🚒 Pima County Board Meeting Highlights: Immigration, Funding, and Climate Action

With compelling statistics, Supervisor Allen counters inflammatory remarks about immigration and drugs, spotlighting U.S. citizens' role in trafficking.

On Border Policy and Drug Trafficking

• Laurie Moore: "Did any of those facts mean anything to you Democrats on this board when you agreed to participate and finance 500,000 unknowns across the open Mexico border?"

  • Context: Call to the Public, inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric

• Supervisor Allen (Rebutting Moore): "90% of the drugs that are apprehended entering this country have come through ports of entry and moreover a similar percentage they have been carried into this country by U.S. citizens."

  • Context: Data-driven response challenging xenophobic narratives

On Fire District Funding

• Chief Bradley: "We're burdened by the entire cost of [serving] governmental entities that are tax exempt... without any opportunity for sharing."

  • Context: Describing systemic underfunding of emergency services

On Aviation Safety

• Donette Beulie (Tucson Airport Authority): "Aviation remains the safest mode of transportation in the world. Nearly 50,000 flights take off and land safely each day in the United States."

  • Context: Addressing recent aviation incidents and safety concerns

Notable Individuals and Their Significance

Elected Officials

1. Chair Scott

   • Meeting Chair

   • Facilitated discussions and votes

2. Supervisor Grijalva

   • Consistent supporter of progressive motions

3. Supervisor Christy

   • Frequently voiced skeptical or dissenting views

   • Voted against some grant acceptances

   • Quote: Demonstrated consistent questioning of administrative proposals

4. Supervisor Heinz

   • Initiated discussion on fire district funding

   • Quote about fire districts: "Anywhere there is a breakdown or inefficient and inadequate response time... it puts all of us at risk."

5. Supervisor Allen

   • Provided fact-based rebuttals

   • Highlighted systemic inequities

   • Challenged xenophobic narratives with statistical evidence

Community Presenters

1. Dr. Augustine Romero (Pascua Yaqui Department of Education)

   • Delivered land acknowledgement

   • Quote: "We strive towards building equal partner relations with Arizona's tribal nations."

2. Craig Ivanyi (Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum Director)

   • Honored for 40-year tenure

   • Quote: "I never expected to have a Craig Ivanyi Day."

3. Dr. Cheree Meeks (NAACP Tucson Branch President)

   • Spoke during Black History Month proclamation

   • Quote: "Black History is American history."

4. Laurie Moore (Public Speaker)

   • Delivered controversial comments on border policy

   • Inflammatory rhetoric about immigration and drug trafficking

5. Robert Royce (Public Speaker)

   • Challenged proposed sales tax increase

   • Quote: "It's just not fair for the city of Tucson residents to be paying for their city government with a sales tax."

Fire District Chiefs

1. Chief Bradley (Northwest Fire District)

   • Highlighted systemic funding challenges

   • Detailed complexities of emergency service provision

2. Chief Wunder (Santa Rita Fire District)

   • Discussed regional fire service challenges

   • No specific memorable quotes captured

3. Chief Delfs (Avra Valley Fire District)

   • Participated in fire district funding discussion

   • No specific memorable quotes captured

Administrative Staff

1. Sarah Davis (Senior Advisor, Climate Action)

   • Presented comprehensive climate action plan

   • Emphasized regional collaboration and environmental justice

2. Administrator Lesher

   • Facilitated various agenda items

   • Provided context for administrative decisions

This compilation reveals the complex interplay of local governance, highlighting moments of systemic critique, bureaucratic negotiation, and potential for transformative community action.

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

At a meeting, people talked about important issues in their community. 🗣️ Laurie Moore claimed that immigration leads to more drugs and crime, but Supervisor Allen shared real facts 📊 to show that most drugs are brought in by American citizens. 🚔 Fire Chief Bradley explained that their fire departments are losing money 💰 and need more help to keep everyone safe. 🛑 Others discussed how to protect the environment 🌍 and make sure everyone pays fair taxes. 💵 It was a lively discussion about how to make their community better for everyone. 🤝

🗝️ Takeaways

• 📈 Critical Data: 90% of drug apprehensions happen at ports of entry, primarily involving U.S. citizens.

• 🚨 Funding Crisis: Fire services face severe underfunding, risking community safety across tax-exempt areas.

• 🌍 Climate Strategy: An aggressive climate action plan prioritizes carbon reduction and environmental justice.

• 💬 Public Voices: Community speakers challenge narratives around taxation and immigration, highlighting systemic inequalities.

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Power, Policy, and Resistance: Dismantling Oppression Through Local Governance

Introduction: The Political Landscape of Pima County

The February 18, 2025 Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting was far more than a routine governmental proceeding. It was a microcosm of broader societal tensions, where the intricate dance of power, representation, and community survival played out in real-time. Each agenda item and each spoken word represented a potential battlefield for social justice, a moment where systemic inequities could be challenged or perpetuated.

Land Acknowledgement: More Than Ritual, A Declaration of Continued Presence

Dr. Augustine Romero's read the land acknowledgement as the Director of the Pascua Yaqui Department of Education:

"On behalf of Pima County residents, we honor the tribal nations who have served as caretakers of this land from time immemorial and respectful acknowledges the ancestral homelands of the Tohono O’odham and the multi-millennial presence of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe within Pima County."

This is not history—this is an ongoing occupation.

Beyond the acknowledgment, Dr. Romero illuminated the vibrant, transformative work of the Pascua Yaqui community:

• Bimonthly food distribution program delivering $1,000 worth of food to families

• Development of an Early Childhood Learning Center

• Comprehensive language and cultural preservation initiatives

• Strategic partnerships with social services

The final line of his acknowledgment was particularly potent:

"Consistent with Pima County's commitment to diversity and inclusion, we strive towards building equal partner relations with Arizona's tribal nations."

Who is Dr. Romero, who is now in charge of Education for the Tribe?

Pueblo High School principal Auggie Romero has come under fire in recent years over a grade changing scandal. He's been on the hot seat after a teacher came forward to E.W. Scripps television station KGUN in Tucson — that Romero changed several seniors grades without her consent — a violation of state law. And she provided proof — her grade sheets.

"This is something that has never happened before in my 31 years as a teacher," said Yolanda Sotelo in 2016.

Romero even admitted on Facebook he changed the grades, but claimed his supervisor, Abel Morado, directed him to take that action.

KGUN obtained a scathing memo written by Morado, who stated that wasn't the case. He stated that he had reminded Romero he needed to get the teacher to change grades and Romero's "failure to comply with the very simple directive caused all of the controversy."

The memo also reveals the Deconcini law firm investigated the allegations and found Romero "did change the student's grades."

KGUN-9 News.

Call to the Public: Voices from the Margins

Fentanyl, Borders, and the Rhetoric of Fear

Laurie Moore's testimony exploded with a raw, unfiltered critique that laid bare the complex intersections of immigration, drug policy, and racial politics. Her statement wasn't just a public comment—it was a provocative intervention into the dominant narrative about border security and drug trafficking. By invoking the specter of fentanyl and "500,000 unknowns," Moore weaponized a rhetoric that has long been used to criminalize immigrant communities.

The subtext was clear: a deeply racialized fear-mongering that attempts to transform human beings into statistical threats. While her language was inflammatory, it exposed the ongoing moral panic surrounding immigration, revealing how local political discourse continues to be poisoned by xenophobic narratives.

Supervisor Allen's response was particularly noteworthy, providing a critical counterpoint rooted in statistical reality:

"90% of the drugs that are apprehended entering this country have come through ports of entry and moreover a similar percentage have been carried into this country by U.S. citizens."

This data-driven rebuttal dismantled Moore's narrative, highlighting the importance of fact-based discourse in challenging racist misconceptions.

Taxation and Economic Justice

Robert Royce's critique of Proposition 414 went beyond a simple tax complaint. His testimony revealed the deeply unequal economic landscape of Pima County. By pointing out the disparate tax burdens between urban Tucson residents and wealthier suburban areas, Royce exposed the systemic economic violence embedded in local fiscal policies.

"It's just not fair for the city of Tucson residents to be paying for their city government with a sales tax... and then cross the river into the foothills and there's no sales tax on luxury restaurants."

His words highlighted how regressive taxation disproportionately impacts working-class and marginalized communities, creating economic barriers that perpetuate existing inequalities.

Major Discussions: Systemic Challenges Laid Bare

Climate Action: A Survival Strategy

Sarah Davis's climate presentation transcended bureaucratic reporting, presenting a comprehensive survival strategy for a rapidly changing world. The Climate Action Plan wasn't just a document—it was a roadmap for collective resilience in the face of environmental collapse.

Key priorities included:

• Aggressive carbon reduction strategies

• Comprehensive extreme heat mitigation

• Strategic water conservation efforts

• Proactive wildfire risk management

The plan's emphasis on regional collaboration and environmental justice signaled a profound understanding that climate survival requires collective, intersectional approaches.

Fire District Funding: Infrastructural Violence Exposed

The fire districts' testimony revealed the brutal consequences of systemic resource neglect. Chiefs from Northwest, Santa Rita, and Avra Valley Fire Districts painted a devastating portrait of community vulnerability.

Their challenges were not mere administrative issues but manifestations of broader societal inequities:

• Severely limited budgets

• Rapidly aging emergency equipment

• Ongoing recruitment and retention challenges

• Dramatically uneven service levels across different communities

Chief Bradley's testimony was a damning indictment of the current system:

"We're burdened by the entire cost of [serving] governmental entities that are tax exempt... without any opportunity for sharing."

This statement exposed how structural economic inequities directly compromise community safety, transforming what should be essential public services into sites of potential catastrophic failure.

Votes and Power Dynamics: Democracy in Action

The board's voting patterns revealed the complex negotiations of local governance. Unanimous votes on proclamations like Black History Month and the Election Integrity Commission Report demonstrated moments of potential solidarity. However, split votes on grants like the Safety and Justice Challenge revealed underlying ideological fractures.

Supervisor Christy's consistent dissenting votes suggested a deliberate political strategy, a willingness to stand apart from consensus to make a broader point about fiscal or programmatic concerns.

Financial Landscape: Precarity and Potential

The financial update wasn't just numbers—it was a map of potential futures. A projected $4.8 million revenue increase existed alongside looming federal grant uncertainties, creating a landscape of both hope and profound vulnerability.

Call to Action: Transformative Community Power

Strategies for Collective Resistance:

1. Consistently attend Board of Supervisors meetings

2. Develop robust local climate action networks

3. Support comprehensive fire district funding reforms

4. Challenge regressive taxation through organized community pressure

Reflection: Hope as Revolutionary Practice

Despite systemic challenges, hope is not passive—it is an active, revolutionary practice of collective imagination and persistent resistance.

Discussion Prompts

How can we build intersectional solidarity to challenge the systemic inequities exposed in this meeting?

What community-driven strategies can effectively redistribute resources and power in Pima County?

Your thoughts, analyses, and visions of transformation are welcome. Comment below and join the struggle.

In persistent solidarity, The Three Sonorans Watchdog

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