Tucson Occupier in tree. (Image Credit: Alex Maldonado)

Several Tucson Occupiers climbed the large trees at Veinte de Agosto Park after 10 p.m. on November 28. The Tucson Police, which had been citing protesters nightly for six weeks, issued no citations, made no arrests, and left at approximately 11 p.m.

Since Occupy Wall Street started on September 17, 2011, more than 4,000 Americans in 65 cities have been arrested. In Tucson, more than 700 people have been cited and/or physically arrested.

Joan Zatorski Puca was arrested by Tucson Police on Friday, November 25, 2011. Above is the video of the arrest. Her powerful statement below details her rational for submitting to arrest at Occupy Tucson.

This statement below, is read in the video by Joan’s husband Dr. Christopher Puca as she is being dragged into a TPD cruiser.

Friday, Nov. 25, 2011

After much personal introspection, I came to the decision today that this evening I will place myself in position to be arrested at Pancho Villa Park downtown (Veinte de Agosto Park) and jailed in relation to my involvement in the OCCUPY MOVEMENT in Tucson.

I’ve been carefully studying and meditating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s most erudite essay, his “Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963)” this past week. I am convinced that it is essential for deliberate, immediate attention be refocused on the issues of economic injustice which initially galvanized the OCCUPY MOVEMENT world-wide (as opposed to issues related to local city curfew, park ordinances, or even this issue of First Amendment Rights).

I have come to this conclusion not as a leader of any movement or group but as a singular individual desperately concerned about the profound suffering presently experienced by millions of human beings across every economic and social class, generation, gender, sexual orientation, political persuasion, religious or spiritual belief.

In good conscience, I simply cannot let Mary DeCamp (recent Mayoral candidate, Tucson Peace Activist) be the lone Tucsonan willing to enter jail (as she did in the wee hours of November 25th) as a means of drawing attention to our country’s blatant issues regarding economic injustice.

As an educated white woman, legally disabled by illness, a civil servant with almost 20 years of service to children who were living at or below the poverty line, a mother, grandmother, spouse, avowed Christian, registered and consistently-participating voter, American citizen by birthright, granddaughter of immigrants, who has never been arrested, much less walked into a jail, I believe I am the most “common” example of the “common person” impacted by the devastatingly serious economic issues that thousands upon thousands of people are demanding be addressed.

I am you… we are all one and we are suffering. Only by uniting with one another can our most egregious issues be solved.

Look in my eyes and see the reflection of your own face, your own pain… Look again and see, as well, the possibility for redemption, for resolution, for renewal of all that is good within the soul of America.

In closing, I ask you to surround me with your personal prayers this evening. That I may stay committed to my decision to display non-violent behavior, speech, and attitude in the face of (what may be) a physically and medically challenging experience for me tonight (and beyond).

Joan Zatorski Puca
Tucson, Arizona

Occupy Tucson protester: Are permits required to exercise your right to free speech? (Image Credit: Pamela Powers)

For six weeks– through heavy rain and nightly disruption by the Tucson Police Department (TPD)– Occupy Tucson has maintained a peaceful encampment protest in downtown Tucson. TPD has issued more than 600 curfew citations and, recently, physically arrested protesters for civil disobedience in not signing their citations.

On Saturday night, four peaceful protesters were arrested; on Sunday night, TPD came to the encampment with significantly more force– six cruisers and an SUV– but made no arrests. (See eye witness reports below.)

This show of muscle by TPD is out of step with at least three of the Tucson City Council– Karin Uhlich, Richard Fimbres, and Regina Romero– and former city officials George Miller and Molly McKasson.

As the situation is escalates, one has to ask: Who’s in charge? Is it City Manager (and former police chief) Richard Miranda? If so, someone needs to tell him his tactics of harassment are– at the very least– exacerbating the situation and making the movement stronger in its resolve and– at worst– could escalate the peaceful protest into a violent clash.

Tucsonans are behind the Occupiers– as is evidenced by the food and other donations and this totally unscientific poll, which has been running at 65-70% in favor of the Occupation since it was posted a few days ago.

Where do we go from here? My vote is for letting the Occupiers stay in the park– without police interference, further arrests, or curfew citations. We are the 99%.

November 26 report

From Alex Maldonado, Occupy Tucson Peacekeeper and member of Veterans For Peace…

From 10:40pm, Saturday night to 12:10am, Sunday morning, Tucson Police Department cited and released demonstrators of Occupy Tucson for staying in the park after hours, except for four who were taken into custody.

Michael (Mike) Migliore was taken into custody after chaining himself onto one of the poles at Veinte de Agosto Park in making a stance for his First Amendment right. TPD handcuffed Migliore and then proceeded to cut the chains, and escorted him to a police cruiser, where he was led away.

Mary DeCamp was taken into custody for the second time in three nights as she refused her citation. DeCamp was walked from her tent to a general area, where occupiers were being cited. DeCamp was then taken to another police cruiser where she was handcuffed, seated and then led away.

William (Billy) Lolos, who also refused his citation, was also taken into custody as he was handcuffed before taken to the general area. Lolos was then taken to yet another police cruiser and seated, and led away.

One unidentified male was also handcuffed and taken into custody, and was seated in the same police cruiser as Lolos.

All four were peacefully taken into custody without incident as fellow occupiers and supporters gave encouragement to those taken into custody for the third night in a row.

November 27 report

From Alex Maldonado, Occupy Tucson Peacekeeper and member of Veterans For Peace…

‎10:30pm to 11:30pm, TPD bull-rushed the encampment with six police cruisers and one SUV. Ten occupiers were sitting on the U-Turn curb, as there is a possibility of mid to high-teen numbers in citations. TPD’s mood tonight was not as amiable as previous nights. No one was taken into custody.

For those of you who have forgotten why the Occupiers are out there– or never understood the movement. Here is Occupy Tucson’s Declaration…

On Saturday, November 12, 2011, participants of the General Assembly of Occupy Tucson came to consensus and passed the following Declaration of the Occupation of Tucson as a working document. This is a living document and will be updated with new additions as the process continues.

Declaration of the Occupation of Tucson
As we gather in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what has brought us together.As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality that the status quo is unacceptable, and that our political and economic institutions, both corporate and governmental, are failing us; that the corruption of our system has undermined our rights, and it is now up to us, the people, to re-found those rights, and expand upon them. We assert that legitimate institutions derive their power from the people, and, therefore, as the people overwhelmingly reject the monopoly of power exercised by both government and transnational corporations, and in particular large financial corporations and the military-industrial complex, that their power is illegitimate; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by political and economic power, or when the rule of power trumps the rule of law.We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known:

We will not tolerate discrimination in the workplace, or in our governmental institutions, or within our own movement based on age, race, sex, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, developmental ability, physical ability, religious belief, and non-belief.

We condemn and consider illegitimate the acquisition of houses through an illegal foreclosure process by banks and other financial firms.

We condemn and consider illegitimate the massive bailouts that have been passed by Congress on terms unacceptable to the majority of Americans.

We condemn the media’s performance in keeping people misinformed and fearful. We condemn governmental and corporate manipulation of the media for the purpose of spreading disinformation and concealing incriminating or embarrassing information.

We recognize that financial corruption and failure are practiced with impunity under the slogan “Too Big To Fail.” In the midst of their devastating failures, we condemn the rewarding of massive bonuses to financial executives and elites.

We condemn the pressure to limit workers’–including migrant workers’–pay and access to healthcare in order to inflate profits, and overcompensate managers and executives. We demand the recognition of workers’ rights as human rights.

We oppose the systemic orientation of outsourcing more and more jobs, and condemn its use to exert further pressure on workers.

We condemn the scapegoating of the poor, and in particular the scapegoating of immigrants, including those who enter the US, often out of desperation, illegally.

We will not tolerate the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of nonhuman animals, and we condemn those who actively hide these practices.

We condemn the “structural adjustment” policies of the IMF, WTO, World Bank, et al. which have disrupted and degraded developing economies throughout the world. Consequently, we demand the forgiveness of the crushing debts imposed by the above bodies.

We condemn the use of legal teams, lobbyists, and other means to circumvent the spirit of our laws.

We condemn the universal commodification of our culture.

We condemn the practice of blocking generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.

We condemn the execution of persons, and oppose the privatization of prisons.

We condemn colonialism in all its forms.

We condemn torture, and we condemn dismissing the killing of civilians as “collateral damage”.

We condemn the creation of weapons of mass destruction, and the profits derived from their creation.

We demand accountability to the people and will not tolerate corruption in government and transnational corporations.

We demand the dissolution of the legal absurdity of corporate personhood.

We demand deeper investment in alternative, renewable forms of energy, and condemn policies that keep us unsustainably dependent on oil and other fossil fuels.

We demand the conversion of the perpetual war economy into an economy that supports peace and sustainability.

We demand accountability of transnational corporations that have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and faulty products—endangering lives and health—in pursuit of profit.

We demand the recognition of a worker’s right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions, and the right to negotiate in association with other workers.

We demand a reevaluation of the food supply—including a reevaluation of agribusiness and federal food policies and subsidies—with an emphasis on correcting negligence and dissolving monopolies.

We demand the end of all privatization of the commons such as water, seeds, genetic materials, et al.

We demand education as a right, and we condemn massive student debts as an abridgment of that right.

We demand publicly-financed campaigns, and condemn the use of money to buy disproportionate and undue influence in government.

We demand the end of the revolving-door lobby system between Congress and corporations.

We demand instant-runoff voting to supplant the winner-take-all system in elections.

We demand transparency in the tabulating of ballot returns.

*This list is not all-inclusive and may be amended at any time by consensus of the General Assembly.

We, the Occupy Tucson General Assembly, are asserting our first amendment rights, as well as our power as citizens. We are peaceably assembled; occupying public space; creating a process to address the problems we face, and generating solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support and resources.

Join us and make your voices heard!

Loneprotestor chronicles the rise and fall of Russell Pearce in 5 minutes.

This video is a tribute to the organizing skills of Randy Parraz and the grassroots Citizens for a Better Arizona, who spent the entire summer gathering over 18,000 signatures to force the recall election of Arizona state senate president Russell Pearce. Pearce’s claim to fame was as a sponsor of the ALEC-written SB 1070, the infamous “papers, please,” law requiring anyone stopped by police for any reason to produce proof of citizenship. Now that we’ve seen Pearce’s backside, guess who might be next?

Occupy Tucson protesters at the corner of Church and Congress during rush hour. (Image Credit: Pamela Powers)

For weeks, Tucson Police and Occupy Tucson supporters played an orderly cat and mouse game.

At 10:30 p.m. every night, the police came to the park, rousted Occupiers out of their tents, gave them curfew violation citations, and left, allowing Occupiers to sleep in the park. To date more than 600 curfew citations have been issued. Some Occupiers have as many as 30 citations, each with a maximum sentence of $1000 + 6 months in jail.

Occupy Tucson protester: Are permits required to exercise your right to free speech? (Image Credit: Pamela Powers)

Now the game has changed. Since a stay was lifted earlier this week, police have the option of arresting people with three or more citations and taking them to jail for  “interfering with judicial process,” the fine is $2500 + six months in jail. The other change is police tactics is that they are not coming to the park like clockwork at 10:30 p.m. They warned the Occupiers earlier this week that they could come at any time to make arrests or they may not come at all.

On Thanksgiving, police arrested former Green Party Mayoral Candidate Mary DeCamp, who has 30 citations, for refusing to sign and agree to the paper arrest and citation. On Friday night, two more Occupiers–  Joan Zatorski Puca and Matthew Pence– were carted off to jail at 1 a.m. also for refusing the same reason.

Here is an account by  Alex Maldonado, an Occupation peacekeeper and member of  Veterans  For Peace…

Tonight, at approximately 1am, two more from Occupy Tucson were taken into custody, after seven TPD vehicles arrived at Veinte de Agosto Park for the nightly citations for staying in the park after hours.

Joan Zatorski Puca sat passive and silent as TPD took her into custody for refusing her citation.  TPD then proceeded to carry her limp body without handcuffs into a police cruiser.

A statement was read as Joan remained passive and silent with two TPD officers on each side of her.

“… who has never been arrested, much less walked into a jail…”

“… I ask you to surround me with your personal prayers this evening.  That I may stay committed to my decision to display non-violent behavior, speech, and attitude in the face of (what may be) a physically and medically challenging experience for me tonight (and beyond).

Matthew Pence was also taken into custody after refusing his citation.

Matthew was escorted to another police cruiser, and handcuffed and physically searched.

Matthew, who was also passive, was then seated into the vehicle and led away.

Occupiers and supporters waved and yelled words of encouragement to both as they were led away.

Occupy Tucson in Veinte de Agosto Park (Image Credit: Pamela Powers)

Former Green Party Mayoral Candidate and staunch Occupy Tucson support Mary DeCamp was arrested and taken from Veinte de Agosto Park last night– Thanksgiving.

News bulletin from the Occupation…

Tonight, just after midnight, Mary DeCamp was taken into custody after supposedly refusing to sign her citation. Mary was seated into a police cruiser without handcuffs as occupiers waved and yelled words of encouragement as she was driven away. There are no further details.

Earlier this week, Occupy Tucson lost a legal battle as a Superior Court Judge Howard Fell lifted the stay order. Tucson Police are now allowed to arrest anyone who has received 3 or more citations for being in the park after curfew. With the arrests come more legal problems and a charge of interfering with the judicial process.

From FOX News…

What it means now is – if a person who has more than two tickets for violating the city code which prohibits sleeping in the park after 10:30 p.m. – goes back to the park after 10:30, they face the more severe crime “interfering with judicial process.”

The City of Tucson has been trying to use zoning restrictions against the Occupation for weeks; they finally won in court. Tucson Police have issued more than 600 citations to 99 people since the Occupation began; DeCamp was one of several local Occupiers with multiple citations. Upping the legal stakes on the Occupiers could crush the movement locally as people must decide if going to jail is a wise decision for themselves and their families.

As Tucson Police step up their efforts against the Occupation, local political figures are expressing support. Today the Arizona Daily Star published a supportive commentary by former Tucson Mayor George Miller and former City Council Member Molly McKasson.

Our feeling, however, is that fees [for park use] should be waived for all groups engaged in legitimate, peaceful protest.

And what could be more legitimate than protesting that 99 percent of our citizenry – reds and blues alike – are not being represented?

Nearly everyone who spoke in support of Occupy Tucson expressed their gratitude for our Constitution and its democratic guarantees of free speech and assembly, but as one man put it, “We just haven’t been exercising these rights.”

In classrooms across the country, it’s a message that social studies teachers (George, included) work to communicate every day: That voting and participating are the keys to real change; that just reading about history and listening to the news is no substitute for being part of history in the making.

The Occupy movement seems to us like a giant classroom in participatory democracy. At a time when our politicians seem unable to address the pressing issues, the Occupy movement has given people the hope that together we can create a healthier, happier, more productive and secure nation.

With lifetimes of engagement in citizen and official politics, we know firsthand the importance of participation.

We also know that it’s not a good sign when only 41 percent of the registered voters in the city (not counting those eligible but unregistered) voted in the last election. How can we have a strong democracy when 59 percent of those who are registered don’t vote at all?
Finally, a group of citizens is demonstrating displeasure and frustration with politics as usual, and with the lawmakers who focus on meeting the demands of the wealthiest 1 percent, while ignoring the middle class and the 14 million unemployed or underemployed Americans.

That is why Americans all across the country have embraced the Occupy movement, and why the demonstration in Viente de Agosto park is important for our community.

With poverty in Tucson now hovering at around 23 percent, and more foreclosures and fewer jobs on the horizon, we think it’s vital not to block the profoundly democratic expression that is going on in downtown Tucson. That is why we strongly support council member Romero’s proposal:
• Declare a moratorium on ticketing and fining protesters in Viente de Agosto park.
• Work with the Occupy participants to assure that all other park activities are respected.
• Explore moving certain public funds into local credit unions or banks that support and strengthen our local community.

We urge the entire the mayor and council to support this proposal, which we believe is not just a legitimate and constructive action, but a moral imperative to uphold the First Amendment in no uncertain terms.

UPDATE, Nov. 25: DeCamp has been released from jail. Her and her doggie are back at Veinte de Agosto Park.

UPDATE, Nov. 26: More arrests occurred on Friday night at Occupy Tucson. Check out this link.

Americans across the political spectrum can agree on one thing: Congress is ineffective and dysfunctional.

The recent dismal failure of the much-ballyhooed Super Congress is just another example of their inability to govern. Last August Congressional Republican gamesmanship forced a downgrading of the US credit rating when they dragged their feet on raising the US debt ceiling– an exercise that had been repeated several times by the Congress in the past.

Republicans like Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, John Boehner, and Arizona’s own Jeff Flake were all over the news– insisting on cuts to entitlement program (cuts to the 99%) rather than raising taxes on the wealthy or cutting corporate welfare (cuts to the 1%); part of the final deal was the creation of the Super Committee. They also railed against Obama’s stimulus package and stood against any attempt by the President to put American’s back to work. (And they wonder why the Occupy movement spread like wildfire across our cities and towns just weeks after the debt ceiling fiasco?)

The failure of the Super Committee to reach a deal by their Nov. 23, 2011 deadline  will trigger automatic spending cuts (a Republican idea) beginning in 2013 (conveniently scheduled for the next Congress to deal with). President Obama said he will veto any Congressional attempt to roll back the cuts; after all, Republicans made a big deal last summer about how they strong-armed the President into the debt ceiling deal, the necessity of the massive cuts, and the creation of the Super Committee. Now let them live with the consequence of their ideology.

The failure of the Super Committee will bring cuts to education, cuts to military spending, and cuts to unemployment insurance– just to name a few. If Congress doesn’t act in the next few weeks, 1.8 million Americans will lose their benefits in January 2012. (That will tank the economy for sure.)

From the Huffington Post…

Beginning in 2013, the federal government faces two oncoming trains. When the supercommittee was unable to find agreement by Wednesday, it triggered spending cuts of $1.2 trillion starting in January 2013 and extending over 10 years. Half of the cuts would come from defense spending, the other from education, agriculture and environmental programs, and, to a lesser extent, Medicare.

At the same time, tax cuts adopted during the presidency of George W. Bush will expire at the end of 2012, meaning an increase for every taxpayer.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the cuts would “tear a seam in the nation’s defense.”

Meanwhile, the tax increases would hit a still-fragile economy, endangering a recovery and raising prospects of another recession.

But while neither side wants those outcomes, Washington’s recent history of tackling fiscal problems shows Congress does not act unless faced with a dire deadline. It extended Bush-era tax cuts in 2010 just days before they expired, it avoided a government shutdown by hours and it put off a debt crisis this summer in the face of a government default.

Not surprisingly, the current Congressional approval rating is at a dismal 9%– dead even with American’s approval rating of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Congress is so unpopular that the Internal Revenue Service (40%), BP at the height of the Deep Water Horizon oil spill crisis (16%), and the idea of Communism taking over the US (11%) are more popular than the Do-Nothing Congress.

The US is in a financial crisis… thanks to Wall Street gamblers, thanks to Congress’ insistence on extending tax cuts we can’t afford, thanks to corporations sending good-paying jobs overseas, thanks to growing wealth disparity, thanks to runaway healthcare costs, thanks to the disappearance of the middle class, thanks to widespread poverty in the richest country in the world…

As the US population ages, our current financial crisis will pale in comparison to our impending public health crisis.

Congress needs to get to work. In poll after poll, the people have said they want a balanced approach– spending cuts + revenue increases– to balancing the budget. Super Committee members like Arizona Senator Jon Kyl should be ashamed of themselves– putting ideology and protection of the 1% ahead of the welfare of Americans.

Funny how silent Cantor, Ryan, Boehner, and Flake have been lately.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Mahatma Gandhi

Job creation and economic development in Tucson (and many other cities) has historically revolved around a few well-worn strategies:

• offer tax breaks, free or cheap land, low taxes, and/or other economic incentives to lure businesses to our area;
• offer tax breaks, free or cheap land, low taxes, and/or other economic incentives to developers to build stuff;
• offer a new stadium with free or cheap rent and/or other economic incentives to lure spring training or other sports teams to our area;
• show pictures of cowboys and pretty sunsets and hope tourists will come;
• build a fancy convention hotel– on the taxpayers’ dime– to lure conventions to our area.

Luckily, the citizens stopped the fancy convention hotel plan last summer, but Tucson and Pima County have jumped on board and spent millions of dollars on these other strategies. And what have we got to show for it? A 23.4% poverty rate, high unemployment, a shrinking workforce, a rising home vacancy rate, home foreclosures in the thousands, and falling home values. Need I go on?

We need some new strategies. To this end Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) Tucson Chapter sponsored a panel discussion on job creation recently. Job Creation in Tucson: Building a Sustainable Future featured talks by Lisette DeMars of Local First Arizona, Melissa Black of the Green Chamber of Commerce, Joe Higgins of Arizona Small Business, and Jim Mize of Pima County employer outreach, plus local business owner Tim Carmichael of La Posada Solar Cogeneration Project.* Rep. Raul Grijalva was on hand to offer his perspective, and The Tucson Progressive gave an economic overview (above).

The focus of the evening was on growing and investing in local business– instead of throwing money and tax breaks to lure businesses here or offering Band-Aid solutions like cutting fees (which often lead to reduced governmental revenue and cuts in jobs and services).

Although the right-wing blog Tucson Choices dissed PDA’s local business focus and dismissed the group as a bunch of intellectuals– the Thinkers of Tucson (hey, thanks)– the evening was filled with creative ideas. Tucson Choices says that local politicians don’t have the time to come up with new ideas, so they listen to Tucson’s Thinkers. I hope they’re right.

To climb out of our current economic slump, Tucson needs to foster out-of-the-box ideas and invest in local innovation– rather than focus on being the low-wage call center capital of the country.

We have businesses that are born and raised in Tucson. They’re not going anywhere. Rather than chasing after the next IBM with tax breaks, the smart investment is to help local businesses grow by offering innovation grants. Instead of offering millions of dollars to lure a large company here, let’s take even 10% of that economic development money and fund local innovation. I’m not suggesting that we give Joe’s Machine Shop $5000 to move into a new building; I’m suggesting we give Joe $5000 – $50,000 to develop the next generation of electric motors. Now that’s business friendly.

In addition, Tucson economic development should play to our strengths. We have a research university and one of the country’s top hospitals– right here in the middle of town. The city should work with the UA and enable increased technology transfer. Research has shown that growing “eds and meds” does foster economic development, provides good-paying jobs, and is a better investment than convention hotels or sports teams.

The entire PDA event can be found on my You Tube channel.

* By the way, PDA invited TREO to join in the panel discussion, but they declined.

Since 2005, Tucson and Pima County have sunk millions of dollars into the economic development group Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities, Inc. (TREO).

Until I read Josh Brodesky’s recent Arizona Daily Star article on TREO, I mistakenly thought it was primarily funded by governmental entities like Tucson, Pima County, and other municipalities in Southern Arizona. Wrong.

Yes, Pima County kicked in $350,000 this year (down from $1.2 million in previous years) and the City of Tucson kicked in $520,000 (down from $1.5 million), but did you know that TREO has a membership structure in which businesses buy-in for $25,000 or $50,000 per year?

From the Star…

The TREO board is a veritable country club filled with the region’s heavy hitters in government and business. Members pay $25,000 to join the board. [I wonder how much the TREO membership overlaps with the Southern Arizona Leadership Council (SALC)?] But that pales in comparison to the exclusive Chairman’s Circle.

“Over the years, what I’ve realized are big players, CEOs of companies, we charge $50,000,” Snell said of the circle. “They can’t make board meetings or are in New York all the time, you know, living the lives that none of us do. But they want to have a say in shaping economic policy.”

Talk about the 1 percent.

This pay-to-play structure troubles Robert L. Davis, a commercial broker with Grubb & Ellis, because TREO operates on private and public funds. It also cuts out people in the business community who don’t have the cash.

“You can spend $50,000, but it doesn’t mean you should have a greater voice than Jim Smith,” he said. “I offered to do a big amount a year if they would just list all of their investors in alphabetical order” and create a separate, independent board of members chosen for their skill, not their wealth. “That went over like a lead balloon.”

One of the big criticisms of Snell and TREO is simply being missing in action.

“I don’t see them,” Pima County Supervisor Richard Elías told me.

“I don’t see him out in the community very often,” Davis said.

“We don’t know what’s going on,” Marana Mayor Ed Honea said back in 2008 when Marana bolted from TREO. “We’re really not apprised of what’s happening on a month-to-month basis. It seems like we just send a check, and that’s it.”

After having read Brodesky’s article, I was left wondering: What are TREO members buying for their $25,000-$50,000 membership? And who are these businesses? The Chairman’s Circle membership– including local heavy-hitters like Jim Click, Carondelet, Raytheon, TMC, and COX Communications– is listed on the TREO website; the Board of Directors is also listed. But what about the other businesses? I agree with Davis (above); there should be more transparency regarding the how TREO operates.

Between Pima County and the City of Tucson, we– the taxpayers– are contributing nearly $1 million per year. I think we have the right to know who the other players are, how this organization really works, and who they are working for.

In Spetember 2011, unemployment decreased in 75% of US cities — including Tucson– according to recent statistics released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

From CBS Money Watch…

The Labor Department said Wednesday [Nov. 2, 2011] that unemployment rates fell in 280 large metro areas from August to September. They rose in 61 and were unchanged in 31. That’s the largest number of cities to see a decline since April.

Nationwide, employers added a net 103,000 jobs in September. And the [nationwide] unemployment rate was 9.1 percent for the third straight month. The job gains were only about enough to keep up with population growth. The economy needs to generate at least twice September’s total to reduce the unemployment rate.

According to the Labor report, Tucson’s unemployment rate was 8.0% in September 2011 (down from 8.9% in September 2010). The Labor report also shows that– compared to a year ago– Tucson’s workforce is shrinking (492,600 vs 489,600) along with the number (44,000 vs 39,000) and percentage of unemployed (8.9% vs 8.0%).

Nationwide, Tucson doesn’t have the highest unemployment rate (29.6% in El Centro, Calif., followed closely by Yuma at 27%) or the lowest unemployment rate (Bismark, ND at 2.5%). But if you’re unemployed, it still sucks. (Been there.)

With the local unemployment rate shrinking and the total workforce also shrinking, this begs the question: Are more pepople employed locally or did the unemployment rate go down because people left town or dropped out of the workforce?

A recent article in the Arizona Daily Star gives us a hint: One in eight apartments or homes in Pima County is vacant. In 2000, 9.4% of housing units in the county were vacant, compared with 12% in 2010. From the Star…

While many homes are vacant because the former owners couldn’t afford them and were forced out, the rental market also has been hit hard because many of its low-income occupants left the area in the wake of the housing bust. New residents are also not coming from other states – as they did for decades – because the area’s economy has slowed to a crawl.

When looking at the local economic picture, the poverty rate must also be addressed. Tucson’s poverty rate is 23.4%, compared to 16.5% statewide. According to an article in the Tucson Weekly, Tucson has been “ahead of the poverty curve” for years.

In the recent election, mayoral and City Council candidates talked a lot about job creation and cutting fees for small businesses to jump start the local economy.

Now that the election is over, where do we go from here?

Tonight, November 10, 2011, Progressive Democrats of America Tucson Chapter is hosting a panel discussion focusing on job creation. Among the presenters will be US Rep. Raul Grijalva. Job Creation in Tucson: Building a Sustainable Future will be held at the Hotel Tucson City Center from 7-9 p.m., $5 donation at the door.

Come hear new ideas and join this public discussion. For more information regarding speakers, check out PDA Tucson’s facebook page.