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$732 million in bonds ok'd

It's all over but the spending. An unlikely coalition including contractors, governments, environmentalists, developers, realtors, the National Rifle Association and even Wildcat basketball coach Lute Olson steamrolled over relatively token opposition Tuesday to win landslide voter approval of $732 million in county bonds. Now, Pima County officials will start selling bonds in batches of $22 million to $75 million over the next decade to buy open space, develop a $92 million public safety radio system, build new courthouses, rebuild and expand the aging sewer system, add to the Kino Community Hospital complex, and create new and expanded parks. Voters approved six bond questions - totaling nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars - by margins as high as 68 percent, for $150 million in sewer bonds, and as low as 59 percent, for new Kino buildings, storm drainage and river parks. The $174 million open-space bond package - the election's original driving force - passed 65.7 to 34.3 percent, compared with a 68-32 victory margin for the $27.9 million, 1997 open space bonds. Tuesday's vote continued a tradition of county bond success: voter approval of 43 of 48 questions in 11 such elections since 1974, according to County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry. But voter response to the latest bonds was hardly overwhelming. About 20.5 percent of the county's 395,000 registered voters cast ballots. Still, officials took heart in what they said was a strong mandate to preserve quality of life in the face of rapid growth. "We hit the wall," Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Sharon Bronson said in explaining the large victory margins. "As we're growing, our quality of life has been deteriorating. We were losing our quality of place. A lot of people thought we were approaching the point where we couldn't sustain our economic development efforts." Opponents, who were generally loosely organized, credited the much larger bankrolls of the bond supporters: "It was $500,000 versus $3,000," said Steve Emerine, a public relations consultant who opposed the open space bonds. "The builders and developers and environmentalists who supported the bonds raised and spent a lot of money. The people who opposed bonds raised and spent very little." Considering the large amount supporters spent, margins were closer than expected, said David Euchner, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Pima County. It shows what his group could accomplish, he said, with less than $1,000 to spend on nearly 100 signs showing a pink pig, saying, "Don't buy the pork.'' Euchner also blamed the defeat on what he said was a deliberate effort by county supervisors to hold down voter turnout by having a special election rather than combining it with the November presidential election, which will have a much higher turnout. But environmentalists said the community rallied to support the open-space bonds because open space helps define Tucson's character. "I'm hoping instead of Tucson becoming a paved-over megalopolis, we'll have pristine parcels of land," said Debbie Hecht, president of the Tucson Mountains Association. "That's why we all love it here." Environmentalist Christina McVie said this was the most cooperative community planning effort she's seen in more than 50 years here: "For so long, we have argued from one corner of the spectrum to another." John Munger, county Republican Party chairman, said massive failures of the last two city proposals for transportation taxes apparently helped these bonds. "All kinds of taxes and efforts to build the infrastructure of the city have failed," he said. "People have finally concluded that this may not be perfect, but for better or for worse, they want something done." Open space - in this case saving the 700-acre Sweetwater Preserve in the Tucson Mountains foothills - is one of the first bond spending priorities for Huckelberry. His recommendations for that $12 million parcel and other open-space purchases must be cleared by two advisory committees and the Board of Supervisors. Sweetwater will not serve the primary purpose of the open-space bonds, to support the county's habitat conservation plan, because its saguaro-covered hillsides don't rank as high with scientists as do many other parcels. Sweetwater, however, has immediate development pressure, an already approved county contract to buy it and an option to buy that expires in June, Huckelberry said. His next priority: a $25 million public health center that would serve as part of a new Kino Health Campus. Acquiring land for parks and starting to build a Catalina Foothills park rank third, he said. Opponents noted that defeating the bonds would gradually reduce what is now the highest property-tax rate among the state's 15 counties. Huckelberry said the county spent recent weeks educating voters that only 5 percent of county property taxes are spent to repay bonds. Tuesday's election will not raise property-tax rates. In the past week, supporters spent about $33,000 on radio ads featuring Olson, County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva. "I really felt all six of the bonds were something that the community needed," said Olson, who said he had never before gotten involved in a Tucson political issue. "To me, it wasn't a controversial issue at all." The National Rifle Association sent an alert urging its 11,000 Pima County members to support the open-space bonds and a parks package containing $3.5 million for a Southeast Side shooting range. The NRA backed the open-space bonds to help preserve some of the Southwest's best hunting opportunities, said Todd Rathner, a Tucsonan who sits on its national board. "We have some of the best quail hunting in the country - three species of quail. We've got terrific white-tail deer hunting and decent mule-deer hunting. We have as much interest in preserving that as some of the traditional supporters of open space." Developer Joe Cesare, who helped raise money for the bond campaign, said the only thing missing was transportation: "I'd like to see that next." Larry Hecker, an attorney who chaired the pro-bond campaign, agreed: "If we're able to come together on these diverse bond issues, we should be able to come together on something as critical as transportation."