Tucson Speaks Out: October 16

Ciscomani working for AZ-06

A lot of people say this election will be a referendum on President Trump. I see it differently. To me, it’s about who has actually done the work for Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District.

Voters have a choice between a two-term incumbent and someone who has never held elected office. Juan Ciscomani is a naturalized American who has worked hard to get where he is today. His story is a great example of the American Dream.

What I appreciate most is that Ciscomani hasn’t stopped working since going to Washington. Just look at the federal funding he has helped bring to our district for roads, police equipment, rural hospitals and teacher recruitment. These investments can make a real difference in our communities.

He has also worked to support small businesses, expand economic opportunities and help our veterans.

Results matter. Ciscomani has put in the work and gained valuable experience representing AZ-06. Why would we throw that progress away for an untested alternative?

Shirley Holbert

Marana

No print edition newspaper

I've received a print edition newspaper for six decades. My nightmare is that I'll outlive it. Today (Monday) I find how truly awful it would be.

Julie Ramerth

Green Valley

The rubber stamp

Juan Ciscomani claims he's no rubber stamp. Odd claim from someone who voted 100% of the time for the Trump agenda. Interest on the national debt is now 19% of all taxes collected. Ciscomani, where do you intend to cut costs and raise revenue? Or do nothing and let the dollar collapse? So far, you voted to increase the debt by trillions and give huge tax breaks to billionaires. You drastically cut services to the middle class . You've said nothing about Trump making billions trading on issues he's legislating on. What ideas do you have to solve the Social Security shortfall and underfunded Post Office? Or just let them collapse, as well, so billionaires can take it over? All serious issues a Trump man working for billionaires may not help us solve.

William Garrity

Foothills

What about the kids?

President Trump is pushing for a live-streamed public execution by firing squad. This is a horrible idea. Only two countries have recently done this: Afghanistan and Iran. Is the U.S. really now Iran or the Taliban? Think about our children, who will see this execution and will download it to their phones. The kids, of course, will then watch the video and share it with their friends. This is devastating and is not American. Send a message by not voting for any Republicans. Only vote for Democrats and Independents.

Ronald Wilcocks

Foothills

No on Prop. 425

County Supervisors are requesting to increase the expenditure base to $70 million. Once multiplied by population and inflation factors, this will raise the actual base by over $610 million. This base increase is for each year for the next 20 years.

Prop. 425 will take away one of the last power constraints remaining on County Supervisors: funding. This results in a license to implement personal agendas, expand bureaucracy, and approve obscene salaries of ever-growing numbers of agency and department administrators.

What's more powerful than the amount of money a government gets to spend as it “sees fit”? What's more dangerous and ominous to the good citizens of Pima County than this power without any constraints from the taxpayers? With their track record, why give them this power? Proposition 425 must be rejected.

Vote no on Proposition 425!

Pat Sexton

East side

Prop. 318 should be rewritten

Proposition 318 means well in trying to assure a level playing field for athletes. It falls short by not addressing the competitive needs of trans athletes, as well as traditional females. Clearly, trans-athletes have physical advantages, yet they should be allowed to compete. There are relatively few trans athletes in the U.S., so establishing trans-athlete leagues is not a solution, as there would be an extreme scarcity of competitors. The following approach offers an acceptable solution for all genders. Allow trans-athletes to compete with gender-specific athletes. However, any transgender athletes’ results would be asterisked to identify them as such. Winning athletes would receive awards for their sexual orientation category. There would be two awards — female and transgender. Both can compete, both can have results recorded, both can receive an award. No conflict. No witch hunt to identify whether an athlete is transgender. Female athletes are protected; trans athletes are allowed to enjoy competitive sports.

Dennis Winsten

Northeast side

Hegseth’s execution spectacle

Donald Trump's selection of unqualified persons for cabinet positions (think Kristi Noem, Tulsi Gabbard) has again become evident in his choice of Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense. How much more misguided can one get than to think it’s OK to “livestream” the execution of anyone, or in this case, Nidal Hasan? However, Hegseth missed a bet. He should have changed the execution date from Dec. 3 to Oct. 31. That way, he’d confirm his ghoulish thinking by making a spectacle of the event, coinciding with the ghouls of Halloween.

Jack Graef

SaddleBrooke

Condition of roads in Tucson

I have been reading the letters to the editor regarding Tucson’s roads and recently remembered my father’s comment about their construction years ago upon my family’s arrival. At one point, he was responsible for overseeing roads being built for a refinery and residential compound in the Philippines. He remarked, upon observing the process here, “ … they don’t know how to build durable roads.” He said the process, following surveying and planning for drainage, lacked two key steps: the compaction of the existing soil once poor soil has been removed and the placement of multiple layers of crushed gravel/stone, compacting each layer before the placement of asphalt or concrete. He said he saw asphalt being laid directly on the scraped soil — an invitation for the formation of cracks and potholes.

The University of Arizona’s Civil Engineering department's faculty are knowledgeable about the correct process. When bids to build/replace roads are requested by the City/County, do the facilities management departments consult civil engineering guidelines?

Jennifer Aviles

Southeast side

Vote no on propositions

The state-sponsored propositions on your ballot are there because they are so ridiculously bad that the Republican legislators knew Gov. Katie Hobbs would have vetoed them. Two are especially deceptive. Prop. 144 sounds like it is ensuring that only citizens vote (which is already in our laws), when actually it would almost certainly eliminate mail voting. Prop. 320 sounds like it would put more money toward classroom teachers, when in reality it does nothing of the kind. It would take away local control from Pima County schools, preventing them from using the limited money they have from being used where they determine it would do the most good.

Good governance requires the diligence of an educated citizenry. That means you! Let’s all do our part to make Arizona the best it can be. Vote no on all legislative propositions.

Kathleen Dubbs

West side

Hospital stay

As a patient at the Tucson VA hospital, it was by chance that Congressman Juan Ciscomani heard of my delay in getting care. He immediately instructed his staff to get it resolved for my urgent assistance in getting my needed care. It was handled within an hour, and I was transferred the next day. He truly does care about veterans. It makes no difference in their party affiliation.

David Blevins

Southeast side