Full disclosure

How much did the city council really make? … Going nuclear … And redacting too far.

With new raises for the mayor and the Tucson City Council starting last month, it was a good moment to review their financial disclosure forms to learn a little more about what all seven members of the Council are doing when they’re not on the clock.

Filling out those forms, which is required by law, shows how they earn a living — besides serving on the Council — how they invest their money, and the property they own. It’s one of the few ways voters get to see the financial aspects of Council members’ lives, and potentially flush out any conflicts of interest.

It wasn’t that long ago that Tucson’s mayor made $42,000 a year and councilmembers made only $24,000. But after Tucson voters gave the green light to Prop 413 in 2023, the salary for the mayor is now $121,000, while council members get paid $96,600.

The hope was that by increasing the pay to a real living wage, Prop 413 would elevate the quality of candidates the council would attract, diversify the type of person who could afford to serve and ensure that members of the Tucson City Council could give the job their full attention.

Even with the pay raise, a handful of the Councilmembers, as well as Mayor Regina Romero, still have side gigs.

Councilmember Paul Cunningham reported that he continues to teach physical education classes at Santa Rita High School part-time – though that’s more of a passion project than a true side hustle. Cunningham has been working with students for the past 30 years.

“It's a great opportunity to interact with the Eastside, teachers and families. Santa Rita had a legendary PE teacher, Dave Lynch, who was one of my mentors growing up. I think filling in two periods a day can be a good thing for the community,” Cunningham said.

His days teaching may be numbered, however. The school is considering making his position at the school full-time this fall. He said he would retire this fall if they are able to hire a full-time PE teacher.

Mayor Regina Romero and Councilmembers Nikki Lee and Lane Santa Cruz listed that they still do some consulting work on the side, despite the pay raise.

Romero is a consultant with the Tucson-based Center For Biological Diversity, a nonprofit she used to work for full-time before being elected mayor in 2019.

Her reports also note that she traveled a lot representing the city. She flew to Portugal for the UNESCO Creative Cities Network Annual Conference, participated in the U.S. Peru Local Leaders forum, and went on a trade mission with Gov. Katie Hobbs to Mexico City last year.

Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz works as a part-time advisor to Mijente, a Phoenix-based nonprofit. While Santa Cruz lists that they have their own consulting services, La Calle Community Services, they told us they haven't been doing consulting lately but included it in their paperwork for full transparency.

“I am definitely passionate about the work I do with other electeds around the country and using my degree to develop curriculums and trainings for electeds and their staff,” Santa Cruz said.

Councilmember Nikki Lee listed her consulting agency, Lee Innovations Group LLC, which offers coaching sessions with elected and community leaders. She said she has been consulting for about 11 years, but it is now a part-time position, averaging about three hours a month.

Lee also went on two trips last year as part of her role with the National League of Cities and Towns while she was the co-chair of the League's AI Advisory Committee.

Councilmember Karin Uhlich listed that she worked for Arizona Complete Health last year, but resigned shortly after her appointment last May.

Neither Councilmember Kevin Dahl nor Richard Fimbres reported any outside income in their latest reports.

One final observation: Dahl, Fimbres, and Romero all own second homes here in Tucson. The city requires that officials disclose any “real property” but doesn’t require them to disclose the address, just the general location and size.

The University of Arizona College Democrats have asked UA President Suresh Garimella to take action now that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has rescinded its policy not to hold raids in sensitive areas, like college campuses.

The College Democrats want the university to do the following:

• Non-Cooperation with ICE: The students want the university to adopt a new policy refusing to cooperate with DHS, including ICE, unless compelled by a judicial warrant.

• Protecting student data: Prohibit disclosure of any student information, unless compelled by a judicial warrant.

• Educate students on their rights: Ask the University to publicize ‘Know Your Rights’ informational pamphlets to be published on the University of Arizona Thrive Center Immigrant Student Resources webpage.

• Faculty and staff training: Instruct staff on how to respond to DHS activity on campus, including referring any immigration issues on campus to the Office of University Counsel.

• Commitment from the president: Issue a public statement affirming the university’s commitment to a safe educational environment for all students, regardless of their immigration status.

Publicity pamphlets went out this week to Tucson voters for the March 11 election to decide on Proposition 414. The half-cent sales tax would generate roughly $800 million over the next decade for public safety and housing.

Next up in the election timeline is the February 10 deadline to register to vote in the election. (You can check your registration at the Pima County Recorder’s website)

Ballots go out to voters on February 12 and you have until February 26 to request one.

In the meantime, if you want to learn more about Prop 414, the city is hosting town halls to educate voters. They held one town hall yesterday and the next one is February 11 at the Morris K. Udall Center, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road.

The third and final town hall will be February 12 at the Donna R. Liggins Recreation Center, 2160 N. Sixth Ave.

The nuclear option: Tucson Electric Power and the two other large utilities in Arizona announced they’re planning to build nuclear power plants, KGUN’s Tina Giuliano reports. The companies are looking for options to replace coal-burning plants, with an eye for getting either a large nuclear plant, or smaller, pre-fabricated ones online in about 15 years.

Good faith?: Tucson-area Republican Rep. Rachel Keshel wants to protect county supervisors from being prosecuted if they refuse to certify election results, KJZZ’s Wayne Schutsky reports. County supervisors don’t have any real discretion about certifying election results, which is why Cochise County Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd were indicted on felony charges of interfering with an election when they delayed certifying election results in 2022. Keshel says her bill would bar the Arizona Attorney General from bringing charges if a supervisor was acting “in good faith.”

The troops arrive: Fort Huachuca will soon be home to 500 soldiers from Fort Drum’s 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) as the Trump administration deploys troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, KGUN reports. The soldiers from Fort Drum, which is in New York state, will oversee a Joint Task Force operation that will involve various military branches.

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A whirlwind of border-related policy changes is on its way. Subscribe to the Tucson Agenda and we’ll help you keep track of it all!

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Deep dive: Tucson’s streets are dangerous and 10 people already have died in crashes this year. The Tucson Sentinel’s Natalie Robbins dives into Tucson Police Department traffic data to show the most dangerous intersections, the circumstances of traffic-related fatalities, and how the city ended up in such a dangerous place.

One of the main reasons for a public disclosure form is to let the public know if their elected officials have any conflicts that could influence their decisions.

In reviewing older disclosure forms from the City of Tucson, we came across this head-scratcher.

While Councilmember Lane Santa Cruz disclosed the information about a business they owned in 2022, City staff redacted the information, basically eliminating the purpose of the document.

The good news is that city staff now have a new policy on when to break out their digital sharpies, only redacting the address, not the name, of a business owned by an elected official. (Which generally speaking would be listed with the Arizona Corporation Commission.)