Election day is coming!

Tuesday, September 11, is election day in many cities in Arizona, including Phoenix. Oddly, city elections were September 11 in 2001. Let's hope for a more peaceful day this year. What better way to honor those whose lives were taken by terrorists than to express your voice through democracy?

In Phoenix, several propositions are on the ballot. Proposition 1 would raise the sales tax two-tenths of a percent (costing you two cents extra for every ten dollars you spend) to hire additional police and firefighters. Emergency response times are lagging in the city, and while none of us is eager to raise our already high sales tax (especially since sales taxes hit low-income folks the hardest), we would get our money's worth from Prop 1. Proposition 2 would give a 6% cost-of-living raise (last raise was two years ago) to the City Council and Mayor. Phoenix's hard working City Council gets paid $61,000 currently, or about two-and-a-half times what the Arizona legislature makes (in the early 1990's, the salaries were almost identical). I'm guessing almost none of those equally hard working new police officers and firefighters hired if Prop 1 passes will be making anywhere near this money. Meanwhile, the $88,000 the Mayor of Phoenix earns is just below what Governor Napolitano makes. With Proposition 3, the City is asking something more simple - permission to continue spending money they already have. Proposition 3 does not raise taxes or spend one additional dime of taxpayers' money. But if it fails, it would force the City to cut a third of its budget, which inevitably would affect public safety (like the aforementioned cops and firefighters). Propositions 4-6 are mostly housekeeping measures that have drawn little opposition.

Half of the City's 8 Council Districts have an election, and in three of them there is no incumbent, so we know there will be at least 3 new City Councilpersons after this election, the most newbies on City Council since the district system was created in the early-1980's. Check out the endorsements of the Arizona Republic, or for those of you interested in GLBT issues, look at the endorsements of Echo Magazine.