When running to serve as your Ward 5 Councilmember, I heard from constituents in neighborhoods that I was walking, that they needed jobs to earn a paycheck to feed their family and they wanted to be able to shop for the goods they need without having to drive to the far north side or east side of the City.
With my work on bringing in and expanding several dozen businesses, changing the development guidelines, ending economic redlining has shown that Ward 5 is a thriving market with more than 10,000 jobs having been created. I have done this for our students in the Sunnyside School District and TUSD, as well as the Good citizens to have the employment opportunities, as well as they no longer have to travel to shop, get medical attention and buy groceries.
Thanks to the work I had done previously and the results, Raytheon announced that they were adding 1,000 more jobs to bring their expansion to a total of 2,975 jobs. GEICO is in the process of expanding their workforce by 700, bringing their work forcé total to 2,800. I attended a dedication for a remodeling of a fast food restaurant and worked to get a locallyowned grocery store to be able to open in an area in Ward 5 that needs it.
Why I am writing about this, because in addition to helping the good citizens of Ward 5, providing potential jobs and opportunities, this will help the City of Tucson pay for the four core services stated in the Tucson City Charter: police, fire, streets and parks.
To pay for police, fire, streets and parks, the City of Tucson relies on sales tax revenues generated from businesses and from the purchases of the Good citizens of Tucson. The City of Tucson does not have the luxury like the Pima County Board of Supervisors, who can raise property taxes to generate revenue. Also, the Tucson City Charter requires that financial questions must go to the voters for a vote.
With more businesses opening and businesses expanding their operations, creating more jobs, generating more sales and city sales tax revenue, more roads are repaired, more public safety (pólice and fire) positions are created and filled, and our Parks and recreation centers are updated and programs expanded, it is a win-win for Ward 5 and for Tucson.
