There are only two words that can describe the bond package that has been proposed by the Board of Supervisors for the May 18 election: outrageous, and typical.

It's outrageous because the supes want to mortgage Pima County to the tune of an additional $700 million, as if this money grows on trees or appears under our pillow after a long night's sleep as a gift from The Bond Fairy. It's typical because this is the kind of behavior you have to expect from politicians. The rest of us have to earn a living. The supes just stick their hands into our wallets every time they want something.

It's also typical of government bureaucracies to judge their success by how big they can grow. Nowhere is it more evident that county government wants to swallow up more resources for its own growth than in Bond Question 3.

Question 3 seeks to sell $183.5 million in bonds "for the purpose of acquiring, improving and equipping public safety and justice facilities." Note that nothing in this question states that justice will be improved. The money will go instead to facilities used by those responsible for securing justice and public safety. The justice system does not need new facilities. It needs better laws and better discretion in enforcing and those laws.

First, let's look at a small sample of the how resources are currently being wasted.

Law enforcement, particularly in the city of Tucson, is now focused on combatting the "evils" of underage drinking on college campuses. This takes resources away from enforcement of violent crimes.
Law enforcement is consuming valuable resources on enforcement of non-violent marijuana "criminals" that could otherwise be spent on enforcement of violent crimes.
High-school students who get into fights are no longer disciplined through the school or by parents. Instead, they are processed through the juvenile court system where they are charged with crimes but denied all of the constitutional rights provided to adults charged with the same crimes.

Imagine how many millions of dollars could be saved if the time of police officers, prosecutors, judges, and other court personnel was not diverted in this manner away from dealing with murderers, rapists and thieves.

Now, let's examine the need for additional or improved facilities for the county.

Jim Barry of the County Administrator's Office was recently interviewed for an article in the Tucson Weekly concerning the need for additional facilities. Barry claims that "(The Justice Court) is overcrowded and inadequate in terms of safety because prisoners, jurors and the public are all together."

Barry clearly needs a remedial lesson in Justice Court jurisdiction. In criminal cases, the Justice Courts jurisdiction is limited to misdemeanors. Murderers and rapists are not traversing the halls of the Justice Court - violent felons are processed and prosecuted in Superior Court.

It's more likely that Barry is engaging in this kind of bait-and-switch intentionally because as a county bureaucrat, he stands to benefit immeasurably from the passage of these bond questions. Bureaucrats justify their worth not in terms of their salaries, but in terms of the amount of public resources they control.

The county doesn't need to spend $84 million on a new county courthouse and new jail facilities. But what about the rest of it? What about the $92 million on a "regional public safety communication system"?

If this bond question passes, you can kiss what is left of your civil liberties goodbye.

It does not cost $92 million to connect all the county emergency response teams together. This amount is what it will cost to connect all of our county systems to the federal government's Homeland Security Department.

It is becoming increasingly clear that our national security network had far more information about the 9/11 attacks than they admit. It is also clear that all these new federal laws such as the ironically-named USA Patriot Act serve no legitimate national security purpose. Rather, John Ashcroft wants all these new laws and new taxes to spy on regular citizens like you and me.

The purpose of this $92 million communication system is not to stop terrorists. It's to enforce drug laws against non-violent offenders and to give John Ashcroft, Tom Ridge and all the rest of the "Constitution be damned" crowd an extra set of eyes to play Peeping Tom into your house.

We must not be complicit in these violations of our civil liberties. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Four thousand Pima residents register to vote as Libertarian because we are sick of Democrats and Republicans with their boots on our necks asking us to support pork-barrel projects designed to strip us of our freedoms.

Four thousand Libertarians might not be enough to stop these bonds. But each of us has the power to withhold our consent from injustice and to speak out in favor of justice and freedom. I encourage all Pima County residents to join the Libertarians in opposing these bonds.

More is not necessarily better. Pima County wants to throw more of our money - money that we do not have - at building bigger courthouses and bigger jails.

The result will be more honest, hard-working, law-abiding citizens processed through the criminal justice system for infractions - I won't call them "crimes" - that would be either legal or handled differently in a just society. Say NO to bonds. Tell Pima County to work more effectively and stop wasting our money.

David Euchner is a Tucson lawyer, chairman of the Pima County Libertarian Party and candidate for Pima County attorney.