🚫 Median Maneuvers & Wash Woes: Tucson Council in Mean Mode with Median Ban
Tucson City Council approved a ban on median occupation but deadlocked on criminalizing camping in washes.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
The Tucson City Council had a big meeting where they decided it's not okay for people to stand or sit in the middle sections of streets (called medians) 🚷, but they couldn't agree on whether to make it against the rules for homeless people to camp in dry riverbeds 🏕️. Some council members said it wasn't fair to ban people from washes when there aren't enough shelters for everyone 🏢.
They also talked about making it easier to build apartments near bus routes 🚍 so more people can afford housing 🏡. Neighbors worried about building homes in an area that floods badly showed pictures of water so deep it almost drowned people 🌊. City workers explained they don't get paid enough to live comfortably, even after working for the city for many years 💼. The meeting showed how cities try to solve big problems with limited money 💰 and different opinions about what's most important 🤔.
🗝️ Takeaways
🚫 Tucson Council split on ordinances targeting homelessness, approving a ban on people occupying traffic medians (5-1 vote) while rejecting a prohibition on camping in washes (3-3 tie), revealing tensions between Proposition 312 compliance and criminalizing poverty.
🏙️ The Community Corridors Tool passed unanimously, creating new pathways for housing development along transit routes with reduced parking requirements and greater height allowances.
🌊 The controversial La Mariposa development was temporarily halted after residents shared harrowing stories of floodwaters nearly claiming lives in the area.
💵 City workers testified that many make far below living wages, with long-term employees making pennies more than new hires despite years of service.
🧠 The city's approach to opioid addiction is shifting toward a "SAFR" (Sobering Alternative for Recovery) approach using opioid settlement funds, though implementation remains unclear.
📉 Millions in federal funding for Tucson's projects have been lost due to congressional dysfunction, including money for affordable housing, parks, and water infrastructure.
Median Maneuvers & Wash Woes: Tucson Council's Split Decision on Homeless Criminalization
Tuesday's marathon City Council meeting served up a political potluck with a main course of controversy, as our elected officials played hot potato with ordinances criminalizing homelessness while simultaneously rubber-stamping a ban on people occupying traffic medians.
The divided council ultimately approved the median ban in a 5-1 vote (with only Vice Mayor Santa Cruz dissenting) while deadlocking 3-3 on prohibiting camping in washes. It was a night that perfectly captured Tucson's municipal mood swings—progressive on paper but pragmatic under pressure, especially when facing potential lawsuits from property owners under the new Prop 312 framework.
Nothing says "compassionate governance" quite like banning people from standing on concrete triangles while half-heartedly refusing to criminalize their existence in dry riverbeds!
Beyond the homeless policy ping-pong, councilmembers also unanimously approved the Community Corridors Tool (a housing development game-changer), pumped the brakes on a controversial floodplain development after tear-jerking testimonials from near-drowning victims, and weathered a storm of criticism from their own employees about wage disparities that would make even a corporate CEO blush with embarrassment.
Setting the Stage: A Chamber Filled with Voices and Tensions
The March meeting began with the standard ceremonial elements, but there was nothing routine about the energy in the room. In her characteristically confident demeanor, Mayor Regina Romero brought up the Women's History Month proclamation first. Unlike the perfunctory readings these proclamations sometimes receive, Romero invested this one with particular significance, transforming it into a celebration of women's economic power in Tucson.
Dozens of women small business owners filled the front of the chambers—from restaurant owners to automotive repair shops to sustainability advocates. "We celebrate the courageous women who have helped build a fairer, more just society," Romero declared, her voice carrying genuine emotion as she added, "Women serve many roles in our families, workplaces, communities, and society. They inspire, uplift, and empower those around them, strengthening both families and communities."
Seeing the Mayor deliberately elevate these entrepreneurs in a society that still undervalues women's economic contributions feels like a small but significant act of resistance.
Following this, Romero segued to the Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Holiday proclamation, declaring March 31, 2025, as a day to honor these labor rights icons. Eva Dong, representing the Arizona Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Holiday Coalition, offered a powerful reflection on the continued relevance of their work: "Our employees throughout the United States are being harmed. Unions, non-union, all of our employees are being harmed, and we've got to start to remember what was done in the past for us by some of these iconic people and continue to fight and continue to fight and bring back the rights that they got for us."
The passion in Dong's voice reverberated through the chamber, and several council members—particularly Vice Mayor Santa Cruz—nodded emphatically. As Dong continued, she invoked the memory of recently deceased Congressman Raul Grijalva, a moment that visibly moved many in attendance.
Mayor Romero would later deliver an emotional tribute to Grijalva, whom she called "my friend, my mentor, my political father," highlighting his decades of service to Tucson and his instrumental role in designating the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni National Monument.
Call to the Audience: The People's Mic Captures Community Pain
When the call to the audience began around 6:15pm, the full spectrum of Tucson's struggles came into focus through a procession of residents bringing their personal testimonies to power.
Dale Honishiro, standing ramrod straight at the podium in his Sun Tran uniform, advocated for the Sun On Demand program, explaining how it serves residents who would otherwise be transit-isolated. "This program was originally put together to serve residents who resided just east of what is now known as the Tucson Marketplace," Honishiro explained, his voice reflecting pride in the service. "And the plan was implemented by Sun Tran due to the shuffling around of the closure of different types of routes running through the neighborhood. And going through the narrow streets, I could understand why. But they deeply affected a lot of residents there who desperately rely on public transportation that do have meaningful ways to get to work."
The most damning testimony came from city employees themselves, exposing the hypocrisy of a supposedly progressive city government that fails to pay its workers living wages. Rachel Kale, a 17-year Tucson Water employee and union vice president, approached the podium with a stack of papers—receipts for her claims. Her voice trembled not with nervousness but with righteous indignation as she cited the city's own 2019 Poverty and Urban Stress Report.
"Page 7, if you all want to look this up eventually, it says in order to meet the basic need of a minimal adequate level without public assistance, you would need to be making $22.86 an hour. This was six years ago," Kale stated, letting the facts land before driving her point home: "I can tell you right now there's probably less than 10 people in Tucson Water customer service that even makes close to that."
The council members shifted uncomfortably in their seats as Kale continued her methodical dismantling of the city's compensation practices: "You guys have been failing to actually compensate your employees fairly. If we go by inflation from this, the $22.86, by the federal inflation standards, it would be $28.92 now. If we even got a 1% raise every single year, it would be $24.27. We don't even get that. I've been here for 17 years and I can say I make 82 cents more than someone who's been here five years."
The cognitive dissonance is staggering—a city that plasters "living wage" rhetoric on its website while its own employees struggle to make ends meet.
Nikki Larson followed, her experience as a 911 dispatcher lending even more weight to the compensation critique. "MIT recently did a study that for people with children, a single adult with one child needs $37.25 an hour. A single adult with two children, they need $46.56 per hour," she explained, her voice steady but resigned.
The human cost of these inadequate wages became visceral as Larson shared the trauma of her daily work: "I can't count how many times I've had to remain calm and composed while on the phone with a mother whose child has just been shot, guide an elderly husband through CPR to keep his wife alive, or stay on the line with a young man who is bleeding out, unable to remember where he lives so we can get him help."
The homelessness crisis formed another central thread, with speakers offering conflicting perspectives that reflected the community's divided views. Julie Lohmeyer shared disturbing experiences with homeless encampments near her home, detailing property damage and safety concerns that were visibly affecting her quality of life.
"We are being inundated with homeless drug addicts who are destroying our peace, safety, and property," Lohmeyer stated, her frustration palpable. "Very recently, one of them pulled a gun on my husband. There is no safety. They are occupying our alleyways, smoking fentanyl and completely trashing them. Our dogs bark night and day. There is no peace."
Yet Lohmeyer's testimony avoided simplistic villainization, as she explicitly noted her own background working with marginalized populations and addiction recovery: "Before that I was in social services and worked with many marginalized populations including with severely mentally ill and drug addicts. I am a registered Democrat and a Tucson native. I love my hometown."
The tragedy here lies in the false binary being created—as if we must choose between neighborhood safety and humane treatment of the unhoused, when both are possible with sufficient resources and political will.
Gerald Montag, a veteran who now volunteers with unhoused people, offered a scathing critique of the city's approach. Standing at the podium with military posture, his voice carried the gravitas of someone who has witnessed suffering across continents: "I have lived in Tucson for three years now. I enlisted in the Marine Corps at 18. I spent half my 20s in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have seen and experienced suffering very few people can imagine."
Montag continued, his voice rising with controlled fury: "What is new to me is a local government willing to pile on to the suffering. A city council whose solution to get the people off the street would be to take the street away. A lack of beds for the unhouse, police being sent to respond to volunteers giving out food, nothing being done to combat rising costs, laws being passed that give our most vulnerable neighbors fewer and fewer places to go because nothing helps a person's job in housing aspirations like a fresh conviction."
The bitter truth that Montag exposes is that our city chooses where to direct its enforcement power—and consistently aims it downward at those with the least political capital.
Perhaps the most chilling testimony came from Roland Baker, a veteran activist with 56 years of civil disobedience experience, who revealed disturbing police surveillance tactics being deployed against pro-Palestine protesters. Reading directly from an email sent by TPD to the University of Arizona, Baker's voice carried the weight of someone who has seen these tactics before:
"TPD will have additional personnel and also a tethered drone to monitored activity. TPD is recommending that you remove any items from outside your business, like chairs and signs, that could be tempting to protesters."
Baker's indignation was evident as he concluded: "The reason I'm reading that to you, the many times I've been a protester out here, we are not the ones who are the violent ones. It's not been us, especially even during the encampment. At this point, why should we believe anything the city or developer tells us?"
The subtle criminalization of dissent through preemptive characterization of protesters as potentially violent should alarm anyone who values the First Amendment—especially when deployed against those advocating for Palestinian human rights.
Budget Discussions: The Grim Math of Worker Dignity
When City Manager Tim Thomure took the floor to discuss the fiscal year 2026 budget, he presented what appeared to be a significant investment in employee compensation: $17.8 million allocated to address three critical areas: in-range pay placement adjustments, market adjustments, and pay progression.
However, the context of this investment reveals its inadequacy. As Thomure acknowledged, this $17.8 million "is about the size of our deficit for right now. So we still have to get the budget to balance." In other words, the very compensation that city employees desperately need is being portrayed as contingent, something that could be sacrificed to balance the books.
Digging deeper, Thomure's explanation of in-range pay placement exposed a fundamental flaw in the city's compensation system: "When people are in a job classification and there's a range for that job classification, there should be some reasonable expectation that the more experience in qualifications and education you have in that area, you would be placed more highly in that range than others who have less education experience qualifications. In our system right now, we don't have that accurate for everybody right now."
This clinical description masks what workers like Rachel Kale made painfully clear—real people who have dedicated years to serving Tucson are making pennies more than new hires, a situation that should be unconscionable for a supposedly progressive city government.
To his credit, Councilmember Cunningham directly addressed this discrepancy: "We've got folks that got hired from a market standpoint and got hired at a higher rate than people who'd been on the job for like seven years or eight years." He pressed for comprehensive fixes, asking, "What's our goal as far as fixing some of these discrepancies from a holistic? I mean 98%, 90%. I'm hoping that our goal is 100%."
Perhaps most revealing was Thomure's admission that "for the last several years, we've not had a robust performance management system. Many employees have not had a performance review from one or many years at our employee budget town hall. At the beginning of the month, we had a show of hands, and at least three-quarters of the hands went up, saying I'd not had one in the last three years."
The fundamental dysfunction in city operations becomes clear—how can an organization claim to value its employees when it doesn't even bother to evaluate their performance for years at a time?
Vice Mayor Santa Cruz cut to the heart of the issue, asking: "How did we ever get to a place where we don't do performance reviews? And how do we make sure that that doesn't ever happen again? How do we make sure that we as an organization are organized to better support our workers and our employees and help develop them as professionals in this field?"
Santa Cruz then raised a critical concern about budget priorities as the city faces difficult choices: "This Mayor and Council has worked really hard from the start of the pandemic to really try to minimize the negative impact on our most vulnerable communities. And we've led with that. As we are looking at the budget overall, we don't pick to do that right away; we already know these are elders. These are young families, single moms, head of households that we're not running to, oh, let's cut, you know, the programs that are helping keep families housed and stable to like, you know, take care of these other things."
Environmental Services Advisory Committee: Building Institutional Memory
In what initially appeared to be a minor administrative change, the Council discussed removing the eight-year membership cap for the Environmental Services Advisory Committee (ESAC). This seemingly procedural adjustment actually represents a significant philosophical shift—recognizing the value of long-term expertise and institutional memory in environmental oversight.
In an era of climate crisis, retaining experts who understand Tucson's unique environmental challenges is essential—this small change could have outsized positive impacts for sustainability governance.
Homelessness and Addiction: Addressing the Crisis Without Criminalization
Brandy Champion, Community Safety Program Director who openly identified herself as someone with lived experience of homelessness, provided a powerful update on homelessness initiatives. Her personal testimony added profound depth to the statistical overview: "This is what it takes to tackle this issue. And I don't mind saying that out loud because here I am today with all of you and this is where my peers can get to if we give them the right help."
Champion's voice cracked with emotion as she added: "If we put the right work in the right hands and give them the right support and help. So I really appreciate... I'm going to get emotional... I really appreciate this Mayor and Council's effort on pushing things in our community."
The data she presented showed genuine progress despite limited resources: 245 participants were assessed, and 119 were housed since January 2024 through housing initiatives. The city's temporary extreme weather and respite shelter currently serves 137 people (93 adults and 44 children), while the Housing Emergency Action Response Team (HEART) provides wraparound services for 45 households.
Mayor Romero emphasized the need for opioid settlement funds to establish a detox facility, proposing a SAFR (Sobering Alternative for Recovery) center. City Manager Thomure explained the complexity of opioid addiction treatment: "What makes opioids so complex is the difficult journey to sobering that occurs with it... It's not just quick cold turkey and get over it and move on. It's a very different challenge."
Councilmember Cunningham emphasized the urgent need for alternatives to jail for those struggling with addiction: "We have to have an alternative to jail site where it's not... Look, I know that it's really a hard fine line to dictate to people that they need help mandated care doesn't work. Anybody with a social work background doesn't know that, but mandated care can advance the case a little bit, especially if you go to or three times four times."
The recognition that incarceration is not a solution to addiction represents progress, but the focus on "mandated care" still approaches addiction through a coercive rather than healing framework.
Federal Funding Failures: The Real Cost of Washington's Dysfunction
Mayor Romero delivered perhaps her most impassioned statement of the evening when addressing the impact of federal government dysfunction on Tucson's projects. Her voice carried unmistakable frustration as she detailed the devastating impacts of congressional inaction:
"For months, we've watched uncertainty and dysfunction dominate in Washington, creating a landscape of instability for local governments across the country," Romero began, her cadence measured but forceful. "The inability to pass full-year appropriations, the reliance on short-term continuing resolutions, and the ongoing political gridlock have made it nearly impossible for cities like Tucson to plan effectively for our future."
She then methodically listed the casualties of this dysfunction:
The Speedway and Stone Housing Development: $4 million in federal investments lost
The Tucson Pima County Navigation Center: $3 million in promised funding vanished
Barrio Nopal Park improvements: canceled entirely
TPD's Vehicle Fleet Modernization program: $3.5 million evaporated
The Northwest Reclaim System Augmentation water project: critical funding eliminated
"This is not just disappointing," Romero declared, her voice rising. "It makes a mockery of congressional-directed spending processes. The entire point of this system is to allow local governments to identify community needs and work in partnership with our congressional delegation to deliver results for Tucsonans."
The cruel irony—while Congress postures about government spending, real people in Tucson lose housing opportunities, park improvements, and basic infrastructure that would improve their daily lives.
Casita Village at La Mariposa: Environmental Justice Meets Development Pressure
The public hearing on the proposed Casita Village at La Mariposa development revealed the high stakes of development in environmentally sensitive areas. For nearly 90 minutes, residents from the Bear Canyon Neighborhood Association and surrounding areas shared traumatic experiences with flooding and raised profound concerns about development in a floodplain.
Jane Lord in Riojas, whose property directly abuts the proposed development, displayed photographs showing apocalyptic flooding conditions: "Our pictures show water in 1993 rushing all around our property a mile wide and several feet deep from just south of Tancrede to north of Speedway," she testified, her voice steady but clearly affected by the memory. "Transformers could be heard exploding. My daughter recalls being terrified that her father and our horses would be killed."
The most harrowing testimony came from Catherine Karsh, who nearly drowned when floodwaters swept away her hired car. Her detailed account of the near-death experience silenced the chamber:
"We were warned that Bonanza Avenue could flood, but we had never seen flooding like that on August 2nd, 2021," Karsh explained. "We realized that the driver's open window was our only way out because all the child locks were on. We climbed into the front seat, and I was able to exit through the open window. I hung onto the driver's door while my husband held onto my arms and shoulders. The force of the current was so strong that I could not attempt to stand in the neck-high water."
The science behind the residents' concerns was reinforced by Dr. Brian Wallin, a hydrologist with a PhD in civil engineering hired by the Bear Canyon Neighborhood Association. Wallin methodically dismantled the technical assumptions underlying the development approval:
"For the hydrology, which is the rainfall that occurs and feeds into the hydraulic models, even though the floodplains were updated in 2012, the hydrology that was used for that, the flow rates that were used for that are actually from the original study back in 1986," Wallin explained. "So these flow rates have not been updated since 1986. And so now there's been like 40 more years, so there's been a lot more years for data. So the hydrology might change. There's climate change. There's fires that could be considered."
The disconnect between residents' lived experiences of flooding and the outdated models being used to approve development represents a fundamental failure of governance—privileging profit over people's safety.
After extensive testimony, Councilmember Cunningham moved to continue the item to allow for further consideration of a potential flood mitigation basin: "I felt that was a good discussion point," Cunningham explained. "But... not everybody knows about this. We don't have enough information out there publicly, and we can't drop the, hey, look at this basin last second."
Community Corridors Tool: A Progressive Vision Meets Mixed Reality
The Council's consideration of the Community Corridors Tool (CCT) revealed the tension between the urgent need for housing and the legitimate concerns about neighborhood impacts. This amendment to the Unified Development Code would provide flexibility for development along major corridors and near transit routes, including height allowances and reduced parking requirements.
Gustavo Silva, a Ward 1 resident, delivered perhaps the most pointed testimony in support of the tool, challenging the privilege underlying much of the opposition:
"I want to take the time to remind everyone, especially people behind Zoom screens who think some sort pays our propaganda, that it is a privilege to sit in the confines of your single-family residence and complain about development," Silva stated, his voice rising with conviction. "If you just step outside of your house and face the reality of the housing crisis, you would understand the need to let go of your selfish personal desires and invest in our community's collective needs."
Silva continued, highlighting the absent voices in the debate: "People that do not show up here are the 8,000 families that we're sort of housing for. The people who do not show up here are people who are getting displaced from their houses because the rents are just racing up year by year. The people that do not show up here are the unhoused population who are living on the washes right now."
Ben Carpenter, a homeowner with a background in urban planning, offered a critical perspective on the systemic constraints facing housing development in Arizona: "The State of Arizona has many statutes that disallow and preempt many of the tools that other municipalities would use to develop affordable housing. So we are forced into a situation where city staff and developers and everyone who's interested in developing housing has to find workarounds and policies that will allow it and encourage it and incentivize it."
Carpenter warned against diluting the tool's effectiveness: "I would also encourage you to please not amend the proposed UDC modification because if you do, it will likely kill the ability for developments to work... housing gets developed in the margins. It absolutely does. And if we change heights specifically and lower them at the behest of a few loud neighbors, the projects are not going to work."
The reality Carpenter identifies is crucial—in a state where the legislature actively undermines local control, cities like Tucson need creative tools just to achieve basic housing production goals.
The perspective of historic neighborhoods was represented by Guy Dobbins, president of the El Presidio Neighborhood Association, who raised legitimate concerns about process and scale:
"The proposal affects thousands of properties and would effectively allow six-story buildings to be built within 50 feet of existing single-family residences while four-story buildings could be built within 30 feet," Dobbins argued. He added that the process suffered from "a lack of respect for existing neighborhoods in this proposal punctuated by the failure to notify owners of affected properties, thereby eliminating public participation in any kind of process."
After thoughtful debate, the Council adopted the ordinance with an amendment requiring additional notice for CCT applications. The ordinance passed 6-0, with Vice Mayor Santa Cruz emphasizing the tool's importance in addressing housing needs: "We have a deficit of over 4,700 units just to address the current immediate need for our unsheltered homelessness. And that doesn't take into account folks like myself and others here who have spoken about being stuck renting because they cannot afford the cost of housing right now."
Criminalizing Homelessness: The Council Draws a Partial Line
In the most morally fraught vote of the night—and the real headline-grabber—the Council considered three ordinances responding to Proposition 312, which would:
Prohibit occupation of traffic medians except for crossing streets
Prohibit camping in washes
Modify regulations concerning camping in parks
The context for these ordinances—a voter-approved measure allowing property owners to sue cities for not enforcing laws against behaviors associated with homelessness—created a nearly impossible ethical dilemma for council members. Talk about being caught between a rock and a homeless place!
City Attorney Mike Rankin framed the ordinances as defensive measures against lawsuits: "Because of Proposition 312, the last thing we want to have on our books is an ordinance that can't be enforced because that can then be the trigger for 312 claims for reimbursement of property tax payments."
Transportation Director Sam Credio testified that medians are not designed for pedestrian use, and Police Chief Kasmar noted that pedestrian fatalities have been a significant issue, with 34 pedestrian deaths in traffic in 2024 alone.
The median ban passed 5-1, with only Vice Mayor Santa Cruz voting against it. She explained her position with refreshing directness: "It is because it's couched under prop 312 that I won't support it. Because if we were talking about pedestrian safety, this would look very different."
Let's be real—if this were genuinely about pedestrian safety, we'd be redesigning our streets, not criminalizing people who have nowhere else to go. But hey, who needs consistent logic when there are taxpayer lawsuits to avoid?
The debate over prohibiting camping in washes exposed deep divisions within the Council. Councilmember Cunningham delivered an impassioned argument against criminalization without alternatives that had several audience members nodding vigorously:
"We don't have anywhere for them to go," Cunningham stated emphatically, his frustration visible. "The second we say you can't stay in the wash, then they're moving to alleys, or they're moving into parks, which I don't want. Sorry. I mean that's kind of the thing is that there's only so much space if we had coupled with like if we had a provision that allowed designated areas for camping in a transitional phase to transition this enforcement. Then I'd be a little a way more comfortable with this."
Cunningham continued, highlighting the humanity of those living in washes: "We've got multi-tiered camps and multi types of camps in each wash. We have camps that are visible in nearby residences that folks call about right away. I've met two or three fellow persons. I don't know, probably 15 times each who are tucked away. No one even knows they're there. They don't want to be bothered."
Cunningham speaks the uncomfortable truth—without sufficient shelter beds or designated safe spaces, these ordinances simply shuffle human beings from one location to another, accomplishing nothing but additional trauma.
Mayor Romero expressed profound frustration with voters who approved Proposition 312 but rejected Proposition 414, which would have funded more housing and services: "I am really perplexed, very perplexed on the voting patterns of our community," she said, her voice revealing genuine bewilderment. "I think it was a misguided proposition. I took a position against it, a very public position against this and other horrible initiatives that were put there by the Republicans in the state legislature. Let's just be honest."
She continued, expressing her conflicted position: "But then this proposition 312 will expose us. Will expose us. And it will be coming from groups and it will be coming from individuals that many of us know the names of already."
The true cruelty of Arizona's political landscape becomes visible—conservative state legislators design ballot measures that force progressive local governments to criminalize the poor or face financial penalties. It's a deliberately constructed trap.
The ordinance prohibiting camping in washes failed on a dramatic 3-3 tie vote, with Councilmembers Cunningham and Dahl joining Vice Mayor Santa Cruz in opposition. The third ordinance regarding camping in parks was not considered following the failure of the wash camping ordinance.
Councilmember Dahl explained his opposition plainly: "We had a robust discussion of it during the study session, and I stated my intention, but then I'm not going to vote for this one or for the parks one. We have systems in place, and we are refining them. We do offer services and we have tools to deal with illegal behavior. I think this is stepping over the line and criminalizing homelessness."
Moving Forward: Community Power in a Challenging Landscape
As the meeting approached midnight after nearly seven hours of deliberation, the mixed results reflected Tucson's complex reality—a progressive city struggling within a hostile state political environment, facing federal dysfunction and its own internal contradictions.
The failure of the camping prohibitions represents a moral victory—a recognition that criminalization without alternatives is cruelty masquerading as governance. Meanwhile, the approval of the Community Corridors Tool offers genuine hope for addressing housing production in transit-rich locations.
The Council's willingness to pause on the La Mariposa development demonstrates that organized community voices can impact outcomes, especially when armed with both personal testimony and technical expertise. This particular victory may be temporary, but it shows the power of neighborhood solidarity.
For Tucsonans committed to building a more just, sustainable city, these results offer both encouragement and a stark reminder of the work that remains. The path forward requires continued vigilance and engagement on multiple fronts:
Attend neighborhood association meetings to stay informed about local developments and build community power
Participate in public hearings and calls to the audience at future Council meetings—your testimony matters
Contact council members directly with specific policy recommendations, not just general complaints
Support community organizations working on housing justice, labor rights, and environmental protection
Monitor implementation of the Community Corridors Tool to ensure it produces truly affordable housing
Join mutual aid networks providing direct support to unhoused neighbors while advocating for systemic solutions
Challenge the narratives that pit housed and unhoused residents against each other, recognizing our common interests in dignity and security
The struggle for a just Tucson continues, with both setbacks and victories. Each Council meeting represents another opportunity to push the boundaries of what's possible—to insist that our elected officials match their progressive rhetoric with substantive action. The people's power lies in our collective voice, our organizing capacity, and our unwavering vision of a city that truly works for all Tucsonans.
What strategies have you found effective for influencing local government decisions? And how can we build stronger coalitions between housed and unhoused residents to address these complex issues?
Quotes
"We don't have anywhere for them to go. The second we say you can't stay in the wash, then they're moving to alleys or they're moving into parks, which I don't want." — Councilmember Paul Cunningham, explaining his opposition to the wash camping prohibition
"I can tell you right now there are probably fewer than 10 people in Tucson Water customer service who even make close to that. You guys have been failing on actually compensating your employees fairly." — Rachel Kale, 17-year Tucson Water employee and union vice president
"This is not just disappointing. It makes a mockery of congressionally directed spending processes." — Mayor Regina Romero on the loss of millions in federal funding for Tucson projects
"I want to take the time to remind everyone, especially people behind Zoom screens who think some sort pays us propaganda, that it is a privilege to sit in the confines of your single-family residence and complain about development." — Gustavo Silva, Ward 1 resident, advocating for the Community Corridors Tool
"We realized that the driver's open window was our only way out because all the child locks were on. We climbed into the front seat, and I was able to exit through the open window. I hung onto the driver's door while my husband held onto my arms and shoulders. The force of the current was so strong that I could not attempt to stand in the neck-high water." — Catherine Karsh, describing her near-drowning in floodwaters near the proposed La Mariposa development.
"TPD will have additional personnel and also a tethered drone to monitor activity. TPD is recommending that you remove any items from outside your business like chairs and signs that could be tempting to protesters." — Roland Baker, reading from an email sent by TPD to the University of Arizona regarding pro-Palestine protesters
People Mentioned
Regina Romero (Mayor): Expressed frustration with contradictory voter decisions: "I am really perplexed, very perplexed on the voting patterns of our community." Delivered emotional tribute to Congressman Raul Grijalva, calling him "my friend, my mentor, my political father."
Lane Santa Cruz (Vice Mayor): Questioned how the city reached a point where employee performance reviews weren't being conducted: "How did we ever get to a place where we don't do performance reviews? And how do we make sure that that doesn't ever happen again?" Voted against median ordinance, explaining: "It is because it's couch under prop 312 that I won't support it."
Paul Cunningham (Council Member): Eloquently argued against criminalizing camping in washes: "We don't have anywhere for them to go. The second we say you can't stay in the wash, then they're moving to alleys or they're moving into parks, which I don't want." Also advocated for alternatives to jail for those struggling with addiction.
Karin Uhlich (Council Member): Emphasized the importance of transparency in development processes: "I think transparency really is important if people can see those pre-application documents and they can look them up online... I think there's a higher degree of transparency than people even realize at this point."
Kevin Dahl (Council Member): Took a firm stance against criminalizing homelessness: "We have systems in place, and we are refining them. We do offer services and we have tools to deal with illegal behavior. I think this is stepping over the line and criminalizing homelessness."
Tim Thomure (City Manager): Acknowledged systemic failures in employee compensation: "When people are in a job classification, and there's a range for that job classification, there should be some reasonable expectation that the more experience in qualifications and education you have in that area, you would be placed more highly in that range than others who have less education experience qualifications."
Brandy Champion (Community Safety Program Director): Brought lived experience to her role overseeing homelessness initiatives: "This is what it takes to tackle this issue. And I don't mind saying that out loud because here I am today with all of you and this is where my peers can get to if we give them the right help."
Mike Rankin (City Attorney): Explained the legal rationale for the ordinances: "Because of Proposition 312, the last thing we want to have on our books is an ordinance that can't be enforced, because that can then be the trigger for 312 claims for reimbursement of property tax payments."
Rachel Kale (Tucson Water employee): Delivered devastating critique of city compensation: "I've been here for 17 years and I can say I make 82 cents more than someone who's been here five years. You do not compensate well."
Nikki Larson (Police dispatcher): Described traumatic working conditions: "I can't count how many times I've had to remain calm and composed while on the phone with a mother whose child has just been shot, guide an elderly husband through CPR to keep his wife alive."
Catherine Karsh (Resident): Shared harrowing near-death experience in floodwaters: "We realized that the driver's open window was our only way out because all the child locks were on. We climbed into the front seat, and I was able to exit through the open window."
Brian Wallin (Hydrologist): Provided expert testimony on flooding risks: "For the hydrology, which is the rainfall that occurs and feeds into the hydraulic models, even though the floodplains were updated in 2012, the hydrology that was used for that, the flow rates that were used for that are actually from the original study back in 1986."
Gustavo Silva (Ward 1 resident): Challenged privilege in development debates: "It is a privilege to sit in the confines of your single-family residence and complain about development. If you just step outside of your house and face the reality of the housing crisis, you would understand the need to let go of your selfish personal desires."
Gerald Montag (Veteran): Condemned city approach to homelessness: "What is new to me is a local government willing to pile on to the suffering. A city council whose solution to get the people off the street would be to take the street away."
Roland Baker (Activist): Exposed troubling police surveillance of protesters: "TPD will have additional personnel and also a tethered drone to monitored activity. TPD is recommending that you remove any items from outside your business like chairs and signs that could be tempting to protesters."
Raul Grijalva (Late Congressman): Eulogized by Mayor Romero as "my friend, my mentor, my political father," with acknowledgment of his decades of service to Tucson and role in establishing the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni National Monument.
Eva Dong (Arizona Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Holiday Coalition): Connected labor history to present struggles: "Our employees throughout the United States are being harmed. Unions, non-union, all of our employees are being harmed, and we've got to start to remember what was done in the past for us by some of these iconic people."
