Rio Nuevo Attention Subsiding

By C.J. Karamargin
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
September 12, 2003

What a difference four years makes.  It was all Downtown, all the time in 1999 as Tucsonans prepared to go to the polls in what was billed as an election upon which the very future of the city hinged. Like this year, the ballot back then included the mayor's job and three City Council seats. But it also included Prop. 400, a pricey, far-reaching urban revitalization plan otherwise known as Rio Nuevo.

Everyone was talking about it, and for good reason. With an aquarium, a visitors center, an IMAX theater, a hotel, museums, housing and retail shops, the $320 million Rio Nuevo plan wasn't just another proposition. It was the promise of a brighter tomorrow.  Fast-forward to the election of 2003. Rio Nuevo and Downtown renewal might be the biggest nonissue of the campaign.

"Most people could give a rat's patoot," said Mike Jenkins, a Republican seeking the Ward 4 City Council seat. "They really don't care about Downtown. It's not much of an issue at all." Councilwoman Shirley Scott, the two-term incumbent Jenkins is running against, agreed.

"They have less interest in Rio Nuevo today than they might have had four years ago," Scott said of her constituents. "It's not very close to where we live."  How widespread that sentiment is among this year's crop of candidates depends to a large extent on geography. Proximity to Rio Nuevo, in other words, has a direct bearing on how big a blip the project is on the election year radar screen.

Out in Ward 4, a sprawling conglomeration of neighborhoods and businesses in the southeastern corner of the city, Rio Nuevo is significantly less important than in the West Side's Ward 1, where much of the project is centered.

"It's a legitimate, serious issue here," said Ward 1 Republican council candidate Armando Rios Jr. "It's definitely up toward the top of the priority list because it's going to have a profound impact."

Rio Nuevo's potential role in reshaping Ward 1, in fact, might by one of the few areas of agreement between Rios and Jose Ibarra, the Democratic incumbent he hopes to unseat. Ibarra calls it the second most important issue facing the city, right after transportation.

Rio Nuevo encompasses the historic heart of Tucson, stretching from "A" Mountain in the west to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks on Downtown's eastern edge. Using vacant land alongside Interstate 10 is a big part of the project.

But much has changed about Rio Nuevo since nearly 60 percent of Tucson voters approved it. A science center connected to the University of Arizona, for example, has supplanted the aquarium as a possible centerpiece. But the essence of the project - transforming Downtown into a destination - remains.

Donovan Durband, executive director of the Tucson Downtown Alliance, said he has no doubt that Rio Nuevo isn't much of an issue for Tucson voters this year. They gave it their blessing, he said; now it's up to the city and the private sector to make it a reality.

"They're in a show-me, prove-it-to-me mode," Durband said. "And there's nothing wrong with that."

Progress is apparent throughout Downtown: Renovation of the Fox Theatre and historic train depot is well under way; various housing and parking projects are moving forward; and an archaeological dig at Tucson's birthplace along the Santa Cruz River is complete. Still, not everyone is content with the progress that has been made.

Tom Volgy, the Democratic candidate for mayor, said he is concerned about the incremental progress that has been made over the last four years.

"The pace has been slow," said Volgy, who calls himself a firm believer in Downtown revitalization. "We need to accelerate it."

Volgy is calling for the swift finalization of Rio Nuevo's concept plan and the formation of a nonprofit corporation to give the project "its undivided attention" and oversee its implementation. "As long as the city is involved, it will be slow going," Volgy said.

"Not because the city is doing a good job or a bad job, but because the city does so many jobs."

Republican Mayor Bob Walkup, who was elected the same year voters signed off on Rio Nuevo, defended the progresss that has been achieved and contends that the public is "keenly aware" of the project's progress.

"This is a community plan," said Walkup, who is seeking a second term.

"One of the reasons we're going slowly is that we need public input." 

Walkup agreed that Rio Nuevo isn't looming large in the campaign. Voters, he said, are far more concerned about transportation and the economy. But he speculated that Downtown revitalization has simply evolved into a noncontroversial issue.

"We're doing what we said we'll do," he said.

* Contact reporter C.J. Karamargin at 573-4243 or at cjkarama@azstarnet.com.

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