Humane Voters of Arizona Forum

Citizens for a No-Kill Tucson endorses Barney Brenner for Pima County Supervisor, District 3.

Republican Barney Brenner is challenging incumbent democrat Sharon Bronson for the District 3 seat (representing Tucson's west side) on the Pima County Board of Supervisors in the November 4 election. Brenner narrowly lost when he ran against Bronson in the 2000 election, and he is running for office again. We feel Brenner will be a stronger ally for shelter animals than Bronson has been.

Bronson has been in office since 1996 and has served as chair twice, but she continues to support the status quo at PACC. She recently joined Supervisors Richard Elias, Ramón Valadez and Ann Day in approving the expenditure of $3 million in bond funding for the inadequate proposed shelter remodeling (only Supervisor Ray Carroll voted no to this misguided use of the money, which unfortunately will not be invested in an entirely new facility). We need better leadership at the county level elected officials who will stand up for significant policy changes at PACC and for more compassionate use of taxpayer funds.

In response to a recent candidate questionnaire, Brenner says that, if elected, he is willing to commit to: increasing funding for low-cost or free spay/neuter services, demanding the implementation of shelter practices that increase adoptions, supporting an audit of the county's animal control revenues and expenses, improving the protocol for the intake and assessment of cats at PACC, as well as exploring TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) as a humane approach to managing feral cat colonies.

"Both our current County animal shelter and the proposed improvements are inadequate. For the money being spent, the County could have a much better facility," Brenner writes in his response. "If you want to see County funds utilized efficiently toward the construction of a decent animal shelter, my election next month may be your only opportunity."

All five Pima County Supervisors are running for re-election this fall, and since the Board of Supervisors is the entity that ultimately has control over PACC, this could be a very important race for the animals. Richard Elias (Democrat, District 5), Ray Carroll (Republican, District 4), Ramón Valadez (Democrat, District 2), and Ann Day (Republican, District 1) are all running unopposed in the November 4 election in Pima County. District 3 is the only contested race this year. Brenner's campaign website is www.votebrenner.com, and Bronson's campaign website is www.bronson08.com. To find out what district you are in, enter your street address at www.recorder.pima.gov/poll_search.aspx.

Citizens for a No-Kill Tucson

http://www.nokilltucson.org/