Grinnell (thru Rio Nuevo board) is suing the city he wants to lead

by David Safier

The Pima County Democratic Party asks a good question of mayoral candidate Rick Grinnell: if you, as a member of the Rio Nuevo board, are suing Tucson for $47 million, where do you think the money should come from? Parks? Police? Fire? After all, the city doesn't have a mattress with forty-seven mill stuffed under it.

Maybe he-who-wants-to-be-mayor will let us know where he would find the money if he were sitting in the mayor's office.

Here's the Pima Dem Media Release.

How would Grinnell Pay for Lawsuit? Taxes or Cuts in Parks, Public Safety?

The state Legislature’s handpicked Rio Nuevo board has chosen litigation over cooperation, by filing a $47 million claim against the people of Tucson.

Republican Mayoral candidate Grinnell and Rio Nuevo board member should tell voters where that $47 million would come from, as it can only come from the general fund. The rest of the city money is specifically earmarked for other departments and the Legislature bars any Rio Nuevo funds from being used for anything other than the Tucson Convention Center.

The legislature’s Rio Nuevo Board has not spent a dime on downtown redevelopment yet appears to have plenty of lawsuits, lawyers and consultants at the ready to continue to sue the people of Tucson.

“That $47 million has to come from somewhere,” said Pima County Democratic Party Chair Jeff Rogers. “Does Grinnell want it to come out of parks, police or fire department budgets? If the Rio Nuevo Board gets their way in court and if Grinnell gets his way at the ballot box, he would immediately inherit a fiscal crisis he helped create. He’s been pretty quiet about this.”

Since the state Phoenix-first Legislature took over Rio Nuevo two years ago and installed their board to oversee the project, redevelopment has ground to a halt and Tucson taxpayer dollars are now being spent to sue Tucson taxpayers. Grinnell and the board has also refused to execute previous agreements they reached with the city on downtown land and refurbishing the Tucson Convention Center.

“The state legislature took over Rio Nuevo and the people of Tucson have nothing to show for it, other than the fact that we have now been served,” Rogers said. “And we are paying the legal bills of the people suing us.”