“In 1999 voters approved the creation of the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District (District). The District is both a municipal stadium district and a special taxing district. The voters authorized the District to receive an incremental portion of State-shared funds derived from transaction privilege taxes (i.e. sales tax called TIF Funds) collected from within the District boundaries within the City of Tucson city limits. The District is a State municipal district with the powers, privileges and immunities granted to governmental, municipal corporations for District purposes: a planned multi-faceted development project, including cultural and recreational amenities and improvements, unique historic re-creations, mixed-use developments, etc. The District was reorganized by the Arizona State Legislature in the fall of 2009 and the board re-appointed in March 2010. Expenditure of the TIF Funds collected is now disbursed and managed by the reconstituted Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District Board of Directors who as of 2010 are appointed by the State’s Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives.”

From: http://rionuevo-tucson.org/

For more info on Rio Nuevo also see this City of Tucson webpage, with financial reports: http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/rionuevo

This 10 year (1999 to 2009) project has received a lot of attention recently due to conflicts between the City of Tucson Council and the new Rio Nuevo board, re-constituted by the State Legislature in March, 2010. Citizens have been asking about who were the Councilmembers (Democrats, Republicans, one Independent) during these 10 years, and beyond. Here’s the list of who was serving (as far as I remember):

Mayor: Robert Walkup (R), 1999 to present (not running for re-election 2011)
Ward 1: Jose Ibarra (D), 1999 to 2007; Regina Romero (D), 2007 to present (up for re-election 2011)
Ward 2: Carol West (D, I), 1999 to 2007; Rodney Glassman (D), 2007 to 2010; Paul Cunningham (D), appointed 2010 to present (up for election 2011)
Ward 3: Jerry Anderson (D), 1999 to 2001; Kathleen Dunbar (R), 2001 to 2005; Karin Uhlich (D), 2005 to present
Ward 4: Shirley Scott (D), 1999 to present (up for re-election 2011)
Ward 5: Steve Leal (D), 1999 to 2009; Richard Fimbres (D), 2009 to present
Ward 6: Fred Ronstadt (R), 1999 to 2005; Nina Trasoff (D), 2005 to 2009; Steve Kozachik (R), 2009 to present

(Some of these Councilmembers were serving before Rio Nuevo began, but I only list the starting point as 1999 when Rio Nuevo was created).

Those who were serving as elected officials during entire Rio Nuevo project: Mayor Bob Walkup, Councilmembers Steve Leal and Shirley Scott.

Those who came on the Council after late 2009: Councilmembers Richard Fimbres, Steve Kozachik, and Paul Cunningham.

And who were the Tucson City Managers during this time: Luis Gutierrez (1999), James Keene (2000 to 2005), and Mike Hein (2005 to 2009). Gutierrez is retired, Keene is now City Manager of Palo Alto, California, and Hein is Director of Pima County Emergency Management & Homeland Security.

Last November, 2010 I reported on the citizen outrage after an audit on Rio Nuevo was released about $230 million allegedly mismanaged:
http://tucsoncitizen.com/community/2010/11/29/citizens-express-outrage-over-rio-nuevo-mismanagement/

Stay tuned as the City Council and the new Rio Nuevo board have recently agreed to mediate their differences.

Arizona Public Media reporters Christopher Conover & Andrea Kelly interviewed Democratic incumbent Ward 2 Councilmember Paul Cunningham and Republican challenger Jennifer Rawson tonight on KUAT Channel 6.

Jennifer Rawson and Councilmember Paul Cunningham

Listen to the interview (click here) on a number of different issues facing the City of Tucson.

Councilmember Cunningham was appointed by the Tucson City Council to his seat last May, 2010 after Democratic Councilmember Rodney Glassman (elected in Nov. 2007) resigned to run for U.S. Senate. Cunningham was a former juvenile probation officer. Rawson is a former businesswoman (Materials Manager at Xerox).

Campaign websites:
Cunningham: www.votepaulcunningham.com
Rawson: www.rawsonforcouncil.com

Vote wisely on/before November 8, 2011.

Meet and Greet the Green Party Primary Candidates for Mayor

Mary DeCamp and Dave Croteau

at La Indita Restaurant (Mexican/Latin American cuisine)
622 N. Fourth Ave in Tucson (north of E. 5th Street)

Every Monday at 6:30pm

If you’re a registered Green Party voter in the City of Tucson, or an Independent who registered by July 16 to vote in that primary on/before August 30, here’s your weekly chance to meet & talk with either or both Green candidates.

Previous blogs on Dave Croteau (click here) and Mary DeCamp (click here).

This is Croteau’s 3rd bid for Mayor having run before as a write-in candidate in 1999 and as the Green Party candidate in 2007, challenging Republican Mayor Bob Walkup when no Democrat ran.

DeCamp ran for the Ward 3 City Council seat two years ago in 2009 and lost to Democratic incumbent Councilwoman Karin Uhlich.

If you can’t drop by La Indita, then view these 2 Green Mayoral candidates on Friday’s KUAT Channel 6 interview: http://ondemand.azpm.org/videoshorts/watch/2011/7/22/1830-green-would-be-mayors-tout-first-primary/.

For more information on the Green Party of Pima County, go to their website, www.pimagreens.org. This is apparently the first Green Party primary for Mayor. Another Green candidate Beryl Baker just filed to run as a write-in candidate for the Ward 1 Council seat. She ran for the same seat in 2007 and lost to Regina Romero, the current Councilmember.

Also running for Mayor:
–Democrat Jonathan Rothschild and 3 Democratic write-in candidates, David Karr, Joseph Maher Jr. and Rich Kessler — all political newcomers
–Republican write-in candidate Rick Grinnell – who’s run unsuccessfully for the Ward 2 City Council seat before in 1995 and 1999. He also sought to be appointed to that vacant seat last Spring, 2010 when Councilman Rodney Glassman resigned to run for the U.S. Senate.
–Political newcomer Daryl Peterson, also a Republican write-in candidate