I’m running for Mayor because we need a fresh, independent voice to urgently and boldly tackle the housing crisis, create better economic opportunity, and address rising homelessness. WATCH: youtu.be/RjDEl9EzNs8
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Zach Yentzer
@ZachYentzer
Independent candidate for Mayor of Tucson (2023) | A fresh, independent voice focused on delivering Affordability, Opportunity and Quality of Life.
Zach Yentzer’s Tweets
I've spent a lot of time processing what we observed in the death of Tyre Nichols.
As Tucson’s Mayor, delivery of public safety would be in my policy purview.
This is all too important for short tweets that don't say much, here are my full thoughts:
zachfortucson.com/tyre-nichols
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Here’s the question:
Is Tucson ok with leaving 75% of our homeless unsheltered and on the streets?
I think most people would say “no.”
But the fact of the matter is that our current policymaking has left us here.
It will take more and different approaches to change course.
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Thursday at 6:30pm
zachfortucson.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=
Saturday at 10:00am
zachfortucson.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=
Register for Zoom link! (3/3)
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-The 5 different ways you can volunteer for this campaign, based on what’s best for you.
-The 3 numbers that guide our entire campaign strategy.
-The 3 planks of our campaign platform.
-How a very small amount of your time can make an exponential impact. (2/3)
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We are building a team of 100 volunteers to power our campaign to victory on November 7!
We will have (2) 30-minute Zoom sessions this week to cover: (1/3)
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The contributions and achievements of the African-American community in making Tucson and Arizona what we are today are significant, and don't get the airtime they deserve. This month, beginning today, is a time to celebrate and commemorate.
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Tucson is on the cusp of writing its next chapter, as a major American city (we are the 33rd largest!).
We are seeing the growing pains of all the opportunities and challenges that brings.
What got us here, won’t get us there.
We need fresh, independent leadership!
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Tucson's next chapter in our story is upon us. I come back to Pittsburgh's story often to be inspired by what is possible when public, private and education sectors share a common vision for the future. It takes leadership; as Mayor, I will be that leader.
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Tucson is a city that prides itself on progress.
But a 40% increase in rent over 5 years is not progress.
Leaving 75% of our unhoused without shelter is not.
Not taking advantage of industry strengths, leading to a lagging economy is not.
I believe we can do better!
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Building more homes doesn't have to mean constructing large, imposing buildings in urban cores.
It can also mean adding more gentle density to suburban communities, within local context, like this triplex in Portland!
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150+ people came out to launch our 2023 campaign for Mayor, and it was a beautiful representation of the diverse, cross-partisan, multi-generational coalition we are building. Thank you, Tucson! #TucsonIsReady
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Joined with my church and many others this morning for the MLK Jr march and celebration in Tucson. It was wet and cold but worth it. Thanks event chair Pastor Grady Scott and others. The older I get the less I have to say on this day, and the more I have to listen and consider.
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# of patents per 10,000 workers is a metric used to show how innovative a region is.
Tucson scores HIGH compared to peer regions!
If we can turn the innovation in our region into higher wage jobs for Tucson families, the sky is the limit!
As Mayor, I will focus on doing so.
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In no way downplaying global trends, or state/fed resources! I have just found that reforms to process (permitting + regulatory) and policy (land use, zoning, political will) are needed to make sure that the available resources grease the wheels.
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Bottlenecks exist, but 90% of the current housing affordability issue has to do with national and global macroeconomic factors. Still, some solutions to ease the pain are being offered. And agreed, state dollars won’t change the narrative. But it will help some. twitter.com/ZachYentzer/st…
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In her first budget, Gov. Hobbs will allocate $150mil to the Housing Trust Fund. These resources would be valuable.
But after 5 years of neighborhood work, I can tell you that no amount of new resources will overcome local jurisdictions that bottleneck creation of new housing.
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On Wednesday I held a press conference to share what I’ve heard from listening to Tucsonans all across this city the last 6 months, and my vision for Tucson as Mayor. Here is how the Arizona Daily Star wrote about it. #TucsonIsReady
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74% of those experiencing homelessness in Tucson are unsheltered.
That is not just or humanitarian.
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We are not making enough housing happen, nor are we providing enough shelter at scale. Our current politics and policies will not change this current course. Great piece by .
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In Tucson’s Birthplace, at the intersection of 4,000 years of history and also our future urban opportunities and challenges, we kicked off the next chapter of our multigenerational and cross-partisan movement with a press conference.
Tucson is Ready!
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5 years ago, someone asked on my radio show what was THE ONE issue Tucson had to get right for everything else to work.
Without hesitation I said “housing.”
Since, rent has gone up 40% and has been acknowledged as a social and economic crisis that creates other challenges.
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As we turn the page into 2023, I want to wish you and yours a very Happy New Year! May 2023 be a year of bold vision, fresh ideas, and change as we progress personally toward the better lives we want to lead, and together for a greater community.
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. doesn’t get the love it deserves for being the best conservationist and innovator of water resources in the state. Look it up.
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Chris good to hear from you. Urban areas use only about 25% of all state’s water; Tucson Water has done a phenomenal job in storing and re-using water the last many decades. Multifamily/denser housing uses water more efficiently. We can meet housing demand responsibly! twitter.com/BonewitzChris/…
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Chris good to hear from you. Urban areas use only about 25% of all state’s water; Tucson Water has done a phenomenal job in storing and re-using water the last many decades. Multifamily/denser housing uses water more efficiently. We can meet housing demand responsibly!
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Replying to @ZachYentzer
We don’t need new houses our water supply will soon become low, last thing we need is more people living here.
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One of the big reasons I am running for Mayor is that tackling the housing crisis is going to take reforming local policy and process as much as anything else. Tim Steller gets to the heart of it in this article:
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The disconnect is that today’s politics require purity while the everyday world of making things work requires pragmatism.
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Urbanism should be about opportunity.
The opportunity to afford housing, on good wages. The opportunity to get off the streets and overcome underlying challenges; to live in safe community.
This has become less true in American cities, and our own; we must restore this promise
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“A city comes into being for the sake of life, but exists for the sake of living well.”
- Aristotle
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Austin, TX passed a housing bond in 2006, 2013, 2018 and again in 2022, all told totaling $720mil.
And yet the housing crisis there has worsened considerably.
Resources matter, but only when zoning, land use, permitting and regulatory processes support creating more housing.
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Mmmm no thanks. Happy to be in blue-sky, 75 degree weather in Tucson.
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A glimpse of the @SouthwestAir bag backlog @PHXSkyHarbor this morning. Passengers wandering around in hopes they spot their bag. Just met a guy who DROVE from Denver to pick up his bags and salvage vacation.
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Tucson is not a victim of another place's success, or somewhere else's challenges.
We have all we need to be the drivers of our own destiny.
The right policy puts the future in our hands.
We need a fresh, independent perspective to unlock our possibilities.
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We hope you and yours had a very Merry Christmas weekend and are having a happy holiday season. Blessings to all!
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Cities are like Christmas Hallmark movies- once you’ve seen the story once or twice, you can predict the repeatable plot line.
From housing to homelessness, economy to infrastructure.
Tucson is in a position to make the right choices for a great future.
Or not.
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Peerless.
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Less than a year after the launch of the James Webb Telescope, a team of researchers, including @UArizona's own Marcia and George Rieke, have captured images of the most distant galaxies ever seen.
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Tucson rates very well as a community graduating technically skilled professionals in science and engineering, and for patents per 10,000 workers.
But our business growth, employment growth and GDP rank at or near the bottom amongst peer cities.
We have to solve that disconnect
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We are living in a time where people are asking for solutions over soundbytes. Results not just rhetoric.
It is in our cities where we can deliver those solutions and results most quickly and innovatively and tangibly.
Restoring our belief in each other and our institutions.
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City of Tucson / Pima County assesses that we need 75,000 affordable housing units to meet need. 12,000 are available today.
How we got here, won’t get us out.
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I often hear asked “what is the definition of affordable housing?”
By the #s:
It is housing for those who make less than 80% of Area Median Income. For Pima County, that’s an individual making $30,000 or less a year, or $41,000 and below per year for a household of four people
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In Tucson, I’m usually in one of two rooms.
In one room, it feels like the Lego Movie, “everything is awesome…!”
In the other, nothing is good or good enough.
I feel out of place in both.
We need to confront our challenges, while celebrating all that is good about Tucson!
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