

The party at Hotel Congress had spilled into the street. Karin Uhlich was outside shaking hands and posing for photographs. I managed to catch up to her and congratulated her on her victory. She thanked me for coming. I worked my way inside and congratulated Nina Trasoff on her victory. She also thanked me for coming. It was odd seeing so many jubilant Democrats – you’d think that Al-Qaeda had bombed the White House or something. I wandered through the crowd looking for other familiar faces, or anything of interest; but there was just a bunch of regular folks, happy and celebrating.

I left the party. I could still taste the Macanudo. I went over to the Crescent Smoke Shop to get another cigar. It was closed, as were the restaurants. I walked back to my truck and drove down to Broadway and turned east, dipping down under the overpass and coming up underneath the Snake Bridge – more commonly known as the Bridge to Nowhere.