Kendrick Wilson

Registered Democrats in the precincts including and surrounding UA have several important primary elections this coming Tuesday. Besides selecting candidates for governor and Congress, a race that has been often overlooked by the press is between Richard Elias and Frank Felix for County Supervisor in District 5.

The office of County Supervisor is not generally very exciting, and is often misunderstood to be an office with little power. This year, however, the winner of the primary could have an enormous impact on the future of our entire community. Local developers are hoping that people throughout the district won't notice.

After longtime District 5 Supervisor Raul Grijalva resigned to run for Congress, the board appointed Richard Elias to take his place. I have had my share of disagreements with Grijalva, but one would be extremely hard-pressed to claim that he hasn't done a good job representing his district.

The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, not long ago headed for implementation, is now on the line. This is the most important issue where Elias and Felix differ.

Pima County would have been better known as Rezoning County in the late '80s and early '90s. Anyone who has lived in Tucson long enough to remember the likes of Ed Moore, Paul Marsh and Mike Boyd remembers the antics of the Board of Supervisors playing out each night on the 10 o'clock news. Almost no rezoning requests were denied. Developers ran rampant and unchecked in every undeveloped corner of our community. No hillsides were spared, critical habitat was a word used only by radical environmentalists and the impact on traffic was seen as an issue for the next board to deal with. In previous years, late environmentalist Republican Supervisor Iris Dewhirst made great strides in working with developers and promoting better growth planning through compromise. Previous Boards had also been wise enough to create Tucson Mountain Park, one of the largest county parks designed to protect open space from development in the nation. The Moore, Marsh, Boyd trio was clearly a gigantic step backwards.

Finally, the tide turned in the mid '90s. Environmentalist Sharon Bronson managed to defeat developer princess Vicki Cox Golder and Ed Moore in a bitterly fought three-way race. Bronson and Grijalva set out to formulate a countywide comprehensive ecosystem protection plan that would also provide for better growth management. Scientists, not arbitrary committee members ÷ many of whom were sponsored by developers ÷ highlighted critical habitat and environmentally sensitive or unique land to preserve. Land that was less environmentally sensitive or unique ÷ the creosote forests of the southeast side, for example ÷ would be targeted for more development. Developers wouldn't be excluded from the process. They, along with other community interests, would have a seat at the table ÷ they just wouldn't be the table anymore.

If SDCP passes, it would be one of the first comprehensive ecosystem protection plans in the nation ÷ San Diego County being the only other county to initiate such a plan.

Richard Elias fully supports SDCP. Frank Felix gives a politically motivated sound byte about how the economic impact must be further studied, but he supports the idea of a comprehensive plan. Had the economic impact not already been studied, this argument might not trigger venom to fall from anyone who has watched county government in the past.

Developers have come out in a big way to support Felix's campaign. He has also, not surprisingly, been endorsed by the Southern Arizona Homebuilders' Association. An independent organization in support of Felix called It Takes a Village Committee sprang up on August 21, too late to have to disclose its donors before Tuesday's primary election. How many bets that developers provided the vast majority of the committee's funding?

As the Arizona Daily Star reported yesterday, It Takes a Village Committee sent mailers to Democrats in District 5 tying Elias to corruption in Pima County government, much of which took place before he was appointed to replace Grijalva. They also used Star articles, editorials, and even an editorial cartoon without permission. The Star is appropriately pursuing legal action against the committee.

The county has its share of problems, but anyone who remembers the days of the Moore, Marsh, Boyd trio knows it's really not that bad right now.

Electing Felix, who will be beholden to developers, will do little to reduce corruption and will do plenty to destroy the SDCP. Don't be fooled by the developers.

Elect Richard Elias in the District 5 primary!