Ward 2 Council Member Paul Cunningham

It’s a good week to talk about rainwater and its importance as a potential resource for Tucson. As of this week, 2021’s monsoon total (1.64 inches) has already passed the total for the entire 2020 monsoon season (1.61 inches). Despite the flooded streets and occasional downed tree, we Tucsonans appreciate the relief that monsoon season can give us. 

Arizona voters passed Proposition 207 last November by an overwhelming margin. The most talked about provision of the new law is that recreational marijuana is now available, although regulated. There was another part of the proposition, however. That dealt with expunging the records of people with marijuana convictions. This makes so much sense. If people are making money off of marijuana as a legitimate business, why should people who got convicted years ago still suffer the consequences? 

For Fathers Day, I wanted to tell you a bit about my father, Senator George Cunningham. 

I grew up in a politically active family with governors and judges coming by the house, so it would probably surprise a lot of you that I wasn’t that interested in politics when I was growing up. I was well into adulthood when I first started following in his footsteps and becoming active in the community and sought elected office. 

We have opened pools on a limited basis this summer, but we still need lifeguards. If you know a young person who is interested in lifeguarding, please visit our jobs page at https://jobapscloud.com/tucson/. The starting salary is 12.15/hr and they are taking applications through June 20th. 

In 2006, the voters of Pima County passed a law enabling the creation of a Regional Transportation Authority, as well as a half-cent excise (sales) tax to pay for transportation projects. The current RTA expires in 2026, which means it will soon be time for the voters to re-authorize the RTA and the tax. Unless there are significant changes, I am opposed to reauthorization. 

As many of you know, my colleagues and I adopted an alternative plan for zoo expansion on Tuesday. Back on March 9, we were tasked with approving an expansion plan that many in the community thought was ill considered, and my colleagues and I believed that the Reid Park Zoological Society hadn’t done an adequate job of engaging the public before bringing their plan forward. 

At Tuesday’s meeting my colleagues on the council and I worked on three items having to do with our environment. We got an update on PFAS contamination in some of our wells, worked on the planning process for future green stormwater infrastructure projects, and discussed future code changes to accommodate electrical vehicles in new construction.