In preparation for the Nov. 3 Tucson City Council election, Inside Tucson Business and SUBS — Smart United Business Strategies — are cooperating in an effort to provide information from the candidates on where they stand on major issues concerning business.

Rick Grinnell, founder of SUBS, said more than 50 questions have been submitted by business representatives and other concerned citizens. Each Friday a new series of answers from the candidates are being posted, wrapping up Oct. 23 when the candidates will be able to summarize their positions and issues they think are of importance to the business community.

Here is a highly edited executive summary of a couple of questions:

Print this story Email this story Post a Comment ADVERTISEMENT

Do you support the Public Safety First Initiative? If so, how will you pay for it and are tax increases part of your proposal?

• Ward 3 - Ben Buehler-Garcia: Yes, “funding must be examined within the context of the overall budget but it must be a top priority.”

• Ward 3 - Karin Uhlich: “I agree 100 percent with the goals of this initiative. That is why I voted for the Financial Sustainability Plan in 2006” but “my key concern with this ballot initiative is the fact that it is an unfunded mandate.” Passage will “lead to drastic cuts in other critical areas” or “higher taxes and fees.”

• Ward 5 - Richard Fimbres: “I support public safety but I don’t support unfunded mandates that would bankrupt the city.”

• Ward 5 - Shaun McClusky: Yes. “There is currently no need to raise taxes nor cut any current programs.”

• Ward 6 - Steve Kozachik: Yes. “We fund the core obligation of city government by tightening our belt. We are paying for it already in terms of excessive crime on our streets.”

• Ward 6 - Nina Trasoff: “I support public safety” but does not specify if she supports Proposition 200. “I will work with the community and my colleagues on Council to determine how best to pay for this unfunded mandate.”

What plan or plans do you have to help stimulate the economy?

• Buehler-Garcia: Develop a “can do” attitude and institute “specific initiatives that reduce the unpredictability of doing business in Tucson (such as reworking the Land Use Code) must take a higher priority.”

• Uhlich: “Supporting small businesses through Local First Arizona and vibrant business alliances like the new Gateway Business Alliance.”

• Fimbres: “Working with the local educational facilities to increase and ensure proper job training and through this, creating a stronger working relationships with the business community to ensure that needs are met.

• McClusky: “The first step is to be more open and inviting to businesses looking at Tucson as a place to call home.”

• Kozachik: “Creating a link between the Unitersity of Arizona and downtown to establish a K-PhD corridor” that “provides all of the elements needed to anchor in private sector development, draw in tourism.”

• Trasoff: “Downtown revitalization is moving forward, which is providing hundreds of jobs to Tucsonans.”