Ciscomani doesn’t want to talk
Maybe he was busy? … Supes pass affordable housing … And that was a weird place to put a sign.
For several weeks, we’ve been asking for an interview with Congressman Juan Ciscomani about the “big, beautiful bill.”
Like many of his constituents, we’d like to hear him talk about his decision to support the bill, which contains massive cuts to Medicaid (among many other cuts) that Ciscomani very publicly said he opposed.
We first asked his office for a few minutes of his time on May 15, a week before the legislation was passed.
Regular readers of the Tucson Agenda can probably already guess that Tucson’s only member of Congress blew us off.
Instead, his staff directed us to this post where he says he is protecting Medicaid while using the DOGE-approved doublespeak — the bill eliminates “waste, fraud and abuse” and then thanks President Donald Trump.
This isn’t to say Ciscomani didn’t talk to some press after the vote, he sat down with KGUN and the Sierra Vista Herald Review after the vote. But we still have … questions about his vote. (And judging from our comments section, so do you.)
Nearly 800,000 people live in Congressional District 6, and we believe they should hear from their congressman — and not just through press releases, social media posts and private meetings with donors — but by answering the questions of the Fourth Estate.1
We still want to talk to the congressman, and we think we're making progress with his staff in identifying when he would be available when he is back in the district. He is in D.C. this week.
Until then, you can always follow him on social media or catch him during his telephone town halls.
Also, you can call his office. His staff is one of a handful of congressional offices that answers the phone. (We’re looking at you, Democratic U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego. Saying you are still short-staffed and can’t answer phones in June — five months since you were sworn in — is lame.)
In the meantime, we know plenty of people who are happy to talk about Ciscomani's vote on the "big beautiful" budget bill: Ciscomani's Democratic opponents for his competitive seat in Tucson's CD6.
Guess we’ll interview them instead…
Pima County Supervisor Matt Heinz’s proposal to raise property taxes to generate roughly $225 million for affordable housing construction over the next decade finally got the nod from his fellow supervisors.
The measure won't raise taxes next year.
A revised, whittled-down version of his proposal will instead use about $3.5 million for the first year, primarily from leftover grant funding.2 However, a property tax increase is likely when the County builds its FY26/27 annual budget a year from now. The property tax for affordable housing will increase every year, at least in this current proposal.
Heinz said Southern Arizona is in dire need of tens of thousands of housing units, as the constrained housing market is forcing many residents to spend a significant portion of their income on rent. This, he said, creates a domino effect on the local economy: Businesses are choosing to invest elsewhere because the rent is too high for their employees.
Old Pueblo Community Services CEO Tom Litwicki, who sits on the county's Regional Affordable Housing Commission, noted that demand for funding for affordable housing projects consistently outpaces the county's current investment.
The new dedicated revenue stream, he said, would allow developers to qualify for federal and state grant funding — much of which requires a local funding match.
The new funds will be used countywide, Supervisor Jennifer Allen told the Tucson Agenda after the vote. She expressed confidence that the funding would help developers build new housing beyond Tucson city limits, including in the rural areas she represents.
Supervisor Steve Christy attempted to delay the vote, saying he wanted time to hold a series of public “listening sessions.” His motion died within seconds, with no other supervisors willing to postpone the item again.
The board approved the affordable housing measure on a 4–1 vote, with Christy opposed.
The supervisors also:
Approved a resolution opposing the militarization of the border
Voted to spend $6.2 million to buy the old Wells Fargo building on Stone Avenue to replace the downtown library
Postponed a vote on the sale of five county-owned homes, with discussion about converting them into affordable housing
Agreed to send a letter to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, updating her on a completed internal investigation by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department into a December 2022 incident. The incident in question led to a one-year prison sentence for a sheriff’s sergeant convicted of attempted sexual assault and sexual abuse against a deputy.
Not just the GOP: As Pride Month kicked off this week, LGBTQ+ rights groups gathered at the state Capitol to push back on laws targeting their community, LOOKOUT’s Joseph Darius Jaafari reports. Normally, Republican lawmakers bear the brunt of their criticism, but this year two Democrats also were in hot water. U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego recently said he doesn’t think transgender youth athletes should be allowed to participate in sports, and Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill into law that bans pornography, but is similar to bills in other states that have been used to label LGBTQ+ materials as “adult.” Speaking of LOOKOUT, our sister ‘sletter, the Arizona Agenda, interviewed Jafaari this week about building LOOKOUT and the state of gay journalism.
“I figured we really needed something robust. I kind of looked at the news ecosystem of LGBTQ media outlets out there … and there is not a single investigative, accountability-focused news outlet that's for the community across the nation,” Jaafari said. “And so we kind of said, fuck it, let's do it ourselves.”
Making them whole: In the wake of a massive embezzlement scheme by the former county treasurer, Santa Cruz County officials are allocating $5 million for local school and fire districts that were hit hard by the scheme, the Nogales International’s Daisy Zavala Magaña reports. The money comes from cash recovered from former Treasurer Liz Gutfahr, who embezzled $38 million.
Not so fast: The Hermosa mine near Patagonia will have to do a better job of monitoring air quality now that the Environmental Protection Agency ruled several sections of its permit were unclear or lacked adequate monitoring, the Arizona Daily Star’s Tony Davis reported. The ruling won’t stop construction of the mine, and the EPA already denied several such requests. Still, local environmental activists called it a “big win.”
Fire facts: The Tucson Fire Department responded to more than 105,000 calls last year, a record for the department, KVOA’s Zachary Jackson reports. Last year’s tally included 86 fires that were related to homelessness, likely the result of warming fires, cooking, or smoking, KVOA’s Chorus Nylander reported. TFD’s annual report is packed with statistics about the department’s activities, including adding nearly 2,000 “life years” by treating cardiac arrest cases.
Changing hands: Eegee’s has a new owner. Gladstone Capital Corporation bought the fast food chain after Eegee’s filed for bankruptcy in December, KGUN reports. All 25 locations will remain open. Gladstone invests in “lower-middle market businesses,” and its portfolio includes companies from across the country.
We’re a lower-middle market business, but we don’t want to get bought by a huge investment firm. Help us stay independent by clicking that button!
Making cuts: Amphitheater Unified School District is cutting about 23 teaching positions, KVOA’s Eric Fink reported. The district says the cuts are the result of declining enrollment, which led to a loss of about $4.6 million in revenue. The cuts are expected to save $1.4 million, with the bulk of the savings coming from cuts to the Student Services Department.
Political signs are popping up everywhere in Tucson.
One caught our eye recently — signs for Janet “JL” Wittenbraker about a mile away from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base along 22nd Street.
Wittenbraker is running for the Ward 3 seat on the Tucson City Council, which represents the north central portion of the city.
That’s nowhere near where we spotted her signs.
But running as a Republican unopposed in the primary, this might be a very shrewd move by Wittenbraker to get more votes down the road. The Tucson City Charter allows everyone to vote in the general election for Council candidates, not just in their ward.
As we’ve written before, it is an uphill fight to win as a Republican. The last time Tucson elected a Republican was in 2008 when Steve Kozachik was first elected.
Joe lives in Congressional District 6. Even if he weren’t a reporter, he’d still want his congressman to regularly talk to the press.
The County already sets aside $5 million annually for affordable housing projects.
Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
The Honorable Juan Ciscomani, Republican Member of Congress, lied to me. He lied to us! Our Rep. voted against us and in favor of the Bank of Trump, exploding our national debt by another $3.8 trillion.
Ciscomani prioritized his own political ambitions over the needs of the people he represents in AZ CD6. He abandoned ethical principles and disregarded the well-being of society when he voted to slash our Medicaid health care for the vulnerable ill, slice away SNAP food stamps for hungry children, and sever hard-earned Veterans benefits at the VA. You betrayed our trust, Congressman Ciscomani, and we will never forgive you for that.
Speaking of Ciscomani - I recently received an eMail from the congressman inquiring as to whether I supported federal assistance for addiction treatment and related services. Something about his survey smelled funny to me, I have an uneasy feeling that he's seeking to use affirmative responses from his constituents to justify his vote on some bill that that that is included in... Am I just paranoid? (Hey, just because your paranoid, doesn't mean that they're not out to get you).