Pima Supervisor Rex Scott Delivers on Roads, Affordable Housing and Prosperity

Democrat Rex Scott picked a beautiful Tucson afternoon to announce he is running for re-election as the Pima County Supervisor from District 1.

Four years ago, he became the first Democrat to win a seat in District 1 since 1972. Since then, he’s stayed connected to the County’s 1.1 million residents by holding 16 in-person town halls across the County. District One includes Marana, Casa Adobes, Oro Valley, and the Catalina Foothills.

He has focused on:

• Addressing intergenerational poverty with The Prosperity Initiative, which is a 13-point effort by six local governments, including Pima County.

“Our two greatest metrics, overall, are to decrease their household costs and increase their household assets for people living in poverty,” Scott said.

“This is going to be a marathon, not a sprint. Taking on issues like intergenerational poverty takes time and deliberate thinking,” he added.

• Providing scholarships to 1,700 children in low-income families so they can attend preschool.

Scott’s wife, Teri, taught kindergarten for many years. “She will tell you she could tell her first day. Which of her kids had the benefit of preschool, and which hadn’t. Everything we know about, not just kindergarten readiness, but brain development, tells us this is not a luxury.”

• Holding the overall property tax rate at the second-lowest level in the last ten years.

“The property tax base is increasing in valuation. We try to balance what we charge in property taxes and our budget. We want to ensure that we put enough into each department’s budget to provide those essential services and support and show respect for those public tax revenues entrusted to us,” Scott said.

• Repairing the County’s 2,200 miles of roadway. In 2019, 70% of the County’s roads were in poor or failed condition. Last year, Democratic Supervisors invested $14 million for milling and paving roads and $6 million for preservation treatments to extend the pavement life of hundreds of miles of roads.

“Our commitment is not just to repair but also to maintain them. It means we won’t allow those roads to fall into disrepair again. So again, it is focusing on the little things. The things that don’t often get headlines or attention are the essential work of local government,” he said.

• Creating affordable housing by attracting developers of affordable housing. Democratic Supervisors have funded 6,000 new units of affordable housing.

“We have seen an extraordinary spike in homelessness. And although there are many reasons for homelessness, the biggest reason is the lack of housing stock,” Scott said.

“The cost of housing is absolutely extraordinary. Teri and I, when we were first together, were renters. When we compare what we paid for rent in 1994 at a duplex, we shared what [Scott’s daughter] Caitlin pays for rent on a one-bedroom apartment — it’s at least four or five times more than what we paid,” he said.

For more info, visit scott4supervisor.com

Biography: www.pima.gov/2557/Biography

Donate to re-elect Rex: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/re-elect-rex-1

The Dharma of Rex Scott