SCR1023 REVOKE CHARTER CITY STATUS
+ SCR1027 ALTER TUCSON COUNCIL ELECTIONS
SCR1023 would revoke charter city status from Tucson, Phoenix, and Mesa, handing power to the state legislature; SCR1027 cannot pass without SCR1023. SCR1027 would require Tucson—and only Tucson—to change its city council election procedure. 🚫 No on SCR 1023 and SCR1027
Resolutions sponsored by Justine Wadsack • RTS – 1023: For (213) – Against (528) • RTS – 1027: For (257) – Against (300)
- The only election impacted by SCR1027 would be Tucson’s city council. Tucson has a “modified ward” voting system of six city wards, each of which hold a primary election for councilmembers. The candidates that win their primaries in each ward then head off in a city-wide general election.
- SCR1027 would prohibit the city-wide run-off by requiring that only registered voters of a ward/district can vote for officials running to represent that district.
- State legislators have wanted to revise Tucson’s system for city council member elections for decades. However, they have been repeatedly blocked by the Arizona Supreme Court over the years because the state legislature does not have the authority to make decisions that override our city charter unless it is a matter of statewide concern.
- That is why Wadsack has introduced SCR1023 to strip this protection away from AZ cities; otherwise SCR1027 would die in the courts (again!).
- SCR1023 aims to revoke charter city status from the three largest cities in Arizona: Phoenix, Tucson, and Mesa
- Currently under the Arizona State Constitution, any city with a population of 3,500+ can adopt its own charter which essentially operates as a local constitution to establish city law.
- The city charter protects and empowers citizen’s rights to self-governance by allowing local control over local matters. This means the Charter City can be more responsive to the needs of its citizens without relying on slow, distant decisions being made in the capitol.
- SCR1023 initially aimed to repeal the charter cities clause of the AZ constitution, but Wadsack’s proposal met pushback from GOP state senators representing other charter cities, who recognized it was not in the best interests of their constituents. They only supported once the resolution was changed to revoke charter status for all cities greater than 500,000 population (which would only apply to Phoenix, Tucson, and Mesa).
- Why is someone who claims to be a proud life-long resident of Tucson working to take power away from the citizens and hand it over to the capitol? Wadsack has admitted Tucson is the target.
- The whole point of a Charter City is that if this system wasn’t working for our city, citizens are empowered to work toward a new system that best represents them. SCR1023 + SCR 1027 fully removes Tucson’s autonomy by limiting the power of residents in favor of decisions from the state legislature.