Guests - Chris Burgard, Chris Collins
Election Day in Tucson: Proposition 414
Good morning and it is election day here in Tucson, Arizona. Finally, the election for Proposition 414 has arrived. The question before voters is simple: do we give the city $800 million, or do we say no and keep our money in our own pockets?
Polling places opened at 6:00 AM today across the city. If you still have that ballot sitting on your counter and you live in the city of Tucson, you can take it to one of seven polling centers:
Parks and Rec at 900 South Randolph Way
El Pueblo Senior Center at 101 West Irvington Road
Morris K. Udall Regional Center at 7200 East Tanque Verde Road
Department of Housing at 310 North Commerce Park Loop
Ligans Recreation Center at 160 North 6th Avenue
William Clements Recreation Center at 8155 East Poinciana Drive
Tucson City Clerk Collection Center at 800 East 12th Street
The polls remain open until 7:00 PM tonight. It's crucial that your voice is heard on this important issue.
As of yesterday, there's been a 25.84% overall voter turnout, which does not count ballots from yesterday or today. We may hit 30% participation, which would be high for an off-year election. Looking at the political breakdown of voters so far:
Democrats: 30% turnout (38,411 of 127,885 registered voters)
Independents: 16.36% turnout (17,724 of 108,357 registered voters)
Republicans: 33.28% turnout (nearly 22,000 of approximately 66,000 registered voters)
If independents vote with Republicans, this proposition is likely to fail. Some projections suggest 62% of voters will say no, though only 51% is needed to defeat the measure.
The core issues here involve policing in Tucson. To be clear, the police aren't the problem - the challenge is that we need more officers. We need to address the root causes of crime and ensure officers are paid competitively. Tucson is the 34th largest market in the country. We may not feel like a big city, but we are, and we have big city problems.
Our proximity to the border, crime rates, and lingering effects from COVID shutdowns have created real challenges. Unfortunately, some political decisions have made matters worse - prioritizing certain movements over proper police funding has caused good officers to leave for surrounding communities. They still love Tucson but no longer work here.
The proposed $800 million tax increase isn't the solution. This has never been a good plan for businesses or citizens. When businesses compete in the marketplace, municipalities should give them every advantage possible. Instead, this proposal would make Tucson the highest-taxed city in Arizona.
Today, voters have the right to say "not on my watch" by voting no on Proposition 414. We can develop a better approach. Tucson is a great city with smart people. It's time we put those who serve us first.
The Battle at the Border: An Interview with Chris Burgard
Our guest today is Chris Burgard, Chief Security Officer for His Glory Ministries. Chris is the director of the groundbreaking miniseries "The War on Truth," a sequel to "Capital Punishment: Everything They Told Me About J6 Was a Lie." He's also worked with Pastor David Scarlett and Kristy Hutcherson on border security documentaries.
Chris explains how his involvement in these projects intensified: "God's funny. He whispers in your ear and if you don't listen, he taps you on the shoulder. And if you're still not listening, he punches you in the gut. My gut punch was when I was on the border with Tom Homan making another movie, and the day before they hit Mar-a-Lago, the FBI came to my ranch. They dropped off their card, and I found out I was the subject of a terrorist investigation to the national security of the United States of America for making a movie."
This experience transformed his perspective. "As a guy whose father graduated from the FBI Academy, and I'd spent 20 years working with law enforcement on the border, I took it personally. I thought, if they're doing this to me, what are they doing to other folks?"
Chris details the alarming realities at the southern border: "When Tom [Homan] and I were making 'Death County and the River of Broken Dreams' in Texas, in just two days I saw more trained military personnel come across among civilians than I had seen in my previous 18 years on the border put together. That's how dangerous the situation has become."
The humanitarian crisis is equally disturbing. Chris recounts a heartbreaking story: "There was a couple from Angola that came across the border with a 15-16 month old baby girl. The father drowned trying to cross the river. Border patrol saved the daughter and mother. The daughter wasn't breathing. They resuscitated her and life-flighted her to the hospital where she died. Four physicians examined her and found she had been so severely abused that it caused her death. Yet the medical examiner was forbidden to discuss this case with me because of a federal gag order."
The scale of child trafficking is particularly alarming. "Under the Biden administration, over half a million unaccompanied children came into our country. When they were picked up, there was no DNA testing to prove the adults were their parents. We've lost track of over 320,000 children. This is the largest child trafficking operation in the history of the country, if not the world."
The border crisis has also contributed to America's fentanyl epidemic. "We've lost more dead Americans to fentanyl than soldiers killed in Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined."
Chris believes we're now seeing positive changes under the new administration. "We're on the offensive. Tom Homan has already arrested about 1,300 illegal immigrants, and 1,000 of those have criminal records. The administration is now designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, which unleashes military options."
Looking ahead, Chris sees his work evolving: "God is telling me to start reaching back into pop culture. There are hundreds of millions of people who don't know God or truth, but they watch TV and movies. Maybe we need entertainment that awakens that inner spirit and brings people searching. We grew up in a country where resistance to tyranny was obedience to God. That's still in our DNA."
As America approaches its 250th birthday next year, Chris sees divine timing: "I think enough of this country has been on its knees that God has heard us. 'When my people who are called by my name will humble themselves before me, repent of their evil ways, pray and seek my face, I will heal their land.' We're heading into healing this land and victory. We're on offense."
Church Growth Challenges: Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene
Our final guest is Chris Collins, Executive Pastor at Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene. The church is facing opposition to its expansion plans from neighbors and local officials.
Pastor Collins explains their situation: "Our current campus has just under 30 acres of property. It was originally a 10-acre parcel. We purchased a 10-acre parcel next to us that was actually a former church, and a few years back, we bought an additional 10 acres connected to that property. We also have a satellite campus in Saddlebrook Ranch, and in December, we closed on almost 30 acres in Marana for another satellite campus."
Five years ago, the church began developing a master plan for their property. "We put forth our vision for a campus expansion for sports ministry facilities. Every church decides how to reach their community. We decided on sports ministry rather than daycare, preschool, or other programs."
However, their plans met immediate opposition. "As soon as we put those plans forward, they were met with extreme opposition from neighbors around our church property and the extended area. There's a block of people in Oro Valley that gets nervous when expansion or rezoning conversations arise."
Interestingly, during this period of seeking approval, the church experienced tremendous growth. "In the period we were seeking a rezoning to build those facilities, our church almost doubled in size. We realized we needed to pivot away from that plan because we needed larger venues to accommodate the growth God had already brought."
The church revised their request: "We put forth a request for a new sanctuary, multi-purpose area, classroom facility, and parking. Currently, we're asking the town to approve a variance for height that is allowed within our zoning. Our current facilities are 29 feet, which was an approved variance given years ago. We're asking for a 40-foot sanctuary, which would sit between our existing buildings and a theater at CDO High School that stands at more than 60 feet."
Despite these reasonable accommodations, the Planning and Zoning Board voted 7-0 against their height request. Pastor Collins explains the challenge: "The compromise being offered from those struggling with our request is 'we don't want you to do it at all.' In fact, they think we should move our entire church somewhere else. That's a difficult place to find common ground."
The pastor emphasizes that the church is deeply involved in the community: "We partner with the town regularly, OVPD, Golder Ranch Fire, homeschool groups, and organizations like Feed My Starving Children. We invite 7,000 volunteers from the community to pack meals for kids across the world."
Pastor Collins believes their growth reflects a spiritual hunger: "We're in a time in our culture that is desperate for truth. People are looking around and wondering what to make of politics, attacks on the family and the unborn. Even non-believers sense something's not right. When you present biblical truth, that light bulb goes off."
Their growth comes primarily through personal connections: "The number one story we hear when we ask people how they found us is, 'My friend told me.' People are excited about what God's doing and want others in their network to be part of it."
The church currently holds three Sunday services in their full sanctuary, but space isn't the only consideration: "It's not even the number of services as much as the number of people we feel we could connect with in a larger worship venue. We're a Monday through Sunday church - there's a lot of traffic and activity because we're an active family of faith. The church should be the epicenter of community and family life."
Pastor Collins hopes for resolution: "We're not at war with our neighbors or the town. We're in a process that should lead to compromise. Our heart is to reach our community, make an impact, and make a difference. We want nothing more than to find common ground with our neighbors, but there has to be something other than 'we want you to go away.'"
As the church continues to grow despite these challenges, Pastor Collins remains focused on their mission: "We're focused on the next generation because if the church isn't focused on the next generation, the church is dying. The longtime saints of our church family believe in that. They support it. They're all in, even willing to be inconvenienced because they know it's important to reach the next generation. And the result is, you grow."