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The Democrats have held a majority on the Pima County Board of Supervisors for the last 12 years.

The result of the District 3 supervisor election will determine whether that majority — made up of Supervisors Sharon Bronson, Ramón Valadez and Richard Elías, the board chairman — will continue for another four years or be replaced by a new Republican majority, with challenger Barney Brenner taking Bronson's place and joining Republican Supervisors Ann Day and Ray Carroll.

The Democrats say they are proud of their record, which includes the adoption of the landmark Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, investment in infrastructure and falling tax rates.

The Republicans say they have been shut out of decision-making and denied access to information, while rising home prices mean the tax burden on most Pima County homeowners continues to rise.

Brenner has not made the GOP label a big part of his campaign. In a district in which Democrats outnumber Republicans 3 to 2, Brenner's campaign signs don't identify him as a Republican.

But the issues at the heart of his critique of Bronson — taxes and spending — are near and dear to the hearts of the other Republicans on the board.

Brenner said the biggest difference between a Democratic majority and a Republican majority on the board would be a drop in taxes.

"Two of the Republicans — Ann Day and Ray Carroll — are trying to get some fiscal responsibility and they aren't able to do that because they can't get a third vote," he said. "And people are really suffering. We need to get spending and taxation under control, and the current majority has failed to do that year after year. It's time to give a chance to a new majority."

Bronson rejects the idea she and the Democratic majority have been irresponsible. The board has steadily cut the tax rate while setting aside money in a reserve fund and investing in infrastructure, she said.

Bronson said she didn't know what a Republican majority would look like because she doesn't know how often the three would vote together. But if the board followed Brenner's lead, the results would not be good, she said.

"His stance on fiscal issues is to deplete the rainy-day fund, which protects taxpayers from tax increases in tough fiscal times like these," she said. "If he were able to convince his fellow supervisors, he could take it back to early 1990s, when we operated at a deficit in some funds, depleted our reserves and saw a deterioration in our bond rating."

The bond rating determines the interest rate taxpayers pay on bond projects, such as open-space purchases and parks.

The four unchallenged supervisors agree taxes and budget issues would be main difference between a Republican board and a Democratic one, but Day and Carroll, the Republican supervisors, also said they see a chance for more open and transparent government.

They complain they don't get the information they need to make decisions.

"I want a better government that rewards good ideas and more policy decisions without politics, and I think a Republican majority would bring that," Day said.

"A new board would be more responsive to the public," Carroll said. "People are upset about taxes, and we would listen."

Elías, the board chairman, said he understood the frustration that comes from being in the minority, but he thinks the Democrats are responsive, both to taxpayers and to county residents in need.

"The need for services continues to grow along with population," he said. "We took a hard look at the budget. We recognize times were tough. We gave people some tax relief. But there was a movement to cut across the board, and quite frankly, I think that would be irresponsible."

Valadez disputed the idea Republicans were not allowed to have budget information, pointing to the information the county made available online to everyone.

"That's nice political rhetoric, but I don't think it's entirely factual," he said.

Bronson questioned whether Brenner would devote the same resources to neighborhood projects that improve quality of life and reduce the crime rate, like sidewalks, streetlights and traffic-calming devices.

She characterized the Demo-cratic consensus as "investment in community, investment in economic development, investment in environment."

"If you invest in infrastructure, it improves the quality of life," she said. "I think our investments pay off."

While saying he cares about the environment, Brenner opposes some of the county's environmental initiatives. He says spending money to buy open space may be unnecessary when much of Pima County's land is publicly owned, and he doesn't want regulation to impinge too much on private property rights. But it is unclear how much difference he would make in county environmental policy. Day and Carroll cast themselves as "green Republicans" and support most of those measures.

Brenner said his position on spending does not mean he would cut services. He said that by reducing waste and improving efficiency he could cut taxes and still put more money into services.

His priority would be improving road maintenance and traffic problems, but he said he would be sensitive to social needs as well.

"I'm going to stretch tax dollars further than this majority ever did, and we will get more services," he said. "I'm not looking to cut services. I'm looking to make sure that money county employees say is being wasted does get spent on services."