Letter: Tucson voters will regret rejecting 25-year TEP agreement

TEP voter remorse

Tucson voters, I believe you will rue the day you voted against a new 25-year Tucson Electric Power agreement. What angers me to no end is that those of us in the county served by excellent TEP services and pricing will feel the pain of your vote, even though we did not have the opportunity to vote on this question. You "drank the Kool-Aid." I believe we will feel the pain in higher prices and poorer services! If you decide to make electricity a government entity, I suspect you will see cost increases that will make Trump inflation feel like a reward!

Cliff Wagner

North side

Just say no to SpaceX data center

SpaceX, which acquired the company that built a data center in Memphis called Colossus, that, then ran the polluting gas turbines day and night without permits, and ignored resident complaints, is now asking for a special use authorization to build a 6GW, 747-acre data center in Arizona.

Just say no! Data centers do not bring 1,000 local jobs on a permanent basis. Their water use claims are bordering on unbelievable. Air cooling is inefficient and loud. And once they build their data center, they will do what they want and possibly tie the county and state up in lawsuits for decades while they continue to pollute the environment and ruin rural Arizona.

Bora Akyol

Northwest side

Wildcats are doing it again

A few years ago I wrote a letter to the editor defending Coach Brent Brennan against others who thought he should have been fired after his first season. I said he'd do great things for the program and he has. The Cats play the toughest game of the year Saturday night in Tucson. After last weekend’s comeback we should all be there.

Coach is trying to rally the city to support this great team. Everyone in Tucson should be happy that Brennan is our coach and is worth supporting. Those that can afford it and have the time Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. should show up and support the team that could win the biggest game this year vs. the No. 2 team in the country. Get out to Casino Del Sol Stadium and show the players you believe in them.

John Bingham

Northwest Side

The reawakening of America

On Nov. 3, America was reawakened to its true self. Trump was the ballot. For me, he represented dishonesty, incompetence, arrogance, corruption, cruelty, misogyny and racism. Americans made it clear that what Trump is, we Americans are not.

Across the nation, we said with our votes that we are a multicultural melting pot, as we have been for 250 years. Our votes said that we will not follow dictators and oligarchs. With our votes, we said we cannot be bought, and we will not sell our democracy or our dignity for a few dollars.

Americans are intelligent, compassionate and patriotic. Real Americans are loyal to the Constitution of our founding fathers. Americans come in many colors and identify themselves in many ways. All Americans are equal in their democratically guaranteed rights. Many Americans worship God, who may come in different names, but a God who teaches us to care for and love each other. We are back, baby! Stay awake.

Richard Bechtold

West side

Constituent concerns

I am hopeful that the change in the state legislature will prove successful for all Arizonans. What is primarily lacking throughout our local, state and national governments is transparency and honesty. Sadly, there is no way to measure or confirm one's honesty; we have to take their word for it. That said, I am very happy about the representation of Tucson leadership in our state government. While I wish them the best and am hopeful to improve the lives of Arizonans, I have concerns regarding Senator Priya Sundareshan. There have been various issues in which I have directly contacted her but never received a response. Not even an affirmation that my response was received. I am also aware that this same lack of response has occurred with other constituents. I will remain hopeful for our new leadership, and I look forward to working with Senator Sundareshan, though I hope she responds!

Anthony Caputo

Foothills

Republican principles and Trumpism

I enjoyed Jeanne Osgood’s thoughtful letter of Nov. 7. Believing in free speech, entrepreneurship, hard work, merit and personal responsibility applies equally to proud Democrats or Independents. The letter raised the following questions for me: If one believes in free speech, would one support Donald Trump, who seeks to silence (or jail) his critics? If one believes in merit, can one truly believe a person like Trump has the character or qualifications for the office of the presidency? Has he surrounded himself with competent people or only those who feed his ego? As to personal responsibility, I cannot recall any time during his years as president that Donald Trump took personal responsibility for any difficult moments or events. I doubt he’s ever held himself accountable in his entire life. Ultimately, I think being a “proud Republican” these days requires fully rejecting “Trump Republicanism,” which has stained the principles and integrity the party once had.

S. Ross Emmanuel

Southeast side

The American Oval Office

I have had the extraordinary honor and privilege of visiting the White House Oval Office five times, a most prestigious experience in my civic life. The office is a preeminent symbol of the American presidency. It is a historic space where major global decisions are made, where heads of state are hosted, and where executive power is exercised.

The current gaudy gilding and elaborate, showy ornamentation of the President’s Office in the West Wing have rendered it nearly unrecognizable. It is nothing short of perverse and distinctly unpresidential. Sadly, this is the trademark of a vulgar, grudgeful, petty old man, filled with vindictiveness, ill will and malice. He proclaimed the room a national historic monument to himself to prevent future White House occupants from scraping and stripping his tacky gold schlock off the walls when he exits.

Jerry Wilkerson

SaddleBrooke

Public schools

We have a unique opportunity to fix the voucher system that is destroying our public schools and depleting our state budget: First, keep the vouchers but use an income sliding scale. Second, oversight of voucher spending. Third, any school accepting tax money must be accountable. Finally, teachers must be certified and qualified.

Susan Hansen

Northwest side

Home of the brave — Iran

Let's thank the courageous people of Iran who withstood the bullying, indiscriminate bombings, food shortages, power disruptions, so that here in America, the Republican Party, source of their miseries, got its just desserts.

Hopefully, Iran will now refuse to negotiate with our president, thus continuing the war and, yes, our high gas and living costs. Perhaps. Americans will be brave enough to endure those minor deprivations to bring about a regime change here at home.

Dennis Winsten

Northeast side

Safe elections

Congratulations. We pulled off a highly contentious election without any violence. We followed the rule of law. God bless America.

Richard Pierson

Southwest side