Into the wood chipper

Lots of money at stake … Counting choices … And polling in February?

Pima County Supervisor Rex Scott paid attention when Elon Musk tweeted that he was spending the weekend “feeding USAID into the wood chipper.”

On Tuesday, Scott and the other three Democrats on the Board took a stand against the Trump administration by taking decisive action in a way that truly mattered: a series of roll call votes. These weren't just routine tasks — they involved entering into long-term contracts, reviewing quarterly reports on long-range plans, and approving vital federal grants.

When county officials initially assessed the financial consequences of the flood of executive orders from the White House last month, the impact was estimated at $68 million. But by Tuesday, that number had more than doubled to $148 million, affecting up to 20 different county departments.

What's more, 93% of the federal grants the county receives could now be at risk, according to county officials.

The discussion on Tuesday is just the beginning.

The supervisors made it clear that this issue will remain a priority, unanimously voting to make the Trump administration's recent decisions a permanent topic of discussion on their agenda.

Supervisor Matt Heinz asked whether the county was likely to see clawbacks on funding, pointing to the federal government seizing $80 million in federal funds that were meant to pay for housing migrants in New York City last week.

Pima County would have little protection if federal officials decided to make similar clawbacks, County Administrator Jan Lesher said.

The county will fight for funding it already has and funding that has been agreed to before President Donald Trump took office, Heinz said after the meeting.

"Government contracts go both ways. We will avail ourselves of every legal option available to us, including the State Attorney General’s Office," the two-term Democrat told us.

Supervisor Steve Christy, the lone Republican on the board, urged his colleagues to pump the brakes as they tried to figure out how much Trump’s executive orders would cost the county, saying “we have no idea what is happening” and calling the estimates “all speculation.”

Christy told representatives from Tucson International Airport, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and Air National Guard that he supported the recent layoff of 400 FAA workers.

“If they are going to be laying off or reducing workforce in the federal aviation industry, 400 administrative people that write grants, I think that's worthwhile looking at," he said, noting air traffic controllers were not impacted by the cuts.

County officials suggested that as much as 11% of the county budget could be subject to clawbacks or funding freezes, which Christy called an “opportunity” to root out “fraud and waste.”

Christy told us that he would support future DOGE-recommended cuts impacting southern Arizona, even if it is over the objection of county staff.

The parallels between Christy’s comments and the ongoing dismantling of the federal government by the Trump administration didn’t go unnoticed by Heinz.

Heinz noted the Trump administration’s willy-nilly cuts led to the firing of officials in charge of securing the country’s nuclear arsenal. Trump officials tried to hire them back, but couldn’t get in touch with them because they were fired so abruptly they no longer had access to their government email accounts.

Pima County supervisors slowed the discussion down when it came to discussing next year’s budget.

Various county departments had asked for about $73 million more in supplemental funding in the new fiscal year.

But several supervisors signaled they would balk at some or even all of those requests.

Heinz, for example, said he wants a deeper dive into the finances of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

The board increased Sheriff Chris Nanos’ budget by several million dollars last year, he argued, and county officials are already forecasting that the PCSD budget will end the year $4.7 million in the red.

If the county doesn’t hold him accountable for his budget, Heinz argued, there’s no reason for Nanos – or any other elected official – to stay within their budget.

Supervisor Adelita Grijalva said she wanted to wait before making promises to any department for funding.

“I am 99 percent sure I will be saying no to these requests,” said Grijalva. “I don’t want to be in the position to have to deduct (money later this year).”

Grijalva would later circle back to Christy’s statement, saying that if he actually does support cuts to Pima County programs (as a result of federal actions), he should be willing to make those same cuts in his office.

Christy quickly agreed to the for-now hypothetical cuts in his office budget.

Over at City Hall

Meanwhile, the Tucson City Council has already authorized City Attorney Mike Rankin to file lawsuits to stop certain federal actions.

The presentation to the Council today will likely shed some light on how much grant funding is in jeopardy as they also discuss the impact of federal actions on city programs.

The city has a number of federal grants related to building affordable housing, major transportation projects, including replacing the 22nd Street bridge over the train tracks near Campbell Avenue, and projects at the Tucson International Airport.

Halfway to a quarter-pipe: The Council will also discuss the fate of a skate park planned to be built under the I-10 underpass along Cushing Street. So far, the city has been able to commit $545,000 for the park. The last estimate for the project is roughly $1.2 million.

This afternoon, the city will be asked to take an additional $200,000 for the skate park from the Rio Nuevo special taxing district.

The easiest vote all night: The Council will be asked to rename “Christopher Columbus Park” to “Danny Lopez Park,” renaming the park after a well-respected Tohono O’odham elder who passed away in 2008.

They will also be asked to change its César E. Chávez observed holiday to “César E. Chávez and Dolores Huerta” holiday, honoring the influential labor activist and the co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association.

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The race for three Tucson City Council seats got a shake-up this week as three Democratic candidates withdrew, and new contenders, including a community activist and a local hip-hop artist, stepped into the fray.

Charlie Verdin, Bruce Wheeler and Alma Gordon have all bowed out of their respective races, formally ending their campaigns.

Meanwhile, Manon Getsi, the former co-chair of Save the Heart of Reid Park, has entered the Ward 5 race as a Democrat. So has local hip-hop artist Fabian Danobeytia who has also has entered the Ward 5 race, also as a Democrat.

As he left the Ward 6 race, Verdin endorsed another candidate, Miranda Schubert.

“It’s clear to me that she’s already working hard to strengthen our community. She also shares my commitment to facing the housing crisis with the urgency it deserves,” said Verdin.

We’ll have a better sense of who is serious about their race on April 7, the deadline for candidates to turn in their signatures to qualify for the primary ballot.

Follow Joe this afternoon as he covers the Tucson City Council meeting live on Bluesky. Hit him up with Council-related questions!

As part of our ongoing series detailing how City of Tucson officials want to spend the estimated $800 million that would be raised if Proposition 414 passes next month, today we’re exploring the $500,000 set aside for a study for the new courthouse.

City officials have been stressing over what to do with the former parking garage for years.

More than a decade ago, they backed out of a deal with Pima County to lease space in what’s now the Pima County Consolidated Justice Court, just down the street.

Initially, the Council was considering setting aside $10 million to figure out what to do with the aging City Courthouse on Alameda, said Tucson City Manager Tim Thomure.

“We originally had $10 million. So we would have done a study and a plan and had money to do the thing, whether that's rehabilitate the courthouse that we have or relocate to another location,” he said.

The decision to reduce the amount to just pay for the study, Thomure said, allows the city to focus on other core priorities.

What do you think? Should Prop 414 include $500,000 for the study?

The poll is only available to paid subscribers. Upgrade today and add your voice to the conversation.

Looking to Phoenix: The rise in homelessness is a frequent topic of discussion for the Tucson City Council. They’ve looked at all sorts of options and now the city’s Commission on Equitable Housing and Development is considering whether to copy what Phoenix officials did with a city-run campground for unsheltered people, the Arizona Luminaria’s Yana Kunichoff reports. The Safe Outdoor Space offers storage for belongings and flexible policies for partners and pets to stay with people at the campground. Since the campground was established in 2023, Phoenix officials say it has served more than 1,300 people.

Paging SCOTUS: Tucson-area Democratic Sen. Priya Sundareshan battled GOP Sen. Jake Hoffman at a committee hearing this week over who should be included in the decennial census. Hoffman said he appreciated Sundareshan “saying the quiet part out loud” when she noted (accurately) the Constitution calls for the census to include all residents in a state, not just U.S. citizens. Hoffman, who was indicted for his role in the “fake elector” scheme to steal the 2020 presidential election, said he did not believe undocumented immigrants should count as residents.

Taking stock of DEI: In the wake of executive orders from the Trump administration banning diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility policies, University of Arizona officials are taking an inventory of those policies, the Arizona Daily Star’s Prerana Sannappanavar reports. If the UA doesn’t comply with those orders, which UA Faculty Chair Leila Hudson said may be based on an “ideologically driven set of policies,” the UA risks losing millions of dollars in federal funding.

Transparency alert: The Nogales Police Department is raising fees for public records requests for body camera footage, the Nogales International’s Daisy Zavala Magaña reports. They’re going to charge $46 per hour of camera footage reviewed, NPD officials said at last week’s Nogales City Council meeting. At that same meeting, NPD accepted $3.6 million in grants for immigration enforcement duties, a 24-hour operations center, and contracts with local nonprofits.

Someone really wants to know what Tucson Democrats think about Regina Romero, Adelita Grijalva, Alma Hernandez and Daniel Hernandez and whether they are right for a seat in Congress.

While the pollster only asks generically about Congress, it is pretty clear that they are talking about U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva’s seat. All four are high-profile Democrats who either represent portions of Congressional District 7, or in Daniel Hernandez’s case, have in the past.

About half of the questions paint each of the Democrats in a negative light, asking voters about Adelita Grijalva’s stance on federal funding for immigration enforcement, Daniel Hernandez’s attendance record when he was in the state House, Romero’s support for a pay raise for the Mayor and Council and Alma Hernandez’s support for a trip to Israel while the Legislature was in session.

While it isn’t clear who is behind the poll, someone wants your vote for Congress. And they don’t mind getting their hands dirty.