🏛️ Lone GOP Supervisor Wants to Abandon Downtown Library: Christy + Comets + Courts | BUCKMASTER
When property taxes matter more than public services, even the stars can't provide enough perspective
Based on the Buckmaster Show for 6/5/25, a daily radio show in Tucson, AZ, interviewing local newsmakers. Analysis and opinions are my own.
When Buckmaster pressed him on whether he'd be "comfortable walking away from a downtown library," Supervisor Steve Christy responded with startling directness: "I certainly would.”
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
🏛️ Local government officials debated whether libraries should 📚 help homeless people or just focus on books. One supervisor feels property owners shouldn't have to pay taxes 🏠💰 to help others get housing. Meanwhile, courts 🏛️ decided cities can be sued if they don't move homeless camps 🚫🏕️ away from neighborhoods fast enough. Lawmakers want to let students sue teachers if they don't like what's said in class 👨🏫⚖️.
An astronomer 🔭 who has discovered 237 comets 🌠 reminded everyone that there's a whole universe out there beyond these earthly arguments 🌌, but the political fighting continues over how much money should go to helping people 🤝 versus protecting property values 💼📈.
🗝️ Takeaways
🏛️ Pima County Supervisor Steve Christy advocates abandoning downtown library services entirely
💰 Property owners can now sue cities over homeless encampments thanks to the appeals court ruling
🎓 Proposed legislation would allow personal lawsuits against teachers over classroom discussions
🚌 The Regional Transportation Authority's future remains uncertain due to political sabotage
⭐ Astronomer Dr. David Levy offers a cosmic perspective with 237 comet discoveries
📊 "Affordable housing" redefined as taxpayer theft rather than community investment
⚖️ The legal system is increasingly used to criminalize poverty and homelessness
When Public Purse Strings Pull in All the Wrong Directions: A Buckmaster Show Breakdown
The June 5th edition of the Buckmaster Show served up a smorgasbite of Southwestern political palaver that would make even the most seasoned civic cynic reach for their stress ball.
Host Bill Buckmaster, broadcasting from the Green Things Zocalo Village Studio in Central Tucson, orchestrated a three-ring circus of local luminaries that illuminated the peculiar paradoxes plaguing Pima County's political landscape. Because nothing says "quality Thursday morning" like watching fiscal conservatives tie themselves in logical knots while defending property values over human dignity.
The Lone Republican's Last Stand: Supervisor Steve Christy's Crusade Against Common Sense Spending
Pima County Supervisor Steve Christy—the solitary GOP voice on the five-member board and apparently the only person in Southern Arizona who thinks libraries are luxury items—delivered his monthly dose of fiscal fundamentalism with the fervor of a fire-and-brimstone preacher at a spending intervention.
Christy's contrarian commentary covered three major municipal maladies: the library shuffle, housing histrionics, and taxation tribulations that would make Scrooge McDuck blush.
The Great Library Migration Mishap: When Books Become Burdens
Christy's critique of the proposed $6.2 million library relocation from the Joel D. Valdez facility to the former Wells Fargo building reads like a masterclass in conservative cost-cutting philosophy. His assessment of the current downtown library painted a picture of urban decay worthy of a dystopian novel:
"Unfortunately, it has gone through the deferred maintenance issue that we're so familiar with in the city of Tucson and Pima County, that the costs to rehabilitate it to any working or safe condition are just astronomical."
However, here's where Christy's argument takes a particularly dehumanizing and callous turn. He describes the library as having become "a hub for individuals who are using that facility for not its original intended purpose...a congregate spot for folks who are suffering from all sorts of maladies, mental illness, drug addiction, homelessness." Because apparently, providing a safe, climate-controlled space for society's most vulnerable constitutes some sort of civic failure rather than basic human compassion.
The supervisor's solution borders on the sociopathic: simply walk away from downtown library services entirely.
When Buckmaster pressed him on whether he'd be "comfortable walking away from a downtown library," Christy responded with startling directness: "I certainly would, and I think the usage and the proper usage of our library facilities is certainly not downtown."
Let that sink in for a moment, dear readers. A public official advocating for abandoning public infrastructure because it serves those who need it most. It's like suggesting we close hospitals because sick people congregate there.
Christy's business-minded approach conveniently ignores the social safety net function that libraries provide—offering internet access, climate-controlled space, and basic human dignity to those experiencing homelessness or mental health crises. His vision of "proper usage" apparently excludes anyone who can't afford a home office, much less a home, and high-speed internet.
The Affordable Housing Semantics Showdown: Redefining Reality, One Euphemism at a Time
Perhaps most tellingly, Christy engaged in linguistic gymnastics worthy of a political philosophy professor when discussing "affordable housing." His semantic sleight-of-hand transforms the commonly understood term into a conservative boogeyman designed to terrify property owners into fiscal compliance.
"I have an issue with affordable housing as the title of this whole thing," Christy declared, before launching into a rhetorical redefinition that would make Orwell proud.
"This affordable housing has nothing to do with that. The affordable housing that my colleagues are referring to is nothing more than taxpayer-funded, publicly subsidized rental units that have also been subsidized mostly for out-of-state developers."
Translation: How dare we help working families access housing when we could be protecting the sacred property values of people who already have homes?
The supervisor's zero-sum worldview reached peak absurdity when he described homeowners as "really being renters of Pima County because even though their mortgage is paid off, they still have to pay property taxes, and if they don't pay their property taxes, the county can take their home away."
This tortured logic suggests that any form of taxation constitutes theft—a philosophy that would leave our roads unpaved, our schools unfunded, and our communities to fend for themselves in true libertarian fashion.
Property Tax Paranoia and the Revenue Neutral Ruse
Christy's property tax tirade showcased the classic conservative conundrum: simultaneously demanding government services while refusing to fund them adequately.
He complained that "there is a way to make it what we call revenue neutral by lowering the property tax to be commensurate with the increase and to offset the increase in the valuation, there's been no effort to do that."
Because God forbid government capacity should grow to meet the needs of an expanding population or rising service costs. Better to freeze public investment in amber and wonder why infrastructure crumbles and social problems persist.
The supervisor's paranoid prediction that "taxpayers would be absolutely furious that their property tax dollars were going to subsidize public housing" reveals the fundamental selfishness underlying his philosophy. Heaven forbid our tax dollars should help working families access safe, affordable housing. Much better to let them camp in washes where they can be sued as public nuisances.
Cosmic Contemplations: Dr. David Levy's Stellar Perspective on Wonder vs. Winning
In a delightful departure from terrestrial troubles, renowned astronomer Dr. David Levy provided a cosmic counterpoint to earthbound political squabbling. The comet hunter extraordinaire, calling from his observatory in Vail, Arizona, shared his passion for celestial discovery with the enthusiasm of someone who has spent decades looking up instead of down.
"If I'd spent my entire life searching without any discoveries at all, it would still be worth it because I get so much out of it," Levy reflected, having spotted an astounding 237 comets throughout his stargazing career. Now there's a perspective that might benefit certain county supervisors: the idea that the search itself—for justice, compassion, effective governance—might be worthwhile even when immediate results prove elusive.
Levy's tribute to eclipse expert Fred Eftlinghack through Macbeth's haunting eclipse passage—"by the clock, kiss day, and yet dark night strangles the traveling lamp"—served as a poetic pause in an otherwise prosaic political discussion. Sometimes we need reminders that beauty and wonder exist beyond the petty machinations of local politics.
Legal Lightning: Attorney Don Loose's Liability Lessons in Litigation Land
The show's legal segment, featuring Don Loose of the Loose Law Group, tackled two significant developments that could reshape how Arizona communities address homelessness and classroom conduct. Because nothing says "progress" like solving social problems through lawsuits.
The Nuisance Ruling's Ripple Effects: When Humans Become Legal Problems
The appeals court decision allowing property owners to hold cities liable for homeless encampments represents a double-edged sword of judicial activism that prioritizes property values over human dignity. Loose explained that the ruling essentially forces cities to "remove whoever is camping in the Navajo Wash adjacent to the Hendrick Acres neighborhood and then clean up whatever needs to be cleaned and ensure that that public encampment doesn't return."
Translation: Displacement disguised as "abatement"—because nothing solves homelessness like making it someone else's problem.
This precedent, combined with Proposition 312's tax reimbursement mechanism for property owners, creates a legal framework that treats human beings seeking shelter as legal nuisances to be eliminated. "Property owners to seek tax reimbursement for non-enforcement of public nuisance laws," Loose explained, essentially allowing wealthy homeowners to financially punish cities for failing to displace poor people quickly enough.
The Anti-Semitism Legislation's Academic Anxiety: When Classrooms Become Courtrooms
The proposed legislation allowing students and parents to sue teachers personally over alleged anti-Semitic statements creates a chilling effect on classroom discourse that could transform education into a litigation minefield. Loose noted that the bill "was passed along party lines" and expressed skepticism about Governor Katie Hobbs signing it.
Because what Arizona's already beleaguered education system really needs is more legal threats hanging over teachers' heads like educational swords of Damocles.
The RTA Requiem: Regional Transportation's Death by a Thousand Cuts
Christy's pessimistic assessment of the Regional Transportation Authority's future revealed another casualty of partisan politics. "I blame the city of Tucson for pulling the rug out from under this inappropriately and unjustifiably so," he declared, expressing doubt about voters getting a chance to approve another 20-year transportation plan.
Because nothing says "effective governance" like sabotaging successful regional cooperation for petty political points.
Wrapping Up the Wonkiness: Where Fiscal Fundamentalism Meets Social Reality
The Buckmaster Show's June 5th edition perfectly encapsulated the tensions between fiscal conservatism and social responsibility that define contemporary local politics. Christy's arguments, although internally consistent within a worldview that prioritizes property over people, highlight the limitations of purely market-based solutions to complex social problems.
The tragic irony is that Christy's penny-wise, pound-foolish approach to public investment will likely cost taxpayers more in the long run—through increased homelessness services, deteriorating infrastructure, and the social costs of inequality—than simply funding adequate housing and library services from the start.
Meanwhile, the legal developments discussed by Loose demonstrate how courts increasingly serve as arbiters of social policy when legislative bodies fail to address community needs comprehensively. The result is a patchwork of litigation-driven solutions that treat symptoms rather than causes.
A Note of Hope: Stargazing Through the Political Smog
Despite the seemingly intractable nature of these challenges, Dr. Levy's cosmic perspective reminds us that while we debate library budgets and housing policies, the universe continues its ancient dance overhead. His dedication to astronomical exploration—continuing his search despite decades of experience—offers a metaphor for persistent optimism that political observers might learn from.
Change happens through engagement, not escapism. Support independent journalism, like Three Sonorans, that holds local officials accountable and provides the kind of detailed analysis that corporate media often ignores. Consider attending Pima County Board of Supervisors meetings, where your voice can counter the fiscal fundamentalism that treats human needs as budgetary inconveniences.
Progressive politics isn't just about voting every few years—it's about building communities that prioritize people over profit, compassion over callousness, and long-term thinking over short-term tax savings. Unlike comets, good governance doesn't require a telescope to observe—just citizens willing to look beyond their property lines.
Support Three Sonorans to keep this kind of in-depth local news and analysis coming. Independent journalism matters, especially when corporate media treats local government like insider baseball rather than the life-and-death policy decisions they often represent.
What Do You Think?
How should communities balance property owner concerns with humanitarian obligations when addressing homelessness? Do you think Christy's business-first approach adequately serves all residents, or does it represent a fundamental misunderstanding of government's social contract? Should teachers face personal lawsuits over classroom discussions, or does this threaten academic freedom?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below—democracy thrives on dialogue, even when (especially when) we disagree.
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Well… again I say Thanks! for reporting this depressing stuff. We certainly need to know that it’s happening. I’m beginning to feel like I should be glad I don’t live in Tucson anymore instead of missing it. (I lived there late 70s, some 80s, and ‘94 to 2003). Right now is a hard time to find good news anywhere—in the very ununited states as well as worldwide. Hang in there and hang on tight; try to enjoy the roller coaster ride. One way or another, it’ll be over soon.