🚨 TCFC URGENT ACTION ALERT 🚨
This is our most critical newsletter of 2025. Please read and ACT NOW!

Thanks to your unwavering support, we defeated Prop 414 — but the fight for Tucson's future continues. The City of Tucson is making pivotal decisions right now that will impact public safety, infrastructure, and your tax dollars. We need YOU to take immediate action on three urgent fronts.

🔥 CALL TO ACTION #1: Advocate for Our First Responders – Complete the City Budget Survey by April 11

The City is soliciting public input for the FY 2026 budget. This is your opportunity to stand up for Tucson's first responders and demand essential funding. This survey is open to Pima County residents as well.

✅ Click The Link To Take the survey NOW before it closes on April 11:
Submit Your Feedback Here

📢 Urge the City of Tucson to prioritize:

•              🚓 Public Safety:

◦        Hire More Personnel: Increase the number of police officers, dispatchers, and firefighters to ensure timely responses to emergencies.

◦        Competitive Compensation: Offer salaries and benefits that attract and retain top talent in our police and fire departments.

◦        Equipment Upgrades: Invest in modern equipment and technology to enhance efficiency and safety.

•              🛣️ Infrastructure Improvements:

◦        Road Repairs: Address the deteriorating conditions of our streets to ensure safe travel for all residents.

•              🌳 Community Spaces:

◦        Park Maintenance: Clean and maintain our parks and public areas to promote community well-being.

•              💸 Fiscal Responsibility:

◦        End Wasteful Programs: Terminate ineffective initiatives like the free bus fare program that strain city finances.

◦        Prioritize Core Services: Allocate funds to essential services before considering non-essential projects.

•              🛑 Tax Relief:

◦        No New Taxes: Advocate against any tax increases that burden Tucson residents.

✅ Click The Link To Take the survey NOW before it closes on April 11:
Submit Your Feedback Here

📊 The Numbers Don’t Lie: Public Safety is Being Ignored

While Tucson pours millions into wasteful programs like fare-free transit, the Tucson Police Department is being systematically shortchanged. Just look at the City’s own numbers:

🔴 Over $41 million in unmet needs this year alone.
🔴 That’s funding that should go to hiring officers, modernizing equipment, and ensuring faster response times.

📢 Meanwhile, the City Council is still debating how to fund free bus fares. This is a question of priorities — and right now, they’re choosing poorly.

Read the Full Report on TPD Needs

The current shortfalls in public safety have occurred under Mayor Romero and the City Council’s watch. It's imperative we hold them accountable and demand immediate action.

In Memory Of Lead Police Officer Adam R. Buckner - March 31, 2024

On March 31, 2024, at approximately 10:00 p.m., officers from Operations Division Midtown responded to a report of an adult male breaking a window at a business near Speedway Boulevard and Campbell Avenue. The male suspect fled on foot and additional officers were requested to assist in locating him. Lead Police Officer Adam Buckner was responding to the call, driving north on Campbell Avenue with his emergency lights and siren activated. As he entered the intersection of Campbell Avenue and 6th Street on a green light, a single-occupant sedan failed to yield and collided with Officer Buckner's patrol vehicle, sending it into a traffic signal pole. Officer Buckner succumbed to his injuries after being transported to the hospital. Officer Buckner served with the Tucson Police Department for two and a half years, and previously served with the New Orleans police Department for four years. Officer Buckner is survived by his wife, mother, sister, and three brothers.

📅 CALL TO ACTION #2: Participate in the Virtual Budget Town Hall – April 10 @ 6 PM

Your voice matters. Join fellow TCFC members in this online meeting to advocate for a budget that reflects our community's priorities.

•              🖥️ Date & Time: Thursday, April 10 | 6–7 p.m.

•              🔗 Access the Virtual Meeting: Click to join the meeting

CALL TO ACTION #3: End Free Fares – Stop the Crime and the Waste

The “Free Fares” program is a failed experiment—and it’s putting Tucson residents at risk.

On Tuesday, April 8, the Mayor and City Council will meet to discuss whether to continue pouring millions of dollars into fare-free public transportation. TCFC says: Enough is enough.

Since Tucson made bus rides free, crime on our transit system has skyrocketed, and the financial toll is staggering. While the city faces massive budget shortfalls and unfunded core needs like public safety, it continues to waste $10 to $13 million a year subsidizing a system that’s become a haven for crime and drug use.

🚨 Public Safety is in Crisis:

•             Assaults on drivers and riders have tripled since 2019.

•             Vandalism has more than doubled.

•             Riders and drivers report daily incidents of open drug use, loitering, harassment, and aggressive behavior.

•             Bus stops are turning into open-air drug markets, especially for fentanyl and methamphetamine.

💸 Tucson Is Throwing Away Your Tax Dollars:

•             The city spends more per capita on transit than any other major city in Arizona.

•             Essential services like police and fire go underfunded, while the Council prioritizes feel-good policies over real safety.

•             The University of Arizona and TUSD refused to contribute to the cost, yet continue to benefit.

📊 Per Capita Transit Expenditure by Municipality (FY2023)

📧 TAKE ACTION: EMAIL CITY LEADERS TODAY. TELL CITY LEADERS TO STOP ENABLING THE CHAOS.

!!!! USE OUR NEW AI TOOL TO COMPOSE AN INSTANT EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE: 

https://pck.ai/ng0mUnO

OR, FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS BELOW:

Copy, paste, and send the sample message below:

Subject: Urgent Call to Reinstate Fares on Sun Tran and Public Transportation

To:

Mayor.Romero@tucsonaz.gov,
citymanager@tucsonaz.gov,
ward1@tucsonaz.gov,
ward2@tucsonaz.gov,
ward3@tucsonaz.gov,
ward4@tucsonaz.gov,
ward5@tucsonaz.gov,
ward6@tucsonaz.gov,
help@tucsoncrimefree.com 

Sample Message:

Re: Urgent Call to Reinstate Fares on Sun Tran and Public Transportation

Dear Mayor Romero and Members of the Tucson City Council,

I am writing as a concerned resident of Tucson to urge the immediate reinstatement of fares on our public transportation system. While the fare-free policy, initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic, may have had good intentions, it has led to increasingly dangerous and unsustainable consequences.

Since fare-free transit was implemented, public safety on our buses has severely declined. Reports show that assaults on drivers and riders tripled from 21 in 2019 to 64 in 2021. Vandalism incidents more than doubled, with 146 cases recorded during that same period. Riders and drivers alike have reported daily incidents of open drug use, alcohol consumption, and aggressive behavior. Bus stops have become magnets for loitering, illegal activity, and drug dealing—especially involving fentanyl and meth. Regular, working-class riders who rely on the bus system now avoid it out of fear. This is unacceptable.

The financial impact is just as alarming. Tucson is forfeiting $10 to $13 million in fare revenue annually, while also facing a budget deficit and a shrinking pool of federal relief funds. Despite outreach, local institutions like the University of Arizona and TUSD have declined to share the cost. Meanwhile, the city continues to spend more on transit than comparable cities, and we simply cannot afford it.

This is not a sustainable policy, and it is not working. The system is being abused, our neighborhoods are less safe, and the people who truly depend on public transit are the ones suffering most. It is time to act. Reinstating fares is not just a budgetary decision—it’s a public safety necessity.

The people of Tucson are tired of the lawlessness, the open drug use, and the lack of accountability. We need leadership that prioritizes safety, fiscal responsibility, and respect for the residents who rely on city services every day. I strongly urge you to reinstate fares and restore dignity and order to our transit system without delay.

📄 Read the study session agenda:
Click Here to View the Agenda

This Is the Moment to Act — or Be Silenced

Tucson is at a crossroads. City leaders are choosing to underfund public safety, ignore our crumbling roads, and waste millions on failed programs like fare-free transit — all while pushing for higher taxes and ignoring the voices of hardworking residents.

If you don’t speak up now, don’t expect anything to change.

📢 If you don’t show up, they’ll assume you don’t care.
📢 If you don’t send that email, they’ll say no one’s complaining.
📢 If you don’t demand accountability, they’ll keep making excuses.

This is YOUR city. YOUR money. YOUR safety.

👉 Take the survey.
👉 Join the town hall.
👉 Email the mayor and council.

💥 Do it now — because silence is surrender. And Tucson can’t afford any more silence.