Robert Robuck is challenging the incumbent.

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"A political tradition, part of our political folklore and our political reality" is how South Tucson City Manager Enrique Serna describes the close relationship between South Tucson and the District 2 county supervisor.

Rob Robuck, a Sahuarita resident and political novice who is seeking to unseat incumbent Supervisor Ramón Valadez in Tuesday's Democratic primary, said it's time for that tradition to end. He said he believes South Tucson, population 6,000, gets a disproportionate share of county services and capital projects.

"A lot of District 2 is poor areas," Robuck said. "There are a lot of colonias. I live next to one. If you drive through South Tucson, you'll see all the money they've spent, the tile work, the nice stuff. Why is that the only place you see that?"

Valadez said he represents all his constituents, from Sahuarita to the South Side. If South Tucson does get more assistance in some areas, it's because the area has more needs.

"We could do away with everything we do to take care of that community, and we'd be neglecting one of the most stressed parts of the community," he said. "I believe we're all in the same ship. You cannot let one part of the ship go down without the whole ship going down."

Many of the programs Pima County funds in South Tucson go back to Sam Lena, the supervisor who preceded Dan Eckstrom in the District 2 seat.

To assess how much the county helps South Tucson, the Arizona Daily Star looked only at spending since 2003, the year Valadez was appointed to finish Eckstrom's last term.

During that time, South Tucson has received:

● More than $2 million in federal Community Development Block Grant money, roughly 15 percent of the county's allotment in any given year.

● $80,000 a year to maintain 2 3/4 miles of linear park along the Tucson Diversion Channel.

● $180,000 a year for general flood-control maintenance, roughly 6 percent of the county's maintenance budget.

● $113,000 a year from the $16 million county parks budget to support the John A. Valenzuela Youth Center in South Tucson.

● $98,788 a year in rent for the Sam Lena-South Tucson Branch Library. Though the library system pays rent for several locations in strip malls, it's the only location at which the library pays rent for a building owned by another government.

● $650,000 for two "pocket parks" through the Neighborhood Reinvestment bond program. The parks are the only South Tucson project funded through the $20 million program.

● $110,000 earlier this summer to pave a few blocks of South Ninth Avenue that dead-end into Interstate 10.

The money came from $10 million in 1997 road-bond funds that were set aside just for District 2, more than $9 million of which remains unspent.

Ninth Avenue is the only South Tucson project to receive funding so far.

Some programs strongly associated with South Tucson — such as Las Artes, which teaches youths how to make artistic tiles while they pursue their GEDs — don't result in direct payments to the city. The city pays for tiles for public works projects through regional transportation funds.

Money from Pima County — whether local tax money, such as the flood control and parks funds, or federal grants, like the community development funds — accounts for 10 percent of South Tucson's $17 million budget and a little more than 1 percent of the county's $1.3 billion budget.

South Tucson's 6,000 residents represent less than 1 percent of the county's population, and the city is one square mile in area.

With a median household income of $16,700, the city certainly includes some of the poorer households within the county.

County officials say that's why the city gets so much Community Development Block Grant money, which pays for such things as graffiti removal, home repair for low-income families and youth programs.

The only other jurisdiction to get block grant money is Marana, where home-repair programs help families as poor as those in South Tucson. The county also runs its own home-repair program and gives money to quasi-governmental groups, such as neighborhood associations and fire districts, throughout the county.

Flood Control Director Suzanne Shields said the linear-park contract is similar to agreements the district has to repay the county parks department for maintenance along the Rillito River and actually costs less per mile.

The larger contract for maintenance is necessary, she said, because the city has old, small storm drains that overflow even during five-year storm events. Flood-control work along the Mission View Wash should make the maintenance contract unnecessary in the future, she said.

Valadez said objections to flood-control services in South Tucson amount to "environmental racism" because the community's severe flooding problems affect a largely minority population.

As for the small road that was paved, Valadez said it was necessary so that emergency vehicles could get through a gate to a townhouse development that backs up to Ninth Avenue.

"I value those lives, and if we need to spend that much money to save those lives, I'll do it," Valadez said.

Asked why so much of the 1997 bond money for District 2 remains unspent, Valadez said many of the neighborhood projects it could have gone to are in the Regional Transportation Plan or are part of pedestrian improvements around Tucson schools.

"We need to make sure the money is spent wisely," he said.

South Tucson Manager Serna, who is a former county manager, said the county helps South Tucson because of its extreme need and because of its central location.

"Logistically, we're right in the middle of two major undertakings — Rio Nuevo and the Biosciences Park — and there are a number of infrastructure things that need to happen for us to present a representative linkage between those two undertakings," he said.

"It's not only in South Tucson's vested interest but also in the region's interest to reverse some of these negative demographic trends."

Serna said South Tucson might get more community development grant money, but it gets less of other sorts of money.

"Other supervisors might not have the same stressed enclaves, but might have additional call and claim on transportation dollars that we don't receive. It's an equitable relationship once that's all taken into account," he said.

Valadez said South Tucson, with its small size and low tax base, does not have the money to provide all the services it needs. He said he maintains close relationships with elected officials in Sahuarita and Tucson and provides services to other jurisdictions according to their need, pointing to an agreement that allows Sahuarita to truck excess sewage to a county plant.

Sahuarita pays commercial rates for that service.

Robuck said he's not opposed to helping South Tucson, but he thinks the city receives a disproportionate amount of assistance. He points to the many dirt roads in the southern part of District 2, which stretches to Sahuarita.

If elected, he said, he would initiate a thorough review of county assistance to South Tucson.

"I'm not trying to take everything away from South Tucson," Robuck said. "Everything should be reviewed on what is necessary and what they can take care of themselves."

The winner between Valadez and Robuck will be unopposed in the general election.