Question to candidates: If we see another spike in COVID-19 cases, how would you handle it?
Mayor
Arthur Kerschen
Immunity through exposure is the traditional way to fight cold viruses.
Regina Romero
Believe in science.
Shortly after I took office, we all went through an unprecedented moment in our history. I had to quickly make difficult decisions to protect the health and safety of Tucsonans. We were in a moment of so many unknowns. I understood that we would be facing severe impacts on our economy, small businesses and the livelihoods of Tucsonans, but protecting public health was the number one concern.
We had to keep our community safe.
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These decisions were based on facts and science that ultimately saved hundreds of lives. We were proactive with our mitigation efforts – often several steps ahead of our state and federal government. With my leadership, we set aside millions of dollars to support testing efforts and ensured testing is widely available, particularly in high-need areas. I also continued to stay in close contact with officials from surrounding towns and jurisdictions to ensure a coordinated regional response.
All of us have sacrificed so much to protect the health of our most vulnerable Tucsonans. From our health care workers and first responders that are on the frontlines; to our essential workers at grocery stores, post offices, and other places that have remained open; restaurants, small business owners and their workers, and each and every Tucsonan who was doing their part by wearing a mask, socially distancing, and following public health guidelines. Although it is difficult to see, the collective sacrifices of all of us have saved lives.
With the federal funds that the City of Tucson received, Mayor and Council wanted to ensure that we had a strategic plan on how we were investing the money right back to our community. We directly put money back in the pockets of our frontline workers, essential workers, small businesses, and gig workers.
With my leadership, the City of Tucson established the We are One/Somos Uno fund; we set aside over $1.1M for community partners to receive funding.
We are now equipped with the knowledge we didn't have before on how COVID-19 spreads and how to keep our community safe. I will continue to follow the guidance of our Public Health Department if case numbers were to spike. When facing difficult decisions, I use the best information we have available, consider the various needs of the community, and will act quickly and decisively as the situation calls for it. COVID-19 shed a spotlight on existing inequities within our community, and the programs we’ve launched during my first term were created to reduce these inequities.
Janet "JL" Wittenbraker
In the unlikely scenario Tucson experiences another spike in COVID-19 cases I would follow the Constitution of the United States and Arizona State Constitution and national and state law/mandates.
Ed Ackerley
PUBLIC HEALTH FIRST. Follow the guidelines set forth by federal and state officials. Keep businesses and schools open where appropriate. Educate the citizens on what they can do to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and learn from the 2020-21 history of what worked and what could be improved to save lives.
Ward 1
Victoria Lem
Victoria Lem did not respond to our questionnaire.
Miguel Ortega
Anything that would endanger the lives of residents should be taken very seriously. We should continue to follow the guidelines and recommendations of the CDC, keeping in mind that we might need to tailor those recommendations slightly to address unique circumstances for our local community. Like I did with the Move Your Meetings project, we should work hard to find creative and meaningful ways to assist small businesses that might be impacted by major events, like another significant surge in COVID-19 cases.
Lane Santa Cruz
The pandemic taught us awareness for community members who are elderly and/or those who have compromised immune systems and how to not put folks in precarious life-death situations. When we experience another spike, I would encourage that we act in accordance with CDC guidelines.
Ward 2
Paul Cunningham
I would lean heavily on CDC and Pima County Health Department guidance if I were to advocate any change in current City of Tucson health protocols. I know that the City of Tucson follows current health advisories closely and stands ready to adapt to situations as they develop.
Lisa Nutt
First, education is critical. The paranoia and false narratives about vaccines need to end now. They are creating unnecessary and dangerous conditions driven by fear and ignorance. To stop the rise of COVID again, we must listen to the medical professionals — not those grifting off of misinformation — and get vaccinated, take those recommended precautions and do what is necessary to stop the spread. And frankly, it will be critical for leaders like myself and others to inject common sense into the discourse to prevent misinformation on public health.
Ernie Shack
Ernie Shack echoed Wittenbraker’s responses
Pendleton Spicer
I would like to see it handled like any other similar outbreak. I want the medications that have been proven to be beneficial for the diseases in question to be allowed to be used and not criminalized as they were in the first COVID outbreak. I want the supplements that contribute to prophylaxis and healing to be used and encouraged. I want to see the media and officials stop using scare tactics like they did in the original COVID outbreak and encourage the use of healing strategies for the disease. Government needs to stay out of the medicine, be it allopathic or alternative, and people allowed to make their own choices about how they want to treat their illness.
Ward 4
Ross Kaplowitch
COVID-19 is an issue that should be handled by individual citizens. Each resident should be able to engage privately with their own physician and determine their own health care plan. Under NO circumstances should the City of Tucson shut down businesses, control the movements of residents and visitors or mandate masks or vaccines ever again. Our business community and our city’s schoolchildren have suffered enough.
Nikki Lee
My top priority is the safety and well-being of our residents. In the event of another spike in COVID-19 cases, I would advocate for a proactive response based on data, expert guidance, and lessons learned from previous waves of the pandemic.
We would disseminate public health guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Pima County Health Department and collaborate with the Pima County Health Department as they are the healthcare authority in the area.
Supporting local businesses and organizations that may be impacted is essential, and leveraging available resources and relief programs to minimize economic hardship would be critical.