Tucson Speaks Out: September 19

Ruiz is the better candidate

In the recently aired Clean Elections debate between the two candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Democrat Teresa Ruiz successfully presented herself as a professional educator running against a politician.

Her opponent, Kimberly Yee, repeatedly emphasized that she chaired the education committee at the State Legislature, but failed to explain why, after decades with the GOP in charge, our public schools are now 49th in funding and performance in the nation. Where was she during this long decline, brought on by GOP cuts to public education? She kept saying she wanted to stop the exodus of teachers from our public school system, but provided no concrete proposal in how to accomplish it. She promised increased funding for public schools, without saying where the money would come from, as her party is committed to still more tax cuts.

Ruiz is clearly the better candidate.

Jon Dorschner

Midtown

Robotics laws needed for AI

The science fiction writer Isaac Asimov created his “Three Laws of Robotics” for a 1940s short story and later included them in his acclaimed 1950 novel "I Robot." They are: "First Law: A robot cannot harm a human or allow one to come to harm through inaction; Second Law: A robot must obey human orders, unless they conflict with the First Law; Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence, provided this does not conflict with the First or Second Law."

Asimov later added a fourth, which he called the Zeroth Law: "A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm." Other writers came up with additional laws, my favorite being: "A robot must know it is a robot."

It seems to me that the AI industry and the world's governments ought to collectively come up with some similar guidelines before it's too late.

Ron Lent

East side

Animal protection in 2026

Arizonans saw attacks on our state’s wildlife this year, with bills designed to decimate native wildlife and prioritize cruel management practices on the table. As we approach election day on Nov. 3, it is critical that we pay attention to which lawmakers failed to stand against animal cruelty. With the release of Humane World Action Fund’s 2026 Arizona Humane Scorecard, one thing is clear: Tucson’s representatives stand with Arizonans and their animals.

Representatives Chris Mathis and Betty Villegas scored 100% thanks to their record of opposing bad bills and supporting common sense animal protection measures. In addition to voting against harmful wildlife bills, they voted in favor of bills to expand pet-friendly housing and to designate threats to harm family pets to the definition of coercive control, strengthening protections for survivors and their companions.

I encourage you to review the 2026 Arizona Humane Scorecard before casting your ballot, and to reelect candidates like Representatives Mathis and Villegas who stand against cruelty.

Bri Romero

West side

Open letter to Rep. Ciscomani

Representative Juan Ciscomani:

Have you invited or will you invite Trump to Tucson to campaign for you? Will you stand on the stage next to him and shake his hand?

Sandy Salz

Oro Valley

Proposition 421

As a Tucson real estate professional, I see firsthand how important infrastructure reliability is to our residents and businesses. Proposition 421 renews TEP's franchise agreement without raising rates or taxes.

It gives crews faster access to public rights-of-way for maintenance and repairs without requiring individual city permits. This also provides quicker outage response during monsoons and extreme heat, when reliable power is a safety issue, not a convenience.

Prop 421 also secures $2 million a year in local investment funded by TEP, not customer bills, for weather preparedness and energy assistance programs that make Tucson more resilient.

Community members need confidence in the electric grid. Prop 421 delivers that. I'm voting yes, and I hope you will, too.

Jeff Ell

Midtown