Tucson Speaks Out: July 21

City Council Ward 3 race

What do we want from our elected officials? A Tucson Ward 3 resident for 44 years, I’ve known Kevin Dahl from the 1970s in the conservation movement. Kevin is one of the kindest, most compassionate, committed and decent people I know. He thinks well, understands the issues in front of him, asks questions, works hard for his constituents, and at the end of the day, tries to make this corner of the world better. His entire life, frankly, has been focused on conservation, environmental justice and doing right.

The decisions elected officials make are usually shades of gray. I want a councilperson with a demonstrated lifetime of solid character, caring and judgment, and demonstrated action moving Tucson forward and improving people’s lives. I’m proud of my friend’s service, and I urge my former neighbors to back him in the primary. A recent Ward 6 transplant, I look forward to being able to vote for Kevin Dahl again, come November.

Arlan Colton

Midtown

Three-piece thuggery

The Justice Department forced the resignations of seven prosecutors in February who refused to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams after he cut a deal with Trump to enforce Trump’s immigration agenda. Acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon called DOJ’s deal “an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case.”

Some 20 career DOJ prosecutors have been forced out of their jobs on grounds of principle by Attorney General Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Bove, now being considered for a federal judgeship.

There are lawsuits against sitting judges in Maryland, threats against judges in New Jersey, Louisiana, California and elsewhere. There are lawsuits against legal firms that represent clients or causes repugnant to Trump. Actions against academia.

Trump’s strong-arm coercion serves no public policy. Rather, an autocrat’s retribution. His DOJ enforcers are leg-breakers in suits. It’s three-piece thuggery.

Chuck Barrett

Midtown

Thanks for ‘leaving MAGA’ letter

I believe there is a lot of disillusionment going on among MAGA people. Much revolves around Trump’s failure to provide client lists involving Epstein and several conspiracy theories that were promoted by Trump, family and insiders. I am not a MAGA person, but I think we all deserve more honesty. Many love conspiracies, but when they are false, we all lose. I have searched “leaving MAGA” and found a site that presents testimonials of ex-MAGA people that shed light on all of this. Take a risk and listen to so many that have left.

Dan Bannon

Midtown

Juan Ciscomoney, you did it again

Rep. Juan Ciscomani just voted to strip $9 billion in foreign aid — that saves millions of lives around the world — and public broadcasting, which provides critical lifelines of information to poor and rural Americans.

And this after his outrageous vote to strip poor families of food and medicine so he could help send $1 trillion to billionaires and add $5 trillion to our national debt.

Why would he be so cruel to the poorest of us?

He did it because Juan Ciscomoney is all in for the cash! He wants to stuff even more millions into his pockets and operations. And he must be snickering all the way to the bank.

Our fine congressman set (unsavory) fundraising records this year. Total receipts for the 2025-26 cycle totaled $2,312,346.31 so far. And in Q1 of this year, he set a record for the district, grabbing more than $1.5 million. To date, 79% of the cash he has gathered is from PACs. Dirty money indeed.

Jeff Herr

North side

Voting for compassion in action

Now more than ever, we need local politicians who are willing to engage in challenging conversations and create action from ideas.

Miranda Schubert talks about relationships. Then, she builds them. I reached out to her as a future constituent, curious for her help as an expert navigating safer streets through a mini-grant for our neighborhood. She agreed to meet up right away. We talked. She listened. Took notes. Researched. Followed up.

Miranda volunteers with mutual aid groups to help unsheltered folks. She manages the operations for KXCI, the heartbeat of Tucson. She’s depended on public transit and knows the stats: any barriers to accessibility deter riders. She wants a community with transit connecting us. She’s worked in large systems at UA and Pima, helping students get access to resources.

I want to vote for someone who takes small and big actions, has deep community advocacy experience, and follows through.

That’s why I’m voting for Miranda. She’s compassion in action.

Kristen Sawyer

Midtown

Exceptional candidate Kevin Dahl

Tucson is facing many serious challenges over the next decade, including water security, climate preparedness, homelessness, infrastructure needs, and energy sustainability. Lucky for us, we have a fantastic candidate to represent us in Ward 3 who can address these issues most effectively: Kevin Dahl. I have known and collaborated on projects with Kevin for over 20 years and am extremely supportive of his candidacy. Kevin not only has critical experience in these areas, but he listens, is accessible, creative, energetic, and thoughtful in his approach to issues. He is not afraid to take difficult stands (e.g., in opposition to the controversial Project Blue proposal) and to ask critical questions. We will all sleep better knowing that we have a competent representative looking after our interests.

Jeanne Calhoun

Midtown

Heart and mind resolution

Tom McGorray appears to have made the admission that his decisions are based on subjective emotions (heart) rather than analytical reasoning (mind).

If most conservatives follow their subjective hearts rather than their rational minds, that might imply the basis for irrational loyalty for somebody who expresses only conditional loyalty for subordinates. The same can be said about liberals, except there is not currently a central figure with undue influence.

Scientific studies have confirmed decisions are primarily based on emotion, with reasoning coming into play to support the emotion-based decision.

Case in point: “… abortion is wrong …” I say, why is abortion wrong? What empirical evidence can be offered that confirms or denies this position?

Would we not be better off if we engaged in objective reflection and recognized the irrational influence of emotions before arriving at conclusions and decisions?

James Abels

Midtown

Truth is actually a viable option

President Trump has vehemently denied that he drew the picture of a naked woman and signed the drawing. Even with the dismal record of honesty for politicians, you would like to believe that what the President says may be true. Unfortunately, even those of you who fervently believe in this person must admit that when it comes to truth Trump trumps all known records for dishonesty. We probably all realize that he was somewhat involved because of his interest in keeping the records on the back burner. We also know that he will do all in his not inconsiderable power to keep total truth from public view. Doubtless, something will emerge in a redacted fashion, but most of us will remain unconvinced. I still hope that someday honesty will rise to the forefront for the Presidency and will not just be a laugher when he invokes his word.

Philip Reinecker

East side

Immigration reform

Watched an interview with the Governor of Maryland, and when asked about the Trump budget, his primary response was deflection. He spent a lot of time discussing the need for immigration reform after talking about how many people were going to lose their healthcare coverage because the taxpayers will no longer foot the bill. The problem is that Biden refused to obey the immigration law that existed. There may be a need to update the existing law, but there was a law in place when the Biden administration ignored and broke the law, allowing millions of illegal immigrants to enter the country. But the Biden administration went one step further; they actively aided and abetted the illegal immigrants by relocating them to various parts of the country. There may be a need for reform, but the first step seems to be in admitting that the law was broken by the Democratic administration and making every effort to remove the illegals from the country without Democratic interference or violence.

Loran Hancock

Northwest side

Controlling media

And now our ruler has the media tightly in his grip: Voice of America, NPR, PBS. By fiat — as well as by the intimidation of public media — our ruler has all but neutered the functioning of our democracy. He can silence the voice of his dissenters.

With little or no effective governance by both of the one-sided legislative and judicial branches, our ruler and his family dynasty are now in charge of the country. They have access to all of the internal workings of our government. They will arrange to reap the rewards for decades. The “purification” of America is well on its way and is being funneled through the mind of one person. I am ashamed. I am fearful.

Don Gerlach

East side

Let the Fed chair do his job

Trump often displays emotional swings and perfidious decisions/actions. That tendency creates chaotic environments under the Trump leadership. Some may believe that sowing chaos may be a deliberate Trump strategy designed to keep others off balance and more tentative in their postures.

An example is The Donald’s volatile threats to fire Federal Reserve Board chairman Jerome Powell. Trump appointed Powell during his first term as president. Powell has done a competent job to keep both the U.S. economy and its finances on an even keel and, concurrently, helped to maintain international financial stability.

Trump raised media stress levels and alarms by insisting that Powell aid him to stimulate the economy by lowering interest rates. Powell has resisted those Trump demands out of concern that it might cause inflation to increase. Trump is livid. Two conservative Trump-supporting media giants each have expressed concern over the threat and reasoned against Trump firing Powell. U.S. and world monetary and economic chaos might ensue. I agree.

Mort Ganeles

Foothills

Gutting science research

During my science career, I had the privilege of annually traveling to the National Science Foundation in D.C., where I sat on a panel of experts to review new research proposals, funding only those deemed most promising. The benefits of public research to this country are incalculable; one recent example was the lightning-fast development of RNA vaccines for COVID, saving millions of lives around the world. But now, individuals with no science background in the current administration are busy gutting this program for capricious reasons. One friend recently had his grant terminated because he had a German collaborator. The damage to science in this country will take decades to undo, as scientists are leaving and students are discouraged from entering these fields. Publicly funded research is also a primary driver for our economy. Without it, businesses in this country will starve for new ideas, far exceeding the negative impact of tariffs. Remember the Republicans who voted for this disaster in the next election cycle. Trust science, not morons.

Tim Helentjaris

Northwest side

Perfect irony

What perfect irony. CNN recently broadcast a live performance of the Broadway play “Good Night, and Good Luck,” celebrating Edward R Murrow and CBS’ courageous, principled, and successful stand for freedom of the press against a loud-mouthed bully of the 1950s, Senator Joseph R McCarthy (R-Wisconsin). McCarthy falsely claimed to have a list of Communists in the State Department, and he ruined the careers and reputations of those who opposed him, including many in the media.

Recently, Paramount, the parent company of CBS, paid off today’s loud-mouthed bully threatening the media, Donald Trump, to avoid a completely frivolous lawsuit he brought against CBS’ “60 Minutes,” and also to keep him from blocking a merger Paramount wanted.

And now, after Stephen Colbert spoke up against this Mafia-style payoff, CBS canceled his successful TV show, most likely in order to placate the bully and to avoid further angering him.

What a shameful and cowardly retreat for CBS from their forgotten courage and past glory.

Eric Weiss

Foothills

$2.5B Fed folly

This issue is so typical of the vile nature of Trump. Cite a dollar amount, name Powell and drop the notion of fraud without reason/facts. Please, let’s have some semblance of common sense. Are we really supposed to believe that Powell is the architect and general contractor solely responsible for cost? Or are there two or more planning commissions overseeing the project? One of which has recent Trump appointee. Trump and his sycophants fail to mention that there are actually two buildings being renovated, much less any mention of size. They happen to be on the Capital Mall and have historical designations. In keeping, the planning commissions have insisted on using marble as the facade. This attack/blame of Powell is simply one more Trump exaggeration/lie. Time to stop swallowing Trump’s BS and regurgitating it as having any relevance.

Brode Meyer

Midtown

How do women vote for Trump?

We know that at least 25 women have publicly accused Trump of sexual assullt. He has been found guilty of sexual abuse. We have all heard his tapes bragging about grabbing women by their you know what. He has bragged about when he owned the Miss Teen USA Pageant, how he could walk into the dressing room while they were getting dressed and bragged about seeing the “teenage girls” naked. Remember, even Ivanka accused him of rape, and Jill Harth’s 1967 claim of sexual harassment. We also know he was a very good friend of Epstein’s. There are many pictures of with him at many of Epstein’s parties. I am not sure whether the letter to Epstein is real or not, but “where there is smoke there is fire.” How can his base just turn a blind eye? How can any woman or man with any morals still follow him? I am not sure what can be done, but to have Trump lead our nation is a national disgrace.

Neil Norton

Oro Valley