2. Do you support the basing of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to the 162nd ANG at Tucson International Airport?

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1 Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce 2015 Candidate Questionnaire Name: Regina Romero, Ward 1 Please type your answers so they are easily readable. Answers will be distributed to Candidate Evaluation Committee members and may be published in part or full. For questions, clarifications, etc., please contact Robert Medler at , extension The City of Tucson s employee retirement (pension fund) is underfunded by nearly a third. This is an unfunded liability that potentially poses enormous risks to the City and residents. Incumbents What have you done to address this issue in your last term? What is your position on this matter going forward? The Tucson Supplemental Retirement System (TSRS) is our civilian pension system, managed by the TSRS Board and the Mayor & Council. I feel strongly about making sure the TSRS is safe and well-managed. City employees need a sense of security knowing that our shared investment over a lifetime of public service stays protected. During my time in office, the city has adopted a formal post retirement benefit increase policy tied to a healthy funded ratio. This change replaces the ad hoc increase policy to address retiree benefit increases, de-politicizing these cost of living adjustments and lending greater stability to the fund. In 2011 we created a second tier benefit program for all employees hired after June 30th of This group saw a reduced benefit factor, increased retirement eligibility requirements, extended period for average final compensation, and eliminated sick and vacation leave payouts from retirement benefit. These changes will result in less draw-down on the fund, which will help bring up the funded ratio of the plan. Most recently, we have reduced actuarial investment return assumptions to better reflect the reality of today s market, and established a rounding approach to contribution rates. The rounding policy will help expedite the process of paying off our unfunded liability. I am proud of the work we have done to shore up the TSRS. By its nature, pension funds do not change quickly. It will take a long time to right the ship, but this Mayor & Council has made prudent changes to initiate that shift and protect our plan. Beyond the TSRS, the true bulk of our pension liability lies in the Public Safety Pension Retirement System (PSPRS), the public safety retirement plan. PSPRS is managed by the State of Arizona, and the city has no control over changes to that program. I have been working with public safety groups to offer support for ballot initiatives aimed at systemic reform, which will pass on savings to local jurisdictions while protecting police and fire retirees. 2. Do you support the basing of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to the 162nd ANG at Tucson International Airport? Yes. I grew up in the Yuma area and have lived in Tucson for more than 23 years, so I know how important Tucson and Southern Arizona s military installations are for our economy. The

2 federal investments in Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and the 162nd Fighter Wing, Arizona National Guard in Tucson, the Fort Huachuca, U.S. Army base in Sierra Vista, the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station and Yuma Proving Grounds - U.S. Army facilities and the Arizona National Guard Silverbell Army Heliport bring in billions of dollars. I publicly supported a resolution before Mayor and Council in support of our military assets. I have signed up as a supporter of the Mission Strong effort - joining thousands of other Southern Arizonans in the rally to protect and promote our local military effort. My brother is an Iraq war veteran and served our country with pride. I have consistently reached out to my contacts in Congress and the Obama Administration to keep all federal dollars flowing to Tucson for transportation, housing, postal service and military. 3. How can the City of Tucson and Pima County work better together to increase prosperity and wealth? The City of Tucson and Pima County have been able to partner with important infrastructure initiatives like the successful Regional Transportation Authority in 2006 and the scheduled County Bond package that, if approved, will infuse $815 million into our regional economy and create construction jobs as well as long term, high wage jobs. In regards to Economic Development planning, I presented to Mayor & Council the concept of creating a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) that our Economic Initiatives Office worked on with input from Pima County staff and other partners to help align regional goals. The CEDS allows the City of Tucson to apply for federal Economic Development funds and the capacity to partner with private industry to invest in American manufacturing, infrastructure and exports. 4. What role should the City play in revitalizing its downtown? What is your assessment of the current and future relationship between the COT and the Rio Nuevo Board? The City has played a huge role in revitalizing downtown. We have come a long way since the fiasco with Rio Nuevo that resulted in the firing of the City Manager. Those days are behind us and the relationship with the Rio Nuevo Board has been a breath of fresh air under the leadership of Fletcher McCusker. One of the City s key partners in success has been its investment in the Downtown Tucson Partnership and using public dollars to leverage private investment. We started with projects like the Pennington Street Garage, to make sure that developers had plenty of parking; we revamped our Land Use Code to encourage and facilitate infill development. We worked with the Partnership to fund small façade matching funds that helped revitalize the Rialto Theatre and the Screening Room. Each time a façade grant was used, the buildings around it were then revitalized using private dollars. We partnered with state and federal governments to build the new freeway underpasses and the 4 th Avenue underpass. We revitalized the City s historic Depot where Maynards is now located. We worked with Rio Nuevo to build two additional garages. We passed the Infill Incentive District, Downtown Gateway Redevelopment Area (central business district), Government Property Lease Excise Tax (GPLET), Main Gate Urban Overlay and more. We used Rio Nuevo funds to remove the landfill from Tucson s birthplace on the Westside which allowed us the opportunity to work with neighbors to select Gadsden Company, and build the beautiful Mercado San Agustin and welcome Senior Citizens to a beautiful new home at Sentinel Plaza. We built the new Fire Station, we fixed Scott Avenue, and we invested in art along the Streetcar. We worked with the State of Arizona to resolve the Downtown Links right of way

3 and helped create the Tucson Historic Warehouse Arts District. The list goes on. I am very proud of the work we have done collaboratively to make Downtown the success it is today. 5. Do you favor an "all of the above" approach to planning the City's downtown or are there one or two influences or considerations that you believe are non-negotiable priorities? Please explain. When I first ran for office in 2007 I said we needed a Downtown for all of us businesses, neighborhoods, seniors, students, families, mixed income housing choices and new development. I worked every angle to make the Streetcar a reality, including repeatedly fighting for it to complete/begin its path on the Westside in Tucson s birthplace. I did so because I knew the economic impact of transit oriented development for downtown. I have advocated for the full spectrum of economic incentives to make sure all of our public investments in infrastructure helped leverage private investment. With $1 billion in improvements so far, we have made excellent progress Downtown. We need to extend this focused strategy to other parts of the City that need revitalization. 6. Despite regulatory changes in the past few years, the City of Tucson is still perceived to be an unfriendly place to do business. What are your specific ideas to influence this perception and take further steps to deal with the challenges the City faces in this area? We have made significant progress in working with businesses like eliminating redundancy and inconsistency with Tucson s Land Use Code, reducing times for Development Services permit reviews, creating more than twenty one economic tools to support new growth and development in our city, creating a small business help line to help direct business owners to what they need. Unfortunately, positive progress doesn t always get media attention or sell papers. There are also certain groups and individuals that want to perpetuate negative, dated stories for political purposes. I do however, believe that Mayor & Council need to continue advocating for better customer service, additional improvements in the development services process and persist on our efforts to create jobs and improve our infrastructure. I believe we re on the right path and I am open to sitting down and talking about specific changes and moving forward to make them happen. 7. What program(s) or department(s) do you believe could, or should, be reduced, eliminated, privatized or operated more efficiently by the city manager at a lower cost to taxpayers? I took office the same time we were hit with the worst financial crisis since the great depression. I worked with my colleagues to eliminate 1000 government positions, we initiated furloughs, and we required increased payments by employees into health care and our pension system. I was very aggressive in finding financial solutions for our money-losing enterprises like the Tucson Convention Center and Golf. The results of my advocacy generated the privatization of both and we are monitoring the finances to see if more needs to be done.

4 One huge success I d like to see replicated is our public-private partnership with road repair. With the 2012 voter-approved Road Bond Prop 409 we are hiring local companies not city workers to repave hundreds of miles of roads. 8. Do you support changing the City of Tucson s charter to improve accountability and create a stronger position of authority for the mayor or city manager? The two charter questions on the ballot in November give the Mayor AND City Manager additional authority and I fully support both measures. These good government changes will enhance transparency and accountability within leadership and will give the Mayor parity among Council. Council Member Fimbres and I introduced the creation of the Charter Review Committee because I believe we need to modernize and change our charter in the areas that are not allowing Tucson government to function better. I believe that the community needs continued dialogue on additional changes to our charter that can help keep moving us towards a well-functioning, more prosperous city. 9. Do you support changing the City of Tucson elections system? I support making changes to the election system that increase voter participation. An example is my support to make Tucson s elections all Vote by Mail, which increased voter turnout and reduced costs. I do not see the value in having just the Mayor s position be citywide because Tucson has always had Mayor and Council representation for all residents. It makes each Council seat position more responsive to every Tucsonan and diminishes parochial attitudes. 10. In addition to annexations, do you support the incorporation of unincorporated communities (i.e. Ajo, Vail, Green Valley) within Pima County? Why or why not? Yes! Annexation returns revenue from the state that our region leaves on the table when unincorporated. It is critical for our financial future to annex or have surrounding communities incorporate. 11. What is the role of the City of Tucson in regional development and infrastructure? In order to prosper in our region, we need to work collaboratively with the people of Tucson and surrounding jurisdictions. The City can t do it alone. If we don t invest in ourselves, we can t expect businesses to thrive here or move here. Public infrastructure leverages private investment, which creates jobs and improves our quality of life. The $1 billion in focused, strategic, public and private investment downtown is a perfect example. Partnerships with federal, state, and regional governments and businesses are critical. I have built these relationships for more than 20 years. I worked with our congressional delegation to solicit more than $63 million for the Streetcar, linking millennials at the UA to Downtown. I fought for the 2012 voter-approved $100 million road bond to

5 repave our city streets and the 2006 RTA 20-year, $2.1 billion plan for transportation infrastructure. I support Pima County's 2015 bond package, which will invest $815 million in our region, will create thousands of construction jobs and will leverage millions in private investment. 12. How should the business community hold you accountable over the next four years? Accountability is a two-way street. It s important that we communicate with mutual respect and understanding. I have been elected by all Tucsonans to represent their voices in governing our city those voices include the business community. We may not agree on everything, but I am willing to listen and move common sense recommendations forward that make doing business with the City of Tucson easier. The more we work together the more we will continue to see success in accomplishing our shared goals of creating long-term, high wage jobs for Tucsonans. I appreciate the changes you have made at the Chamber and I think our relationship continues to get better and better. 13. Incumbents ONLY: What are the top three things you have done or measures you have introduced to improve the local economy during your current term? I introduced the establishment of the City s economic development office, including the Primary Jobs Incentive which has created more than 2,000 high-wage long term jobs and has leveraged more than $200 million in private investment. I introduced Protected Development Rights for housing and commercial development saving developers millions of dollars in the worst economic crisis since the great depression. I introduced, along with Council Members Fimbres and Scott, the creation of the Global Economic Development District that gives special incentives to companies that specialize in warehousing, manufacturing and logistics. I introduced the concept of creating an Economic Development fund with general fund dollars that competitively grants money to non-profit organizations that either conduct workforce training or small business training to help create jobs. I fiercely advocated we fund Tech Launch Arizona (TLA) in their first year because I understand how important TLA is for future job creation in our city and region. Start-Up Tucson, another non-profit that I have advocated for, received a $40,000 grant that leveraged millions of dollars of federal Small Business Administration funds to encourage business expansion. I pushed for the Economic Initiatives Office to hire a staffer that would be the contact for Mexican companies to encourage and promote foreign investment in Tucson. I fought for regional transportation infrastructure as detailed above pushing for the city road bond, streetcar funds, county bond package because I understand that good roads, parks and quality of life attract and retain companies that create jobs.