RTA Next

In 2006, voters across Pima County approved the Regional Transportation Authority, the RTA. Presently in its 18th year, this taxpayer-approved program has spent about $1.6 billion so far.

The RTA has completed many projects since it started. (Amusingly, the RTA funded the “Michigan Left” at Ina and Oracle, but that’s not listed as one of the major projects completed. Who can blame them?) Still, it’s not been without issues:

Tax revenue into the RTA has lagged behind budget, so the RTA has needed additional funding. Further, by statute, the RTA cannot fund the basic road repairs Pima County so badly needs. Need to rip up a road and rebuild it from its substrate? The RTA can do that. Patch potholes, or reseal the surface? The RTA cannot help there. So why hasn’t Pima County itself kept up with the maintenance and repair work it should have?

You may think it’s because Pima County hasn’t had the funding, since the RTA has received tax revenues that, perhaps, Pima County itself could have captured instead. Well, don’t think that, it’s not remotely true.

The RTA has spent $1.6 billion going into its eighteenth year of work. Here’s the stark, shocking reality: Rex Scott has voted for only four annual budgets that together have accumulated a deficit of $1.4 billion. That’s $1.4 billion that Rex Scott has spent in less than a quarter of the time it’s taken the RTA to spend about the same, not counting interest.

And he hasn’t fixed our roads.

Rex Scott’s spending is irresponsible. It is reckless. It is especially shameful because that’s only the deficit spending: that deficit is only part of his total, staggering increase in spending. And, according to many of our neighbors who have reached out to me, that is disqualifying for him and reason that he should not receive another term in office.

But what of the RTA? Rex Scott sits on its board as well, and the RTA is working toward its plan for the next twenty years, to put before voters in 2026. Tucson’s Mayor Romero is heavily involved, and pulling for a disproportionate and inappropriate spend within city limits. Rex Scott has been a strong ally for this misappropriation, turning his back on Oro Valley, Marana, and the unincorporated parts of District 1.

Where do I stand? Well, our tax burden in Pima County is too high as it is. (Shockingly, Adelita Grijalva, District 5 Supervisor and Board Chair, even said as much during the May 7th, 2024 Supervisors Meeting.) However, the RTA has delivered on at least part of its vision. If the new plan holds its sales tax rate at one-half cent (where it stands now), if RTA Next does not excessively favor the City of Tucson, and if the voters of Pima County approve it, I’m okay with it. But if the proposal to voters asks for a higher tax or if the City of Tucson makes out like a bandit, I’ll fight it. Aggressively.

But, as your next District 1 Supervisor, you can bet I’ll work to balance rolling back Rex Scott’s waste and the deficit while pushing as much as possible for Pima County to maintain our roads.

Just don’t expect me to approve another Michigan left turn.