25-year commitment doomed Tucson Electric Power agreement | Letter

Long-term commitment

I voted against the 25-year Tucson Electric Power agreement for one specific reason: 25 years is too long. Experience and history have shown that a lot of things change during a quarter-century. As just one example, 25 years ago a need for energy to power massive data centers and AI was not in anybody's equation. I think it is a mistake to be locked into an agreement of such length. I would have supported a 10-year agreement, and I hope that is the maximum length of any future agreement that TEP and the City of Tucson bring to us voters.

Roy Goodman

Midtown

GOP ignores voter concerns

The responses by ousted Republicans after the midterm results capture the reasons these politicians are out of work. Most recently, Sen. John Kavanagh claimed the Republican devastation was “pretty much out of our control,” suggesting voters were motivated primarily by federal politics. I would argue that voters reacted to the incredible House and Senate inaction among nearly all Republican legislators. Rather than acknowledge voters' demand for action to lower daily costs, end the unnecessary war with Iran, regulate erratic ICE policies, and end the financial flood into Trump and his enabling friends’ bank accounts, Kavanagh plays dumb. And how well he does so.

Roger Shanley

East side

Show us your best self

Our newly elected and returning Democrats in Congress have the opportunity to model how this body should operate. They can work together and with their Republican colleagues to bring about the change the electorate expects and our country so desperately needs! My hope is that in the initial weeks they concentrate on ending the wars in Ukraine and Iran, bringing down costs, immigration reform and healthcare, rather than spending time on impeachment and retribution. History will show that President Trump is the most corrupt leader in our history; let this Congress embody diplomacy, respect and professional conduct.

Norie Nelson

Foothills

Tucson needs a municipal bank

San Francisco and Los Angeles may soon have a municipal bank. Philadelphia has had its own public financial authority since 2022. North Dakota has had a state bank since 1919. Current Arizona law bans such municipal banks, but a Democratic legislature can undo that prohibition. With interest rates high, the advantages could include lower costs and more liberal loans. A Tucson bank keeps money here rather than into the coffers of large for-profit commercial bank shareholders.

Ronald Spark

Midtown

Why the Blue Wave

MAGA and the Trump gang might not understand why they lost so badly. The voters, however, sent a clear message, and we all should think about the true meaning behind this political tsunami. After two years since Trump’s return to the White House, virtually every social and economic group in our country has suffered badly, except for the billionaires, of course. In essence, these 2026 midterms mirrored a deep sense of frustration, anger, fear and fury among a wide swath of the U.S. population. The elections really addressed the devastating hypocrisy, bigotry, pretentiousness, prejudice, contempt, incompetence, and countless other vices . Those who initiated economic and cultural wars against women at large, minorities, immigrants, the youth, the natural environment and all our economic partners globally undermined our legal system, our principles of democracy, and our sense of justice and freedom. Ultimately, I believe this was a vote against the utter selfishness and greed by Trump and his allies, manipulated by Putin!

Albrecht Classen

Midtown