Guests - Josh Jacobsen, Keith Gross
Winn Tucson: Josh Jacobsen on Tucson Crime Free and City Elections
Guest: Josh Jacobsen, Tucson Crime Free Coalition
Tucson Crime Free, a non-partisan coalition, urges voters to back J.L. Wittenbraker and Jay Tolkoff for city council while rejecting Proposition 417. The group highlights the need for diverse voices to challenge unanimous 7-0 council votes and address rising crime, economic stagnation, and policy failures.
The organization comprises four steering leaders with varied political affiliations: Kevin Daly, a Democrat and Flowing Wells School Board president; Josh Jacobsen, a lifelong Republican; Monica Carlson, an independent; and Oliver Swan, a Democrat. Crime ignores party lines—predators and offenders target regardless of voter registration. The focus remains on safer, more prosperous streets for all Tucsonans.
Current council ideologies have led to decreased economic activity, stagnant population growth, and an aging demographic. Residents express frustration with street conditions, echoing sentiments from former locals returning to a changed city. Despite Tucson's beautiful geography, policies have trashed the potential, akin to leaving a house with teenagers unsupervised.
Council member Nikki Lee's newsletter recently outlined budget shortfalls, transit woes, and public safety gaps, marking a rare acknowledgment of policy issues. Community input often falls on deaf ears, with leaders exhibiting tunnel vision and ignoring dialogue obligations.
Homelessness, Addiction, and Service Resistance
Josh Jacobsen notes Tucson Crime Free formed over three years ago amid worsening conditions. Street populations include extremely service-resistant individuals refusing shelters or treatment, enabling prolonged addiction lifestyles.
Addiction is a disease, yet enabling persists. Personal stories, like losing a nephew to opioids then fentanyl, underscore the crisis. Fifty percent or more of U.S. drugs enter through Tucson's sector. Border closures under President Trump reduced human trafficking—a cartel funding mechanism—driving up fentanyl prices and potentially spurring property crime from desperation.
Official point-in-time counts claim 2,400 chronically unsheltered, but volunteers entering encampments and tunnels report much higher numbers. The process is unscientific and unreliable. Predominantly affected: white American workers succumbing to fentanyl, devastating families. Addiction affects entire households; survivors endure ongoing affliction.
President Trump meets Xi Jinping this week on fentanyl flows from China through Mexico. Halting supply could deter use via high costs, though hundreds of thousands of American lives lost demand action beyond low-income housing.
Public Safety Priorities: Police Funding, Bus System, and Budget
Tucson underfunds police compared to peer cities like Mesa, Gilbert, and Glendale. Overcoming requires budget alignment, reinstating bus fares, and investing in Pima County Jail's transition center.
Bus system dangers dominate: violence, drug dealing, and usage at stops and aboard. Teamsters 104 held a press conference at Ronstadt Center, endorsing Jay Tolkoff and demanding safety measures Janet Wittenbraker supports. Since April, incidents render the system unrideable for non-essential users.
Free fares create sacred cows, subsidizing chaos. Revenue should cover security; subsidize only those qualifying. Arizona spends $44,000 per unhoused person—funds better directed elsewhere.
Transition center connects releasees to services via navigators, slashing recidivism from 27% to under 10% for participants. Success stories emerge, like a recent releasee spotted at the gym committed to change. Yet enabling continues without enforcement.
SB 1257 proposes five-day stabilization under Title 36 revision, piloting in Pima County for 2027 reporting. Current law expels narcotic-high individuals endangering self/others after 24 hours, lacking alcohol or SMI provisions. Stabilization allows detox, service discussions, preserving civil liberties and due process.
Gospel Rescue Mission and county provide beds; contacts yield one in ten receptive to minimal aid like water or ID vouchers. Driver's licenses for unhoused raise ballot access questions—how do they retrieve without ID?
Housing Policies and Zoning Concerns
Low-income "housing first" fails nationwide; California spent billions without longevity. Tucson pushes inclusionary zoning, suspending charters for crises without legal standards in city charter or Arizona Constitution.
Middle housing zoning threatens property values—retirees' paid-off homes risk devaluation from nearby high-rises. Declaring opioid or housing emergencies manipulates language, circumventing processes to protect against rogue government.
Star Village lacked neighbor input; residents learned via media despite claims of inclusion. Tucson Crime Free's September 11 press conference at Brother John's Barbecue amplified voices.
Election Urgency and Voter Turnout
Election day: November 4. City breakdown: 41% Democrats, 38% independents, 21% Republicans. Low Democrat turnout favors change; Republicans added thousands recently but need 10,000 more from 66,000.
Mail ballots post-marked today or drop off/vote in person. Pima GOP addresses signature concerns; recorder's new envelopes streamline but raise privacy issues. Past Republican Ward 6 wins prove possible.
No on Prop 417 affirms decade-long direction, doubling down on failures for next ten years. Ignore education, safety priorities.
Flowing Wells Prop 415: Yes—new mechanism replaces expiring bond for school security (bulletproof glass, access controls) and modular building upgrades. District pays teachers second-highest locally (~$70,000 starting), serves 85% poverty students effectively. Kevin Daly's leadership saves taxpayers.
TUSD bonds: No. Sunnyside: Yes if possible.
Voter suppression via inaction equals support for status quo. 414 sales tax defeat this year proves impact.
Tucson's Strengths and Path Forward
Tucson conserves water effectively—using less than 1980s despite growth. Heart and soul: kind, generous, offering hand-ups via Arizona Bowl, Snoop Dogg events.
Safety enables thriving. Underfunding police lacks integrity; defunding would be honest. COVID trashing, migrant surges via airport, free money spending linger in costs.
Young people flee unsafe streets, radical schools. Businesses die; opportunity vanished since Domino's driving, real estate days.
Leaders' priorities matter. Annexation or incorporation counters city dynamics; Pima County distinct from Maricopa.
Winn Tucson: Keith Gross on Sharia Law Threats, Deportations, and Government Shutdown
Guest: Keith Gross, Legal Analyst, Former Assistant State Attorney, Author of Dirt Roads to Runways
National Threats: Sharia Law and Illegal Immigration
Chip Roy and Republicans push bills blocking/deporting Sharia-adherent aliens—an existential threat. Sharia extends Islam into political/legal system, incompatible with Western constitutional republic freedoms.
Adherents reject worship choice, diminish women/children/different faiths' rights, seek ultimate control. Europe awakens; 50+ Muslim-majority countries exist—why flock here to overthrow?
Millions entered under Biden; resistance attacks ICE. Upside-down: agreed under Clinton/Obama to deport illegals/enforce borders. Democrats shifted left, labeling enforcers fascists/xenophobes/Nazis.
Interfering with raids embraces foreign citizens over laws. New York mayoral polling: foreign-born overwhelmingly back Mamdani; native New Yorkers favor Cuomo. Third-world origins elect third-world leaders.
Judges subvert Constitution via "living document" nonsense. Deeds don't change; neither should foundational law. Appellate courts overturn interferences with Trump's executive authority.
Deportation Realities and Communist Affiliations
2 million deportations (1.6 million self); 8-10 million remain from Biden era, atop 25-45 million pre-existing. 59% on benefits; jobs/handouts sustain.
Mamdani: 2018 naturalization omitted Democratic Socialists of America (communist) membership—disqualifying. Fraud/perjury strips citizenship, enables deportation. Quotes Marx; rebrands communism "democratic socialism."
U.S. law inadmissible for communist/totalitarian affiliates. Oath enforcement, decades-old removal laws apply. Mass migration symptom: non-assimilation overthrows at ballot box.
States/municipalities harbor, aid/abed—prosecute governors/mayors. Illinois interference actionable. E-Verify enforcement starves presence.
California: 62,000 non-English-reading truckers cause fatalities. Hold law-breaking entities accountable.
Government Shutdown and Fiscal Reckoning
Day 28: Five Democrats block opening despite Republican unanimity. 13th failed vote (54-45); needs 60.
$1.4-1.5 trillion demanded—mostly non-citizen aid. ACA subsidies: $30-40 billion claim. Shutdown inconveniences taxpayers for illegals.
Essential workers/military partial pay; benefits jeopardy. SNAP risks; 42 million reliant. 25 states/DC sue for November funds—California/NY/Pennsylvania lead.
Republicans seek alternative funding. Union demands clean CR; members pawns.
CBO August: Spending +$391 billion (5%); receipts +$299 billion (7%). COVID-level persists; CR extended Biden budgets—insufficient for Democrats.
Programs since WWII linger. Elon Musk's DOGE waste identification ignored. Elect budget-serious Congress.
Obamacare rammed 2015; losses taxpayer-covered. Government involvement worsens everything. Disproportionate unhealthy participants; unenforceable penalties.
Flights slowed; military/staff unpaid. Non-essential? Cut. Air traffic overhaul decades overdue—human-heavy vs. computers.
250th anniversary nears; external influences erode founding vision. Trump rights ship post-Biden damage.
Tariffs boost revenue, offset deficits. Make Government Small Again (MGSA). Lead with policy, not politics. Back manufacturing resurgence; one-income viability via unity.