By Nikki Lee
Last month, I was confirmed as the new Vice Mayor for the City of Tucson through the end of 2021. I’m proud to say that my nomination marks the first time Tucson has both a female Mayor and Vice Mayor serving together. I’m honored to be part of this small slice of Tucson history.
As I continue to brainstorm how to best serve my constituents, I’d like to highlight two ways my office and the City have been working to serve you. First, in January, my office collected responses to the 2021 Ward 4 Constituent Survey. This survey asked Ward 4 residents their thoughts on how the City is doing delivering services and any comments or ideas they have to improve things. We collected good data that will help inform future efforts. For instance, we heard you about the poor condition of our roads. I recently voted to double our current funding for residential road repair in the next fiscal year. We are now working to determine the timeline, how we will choose the roads we repair, and other parts of the process. Thank you to those of you who participated in the survey; your time and thoughtful responses are so appreciated.
Second, I’d like to highlight the incredible work being done by Tucson Fire and other City employees at the Tucson Convention Center Vaccine Point of Distribution (POD). When COVID-19 vaccine distribution started in Tucson, we realized there were opportunities to help get teachers, senior citizens, and public safety personnel vaccinated faster. To realize this opportunity, the City worked with Pima County to quickly set up a vaccine POD at the TCC. Tucson Firefighters, along with multiple City departments and employees who have volunteered to redeploy for this effort, have been working every day to vaccinate our community. This is no small feat; the TCC clinic has the capacity to vaccinate 1,500 people each day. We’ve been working closely with the County to align our efforts and keep things running smoothly. Last month, the Pima County Board of Supervisors met with Tucson Mayor and Council Members to discuss our partnership in vaccine distribution to ensure a clear, efficient process in the months to come. We have a long way to go, but I am grateful for the ongoing communication and teamwork that have defined this massive effort.
Thank you to the healthcare workers, City employees, County staff, community volunteers, and everyone else working to vaccinate our metropolitan area of almost 1 million people. You can register for a vaccine appointment at http://bit.ly/PimaShotLink or by calling (520) 222-0119. If you’re interested in volunteering at a vaccine distribution center, email EOCvolunteer@pima.gov. Stay safe, stay home, and get vaccinated!
Sincerely,
Nikki
