Posts Tagged ‘Steve K’

From the AZ Star comments on the termination of Mike Hein:

Earlier this afternoon the Tucson City Council voted to terminate City Manager Mike Hein. This was yet another clear indication of the inability of this council to work either together or in cooperation with other departments within the City governance structure. Accounts of the day’s events indicate that this decision was discussed for a mere 20 minutes in a closed door session. It is remarkable that such a critical move was given such a brief airing. If any of the council members who voted to retain Mr. Hein had any designs on demonstrating leadership, they should have not allowed the move to go forward without an extensive discussion. Evidently nobody chose to exert a position of leadership and so the vote proceded. The vote is yet another demonstration that this council lacks the capacity to look at the implications of their actions prior to simply shooting from the hip. With this move, the City of Tucson now has a Fire Chief who may have to resign in June if he cannot sell his house and move into the City limits, an interim City Finance director, no eligible candidates for the vacant Police Chief position (a situation the council put themselves into after spending over $10,000 on a search, only to declare the search void and express their intent to consider internal candidates – none of whom meets the residency requirements imposed by the council itself), and we are left with an interim City Manager who has already submitted his resignation, effective in November. All of this while we are looking at a City budget deficit estimated to be at $80 million. You cannot make this stuff up, folks.

The State Legislature has made it clear that ousting Mr. Hein would set in motion the process of removing TIF funding for Rio Nuevo. Without that funding source, there is no Rio Nuevo, which means there is no downtown revitalization any time in the foreseeable future. We are additionally left to sail this rudderless ship towards the iceberg of a budget deficit that places the fiscal integrity of the City in serious jeapardy. Tucson deserves better. Tucson needs leadership and it is clearly not getting that from any of the current council members or the mayor.

Support my candidacy – votestevek.com – and I committ that I will at the very least bring a clarion call to within the council chambers that we simply cannot continue on in this direction or the City of Tucson will continue to lose quality jobs, continue to live in a lock-down situation due to a lack of police to respond promptly, and continue to provoke the State Legislature in the direction of pulling the life blood from any hopes we may have of revitalizing our downtown. It is the responsibility of the council to provide direction to the office of the Manager. None chose to do that – all of the council is culpable for the situation we now find ourselves in.
Steve K.
Council Candidate Ward 6

8:58 PM