 Chair Scott's Statement Regarding Today's Joint Meeting with the Tucson City Council
TUCSON, ARIZONA - November 18, 2025–There is always great wisdom to be found in the words of this African proverb: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
The issues that brought us here today will often prompt the expression of strong feelings. Homelessness and addiction evoke thoughts of deprivation and suffering that are daunting, frightening and unsettling. Coming into this meeting, there were words said and sentiments expressed that attest to the magnitude of the challenges we face. Where we can all agree is that we owe it to the people we represent to confront these obstacles in partnership.
This meeting has several purposes. First, we will hear from representatives of our professional staffs about what the city and the county are already doing to address these concerns, very often in collaboration. Next, each one of us will have the opportunity to ask questions of staff, or to propose our own ideas. Through dialogue and discussion, we will identify what we need to do differently, or better. Those determinations will set the agendas for subsequent joint meetings and, much more significantly, for the ongoing work our teams will take on together.
I want to thank each one of my colleagues for your commitment to public service. One goal I have set for myself today is to seek first to understand, not to be understood. That is a pledge I owe to you as partners in this work; it is also a promise that will help me to be of service to those without shelter and basic needs, to those tormented by addiction and to everyone in our community who expect us to lead with selflessness and care.
It is always tempting and therefore easy to stay ensconced in the personal or political realm, but these times demand more from us. Today is merely the first time we will come together, but what we do and say here will send a strong message to our constituents about our intentions and our potential. We need to leave any previous disagreements or divisions behind us and keep a sharp focus on moving forward together.
###
|
