🎙️ Buckmaster's Back! School Voucher Shenanigans, Mayor Romero's Qatar Secrecy, and Economic Storm Clouds

Fresh from vacation, Tucson's top progressive radio host tackles education funding crisis and Mayor Romero's controversial secret diplomacy

May 28, 2025

😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾

🏫🔄 Arizona politicians are trying to take money that's supposed to go to public schools and use it to pay for private schools instead, but they won't tell anyone if their plan is actually working. 🌐💸 Meanwhile, other countries are getting worried about lending money to America because our leaders keep changing their minds about trade rules.

🏙✈️ Tucson's mayor went to a rich Middle Eastern country to try to bring jobs and partnerships back to our city, but she kept the trip secret and her staff initially lied about who paid for it, even though another mayor took the same trip and told everyone about it publicly.

🚒🏞 Local leaders have to make tough choices about spending money on police, firefighters, and parks while dealing with less funding from the state government, but they also need to be honest with voters about what they're doing.🤝✅

🗝️ Takeaways

📊 Arizona Republicans want to enshrine vouchers in the state constitution using public school trust fund money
🚫 Tom Horne's education department is blocking researchers from accessing voucher program data
🤐 Mayor Romero kept Qatar trip secret while the Kansas City mayor announced an identical trip publicly
💸 Foreign investors are reducing U.S. debt holdings, threatening America's economic dominance
✈️ Romero's Qatar trip could bring University of Arizona partnerships despite transparency failures
🏛️ Tucson lost $40 million in state revenue due to Republican flat tax policies
📈 School voucher program growth is slowing, but costs keep rising toward $400 million annually
🔍 Progressive leaders must maintain transparency standards even when pursuing legitimate economic development
🌐 Democratic accountability requires honesty about international engagement, not post-trip damage control

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Buckmaster's Back: School Voucher Shenanigans, Economic Storm Clouds, and the Mayor's Qatar Quest

After nearly three weeks soaking up Hawaiian sunshine, Bill Buckmaster returned to the KVOI airwaves Tuesday with the enthusiasm of a man who clearly knows how to vacation properly.

But there's no easing back into the saddle when you're hosting Tucson's premier radio talk show – not when Arizona's education funding circus is in full swing, economic warning bells are chiming like a broken fire alarm, and your city's mayor just jetted back from Qatar with tales of potential investment deals.

Buckmaster's first show back delivered a triple-header of substantive interviews that cut through the noise plaguing our political discourse. With guests ranging from a sharp-eyed policy researcher to a financial advisor sounding economic alarm bells, and capped off with Mayor Regina Romero defending her diplomatically ambitious Middle Eastern sojourn, Tuesday's show reminded us why thoughtful radio still matters in an age of social media soundbites.

Dr. Dave Wells: Voucher Vultures Circle Arizona's Education Trust

Fresh from his mother's 90th birthday celebration in Connecticut, Dr. Dave Wells of the Grand Canyon Institute delivered sobering news about Arizona's education funding landscape that should make every parent and taxpayer pay attention. Wells, whose non-partisan think tank consistently provides the state's most reliable education policy analysis, painted a picture of legislative shenanigans that would make P.T. Barnum blush.

The crux of the crisis?

Proposition 123, the 2016 voter-approved measure that increased state land trust distributions for K-12 schools from 2.5% to 6.9%, is set to expire this year. This $350 million annual lifeline emerged from a legal settlement after the legislature's Great Recession-era neglect of public school funding – a reminder that sometimes you have to sue politicians to make them do their constitutional duty.

But here's where the plot thickens with all the subtlety of a carnival barker's pitch:

Republican legislators are reportedly floating the idea of enshrining universal school vouchers in the Arizona Constitution as part of Prop 123's renewal. It's a legislative sleight of hand that would essentially use constitutionally mandated public school money to subsidize a voucher program that Wells estimates costs $385 million annually – and is rising.

"We estimated the net cost of the universal vouchers, at least I'm estimating it for next year, for this year to be around $385 million and moving up, upwards," Wells explained. "And that's sort of the challenge that I think is a problem, is the idea that we're effectively, even though they're not exactly the same part of money, it's effectively using one part of money to refill another part of money."

So let me get this straight – Republicans want to raid money explicitly designated by the state constitution for public schools to pay for their privatization scheme? It's like robbing Peter to pay Paul, except Peter is constitutionally protected and Paul is a policy experiment with zero evidence of success.

The irony is so thick that it can be cut with a butter knife. Constitutional land trust money, explicitly designated for public schools, would effectively backfill general fund coffers drained by universal vouchers. Wells noted that the Republican caucus hasn't even been able to agree among themselves:

"My understanding is that the Republican caucus is all over the place. So they haven't been able to get the votes, even to pass the budget that they would like, not much less one that the governor would agree to."

Wells dropped perhaps the most damning revelation about the current state of educational transparency under Superintendent Tom Horne. Researchers from prestigious institutions like RAND Corporation and EdChoice – hardly bastions of anti-voucher sentiment – can't get basic data about Arizona's ESA program.

"When I talked to some other scholars who were trying to get data from, for Arizona, one from Rand and one from Ed Choice, they had no success. In fact, one of them even said that he'd take Kathy Hoffman in a second, because under Kathy Hoffman, the former Superintendent of Public Instruction, obtaining data from the Department of Education was quite readily available. But now it's really hard for everybody."

Funny how when your policy can't stand up to scrutiny, the solution is apparently to make scrutiny impossible. Tom Horne's Department of Education has gone full blackout on transparency – almost like they're hiding something.

The Grand Canyon Institute has been waiting since September for public records requests that were routinely fulfilled under the previous administration.

"We've actually had to talk to the attorney general about possibly having to take legal action to get public information. It's been really frustrating," Wells said.

The voucher program's growth is slowing up just 17% this year compared to previous explosive increases, but the lack of accountability data means we're flying blind on a $385 million experiment. Wells pointed to Indiana as the "gold standard" for voucher evaluation because it actually requires the use of testing data.

Arizona? We're essentially running the most extensive voucher program in the nation without collecting the basic metrics needed to determine its effectiveness.

Shelly Fishman: Economic Storm Clouds Gathering

Financial advisor Shelly Fishman returned to the show with his characteristic blend of sharp analysis and accessible explanation, but his message carried storm warnings that should make everyone pay attention. While markets fluctuate based on presidential tariff threats and reversals, deeper structural issues are emerging that could fundamentally alter America's economic position.

Fishman explained the delicate dance between Trump's tariff threats and market reactions with the precision of a meteorologist tracking a developing hurricane.

"What's happened is that the tariffs, when the President threatens the tariffs or threatens to increase them, the market takes that as a very negative sign and begins to believe that he's actually going to do it. And then the President doesn't like the fact that the market goes down because the President likes to watch the market and sees it as a vote of confidence or no confidence in his policies."

So we're essentially running economic policy based on whether the president likes what he sees on his phone when he checks the market. This is fine. Everything is fine.

The truly concerning development? Foreign investors, who hold roughly one-third of U.S. government bonds, are allowing their investments to mature without reinvesting.

"What's happening is that overseas, the international investors are letting their U.S. bond investments mature and not reinvesting," Fishman warned. "And so what they're doing is they're looking for currencies other than the U.S. dollar."

They're shopping for alternatives to dollar-denominated assets, a shift that could fundamentally undermine American economic hegemony. When Treasury bond auctions see weaker demand, bond prices fall and borrowing costs rise, making our already record deficit spending even more expensive to finance.

"We're at a point now where the interest on the debt is now greater than the annual amount we're spending on the military," Fishman noted. "If that continues to increase, and if we take a look at this big, beautiful bill, it's going to increase the deficit, then our ability to repay that debt as time goes on becomes harder and harder to do and more and more expensive."

We're approaching a fiscal pressure point with limited options – raise taxes, cut spending, or print money (hello, inflation). The Federal Reserve finds itself with diminishing room to maneuver. If inflation rises while economic growth slows, we're staring at stagflation, the economic bogeyman that haunted the 1970s and required Paul Volcker's painful but necessary recession medicine to cure.

"If inflation continues to rise, and if the growth in GDP continues to either slow or go negative, that's called stagflation," Fishman explained. "That's something you don't want, and that's something that is very difficult for the Fed to manage, because it means that in order to manage the inflationary part, you have to raise interest rates. That slows down the economy even further, and it becomes kind of a snowball in the wrong direction."

Remember when we used to make fun of countries that ran their economies like reality TV shows? Good times.

Mayor Romero: Qatar Quest Meets Political Reality and Transparency Questions

The day's most politically heated moment came when Mayor Regina Romero justified her trip to Qatar, funded by a nation notorious for bribing officials and with a dismal history of mistreating immigrant workers. This defense coincided with Tim Steller's Arizona Daily Star column, which was bringing up troubling questions regarding secrecy, financing, and optics.

The juxtaposition was almost too perfect – Buckmaster's first day back featuring an interview with the woman of the hour, discussing her controversial diplomatic mission to a country synonymous with international bribery.

Steller's column painted a picture of bureaucratic bungling and questionable judgment. The trip was initially secret, and the city provided false information about funding. It all happened just days after Trump's alleged $400 million Air Force One solicitation from Qatar made international headlines.

Because nothing says "good timing" like taking a Qatar-funded trip right after the country was caught allegedly trying to bribe the President of the United States.

But here's where Romero's transparency defense falls apart when compared to her mayoral colleague from Kansas City. While Romero kept her trip completely secret until after her return, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas announced his identical trip to Qatar publicly on Wednesday afternoon, before departing, with his office issuing an official statement about the economic forum. Lucas faced criticism, too, but he dealt with it head-on rather than through post-trip damage control.

The contrast is stark and damaging to Romero's credibility. Lucas' office announced the trip last week, saying that the Qatari Embassy in Washington, D.C. was sponsoring a "delegation of mayors from American cities" – exactly the kind of transparency that Romero's office failed to provide.

So let me understand this: the Kansas City mayor managed to announce his Qatar trip publicly while still maintaining whatever security protocols mayors apparently need, but somehow Tucson's mayor couldn't manage the same basic transparency? Either the security excuse is overblown, or Romero's team simply chose secrecy over accountability.

Romero's security explanation crumbles under scrutiny when other mayors managed to balance transparency with safety.

"It is the custom that we have that I provide the information after I take a trip," she explained. "Both TPD and my security detail from the very beginning that I became mayor, that was their recommendation that, because of security, they would want to keep this information, and I report back until I come back."

But if security was really the primary concern, why did Romero's office compound the problem by initially providing false information about trip funding? City spokesman Andy Squire told the Arizona Daily Star that Bloomberg Philanthropies funded the trip, later admitting, "I just made a mistake. I thought I had confirmed it with their team and I was wrong". It required journalists cross-checking with Kansas City media to discover the truth about Qatari embassy funding.

Nothing screams "transparent governance" like having to find out about your mayor's international travels through investigative journalism and cross-referencing with other cities' newspapers.

The most concerning aspect isn't just the secrecy, but the pattern it reveals about Romero's approach to public accountability. Her social media posts during the trip gave the impression that she might still be in town, including posts about UA graduation fireworks and summaries of Tuesday's City Council meeting. This deliberate misdirection goes beyond security concerns into the realm of public deception.

Creating fake social media content to make people think you're in town while secretly flying to Qatar on their dime isn't a security protocol – it's a breach of transparency.

Even if we accept the security justification, there's no excuse for the initial false information about funding sources. When a public official's staff tells reporters that Bloomberg Philanthropies funded a trip when, in fact, the Qatari embassy paid for it, that's not a security measure – it's misinformation. The fact that it took cross-referencing with Kansas City media to uncover the truth suggests either incompetence or intentional obfuscation.

The timing couldn't have been worse for Qatari diplomatic efforts. As Steller noted, "Six days of stories about a Qatari jet had been published when Tucson Mayor Regina Romero took off on a jet headed for Qatar." The Trump administration's alleged solicitation of a $400 million Air Force One gift had dominated headlines, making any Qatar-funded travel look politically tone-deaf at best.

Despite these concerns, the potential outcomes Romero described do merit consideration. The most intriguing connection involves Dr. Francisco Marmolejo, a former 16-year faculty member at the University of Arizona who now serves as president of the Qatar Foundation and educational advisor to the queen.

"He is the president and educational advisor to the queen, and he and I talked on the side after his presentation, and he is very, very interested in having that relationship with the University of Arizona," Romero said excitedly.

Qatar's educational ecosystem already hosts campuses for Georgetown, George Washington University, and Texas A&M. Reconnecting UA with Qatar's educational infrastructure could represent genuine economic development opportunities beyond mere diplomatic photo opportunities. But the question remains: couldn't these connections be pursued through less controversial means that don't involve accepting expensive gifts from foreign governments?

Look, if we're going to engage in economic diplomacy with countries that have questionable human rights records, at least let's be transparent about it from the start. The secrecy and misinformation make what could have been legitimate economic development look like something to hide.

The mayor's pitch to potential Qatari investors highlighted Tucson's strategic advantages:

"We have a Tier 1 research institution in the University of Arizona, which by the way has a lot of connections to Qatar. Many Qataris have attended the University of Arizona. I usually talk to them about how we're connected not just to the entire country by rail, air, and interstate, but we are 60 miles away from the Mexican border."

Sixty miles from Mexico and courting Middle Eastern investment partners while keeping voters in the dark – if that's not the modern Southwest political reality in a nutshell, I don't know what is.

But Romero's most questionable claim involved the FIFA World Cup 2026 hosting.

"As a city and a county that is going to be a host for a FIFA team here in Pima County in the city of Tucson, I was incredibly happy that we were able to talk about FIFA 2022, the logistics of what the Qataris had to do to put that world event together," she stated.

This represents classic political overselling.

Tucson is not a FIFA World Cup 2026 host city – it's one of 62 potential "Team Base Camp" locations where participating teams might train and stay during the tournament. The actual U.S. host cities are Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Kansas City, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, and New York/New Jersey. Tucson's Kino Sports Complex is listed as a potential training site, paired with the Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort and Spa. However, teams won't finalize their base camp selections until after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw in December 2025.

So Romero took a secret, Qatar-funded trip to learn about World Cup logistics for a hosting opportunity that Tucson hasn't actually secured and might never get. If this research was so crucial for Tucson's bid, why wasn't this justification communicated to voters before the trip rather than revealed as post-facto rationalization?

Budget Realities and Progressive Governance

Beyond the Qatar controversy, Romero delivered sobering news about how state-level Republican policies directly impact local services. Arizona's flat tax experiment has cost Tucson $40 million in state-shared revenue, forcing $18 million in internal cuts.

"As a result of the flat tax, as you know, the city of Tucson has less money. So we have $40 million less in state-shared revenue. We had to make internal cuts to the tune of $18 million, which is very unfortunate because working families in Tucson are left with less services for them, having to pay more through no fault of their own or no fault of the city of Tucson."

Ah yes, the classic conservative two-step: cut taxes for the wealthy, then blame local governments when services suffer. It's like arson, but with spreadsheets.

Despite these constraints, the proposed budget maintains progressive priorities while addressing practical needs. Increases for police and firefighters, $83.7 million for public safety pensions, continued affordable housing programs, and $40 million for parks, including voter-approved projects, demonstrate careful balancing of fiscal responsibility with progressive values.

The ongoing tensions within the Regional Transportation Authority reflect broader questions about regional cooperation and accountability. Romero's insistence on completing RTA-1 projects before seeking additional funding from voters demonstrates political pragmatism that progressives should applaud.

"We cannot go to the voters in Tucson and say, oh, we don't know how we're going to pay for 11 projects from RTA-1, but give us more money. We have to be able to deliver RTA-1 projects," she stated firmly.

Revolutionary concept: maybe we should finish the projects we already promised before asking for more money. In Republican politics, this apparently counts as radical thinking.

What This Means for Progressive Politics and Democratic Accountability

Tuesday's Buckmaster Show illuminated the complex challenges facing progressive governance in an era of conservative obstruction, economic uncertainty, and global competition. But it also exposed uncomfortable questions about transparency and accountability that progressives can't simply wave away with good intentions.

Wells's analysis of voucher funding mechanisms reveals the fundamental dishonesty in conservative education "reform" – using constitutionally protected public money to subsidize private school tuition for families who could already afford it while blocking transparency about outcomes. This is exactly the kind of policy corruption that demands aggressive investigative journalism and civic engagement.

Fishman's economic warnings transcend partisan politics to address mathematical realities that affect everyone. When foreign investors lose confidence in American economic leadership, the consequences ripple through every community, regardless of political affiliation.

But Romero's Qatar controversy presents a more complex challenge for progressive values. While the potential economic development outcomes she described could genuinely benefit Tucson, the secrecy, misinformation, and poor timing undermine the transparency that should be fundamental to progressive governance. The contrast with Kansas City Mayor Lucas's handling of the identical trip is particularly damaging – if he could announce his Qatar visit publicly while maintaining security, why couldn't Romero?

The biggest problem isn't that Mayor Romero went to Qatar – it's that she handled it like a politician with something to hide rather than a progressive leader with nothing to fear from transparency.

Progressive politics only works when it's built on a foundation of honesty and accountability. When progressive leaders act like they're above transparency requirements, they hand ammunition to conservative critics and undermine public trust in good governance.

Romero's handling of this trip – the secrecy, the false initial information, and the misleading social media posts – represents exactly the kind of political behavior that progressives should oppose, regardless of who is doing it.

The education funding crisis Wells outlined should be a wake-up call for every Arizona voter. When legislators try to raid constitutionally protected education money to fund voucher schemes with zero accountability, we're witnessing privatization ideology run amok. The solution isn't just voting – it's demanding transparency, supporting organizations like the Grand Canyon Institute that provide factual analysis, and calling out politicians who treat public education like a piggy bank for their ideological experiments.

The good news is that sunlight remains the best disinfectant, even when politicians try to turn off the lights – whether they're conservative voucher pushers or progressive mayors taking secret trips.

Moving Forward with Hope

Despite the challenges outlined in Tuesday's show, reasons for optimism persist. Dr. Wells's research provides the factual foundation needed for evidence-based education policy. Fishman's economic analysis, while concerning, offers the clarity needed for informed decision-making. Mayor Romero's international engagement exemplifies the proactive leadership required for economic competitiveness, even when it sparks controversy.

Progressive governance succeeds when it combines principled values with pragmatic problem-solving. Tuesday's Buckmaster Show reminded us that thoughtful analysis, honest assessment, and principled leadership remain our best tools for navigating complex challenges.

The path forward requires continued vigilance on education funding, honest discussion of economic realities, and support for leaders willing to engage globally while remaining accountable locally. As Buckmaster demonstrated in his first show back, sometimes the best vacation is the one that reminds you why the work matters.

Quality journalism and progressive analysis don't happen by accident – they require support from readers who value truth over soundbites. Consider supporting Three Sonorans and other independent media outlets that provide the in-depth coverage our democracy desperately needs. Subscribe to our Substack, share our content, and most importantly, stay engaged with the issues that affect your community.

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In a world often dominated by despair and division, remember that informed citizens engaging in honest dialogue remain democracy's greatest strength. Keep listening, keep learning, and keep believing that better days lie ahead when we work together toward common goals.

What Do You Think?

The issues raised in Tuesday's show touch on fundamental questions about governance, accountability, and values in our community:

Should Arizona require the same testing accountability for voucher programs that we demand from public schools? Why do you think Tom Horne's Department of Education is blocking researchers from accessing basic program data?
Was Mayor Romero's handling of the Qatar trip acceptable given the secrecy, misinformation, and poor timing? How do you balance the potential economic benefits against the transparency concerns?
If Kansas City Mayor Lucas could announce his identical Qatar trip publicly while maintaining security, why couldn't Romero do the same? What does this say about different approaches to democratic accountability?
How should progressive leaders balance international economic diplomacy with domestic political optics and transparency requirements?
With foreign investors reducing their holdings of U.S. debt, what should our community be doing to prepare for potential economic turbulence?
How can Tucson voters hold the RTA accountable for completing promised projects while still supporting regional transportation solutions?

Share your thoughts in the comments below. Progressive politics works best when it's a conversation, not a monologue. Your insights and experiences matter in shaping how we move forward together.

Quotes

Dr. Dave Wells on voucher funding scheme: "We're effectively using one part of money to refill another part of money" - describing how constitutional school money would subsidize voucher programs
Wells on GOP transparency blackout: "One of them even said that he'd take Kathy Hoffman in a second, because under Kathy Hoffman...getting data from the Department of Ed was quite readily available. But now it's really hard for everybody"
Shelly Fishman on economic reality: "We're at a point now where the interest on the debt is now greater than the annual amount we're spending on the military"
Fishman on presidential market manipulation: "The President doesn't like the fact that the market goes down because the President likes to watch the market and sees it as a vote of confidence or no confidence in his policies"
Mayor Romero's questionable security justification: "The security of me saying I'm not going to be home is something that TPD and my security detail do not recommend"
Romero on fiscal responsibility (ironic given transparency issues): "We cannot go to the voters in Tucson and say, oh, we don't know how we're going to pay for 11 projects from RTA-1, but give us more money"
City spokesman admitting misinformation: Andy Squire: "I just made a mistake. I thought I had confirmed it with their team and I was wrong" - about initially claiming Bloomberg funded the Qatar trip

All People Mentioned

Bill Buckmaster - Progressive radio host, KVOI 1030, just returned from Hawaiian vacation: "Probably one of the best of my life"
Dr. Dave Wells - Research Director, Grand Canyon Institute, calling from Connecticut: "We've actually had to talk to the attorney general about possibly having to take legal action to get public information"
Shelly Fishman - Financial advisor warning of economic instability: "If inflation continues to rise...that's called stagflation. That's something you don't want"
Mayor Regina Romero - Tucson Mayor, defended secretive Qatar trip: "It is the custom that we have that I provide the information after I take a trip"
Mayor Quinton Lucas - Kansas City Mayor who publicly announced an identical Qatar trip in contrast to Romero's secrecy
Tom Horne - State Superintendent blocking education data transparency
Kathy Hoffman - Former State Superintendent praised for transparency: researchers "would take [her] in a second"
Dr. Francisco Marmolejo - Qatar Foundation President, former UA faculty: "taught at the University of Arizona for 16 years"
Tim Steller - Arizona Daily Star columnist who exposed the Qatar trip contradictions
Andy Squire - Tucson city spokesperson who initially gave false funding information: "I just made a mistake"
Charlene Mendoza - Mayor's Chief of Staff defending secrecy protocols
Charles Borla - Arizona Daily Star reporter who investigated trip funding
Tim Thomure - Tucson City Manager, who announcedthe trip after the fact
Paul Volcker - Former Fed Chairman (referenced for anti-stagflation measures)
Jimmy Carter & Ronald Reagan - Referenced for 1970s stagflation crisis
John - Buckmaster Show engineer celebrating birthday