Bipartisan agreement to defend Tucson against the Arizona legislature

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Tea-Publicans from Southern Arizona have made it their special project to punish Pima County, and the City of Tucson in particular, this session with bills in the state legislature designed to assert the legislature's control over the City of Tucson and to micromanage the city's affairs from Phoenix. (Tucson is a Charter City with rights protected under the Arizona Constitution).

This began in the last legislature when the Rio Nuevo Development Board was stripped from the City of Tucson, and its new Board members appointed by Maricopa County Republicans in the legislature. Then there was "Paton's Law," designed to impose ward only non-partisan elections in the City of Tucson, despite the rejection of this option several times previously by the voters of Tucson. "Paton's Law" is still before the Court of Appeals awaiting a decision on its constitutionality.

The Rio Nuevo Board is being used as a subdivision of the state legislature superior to the City Council of the City of Tucson, which was duly elected by the citizens of Tucson. Jonathan Paton, of the aforementioned "Paton's Law," has been appointed to the Rio Nuevo Development Board to serve as a "viceroy" for the State of Maricopa to impose its will over the troublesome colony of Pima County and the City of Tucson.

The State of Maricopa is oppressing Pima County and the City of Tucson like imperial British colonialism oppressed India. We are being denied our freedoms and our right to democratically elected self-government and our right of self-determination. This is what has given rise to the "Baja Arizona" statehood movement. Pima County and the City of Tucson want our freedom from the tyrannical colonial power of the State of Maricopa.

There is bipartisan agreement for freedom for Pima County and the City of Tucson, and the right of self-government and self-determination. Tucson's only Republican city council member, Steve Kozachik, has stood with Democrats on this issue. Friend of Blog for Arizona Carolyn Classen writes at the Tucson Citizen blog, Councilman Steve Kozachik asking for signatures on petition re:”stop hurting our local government” – Carolyn's Community:

From Ward 6 Councilman Steve Kozachik (aka “Steve K”):

As citizens of Arizona you are intimately familiar with the way our communities are being impacted by so much of the state legislation coming out of this session. Therefore I invite you as an individual to join me in standing up for the independent and unquestionable rights of our local governments to decide what is right for our communities. By clicking this link and signing this petition your affirmation will be automatically forwarded onto the State Legislature and to the Governor’s office. Please take the time to give your opinion a voice.

https://www.change.org/petitions/stop-hurting-our-local-government

Thank you,

Steve Kozachik, Council Member
City of Tucson, Ward 6

* * *

Just click on the blue hyperlink above to read the petition and find out how to sign it. Copy of the petition below:

Stop Hurting Our Local Government

Greetings,

We join together as taxpayers and Arizona voters, in signing this petition which is being presented to the Arizona State Legislature, not based on party affiliation, but based on the long established principles embedded in our founding documents; that governmental overreach is inconsistent with the consent of the governed, local decisions must be governed locally.

1. We call on this Legislature to remove from its agenda all remaining bills that preempt local decision making authority.

2. Reverse any decisions that impede the ability of local governments to independently govern their communities.

In the comments at Carolyn's blog, Pima County Democratic Party Chair Jeff Rogers posted this comment:

I applaud Steve; will be thrilled to sign his petition; and, encourage every Democrat to sign it. I also encourage the Chair of the Pima County Republican Party to encourage all Republicans to sign this petition, too. There was a time when Democratic and Republican legislators from Pima County would set aside their political differences and come together as “statesmen or stateswomen” to protect our County and City from attacks and exploitation by the Maricopa dominated legislature. [Sen. Frank] Antenori and others have shown no such inclination. Instead, Antenori and others play it all for short term personal political gain while doing the bidding of the extremist Russell Pearce Republicans in Phoenix. It was truly a sad day when Frank Antenori was reelected.

Please sign the petition, then contact the Southern Arizona Tea-Publican legislators who are doing the bidding of the tyrannical colonial power of the State of Maricopa and give them a piece of your mind.