Pima County Interfaith Candidate Forum

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Casa Maria volunteers, Maria Escalante and her daughter Cindy tell their story and share their economic hardships. (PCIC Community Issues Accountability Session)

by Kassandra Manriquez

To keep the Ronstadt or do away with it, to keep bus fares affordable or butcher the budgets of Tucson’s poorest …

On Sunday October 6, over 300 community members sat in front of several City Council members at Sacred Heart Parish who were present to discuss JobPath, Sun Tran bus fares, and the development of Ronstadt Transit Center. This discourse took place in the context of poverty.

Community members sat in wooden pews and listened to City Council members discuss community issues; we cheered, we nodded our heads in disapproval, blah blah blah.

However, the most powerful portion of the session was when members from our community stood up and shared their stories. They defended issues on the agenda that are important to them and crucial to their success and for some, their survival.

Casa Maria volunteers, Maria Escalante and her daughter Cindy broke down their monthly budget in front of 300 people, most of whom were strangers to them. Maria and Cindy’s courage is admirable. Listening to their monthly budget, one could easily gather that an increase in bus fares would corner this family into facing a major economic struggle. I would like to add that Maria does not receive any government assistance.

Councilwoman Karin Uhlich addressed Maria’s concern, “[A solution to poverty is] To make sure that any person who is willing to work hard and ready to commit to a job can get into that job. But what does that mean? It does mean a strong transit system. Families not only save so much money by not having to have a car but they need a good system and Sun Tran is now rated number four in the country for helping people to connect to jobs.” Ultimately, Uhlich said she will vote against an increase in bus fares.

Tucson is the sixth poorest city in the country. It is a matter of survival for so many people. And to be very real with you, living here at the University of Arizona, as I meditate on whether or not I want to splurge on a $6 cup of coffee, I forget that there are bigger issues facing families who live just five minutes south of me. For these people, they meditate daily on whether they’re feeding their family tonight or paying for a bus pass to send their children to school.

                                                             

traducción por Jimmy Ojeda

Mantener Ronstadt o eliminarlo, mantener las tarifas o despedazar el presupuesto de los más pobres de Tucson…

El domingo 6 de octubre, más de 300 miembros de la comunidad se sentaron en frente de varios miembros del Concilio de la Ciudad en la Iglesia Sagrado Corazón, quienes estuvieron presentes para dialogar sobre JobPath, las tarifas de los camiones, y el desarrollo de Centro de Transporte Ronstadt.  Este evento se llevo a cabo dentro del contexto de la pobreza.

Los miembros de la comunidad se sentaron en las bancas de la iglesia y escucharon a los miembros del Concilio de la Ciudad dialogar sobre temas de la comunidad; nosotros echamos porras, movimos nuestras cabeza en acuerdo o desacuerdo, blah blah blah.

Sin embargo, la parte más fuerte de la sesión fue cuando miembros de nuestra comunidad se pararon y compartieron sus historias.  Ellos defendieron temas en la agenda importantes para ellos y cruciales para sus éxitos y para algunos, su sobrevivencia.

María Escalante y su hija Cindy, voluntarias de Casa María, explicaron su presupuesto mensual en frente de más de 300 personas, la mayoría de las cuales eran personas extrañas a ellas.  El valor que mostraron  María y Cindy es admirable.  Al escuchar su presupuesto mensual, uno fácilmente puede darse cuenta de que un incremento en las tarifas de los camiones arrinconaría a esta familia a tener que enfrentar grandes dificultades económicas. Quisiera agregar que María no recibe ninguna ayuda del gobierno.

Karin Uhlich, miembro del Concilio respondió a la preocupación de María, “[Una solución a la pobreza es] Asegurarse de que cualquier persona que está dispuesta a trabajar duro y comprometerse a un trabajo, pueda obtener un trabajo. ¿Pero qué significa esto? Esto significa tener un buen sistema de transporte. Las familias no solo ahorran dinero al no tener que tener un carro pero necesitan un buen sistema y Sun Tran es ahora considerado número cuatro en el país en ayudar a conectar a las personas a trabajos.”  Finalmente, Uhlich dijo que ella votaría en contra de incrementar las tarifas de los camiones.

Tucson es la sexta ciudad más pobre en el país. Muchas personas están tratando de sobrevivir. Para ser real con ustedes, viviendo aquí en la Universidad de Arizona, mi decisión es entre comprar o no una taza de café de $6 dólares,  me olvido de que hay problemas más grandes que enfrentan las familias  que viven  a solo cinco minutos al sur de mi. Para estas personas, ellos tienen que meditar diariamente si van a dar de comer a sus hijos esta noche, o si van a pagar para un pase del camión para enviar a sus hijos a la escuela.

Injustice

by Brian Flagg

A few nights ago I was in a meeting with a City Council member who said that ten years of not raising fares on the bus riders (they were slightly raised 2 years ago) is a disservice to bus riders, that they need lead time so that they can get used to the idea that they must pay more.

But why?

Why does balancing the city budget have to include increased hardship for many of the poorest people in Tucson?

This is plain and simple an unjust mindset.

Instead, maybe these politicians should be preparing the U of A President and the Board of Regents that they need to pay $4 million a year for maintenance and operation of the new Developers trolley.

Or prepare the roughly 200 employees of the city of Tucson that make over $100,000 a year, that they are going to have to cough up 1% of their pay to help that unbalanced budget.

Or maybe they could start preparing wealthy downtown developers that they will need to forego future taxpayer giveaways in the form of “incentives.”

The list goes on and on.

Suggestions on what to add to this list would be greatly appreciated.

                                                     

traducción por Jimmy Ojeda

Hace algunas noches estaba en una reunión con una persona del Concilio de la Ciudad la que argumento,  que el no subir la tarifa de los camiones en los últimos diez años (fueron incrementadas hace 2 años) es incumplir en el servicio a los pasajeros del camión, que ellos necesitan saber con anticipación para que puedan acostumbrarse a la idea de que deben de pagar más.

¿Pero por qué?

¿Por qué el balancear el presupuesto de la ciudad debe incluir aumentar el sufrimiento para muchas de las personas más pobres en Tucson?

Esto es clara y sencillamente una injusta manera de pensar.

En cambio, estos políticos deberían estar preparando al Presidente de la Universidad de Arizona  y a la Mesa Directiva de Regentes que deberían pagar $4 millones de dólares al año para las operaciones y el mantenimiento del nuevo trolebús de los desarrolladores.

O preparar a los aproximadamente 200 empleados de la ciudad de Tucson que ganan más de $100,000 dólares al año,  a que tendrán que desembuchar el 1% de sus salarios para ayudar con ese presupuesto desbalanceado.

O tal vez, deben estar preparando a los ricos desarrolladores del centro de la cuidad a que ellos van a tener que renunciar a futuros regalos de impuestos en forma de “incentivos.”

La lista es larga.

¡Sugerencias sobre que aumentar a esta lista son muy bienvenidas!

Transparency

The Tucson Bus Riders Union meeting is held the second Wednesday of every month at Armory Park Center.
The Tucson Bus Riders Union meeting is held the second Wednesday of every month at Armory Park Center.

by Brian Flagg

In a meeting at her office on August 20, Councilwoman Karin Uhlich told the Bus Riders Union that she was willing and able to table indefinitely the plan to develop the Ronstadt Transit Center. Thus, there wouldn’t be a reason to have the scheduled public hearing on the issue.

Uhlich said she would get a recommendation to stop the development plan from the City Managers office and that it could be dealt with in a study session instead of a public hearing. That isn’t how it went down.

The City Managers office was hijacked by monied downtown interests and Uhlich, along with a majority of the City Council went along for the ride.

Uhlich claims to have not known about the staff recommendation to launch the development process in November until she saw it presented in the powerpoint during the September 24 City Council meeting.

So much for public process and transparency.

So, who runs the City? Is it the officials we voted for or wealthy developers?

                                                             

traducción por Jimmy Ojeda

“El Centro Ronstadt para todos” se está convirtiendo en el Centro Ronstadt para los desarrolladores, políticos y el dinero organizado.

El Sindicato de Pasajeros del Camión de Tucson siempre ha abogado por el “centro de la ciudad para todos” incluyendo la terminal de autobuses Ronstadt.  La visión del sindicato es mantener la terminal Ronstadt como un lugar donde todos son bienvenidos a pesar de las diferencias económicas o sociales, como un recurso vital para el transporte público.

El día martes 24 de Septiembre, el alcalde y el concilio de la ciudad votaron a favor de continuar el proceso de búsqueda de desarrolladores para transformar la terminal Ronstadt.  El 20 de Agosto en una reunión con Casa María y la Mesa Directiva del Sindicato, Karin Uhlich, miembro del concilio prometió que no se continuaría buscando desarrolladores para este proyecto. A pesar de los esfuerzos del sindicato, nuestras autoridades electas votaron a favor de continuar y en apoyo a los intereses de los desarrolladores y su dinero organizado.

Es obvio que el tema trata sobre el dinero y el poder y no sobre las necesidades de la comunidad de Tucson y los pasajeros de los camiones.  En resumidas cuentas, se trata de que los desarrolladores quieran quitar cierto tipo de gente (pobre) del centro. Hay un sentimiento general de que algunos desarrolladores se ven a sí mismos maximizando sus ganancias si las personas que usan el centro Ronstadt no estuvieran presentes en el centro de la ciudad.

El Sindicato de Pasajeros del Camión cree en el poder de la gente organizada. Como resultado de la decisión del concilio en continuar el desarrollo de Ronstadt, el sindicato iniciará una campaña de membresía.  Esta campaña de membresía aumentara el número de participantes en el sindicato y nos dará el poder para luchar el gran dinero organizado que está en contra de nosotros.  El sindicato quiere que todos los que estén interesados en el  futuro de Ronstadt sepan que no va a ser una batalla fácil, pero que estamos listos para luchar por un centro de la ciudad para todos.

Karin Uhlich and Richard Fimbres to speak at PCIC Community Issues Accountability Session

Karin Uhlich and Richard Fimbres to speak at PCIC Community Issues Accountability Session

Casa Maria needs your help! Please attend this meeting! Pima County Interfaith Council is counting on 300 people to show up.

City Council candidates including incumbents Karin Uhlich and Richard Fimbres will be present to answer questions concerning the rise in bus fares and the future of the Ronstadt Transit Center.

Casa Maria is a member of PCIC and has promised to bring a lot of community members to support the interests of bus riders.

City Council Votes to Move Development of Ronstadt Forward

by Brian Flagg and Jimmy Ojeda

“A Ronstadt Transit Center for Everyone” is turning into a Ronstadt Center for developers, politicians, and organized money.

The Tucson Bus Riders Union (TBRU) has always advocated for a “downtown for everyone,” including the Ronstadt Transit Center.  The vision of TBRU is to keep the Ronstadt as a place where everyone is welcome despite economic or social differences and as a vital resource for public transportation.

On Tuesday, September 24, the Mayor and City Council voted to continue the process of seeking potential developers to transform the Ronstadt. Despite the promises from Councilwoman Karin Uhlich during a meeting with Casa Maria and TBRU board members on August 20, that this would not happen and TBRU’s efforts, our elected officials voted to move forward and support the interests of developers and their organized money.

It is obvious that the issue is about money and power and not about the needs of the Tucson community and bus riders. It boils down to developers wanting to cleanse downtown. There’s a general feeling that some developers see themselves maximizing their profits if people who use the Ronstadt were not present downtown.

The TBRU believes in the power of organized people, and as a result of the Council’s decision to continue the development of the Ronstadt, the TBRU will launch a membership campaign. The membership campaign will bolster the ranks of the Union and will give us the power to fight the big money organized against us. TBRU wants everyone interested in the future of the Ronstadt to know that it is not going to be an easy battle, but that we are ready to fight for a downtown for everyone.

For further reading:

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/plan-that-could-alter-downtown-transit-center-moves-ahead/article_56e4ac09-b1b4-5a16-8a00-2020ae2ae666.html

Pope Speaks Out on Money and Power

We at Casa Maria are huge fans of the new Holy Father because he lays out the truth, even about the economy! And he dares to acknowledge that our Creator God calls all women and men to liberate themselves from slavery, even economic slavery! May our work here at Casa Maria be based in and inspired by “The Pope Speaks Out on Money and Power.”

“Our human family is presently experiencing something of a turning point in its own history, if we consider the advances made in various areas. We can only praise the positive achievements which contribute to the authentic welfare of mankind in fields such as those of health, education and communications. At the same time, we must also acknowledge that the majority of the men and women of our time continue to live daily in situation of insecurity, with dire consequences…. One cause of this situation, in my opinion, is in our relationship with money, and our acceptance of its power over ourselves and our society. Consequently, the financial crisis which we are experiencing makes us forget that its ultimate origin is to be found in a profound human crisis: in the denial of the primacy of human beings! We have created new idols. The worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal.

“The worldwide financial and economic crisis seems to highlight their distortions and, above all, the gravely deficient human perspective, which reduces men and women to just one of their needs alone, namely consumption. Worse yet, human beings themselves are nowadays considered as consumer goods which can be used and thrown away. We have started down the path of a disposable culture. This tendency is seen on the level of individuals and whole societies; and it is  being promoted! In circumstances like these, solidarity, which is the treasure of the poor, is often considered counterproductive, opposed to the logic of finance and the economy. While the income of a minority is increasing exponentially, that of the majority is crumbling. This imbalance results from ideologies which uphold the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation, and thus deny the right of control to States, which are themselves charged with providing for the common good. A new, invisible at times virtual, tyranny is established, one which unilaterally and irremediably imposes its own laws and rule. Moreover, indebtedness and credit distance countries form their real economy and citizens from their real buying power. Added to this, as if it were needed, is widespread corruption and selfish fiscal evasion which have taken on the worldwide dimensions. The will to power and possession has become limitless.

“Concealed behind this attitude is a rejection of ethics, a rejection of God. Ethics, like solidarity, is a nuisance! It is regarded as counterproductive, as something too human because it relativizes money and power, as a threat because it rejects manipulation and subjection of people, because ethics leads to God who is situated outside the categories of the market. These financiers, economists and politicians consider God to be unmanageable. God is unmanageable, even dangerous, because He calls man to his full realization and to independence from any kind of slavery.”

-Pope Francis, Vatican City, May, 2013

traducción por Jimmy Ojeda

El Papa habla sobre el Dinero y el Poder

“Debemos reconocer que la mayoría de los hombres y mujeres en nuestro tiempo, continúan viviendo diariamente en condiciones de inseguridad, con terribles consecuencias… Una causa de esta situación, en mi opinión, es nuestra relación con el dinero, y el aceptar su poder sobre nosotros y nuestra sociedad. ¡Hemos creado nuevos ídolos! La adoración del becerro de oro, ha fundado una nueva y descorazonada imagen en el culto hacia el dinero y una dictadura económica si rostro y sin ningún verdadero objetivo humano.

“La crisis global financiera y económica pareciera resaltar sus distorsiones, y sobre todo, la gran deficiente perspectiva humana, la que reduce a los hombres y mujeres a solo una de sus necesidades, que es el consumismo. Peor aún, las personas mismas ahora son consideradas como bienes de consumo que pueden ser usadas y tiradas. Hemos iniciado el sendero de una cultura de desecho. Esta tendencia es vista a nivel individual y en sociedades enteras.  ¡Y está siendo promocionada! En circunstancias como esta, la solidaridad, que es el tesoro del pobre, es frecuentemente considerada contraproducente, opuesta a la lógica de la finanza y la economía. Mientras que el ingreso de las minorías está incrementando exponencialmente, aquel de la mayoría se está desmoronando.

“Camuflado  detrás de esta actitud, esta un rechazo a la ética, un rechazo de Dios. ¡La ética, al igual que la solidaridad es un fastidio! Es considerado contraproducente, como algo demasiado humano porque es relativo al poder y el dinero, como una amenaza porque rechaza la manipulación de las personas, ya que la ética nos conduce hacia Dios quien está situado fuera de las categorías del mercado. Estos financieros, economistas, y políticos consideran a Dios inmanejable. Dios es inmanejable, incluso peligroso, porque El llama al hombre a su total realización e independencia se cualquier tipo de esclavitud.”

El Papa Francisco, Ciudad del Vaticano, Mayo, 2013

Welcome to Voces de Casa Maria

Editors note:

Welcome to Casa Maria’s Blog/ Voces de Casa Maria! We are truly blessed to have the dynamic journalism major from the University of Arizona, Kassandra Manriquez help us with all the technical work to make this blog a reality.

-Brian Flagg

Hello!

My name is Kassandra Manriquez, a second year journalism student at the University of Arizona.

I see journalism as a craft that puts my passion to work. My heart is in justice and in people. I believe in people.

I am a Catholic who spent most of my childhood in the City of South Tucson with my lovely grandma. Through study at the University, I have grown to appreciate different faiths, religions and cultures.

I taught catechism for three years at my parish St. John the Evangelist. Though I miss teaching catechism, my heart has moved me toward a new line of work. I was blessed with the opportunity to work with Brian and Casa Maria.

I met Brian while working on a research project focused on dissecting the complexities in poverty. What I learned at Casa Maria while shooting my documentary taught me far more than what I learned in my three weeks of Internet and book research.

Brian Flagg and the people of Casa Maria have beautiful and complex stories to tell, all equally inspiring. The energy at Casa Maria is more powerful than anything I can shoot with my camera or write on paper. Nonetheless, I hope my work can give you a little piece of “los voces de Casa Maria.”

Thank you for your support,

Kassandra Manriquez