2020 Pima County Supervisors District 1 Candidate Guide

Rex Scott 1. I have committed my entire life to public service. When I was 20, I sought a city council seat in my Ohio hometown. Although I lost that race, I served on two city commissions during the next four years. At age 24, I won a city council seat and was re-elected two years later. After resigning near the end of my second term to move to Pima County, I began my career as a public school educator, which spanned 27 years as a teacher and administrator in both middle and high schools.

2. With over four years of service as an elected public servant and 19 years as an appointed administrator in our public schools, I have over 23 years of public sector leadership experience. There are also many parallels between the work of a supervisor and the work of a school administrator. Both jobs involve guiding and directing staff teams in the provision of services and supports to constituents. With the turnover on the Board and amongst the elected department heads, my experience will help to fill that leadership void.

3. With all that we expect as a society from public education, having the perspective of a career educator on the Board would broaden its base of experience and perspective. Half my career as a Pima County educator was spent in three schools within District One. I built rapport and trust with thousands of families through my work with their children.

Steve Spain I believe all our neighbors in District 1 and across Pima County deserve better than we get from county government: better roads, better jobs and opportunities, and a better quality of life. We can better our county by cutting waste and focusing existing resources on our infrastructure, especially our crumbling roads. In so doing, we will better the condition of our home for all, filling potholes and attracting the opportunities we richly deserve.

Rex Scott Dealing with the remainder of the pandemic and the recovery from it will dominate the work of county government for the next several years. Local government’s essential duty is to provide all the services and supports its residents depend on at the highest levels of equity, customer service and respect for the proper use of the public revenues entrusted to it. That fundamental task will be more challenging as we confront the damage the pandemic has done to our local economy and its potential effect on the state-shared revenues that make up a large amount of the funds we use to pay for all our services and supports.

Steve Spain The new number one priority is recovering safely and swiftly from the pandemic. Close behind are definitively implementing a proactive road plan, and ensuring that we attract jobs and opportunities to keep our community sustainable into the coming decades.

Rex Scott The county has been put in a difficult situation due to ineffective leadership in Washington and inconsistent leadership in Phoenix. For the most part, it has handled this challenge by ensuring that its public health officials are at the vanguard of both its response to the pandemic and its public messaging. That is entirely appropriate and should continue to be the case. The Board must ensure that the Health Department has the resources it needs to respond to crises such as this and to fulfill all the other duties of a vibrant public health agency.

I was critical of the Board a few months ago when it issued regulations to be followed by restaurants and other businesses that serve the public. Although it was appropriate to move to strengthen the vague and weak regulations issued by the governor, the Board had to revisit the regulations multiple times because they failed to adequately consult with our private sector constituents to see if the regulations could be practically implemented. The Board will need to do a lot more outreach to businesses during the recovery to ensure that their voices are heard and to be certain that our recovery is broad-based and vigorous.

Steve Spain The science around the pandemic is rapidly changing and developing (including major shifts in direction from the CDC during the week I have written this response). It is unreasonable to make a prediction now about what the county's response should be in four months (when the new Board of Supervisors convenes), especially considering that cold and flu season will be underway at that time. However, Pima County has been aggressive in its anti-business practices, leading to bipartisan retraction of county policy throughout the pandemic. The new Board must be thoughtful and reasonable, and must strike a better balance from the start.

Rex Scott We must ensure that any existing or pending federal recovery dollars are disbursed to local employers as appropriate. Job training and retraining need to be major points of emphasis. I support the expansion of the landmark JobPath program and would also seek partnerships with the private sector, the Pima County JTED and Pima Community College to help to address the needs of our workers. The county’s economic development plan should be continually examined and revised as needed to respond to the new economy of a post-pandemic world. When there is no impact on public health and safety, county departments should grant regulatory relief to businesses that are in recovery. Most important of all, there needs to be ongoing dialogue with our private sector partners and other local governments about how to best assist the economy in its recovery.

Steve Spain Pima County government has a provable history of picking losers and losers; it has not picked winners when it has inserted itself into the economy. The single most effective and powerful thing the county can do to foster recovery is to get itself out of the way. We have businesses in this community that already have expertise in fields like plastics molding and electronics design. We need to reduce the county's burden on these and other companies and their employees so they can make the most of their responses to the pandemic and the economic opportunities it will create.

Rex Scott The Sheriff’s Department has been able to purchase a great deal of needed equipment with Stonegarden funds over the years. It has also been able to use those funds to address public safety concerns in areas near the border. If the Board could ensure that county personnel would never be asked to be part of enforcing federal immigration policy and if the issue of county pension costs could be addressed, I would support continuing to take these funds. Supervisor Bronson, whose district is most impacted by criminal activity near the border, proposed some sensible ideas for how to address these concerns during an earlier debate. Those ideas should be revisited so that we can take advantage of the benefits of Stonegarden funding while addressing the legitimate concerns raised about them. There is middle ground on this issue and I’m committed to finding it.

Steve Spain Sheriff Napier made a cogent, clear argument for accepting the funds to enable him to establish an office in the western part of the county. It was a simple and uncontroversial request that certain Supervisors politicized. They made a poor decision in rejecting funds they themselves had accepted time and again before.

Rex Scott Our primary property tax rate is high in comparison to other counties because we are the only one of the 15 counties that levies no sales tax. However, the overall tax burden borne by Pima County residents is in the middle of the 15 counties. I do not support a county sales tax because of its regressive nature and due to the fact that the only way to impose one is by a unanimous vote of the Board, which grants too much power to five people. State shared revenues actually provide more money to meet general fund needs than do the four property taxes set by the Board. We need to look at ways to get more of our fair share of those funds while always seeking ways to lessen the burden of property taxes on our residents.

Steve Spain Pima County's primary property tax rate is the highest in the State of Arizona; this is indisputable. We have had that problem for years, and yet we have seen our infrastructure deteriorate for years as well. The county has a spending problem, not a revenue problem, and we need to prove that the county can govern responsibly and with resources comparable to other counties, instead of with a burdensome excess that benefits only some select few.

Rex Scott Meeting all our public health and safety needs do not require binary choices. The greatest cost for any organization, including the Sheriff’s Department, is personnel. We must always ensure that law enforcement is staffed at a level that ensures proper response time in the many rural areas of our county and to address the crime it is best suited to handle. As a country, we have historically asked law enforcement to handle matters better addressed through other means and we must address the staffing and training needs in those areas required to shift those responsibilities. That shouldn’t be framed as a “rob Peter to pay Paul” choice.

Steve Spain No.

Rex Scott The current Board voted unanimously last November to put in place the PAYGO program, which funds capital needs, including roads, over a 10 year period. Close to $525 million will be expended to address those needs. The program is funded through a blend of both local and state funds. The local portion is paid for through both direct expenditures and using reductions in the secondary tax rate for debt service to meet those capital needs. This program deserves the chance to succeed. The Board must ensure that it works within the policy that created the program to provide it with the resources it requires on an annual basis. Preventive maintenance must also be a point of emphasis so that repaired roads do not fall back into a failed or poor state. 70% of the roads in unincorporated Pima County are in poor or failed condition. That is a sad statistic that must be addressed and can not be allowed to recur.

Steve Spain Neither: Voters rejected the bonds because the county has proven it refuses to manage roads well. The county's current approach is objectively a dismal failure. The county needs to focus its existing resources on reasonable, responsible management of our infrastructure.

Rex Scott I believe that any proposal involving tax relief or other public assistance to any business must be examined based on both its cost to the public versus its economic benefits. The Board should examine any such proposal with a skeptical eye and with attention to both long and short term economic benefits.

Steve Spain No. Again, the county has failed when it has tried to inject itself into the local economy. It is time for the county to reduce its burden on all businesses, instead of selecting (poorly) the choice few to bolster.

Rex Scott There are both educational and economic reasons that the county must take the lead in providing quality early childhood education to all our children, regardless of family income. Brain development needs and kindergarten readiness make it essential that every child have this option available to them. If not, we are putting one more systemic disadvantage on the shoulders of poor children. Education is the greatest change agent there is and the best ticket to a more prosperous life. A truly enlightened and mindful society ensures that every child has access to all the benefits of education.

Current and prospective employers want a well-trained workforce. They also want the families of their employees to have access to a vibrant public education system that starts with pre-K and extends through higher learning options. This is why so many business organizations in Pima County support increasing access to quality early childhood education.

There are examples around the country of what happens when government takes the lead in addressing this need. Other local governments, including cities, towns and school districts, join the effort, as does the private sector and non-profit groups. There are also often grant funds available. One option for local funding that has been discussed is seeking permission from the Arizona Legislature for the county to use the secondary tax rate that funds the library district to help pay for the cost of this need.

Steve Spain No.

Rex Scott By any objective measure, the county is very well-run, which is substantially due to the leadership of the current county administrator. We have an excellent bond rating and have received commendations from professional associations for our budgeting practices. Our bonded debt is being paid down rapidly and we have made necessary staff reductions in the wake of the 2008-10 recession.

It is irresponsible to discuss retaining or firing the county administrator in the context of a political campaign, as my opponent has done multiple times. Unlike him, I have hired, evaluated and sometimes fired public employees during my career. Before making any decisions regarding the continued employment of any employee, an extensive review should be done to determine the overall performance of the employee. That review should be used as one factor in deciding if the employee should be retained.

The current administrator is too often the face and voice of county government. That is not a criticism of him, but of the Board. It is the elected leaders who should be out front with the public to speak to and defend the decisions made by county government.

Steve Spain Huckelberry is fast approaching 30 years in a position for which the average tenure in the U.S. is about seven. It is far beyond time we bring in a fresh perspective, a new administrator that will manage the county responsibly. It is time to end Huckelberry's contract, retire him, and start the county on a new and viable path with a new administrator.