TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - More than a million people live in Pima County. This election they have a chance to make major changes in the Board of Supervisors that governs the county, or return incumbents and keep the county on the course they have set.
Sharon Bronson has spent 20 years as Supervisor for Pima County's District 3. She says the county's been on a roll lately, climbing out of the recession, attracting a string of large companies, with well paying jobs.
Bronson says, “It was long hard work. Economic development doesn't just happen overnight and it just doesn't happen. WE worked with the private sector to develop 3-P partnerships: public-private partnerships that's what brought us Accelerate, that's what brought us World View, that's what brought Caterpillar, top 50 firm and we are going to see some more coming."
But Challenger Kim DeMarco says there's a limit to the incentives Pima County used to help attract those companies.
"You cannot continue to give 20 Million to each company you want to come in. So that is going to be something that is going to be very difficult to sustain and we can't sustain it. I'm happy that the business is coming in but at the same time we have to be smart about how we do it."
DeMarco wants the county to pay more attention to making small businesses stronger through reduced regulation, lower taxes and better infrastructure like smoothing Pima County's rough roads.
Gas tax is the main money source for fixing the roads but there are fewer gas tax dollars because cars making better gas mileage means we are buying less gas.
DeMarco says the county's wasting the gas tax it gets on admin costs. Both DeMarco and Bronson want to try to change the law so the Regional Transportation Authority can use its sales tax revenue to repair roads as well as expand them.
This election has the potential to change the balance of power on the board and shift it in a more conservative direction.
DeMarco says, “If I'm elected it will switch the balance of power and the bottom line is, in my view, I don't believe these are red or blue issues. Your high taxes, your bad roads, excessive debt. Those aren't red or blue issues. Those are issues the all of us have and we need to take care of those. She's been in office for 20 years. If she hasn't fixed those issues, it's probably not going to happen."
Bronson says, “If the voters decide and if they want to reverse direction and not move forward as we are growing the economy, growing the tax base, then that's a choice they will make. I think we are headed in the right direction. I'm very positive about Pima County which is why I'm running."
Now it's up to the voters to decide between continuity or change.
