Incumbent Ward 6 Councilman Steve Kozachik is being challenged by two political newcomers Andres Portela III and MIranda Schubert for his Council seat, in the Democratic primary on August 3. Read more below on the Reid Park zoo expansion issue, and the candidates’ positions, reactions to Mayor/Council votes.
On Tuesday May 4, the Tucson Mayor/City Council voted 6-1 to have City staff design a new proposed hybrid Concept D/G for the Reid Park Zoo expansion. Over 14,000 people voted on the City’s survey about this expansion. My post on the meeting: https://blogforarizona.net/mayor-council-vote-for-new-concept-d-g-for-proposed-reid-park-zoo-expansion/.
The original proposal to take the south duck pond & Barnum Hill was thereby rejected, despite planning over the past few years. There had been a public outcry against this proposed expansion (30,000 signatures in a change.org petition). 3 term Ward 6 Councilman Steve Kozachik was opposed to any change in the original zoo proposal, and had voted against the 45 day delay on March 9 (called for by Mayor Romero) and against yesterday’s new plan. At Tuesday’s meeting he still expressed support for Concepts B & C, despite the Tucson Zoological Society stating that they would stand by whatever the Mayor/Council decided to do.
His position was clearly stated in his May 3 e-newsletter: https://www.tucsonaz.gov/ward-6/news/steve-ks-newsletter-050321
“I support the preservation of open space. I also support finding ways to accommodate the many competing uses for our open space that we’ve asked you to support with either sales tax (the zoo) or property tax (parks.) Those uses include pools, splash pads, sports fields and courts, pickleball, tennis, dog parks, the zoo – Tucson Delivers – unless we change our minds. And all of those uses have constituencies – and all of those uses take up open space. It’s a balance. Public policy is both/and not either-or. We’ll see what the M&C has to say tomorrow. And by way of reminder, this is the Option C natural resource area I’ve supported since prior to the suspension. I still do.”
Councilman Kozachik gave his post-analysis of the March 4 vote on the Bill Buckmaster radio show on Wednesday: https://www.buckmastershow.com/2021/05/05/buckmaster-show-5-5-2021-pima-county-unveils-its-spending-plan-for-the-new-fiscal-year/
Yesterday, Ward 6 Council candidate Andres Portela III issued this press release in response to the vote, about the process:
The other challenger in this Ward 6 Council race, Miranda Schubert offered her thoughts today via FB:
“When all of this started, we were going to lose Barnum Hill, and in its place would be an expanded presence for a zoo that many love, but not everyone can access. Now, in addition to preserving the local treasure that is Barnum Hill and its beloved ducks, we will see the Reid Park Zoo repurpose a heat-trapping hardscape into its planned expansion. It’s amazing how much the conversation has changed.
I don’t know about you, but all I can do is take a deep breath and appreciate what compelling proof this is of something I believe. Organizing works.
I want to congratulate everyone who came together with nothing but people power and a sense of what was right for our city. You stared down interests with more financial capital, more political capital, and you won. Every organizer who fought for the heart of Reid Park deserves the satisfaction they feel. And every elected official who kept an open mind and heard out the people they represent should be proud they did the right thing.
“When we organize, we win,” is certainly my favorite takeaway having watched the last several months play out, but as a candidate for office, I feel another one hitting particularly close to home. The priorities of our elected officials need to be in the right place, and that’s with the residents of our city, with the people we serve.
The fight to save the heart of Reid Park, no matter the outcome, has been exhausting and eroded the sense of trust and optimism many residents should have for their city and its future. If preserving access to public spaces had been a guiding priority from the beginning, this fight would not have been necessary. If residents of Tucson had been given the same pathway to access as private interests and contractors, this fight would have been an opportunity to build our city together.
Barnum Hill is more than a collection of landscaped features that can be reproduced elsewhere. It is where quinceaneras and confirmations are celebrated, where children first play catch with their parents, where new residents see their first mariachi performance, where Tucsonans live their lives. There’s no dollar amount that can be placed on these moments, and that’s why Barnum Hill is so special… It keeps Tucson’s finest moments free for all of us.
Congratulations again to everyone who made this possible.”
Miranda Schubert
These 3 candidates for the Ward 6 Council seat will meet at a forum on June 12, sponsored by Pima County Democratic Party. It’s on our Calendar/Event page. Vote wisely on or before August 3, 2021.
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“There are some people who believe as you do, that maybe zoos should not exist at all.”
Carolyn, where did I say that zoos shouldn’t exist at all? I’m questioning whether or not Tucson should have a zoo, not other cities that are willing to allocate the resources necessary to take proper care of the animals.
Based on Steve K’s comments, it doesn’t sound as though the new plan is necessarily a “win-win.” I’ve heard no rebuttal to his arguments which, in my opinion should be taken seriously.
You know who really wins? The contractors who get paid to produce nothing.
But (sigh) this is Tucson. When I first moved to Tucson I remember one of my first impressions. This isn’t a big city, it’s 50 Hootervilles jammed together.
Tucson is incapable of thinking like a real city and what is happening with this so-called zoo expansion is exactly what I would expect.
The animals have already lost.
Maybe the right answer is that Tucson shouldn’t have a zoo.
As I said in a previous comment, I lived in San Diego for 20 years where the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park are of major importance to the city and the citizens and wealthy donors, etc…
In today’s world people are watching Animal Planet on TV and seeing programs about the Bronx Zoo and the San Diego Zoo where animals are treated humanely and their enclosures are designed to mimic their natural habitats. This takes a major commitment on the part of the citizens.
Tucson may as well give it up. The people here are going to fight over a duck pond, spend a lot of money and accomplish nothing which is par for Tucson.
What is this really about? I know there are people in Tucson who care about the zoo because my dog’s veterinarian worked at the zoo and ended up going there full time.
Maybe it’s better to just give up the struggle, donate the animals to better zoos, and allow the emotional duck pond people to visit the duck pond and bring back those memories of whatever they did as a child. It would save a lot of taxpayer dollars that are just going to be flushed away while people fight over this and/or come up with a half baked compromise that won’t work for the animals or won’t ever get done or will cost some ridiculous amount of money.
There are some people who believe as you do, that maybe zoos should not exist at all. However, what happened here probably did lose $ for the zoo, with bad publicity. At first they were with Steve K, strongly sticking to their taking of the duck pond/hill as too late since Prop. 202 and 203 passed back in Nov. 2017 and they allegedly had public meetings. There was a rather harsh letter from the Tucson Zoological Society to Mayor Romero on the eve of that March 9 vote, but before the May 4 vote, the Zoological Society backed down and became more collaborative. I watched this entire thing unfold since last November, and the anti-proposal group just kept growing and growing, with media coverage from the AZ Daily Star’s columnist Tim Steller. So by the time it was coming to discussion in March, there were thousands of letters pro/con in the Star, and lots of angry people sending emails. It was enough for the Mayor/Council to back down on the original plan, take a 45 day hiatus, hire a company to do a community wide survey, etc. Then a new plan emerged which takes less green space and saves the duck pond/hill. It’s a good win-win overall, because if the Zoo had proceeded with the original expansion plan, there would have been a huge amount of hatred and anger, perhaps more stronger actions, such as a lawsuit for an injunction, people standing in front of bulldozers, etc.
Carolyn, Steve K. makes a hell of a good argument. I’d love to hear the rebuttal.
But this won’t be decided on the basis of logic or cost, it’s become an emotional issue for a loud and determined minority.
I hope we don’t lose one of our best council members over this.
Liza,
This is definitely an emotional issue with both sides feeling strongly about winning or being right. Saving the south duck pond/Barnum Hill resonated with 30,000 petition signers, many who felt they were not informed of this huge change to Reid Park, and the removal of a beloved free area for public use. The new concept D/G or G minor, is a compromise that the Mayor/Council brokered to save the pond/hill, after a survey of 14,000 residents. Councilman Steve K who represents that area of town was adamantly for the previous zoo expansion proposal, citing costs in the millions already spent and contracts signed. This is has been one of the biggest controversies in Tucson’s recent history, and my family have been here since July, 1987. We’ll see how the voters react on/before August 3’s Dem primary. The two opponents aren’t getting a lot of press.
Councilman Steve K is still sticking to his support of Concepts B & C in his latest newsletter: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/AZTUCSON/bulletins/2d85d9e
Ward 6 Councilman Steve Kozachik has been a really good councilman for years but he should be primaried because he disagrees with 30K out of 540K people who live in Tucson about the zoo expansion? Seriously?
I’m not feeling this issue, to be honest.
I’ve never been to the Tucson zoo. After living in San Diego for 20 years and visiting their world class zoo regularly, I honestly have had no desire to see Tucson’s zoo.
What I do support is any effort to improve city zoos so that life in captivity is as humane as possible for the animals.
Miranda Schubert says, “Barnum Hill is more than a collection of landscaped features that can be reproduced elsewhere. It is where quinceaneras and confirmations are celebrated etc…There’s no dollar amount that can be placed on these moments…”.
I’m trying to figure out why I find this so aggravating. The house I grew up in was special to me but when it was sold the new owner put up a chain link fence and cut down the gorgeous maple tree in the front yard. Maybe the lesson here is that we don’t always get to keep everything of sentimental value especially when it doesn’t belong to us alone.
I’m just not feeling the sentiment and moments. I have nothing against ducks and no dog in the fight. But Steve K. knows what we all know happens in Tucson. This project will be suspended and delayed and studied and delayed some more and costs will keep accumulating until cancellation is the likely outcome.
Then all the so-called activists can always go back to the place where they can recall all their special moments with the ducks and so forth.
Anyone who votes for either one of those two ding bats and against Steve K based on this issue is a damn fool.
This is why we can’t have nice things.
Thanks Liza for your comments. Not sure why either candidate is running against Steve K (3 term incumbent) but there has been dissatisfaction with the way he handled this zoo expansion issue. I’ve seen numerous comments on FB saying that he didn’t listen to his constituents, that taking the south duck pond and hill was a matter of concern. It is a public place at Reid Park that many people enjoy, and many thousands had not heard about the expansion. Since 30,000 people signed the petition, the Mayor and other 5 Councilmembers voted to delay, then to pick another plan for the zoo expansion (hybrid D/G, G minor) for the zoo proposal. Let’s see what happens on August 3 Dem primary in Ward 6. Only about 26,000 voters can cast votes.